Thanks just ordered it for D who will be in an apartment style dorm with sorta kitchen (stove top, no oven) and gets tired of the meal plan.
S will be with a host family and they said he is welcomed to eat dinner with them daily and he can also put stuff in their garage fridge.
He will just keep stuff to make salads, sandwiches, wraps, etc. I donāt see him actually cooking after a long day at work.
D is in the air at this moment, en route to Italy. She is very much looking forward to finding out what real Italian family food is like! 
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Nice!! I lived in Italy for a few years and some of the best food I had was not at the restaurants, but at my friendās apartments. So simple, yet so delicious! Food over there isnāt riddled with preservatives and tastes so much better. I hope she has a wonderful time.
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Thanks! I think she will. Where, exactly were you?
I lived in Florence and Milan.
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OOOOā¦sheās flying into Milan and staying in Florence!
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Florence will be so manageable and perfect!
DS is finishing up his second week of his remote internship and is expecting his first real paycheck (although in HS he was a grader for AOPS so was paid for that). He is making $24/hour and was asking about taxes, etc last night ))
If you are interested in various internships, pay, etc look at canarystudent.com
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My S made $100 in tips last night bussing. Itās a nice but not formal restaurant. Crazy.
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My kid got a job at an luxury hotel restaurant, but other than that I can tell heās happy to be taking a break. I havenāt heard any more about taking a class online. Heās seen all of his high school friends but seems a little bit restless. He doesnāt have a fake id but wants to hang in the college area. Iām happy for him to relax. I think he is appreciating our weather quite a bit more.
Colgate chemistry was no joke. Many exams the whole class did not pass. Iām not sure it totally makes sense to me to just make the hardest exam you can but all worked out. Heāll have two labs again so Iām glad heās kind of taking it easy this summer.
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Zinnia-My D is in apt style housing and often stops by the pantry on campus. I think they are allowed to take as much produce/bread as they need and other items are limited to 3 per day. She is a rather clean eater too. She will eat pancakes a lot and likes to put a baking sheet with sliced zucchini in the oven. I like an instant pot for beans/rice or boiled eggs, quick steamed chicken breast. Vegetables steam nicely in the instant pot too. My H liked to make spaghetti as a bachelor. If wanting to add vegetables could make a spaghetti squash. Not a vegetable, but I like to put 8 oz orange juice, a cup of vanilla ice cream and a dash of nutmeg in the individual sized blender to make a quick version of orange Julius.
My daughter went to Florence for 3 days over thanksgiving break to visit her friend doing study abroad, we live in a very Italian American area outside NYC and have pretty decent food, or so I thought, according to my daughter itās nothing like Italy.
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Thanks, @1Lotus. He just got his room assignment for summer, rooming with two friends in a quad with a bathroom attached at least. And I think the communal kitchen is pretty nice and somewhat nearby.
I helped him pack a duffel for the return flight. Peanut butter, rice cakes, oats, nuts, shelf stable milk, dried fruit, ramen, olives, salami, crackers and tinned fish. He really doesnāt eat like most 18 year olds. Weāll see how hungry he gets and how long it takes him to make use of the kitchen.
We mapped out a route to the grocery store. Itās a twenty minute walk. He should have enough food to last until the weekend. And I think heās planning to have one huge meal a day in the cafeteriaā¦
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Zinnia-Baked potatoes with topping are easy tooā¦top with canned or homemade chili, sour cream, broccoli and cheese or bacons. I also like to add frozen vegetables to pasta or Mac and cheese which is easy. For protein, D likes to add tuna/chicken from pouches or can to her recipes.
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Catching up on everyone! Wow, one year down and these updates are greatākudos to everyone!
D21 had a great year (and got all As both semestersācouple A- , one A+, but still As!) She challenged herself and had lots of fun, and recently found out one of her professors (upper level class) selected her to be in a program to promote collaboration and interact w deans and the like, &network with other selected students across departments. The email says ā(students are) selected for their academic excellence and leadership abilityā.
Summer will be spent working locally and traveling to see new friends.
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D is hostessing at a local place, nice but not fancy. Sheās consistently bringing home over $100 in tips every night! On top of minimum wage at $13/hour here! Sheās happy! She came back mid-May, and left today for a week in Charleston with friends from JMU. Sheās got the life!
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Itās so nice to catch up here & see how everyone has fared. I remember some of yaāll from last yearās admissions craziness. Love reading the updates!
My D21 has come a long way this past year.
Trust me when I say that there were many challenges on her path to college and it was touch & go about whether college would stick.
We even purchased tuition insurance, but I am very happy to report that we did not need to use it!
D had a very good year at NYU in every way and now has a summer internship in NYC, making excellent money and gaining experience in her major.
We are very happy for her and feel pretty optimistic about the road ahead.
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So far, so good in Italy! D texts me amazing photos every day (often of food!) even though I tell her she doesnāt have to think about me so muchā¦I want her to immerse herself in the experience. She admits sheās a little overwhelmed by being in a city with traffic, crowds, etc. Even though Florence is not truly a big city, itās more urban than sheās used to: āIām just not a city girl, mom!ā But she knows this is an incredible experience that sheāll always be glad to have done. Her classes/teachers are great and every art history class (just about every afternoon for several hours) is done on site at museums and cathedrals, and on the streets. She and three others are being hosted by a kind and friendly older woman who cooks great dinners. Every Saturday there are optional excursions to other places in Tuscany or nearby regions. She went to Volterra and San Gimignano, classic Tuscan hill towns not far from Florence and absolutely loved them. Places of that size would probably be about her speed if she had a choice in the matter but I think sheās taking great advantage of stretching herself in Florence.
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My daughter just texted she bought tickets for a flight to Barcelona and booked a hotel. This was the #1 thing I wanted her to do. She found her friend group on the first day of classes. They go everywhere together. Last time they went to the sea side city of Malaga and stayed in an AirBnB. This is outside of the programās planned excursions. For planned excursions she has been to Granada, Cordoba touring Alhambra and Mezquita. And Watching Flameco dancing in the caves.
She and her friends are taking advantage of the drinking age of 18.
They have been hitting the bars and clubs.
Her host mom is a sweet little widowed grandmother that cooks up a storm for her and washes her clothes. D is absolutely having the time of her life. My heart is so happy for her!
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