<p>Wow, that is amazing charlesives! Would you mind sharing your son's experience here when he is back?</p>
<p>College: Wellesley
Surprise: Daughter found a roommate who is really, really great. She had worried that would not happen. They have a lot of the same interests and she actually looks out for daughter's welfare (i.e. checks on her while she is on dates, etc.) This is a great comfort to us. The two of them have found a wonderful church in Boston that helps to meet their spiritual needs.
Second surprise: Being admitted by audition to the Wellesley College Dancers. Dance has been a major part of her life and is an easy way to blow off the stress of pre-med classes.
Last Surprise: A girl from a small southern town CAN easily find her way around the city of Boston. Go Sox!!!</p>
<p>College: Dickinson
Surprise: They weren't kidding when they said to plan on spending 3 hours outside of class for every hour in class! She didn't mind though, because unlike high school it wasn't busywork but interesting, useful, and challenging.
Surprise: There was still time for ballet and Pilates classes 3-4 times a week, which really help her to relax.
Surprise: She also lucked out with a wonderful roommate who has become a best friend.
Best surprise: the grades that were posted yesterday. Made all that hard work worthwhile.</p>
<p>Stanford: as above, surprised at the number of phenomenally brilliant people. It's what he hoped to find there, but the reality of it has taken some getting used to. Surprised at how hard he's studying. Also surprised at how easily he fell into an active, fun social life.</p>
<p>Hi Idler, I enjoyed reading here and on other threads about your son's experiences at Stanford. My son is a junior at Stanford (also from the opposite coast) so he is far beyond his first quarter there, but many of his experiences are similar to your son's. We greatly enjoyed having him home for the whole winter break, as it was the first time he was home for more than 4 days at a stretch since last March, due to a variety of circumstances. Good luck to your son in the Winter Quarter!</p>
<p>Another surprise, and comfort to parents of athletes: you CAN be a D1 athlete and get straight As ;).</p>
<p>Patient:</p>
<p>Way to go! Mens sane in corpore sano: seems to work for your S. Congrats to him.</p>
<p>So, Mother of Two and Patient: do you know anything about Parent's weekend, upcoming? Is it worth the travel? Son says he doesn't think so, but we suspect he's just trying to avoid the emberrasment of having us intrude on his alternative universe...</p>
<p>hi Idler--I'm afraid I have no information but I hope you come--we can meet up and if MotherofTwo makes the trip she can too! If nothing else you will get a wonderful respite from East Coast weather (unless, of course, you're in Florida or something, in which case it will be cooler). We are having a series of pacific storms right now so lots of rain, but the trees will be in bloom in a matter of weeks....Marite--thank you so much for the good wishes...I think that you're right about the quotation! Still wish you were going to be here too, but honestly I'm very happy still for you and your son and family :)</p>
<p>Hi Idler,
I went to Parents Weekend when my son was a freshman and I had a very good time. I enjoyed seeing my son and also talking to the other parents, enjoying the campus, and going to the special events (assemblies and classes for parents). My son spent some time with me, but not the entire weekend - I remember we attended the career panel together and the alumni they had on the panel were very entertaining speakers with interesting personal stories. You would probably enjoy it greatly too, if you can make the trip. Last year, I didn't go because I visited in November when I had a business trip to the San Francisco area. My whole family, along with a good friend, was actually planning to go this year, as my daughter, who is a H.S. senior, has never seen Stanford, until we realized that an important concert my daughter is in will be held on the same weekend. I would be glad to talk to you more about this if you would like to PM me. We always stay in a rather inexpensive but very nice motel which is not listed on the Stanford visitors site which you might be interested in.</p>
<p>My biggest surprise at Bryn Mawr was finding amazing friends so easily.</p>
<p>My son is at Stanford and loves it. I am surprised at how easily he adapted to life so far away from home and how homesick for college he was during Christmas break. I think his biggest surprise is how he suddenly is no longer the brightest bulb in the box, he has to work his butt off and as he puts it "these kids are amazingly brilliant!" I think the dorm experience has surprised him as well. He was never overly social in High School but seems to have found his niche at college. So far, all surprises have been good surprises.</p>
<p>Stanford seems to be working its magic on all of our kids! Glad everyone is so happy!</p>
<p>An update is in order. As I posted earlier, our son traveled to Scotland to embark on a pilgrimage of St Cuthbert's Way from Melrose to the Holy Isle of Lindisfarne as his winter term project. He will be arriving home next week but he did call home a few days ago. To the extent possible he traveled as a peregrini, depending on the kindness of strangers for bed and board. The actual pilgrimage took only 6 walking days but he stayed over 2 or more days at most stops along the way. He lodged in youth hostels, churches, hotels and in the home of a family near Jedburg for 3 days!</p>
<p>He mentioned that his journal is more than 100 pages and includes sketches, messages from people he met along the way, a pastor's prayer and blessing, the greeting from 20 congregants with whom he worshiped in Wooler, and an inn keeper who gave him a free lunch. The pilgrimage included a few side trips to Smailholm Tower, Scott's View and another place I can't recall now.</p>
<p>It seemed to have a profound spiritual impact on him because before leaving the Holy Isle he became an Explorer in the Community of Aidan and Hilda, not a cult but a dispersed eccumenical Christian community similar to the one formed at Iona. The pastor of our church has agreed to be his anamchara or soul friend so he has given his seal of approval to it too.</p>
<p>I don't know anything about these locales, the religious background or anything but the whole experience sounds unusual and fascinating. I would love it if you would post something more extensive, or give us some references for further reading!</p>
<p>He is getting back on the 25th so we will be getting a full "debriefing" then and ask him for the web sites he used in planning his winter term pilgrimage project.</p>
<p>Thanks, look forward to hearing more.</p>
<p>Yes, Charlesives, you should start a thread and tell us what happened! I was wondering if you had seen the request.....</p>
<p>I am amazed. Did your son know the family in Jedburg? What an adventure!</p>
<p>Our son is back and he believed that his Winter Term project/pilgrimage was the best experience of his life. For those who didn't read my prior posts, he attends Oberlin College which has a one month Winter Term for independent study during January. Students have a very wide latitude in selecting their winter term project and they must do so for 3 of 4 years to graduate. My son went to Scotland to do a pilgrimage called Saint Cuthbert's Way from Melrose to the Holy Isle of Findisfarne. He also chose to be a peregrini, meaning that he depended on the kindness and hospitality of strangers for shelter and food.</p>
<p>He carried a minimum of things, a bed roll, one change of cloths, toiletries, a Bible, a volume of Carmichael's Celtic prayers and incantations, Adams' "The Rhythm of Life", camera, journal, passport and ATM card. St Cuthbert's Way can be walked in about 5 days, but he took 12 days, staying with a family near Jedburg for 3 days, not traveling on 2 Sabaths, and choosing to take several side walks to Dryburg Abbey, Scott's View and Smailholm Tower. These were sites important to Sir Walter Scott who he has an interest about.</p>
<p>He found the people to be amazingly warm and hospitable. On arrival he stayed with an elderly couple we became friend with during our vacation to Scotland. They operate a B&B about 15 miles from Melrose and when they found out what our son was doing they took him in gratis and drove him to Melrose to start his pligrimage. They also had a friend in St Boswells who took him in after the first leg of his pilgrimage. He stayed with them several days to visit Dryburg Abbey and Scotts View.</p>
<p>He also was invited to stay in several churches, a pastor's manse, and an inn where him and the bar-keep struck up a conversation. Most residents see many people walking St Cuthbers Way, but they seemed intrigued with our son's decision to do in ala peregrinatio. This seemed to open them up in wonderful ways. Given the season, all the youth hostels along the way were closed and he did not met many other walkers. During the 12 days he did have to pay for lodging three nites.</p>
<p>The journal he kept is fascinating. In addition to keeping a diary of his travels, he included poems and prayer he wrote, sketches, entries from people he encountered along the way, thoughts coming to mind during his daily Bible readings. He also chose to keep a daily offices of worship at morning, noon, evening and nighttime. </p>
<p>As noted before, he was greatly moved by the experience and decided to become an explorer in the Order of Saint Aiden's, an eccumenical Christian community devoted to a discipline of worship, study and service. He assures me that it is not a cult but a way of living. It depends on the member's local church to provide the doctrine and practices of faith. The principles offered by Saint Aidens merely enhances and enriches an individual's journey. Our pastor is familiar with the similar Iona community, has given his okay and offered to be his anamchara, soul friend, to mentor him along the way. On his return they met for six hours.</p>
<p>So it was some project! But we were glad when he returned and happy with the changes that it seemed to make in him.</p>
<p>Charlesives, thanks for sharing this. Your son has indeed had a unique and wonderful experience from the way you write about it.</p>