<p>My freshman D is loving Cornell and surprisingly for a city girl who generally loves noise and lights, has found lots to engage her in Ithaca. She had fun swimming in the gorges when the weather was nicer (early fall). (I wasn't thrilled to hear that she jumped from a pretty high ledge into the water, little daredevil.) A former surfer, she's adjusted to cold weather sports and has now developed a newfound interest in hockey--even camped out for days to get sought-after season tickets to the Cornell hockey games. Still a Cali girl, she was glad to be home for a few days to reacquaint herself with her flip-flops, dine on tortilla soup at Islands restaurant, and go dip her toes in the Pacific Ocean before heading back to school. She's made good friends, likes her classes and has merrily overextended herself as is her general inclination, but I think she's slowly learning she'll need to pace herself. She did decide to drop a competitive club sports team that she'd made so she can devote that time toward more study. (music to her parents' ears)</p>
<p>My D has NOT spoken at all about her Carnegie Mellon...too busy running around to concerts, went back to HS to survey the old teaching staff and new seniors, visited old HS buddies at parties and all the while FORGETTING how to do her laundry!!!! She didn't bring home too much....took a bus from Pittsburgh to NYC that took close to 9 hours! Just returned yeaterday and by 10PM last night had not gotten back to Carnegie. She left at 1PM from NYC! She claims when we spoke to her on her cell phone at 10PM last night she was somewhere in Pennsylvania.....after her bus broke down and she and the other kids had to wait 2 hours for a replacement bus...and for this they charged $90???? Looks like she'll be flying next time!</p>
<p>Yeah, I think y daughter forgot how to do laundry or I was so happy that she was home and had so much work that I did not mind doing it for her. She hung out with her friends, went to Serendipity for Frozen Hot Chocolate, and went shopping in the city (she was glad to be part of the crowds). She was sad because there is a private sale starting at Bloomingdales this week and she won't be able to go (not like she had any money).</p>
<p>I remember dropping my daughter off a Port Authority and there were so many students going back to school you would have thought they were giving out free tickets. She was a little upset at the fact that we arrived in the city at 7:30 for a 9:15 bus (she does not understand that there are no reserved seats on the bus and it is all first come, first served and when the bus fills up, you have to wait for the next one just like mass transit). I missed a lot but was a little happy to reclaim the house. There was a hugh line of people dressed in all kinds of green clothes making the trek back to Hanover. With all of the stops it takes almost 7 hours to get there. She made great time on the trip home as she took the bus with a lot of her friends. They were chatting away and one of the moms packed turkey wrap sandwiches and fruit for D and their crew. I sent them with lasagna and Peach cobbler for dinner (my oven is going through withdrawl because it had not been on since the summer). They were so excited to see each other, my goodness they were only away from each other 5 days. Classes are finished on wednesday, then reading period and finals. So she will be back home next week. She has a friend at DePaul who is home until the new year. So while she is home for the next 3 weeks she can clean her room (this time I left it how she left it) and do her own laundry.</p>
<p>I have been reading "Charlotte Simmons" as well, and find some of the situations that Wolf describes as very accurate to any college, but not EVERY college, student or situation. Though the school most resemble Duke much of the research for it was done at other schools such as UMich.</p>
<p>Another parent with an almost insanely happy daughter in her first year away.</p>
<p>My wife she says that the D almost glows with happiness as she burbles away about Smith and everything else. She's working her butt off but getting more sleep than in the last two years of high school, an artifact of taking only two ballet classes a week instead of 8, 9, 10, or 11. She's decided on a double major of Government and Math and is planning to spend her junior year divided between Washington, D.C. and Budapest. She loves her House (dorm), has acclimated to cold weather (boasts about it being in the 40's and 30's), has decided to buy a couple of pairs of boots, etc.
She's playing in the orchestra and is fairly involved in the Newman Center (think Catholic chapel)...otherwise, I wish she could do a <em>little</em> more social stuff but she's taking 20 units, which keeps her pretty busy. </p>
<p>Three more weeks and she'll be coming home again. Yippee!!! The last four days were just a bit too frantic.</p>
<p>Told ya, its sometimes easier to go 2500mi than to go 300mi. Our kid went to Philly for holiday to see best friend. Don't think he was on same bus your D took. He took the student bus. Been there-Done that for PATH, PA, Penn/Grand, interesting but scheduling always a challenge. Take a car/plane and be a energy pig. oink.</p>
<p>Hope you had turkey for holiday. Oink.</p>
<p>I know....don't rub it in...ya told me..ya told me. As my D now says...student bus s--ks...she USED to be a NICE girl before she left for Carnegie...now she uses all those 'uck words....too bad! LOL!!!</p>
<p>TheDad:</p>
<p>Great to hear from you and about your D. I've got Budapest in mind for my S's junior year or semester abroad. There's supposed to be a terrific math institute there and Budapest is such a lovely city.</p>
<p>It is so gratifying to know that all our children found a "home." Believe it or not, D did not bring ANY laundry home. haha A good friend across the hall spent Weds night at school just to drive our D to catch her 9:30 am flight on Thanksgiving Day! During her short stay, D received a text message from a couple of her east coast friends wishing her a good time at home and looking forward to seeing her again! To beat the rush, she scheduled a red eye flight on Sat night. She called from the airport to let us know that she ran into another Ford who was on the same flight. What a small world...(sigh).</p>
<p>Been away: nice to read this upbeat thread, I always thought Freshman year was the least happy. My son is loving Stanford, actually has a social life (never had much of a one before), always busy, loves the interesting people. I think he was taken aback at first by the number of brilliant, hardworking people he encounters, but he's finding his way. Complains that his intro chem and calc classes (200+ people) are too dry and mathematical (duh!), and very much looks forward to getting to take upper level courses. Offered a spot on the baseball team, but wonders if he can do that and all the extra-curricular stuff he's gotten involved in. Finds the quarter system a little intense, barely through mid-terms and you have to start booking for finals. Loves California ways, we're beginning to doubt he'll come back East when he graduates. Didn't come back for Thanksgiving, since Q1 exams over for him on Dec 9. Can't wait to see him!</p>
<p>My son is really enjoying Bucknell. It's 1600 miles away, so he'll be coming home for the first time since school started in about two weeks. He's enjoying his classes, and has been able to do some writing and debating as well. With the exception of the flood in the dorm caused by a football hitting a sprinkler head, tings have been going well. He's also enjoying the music scene and the frequent guest lectures. His academic advisor has got him focused in on some options, he'll have his core completed by the end of this year. So far, so good! But I will be glad to see the lad on the 10th.</p>
<p>TheDad -- Great to hear from you. Knew the news would be good, but it sounds even better than that. Perhaps many of the CC offspring will end up studying math in Budapest and blow our covers!</p>
<p>Marite & Sac, well I'm still bemused by the notion of D as a math major but so far she loves it and I'm sure it's the same math institute that they'd all be congregating at.
When D first broached Budapest, of course I could not help thinking something along the lines of meeting a ruder pest. </p>
<p>We dropped Budapest from the itinerary when the orchestra did the Vienna/Prauge tour and now this would be a great way to see it. See...TheMom and I are already planning a lengthy vacation along the lines of Budapest/Vienna/Prague/Venice/Strasburg/Paris/London/Wales...or the reverse order. D howls that to do in the reverse would be major Not Fair. But we have 2-1/2 years to plan and save and doing at the end of D's Spring term would be quite a vacation. And it happens to coincide with our 25th anniversary, which is why we contemplate the reverse order. Already I can see 2-3 stops getting pared from the itinerary but if you don't aim big then you never achieve big.</p>