JHU Pre-frosh!

It's official! I am now a incoming freshman (pre-frosh) at Johns Hopkins University! I think the decision would have been a lot harder to make had I not attended Asian Perspectives this past weekend. I fell in love with the campus and the campus culture. I say the past five days were days well spent.

When I looked out the window during the plane's approach to Baltimore, I was struck by the sheer amount of trees. Everything was green! Not a monotonous green like you tend to get in California, but every shade of green, mixed in with purples, pinks, and reds. My first thought was, "Oh my God. I love this place."

It was a difficult trip, getting from BWI airport to the JHU campus. I had to take a MARC train by myself, with all my luggage, to the Baltimore Penn station, then take another shuttle to campus. There was a sketchy moment on the train when I was the only person left in my compartment that left me wondering if I was actually on the train to Baltimore Penn and not, say, on a train with Destination: HORROR emblazoned on its side. (Oh, Sue Sylvester. I love you.) When I bought the ticket, I asked for "Penn station, please." The guard gave me a look and said, "Which one?". There was brief pause of "OMG. There's more than one?" and I guess stupefied horror was etched very clearly on my face because the guards started laughing. "Umm...the one that goes to Johns Hopkins University?" Whew. Thank god for vague, general statements.

I got to Baltimore Penn safely, but I probably looked like a retard walking up and down the station with a backpack, a rolling suitcase, and a sleeping bag. For the life of me, I couldn't find the shuttle stop for JHU. I had to ask a guard who said helpfully, "Just walk towards the big ugly statue and make a right." It wasn't very hard to identify the big ugly statue. (Refer to Facebook pictures.) I watched the first shuttle pull away right when I got there. Being the shameless tourist I am, I took the opportunity to bust out my camera and start taking pictures of the Baltimore skyline. No sooner had I taken out my camera when another shuttle pulls up. This led to chaos of hastily shoving my camera back in my bag, mentally muttering "shit shit shit", readjusting bags, and tripping my way onto the shuttle. Embarrasing. My luggage was so big that I had to leave them clogging up the aisle. I turned to the lady sitting across from me and ask, "Do you know where I get off for JHU?". She gives me a strange look (an expression I was to become very familiar with) and asks "What part?" Oh, mother of God. Not again. Luckily, I had called my host at the train station before I left and she had told me to meet her at Levering Hall. The people on the bus were kind enough to tell me "You're supposed to get off here." when we pulled up to the stop. Then, as if they weren't kind enough, a senior who had gotten off at the same stop offered to walk me to Levering Hall. She said, "I was heading in that direction anyways." THANK YOU KIND STRANGER! I never even got her name. ):

Just walking through campus to get to Levering Hall, I must have taken dozens of pictures. Trees! Grass! Gorgeous architecture. I was dizzy with the glorious novelty of it all. I spent the first evening sitting in on my host's dance practice. Natasha Senn, my host, is part of the dance group, Eclectics, one of the many extracurricular dance crews on campus. They were working on a routine to "Ease on Down the Road". I love that song! haha. They practiced until 8 PM. I hadn't eaten since I left the San Jose airport at 4AM. After we dropped off my luggage in her dorms (a forced triple), Natasha, her roommate Allison, and I went to Nawena's, a fancy Japanese restaurant just off campus. Zaru Soba ftw! I think the meal was especially delicious because I was starving.

Natasha had borrowed a inflateable mattress for me. THANK GOD. All the other prefrosh had to sleep on the hard floor. mehehe. My roommates were all awesome! Two of them were in sororities. Allison was in a engineering sorority while Erin was in some...scary...drinking...sorority. Hahaha. It was nice seeing the many different kinds of students that attend JHU.

The next morning, I tailed Natasha to her classes - American Literature 1820-1856, Social Psychology, and IFP. I loved EVERY ONE. The American Literature was pretty average sized for JHU, around 20 people. Psychology was huge! There was around 300 students in the room, and over half of them were browsing Facebook. (No shame, me too.) The IFP class was very small and kind of intimidating. 6 people, sitting in one row, within arm's reach of the (hot) grad student teacher. I didn't have a single moment to be bored and I was even inspired to take notes. Kamikaze sperm! Hiya!

IAC (Inter-Asian Council) did a really good job coordinating events that would give us a feel of JHU. We met with two sororities and I must admit, the sisters were nothing like I expected. They were all nice, smart, friendly people, not the girls-gone-wild characters I had in mind. Dessert socials are bomb, by the way. They made us shaved ice at the first one and deep-fried oreos at the second. Woot. I got to exchange phone numbers and Facebooks with a lot of them. When I got back home, some of them had already posted on my wall. For a second, I actually entertained the thought of joining a sorority. (; (Not going to happen.) The last night, we attended one of their sorority/fraternity parties. CRAZY. Let's just say, some people should not be allowed to play beer pong. I had this nice blue alcohol, no idea what it was, but it was delicious. heh. I left the party slightly buzzed and very happy about being at JHU. hahahaha

I think the most helpful part of my experience was the Student Panel. They had four students, two pre-med, one pre-law (the fourth one was just a senior) come and speak to us about their experiences. We got to ask them questions while eating Dunkin' Donuts, Einstein Bros. Bagels + cream cheese and drinking coffee and orange juice. They really gave us a feel to what we should expect. I stayed after to talk to Alex R. who, as it turns out, came from St. Francis high school near Campbell. We even had a friend in common! haha. Total Six Degrees of Separation moment. By the end of the trip, I was pretty reassured that when I go to JHU, I will never be at a loss for help and advice.

I think God has played a huge role in my attending JHU. I've said before that I applied to JHU on a whim. I never even entertained the idea of coming here. But God works in marvelous ways, and here I am. At the Relay for Life event, I was literally kind of spacing out when I hear Lester (our lead coordinator) say, "C'mon. Try talking to the Pre-Frosh". I turn around just in time to see this girl say "But I don't know any of them." Again, on a whim, I stuck out my hand and introduced myself. And so, God introduced me to Maria Ly from San Leandro, CA. We talked for half an hour about everything -- her experience at JHU (she is a current freshman), her major (Neuroscience), what it's like to be pre-med, and ultimately, available fellowships on campus. When I left for JHU, I was Natural Science - Undeclared. After talking to her, I have a pretty strong inclination to go NeuroSci. Within one day of being at JHU, I had been pointed toward the general direction of a Major and been hooked up with a Christian fellowship. God is Awesome.

I met so many nice people on this trip. "Nice" is usually the worst thing you can say about someone, but in this case, it is the highest compliment. We pre-frosh were pretty tight by the end. There was Jimmy and Rachel from New Jersey, Bryan from Seattle, Ella from Maryland, Robert from Chicago, Rachel from Delaware, Liyang from Pennsylvania, Michael from New Mexico, and Eric and Alicia, my fellow Californians. They also played a major role in my decision to submit my SIR. Some of them were still debating between other schools, but I know a lot of them are leaning more strongly toward JHU now. (; Boo, Northwestern, Duke, and UPENN!

Before I left, I spent an exorbitant sum on a JHU jacket. I'm trying my best now to forget how much it cost me. haha. Let's just say that more than half of all the money I spent on this trip went to that one item. My Asian side is so ashamed but my JHU side is crowing with pride. haha.

Needless to say, I love JHU. I love its clubs/organizations/fraternities/sororities/etc. I love its buildings. I love Baltimore. I love its classes. I really look forward to the next four years!

General Practitioner, HERE I COME!!