City of Black and White

So thankfully I have finished all my readings for tomorrow and have some time to blog!

Where do I even begin? I guess I will start with my first evening in. I got to nyc around 5 after having to wait for my shuttle for about an hour, but finally arrived after a long day. Got all the logistics of my stay in check with the registration desk and headed up to my room. The area around International House is amazing, right by Columbia University and Riverside Park, could not ask for a better location.

My first night here, I had to come to terms with no AC, which I thought would not be a problem as long as I bought a box fan from some place called Duane Reade (which is all over NYC and is equivalent to Walgreens). Little did I know that the guy sending me to the store was actually sending me to Harlem, which was quite an adventure. After getting my fan, I headed to some local place called Toast, which was great! That night was absolutely miserable. It was 86 degrees in my room and I was so uncomfortable, I only got around 4 hours of sleep.





The next morning I woke up very early to head to the Financial District and find where I am taking my class. After finding Pace University, I stumbled in some random appliance store and found an AC unit for a low price and bargained it down! Look at me, already adapting to the NY life. Took a taxi back to I House and talked to the driver about the American dream and what it is like for foreigners in the Big Apple. After that, I headed to Times Square to just kill time before I met with some people from my high school (Annie, Alex, John, Brittany) for lunch. Ending up walking from 42nd to 72nd to meet them, but I don't mind because New York has plenty of scenery. We ate at this local Greek restaurant, which was great, and walked through some key parts of the city. Got to see Juilliard, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall for the first time!

Today was the big day for me as my class started at 9AM. Woke up at 7 to get ready for class (I have to ride the subway from 125th to downtown, which takes a while). Sat down in the classroom of about 30 people and was not expecting much from the teacher, who seemed a bit stern and uninterested. Boy was I wrong. I had never experienced Socratic Dialogue before, but heard much about it from lawyers and law school students and how grueling and terrifying it can be. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous. Professor Stewart took off his dress coat to reveal red suspenders with jazzy women holding martini glasses on them. He began talking about the class structure and demonstrating the socratic style. I can honestly say, this is the MOST interesting and fun class I have ever been in and I can't wait for the next couple of weeks. It requires you to always be alert and prepared for anything and to be drilled until you fail basically, but I love it. The professor, the class, my fellow students, all contributed to a great day. Sure there is tons and tons of reading and outside research to do, but that's what I enjoy and expected out of a Cornell University class. After class, I had lunch with a few classmates from all over (California, NY, etc.). Found a buddy that lives in International House as well, so we walked over and checked out Columbia for a while after lunch.

Finishing off my night with some reviewing of my notes for class tomorrow, Petit Ecolier chocolate cookies, and Blue Like Jazz in my cold cold room. Law school, here I come!