We made it!!!

well, we made it safe and sound after the brutal 4 am pick-up. Flights were all smooth and uneventful, just like we like them. When we arrived at the airport we took two cabs to the university where the students did their early check-in. After dropping off their bags we headed down Thayer St. in search of food. It is the greatest street, full of eateries, shops, and tons of students walking around. On our way back we ran into a another group who informed our students of movie night tonight so they are all off to that. The Hotel Providence, where I am staying, is quite nice indeed, however there is much noise and celebrating outside my window for the 2nd annual Gay Pride Parade. Tomorrow we have breakfast, check-in, go to the bookstore and then orientation. It has been a full day and I don't know about our kiddos, but I am ready for some zzzzzzzzzzzzs. Until tomorrow, PKent

Providence in Providence

Just 18 hours earlier we shipped off our Cornell cohorts but this morning, at an hour where we all should have been in bed, 9 intrepid young souls¾along with their chaperone¾piled into the seriously overfilled van taking them to the Oakland Airport and onward to Providence, Rhode Island to spend several weeks at Brown University.

While the Cornellians, due to their 10 AM departure time, looked so wide awake in their group photo, the 4:10 AM departure of this group presented the kind of look we all might expect: sleepy, cold and desperately missing the comfort of their beds.

Even at that early hour it was amusing to see the face of the shuttle driver when he pulled up to El Cerrito High to see a large group of people with luggage strewn all over the sidewalk. He was told he was picking up 10 passengers but he clearly saw 20 or more on the sidewalk and fear set in. His shuttle was barely large enough for the 10 plus their luggage and if he had to haul even one more person it just wasn’t going to work. Once I assured him that the extra bodies were parents seeing off their youngins he breathed a sigh of relief.

Even as I write this I can imagine these poor young scholars finding a seat at their departure gate to scrunch into as they seek to catch just a few more zzz’s before they board their plane in a couple of hours.

Stay tuned to this blog to see how quickly we’ll see their first posting of this trip.

Just hours away ...

WOW. We will be leaving to Brown in less than 7 hours and here I am, hoovering over my laptop, blogging. A surge of emotions are going through me right now. I do not know what to feel but I know one thing for certain, I am extremely excited to go back to Brown. I just hope everything goes as plan. I have been freaking out and trying to pack everything I need. I even made my own checklist to make sure I do not forget anything of significance. There is nothing I can do besides pack and repack while watching The Chronicles of Narnia on Disney channel. I know I will not be able to sleep tonight because waiting for the time to come is so exciting. That is all for now. The next time I will blog, will be when I have landed in the small town of Providence, Rhode Island.