Thursday, June 20, 2013

Eternity

Even though today was just the second day in the East Coast, it already feels like it could be the longest day I'll have while over here. Today, we visited two colleges: Harvard University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Even though they are very close to each other (they're both located in Cambridge, MA, which is right next door to Boston), it still took a lot of energy to visit these two!

We started out with a train ride to Harvard around 7 AM. When we arrived, we grabbed breakfast and checked out the Harvard Coop. Nate told us about how the faculty of Harvard would often write books and textbooks, and he showed us some of those books here. He let us explore a little, and I ended up buying a book (The Fault in Our Stars).


After that short little venture, we made our way to Harvard University itself. Harvard's campus looks absolutely beautiful in the summer. I can only begin to imagine how it looks during the other seasons, especially autumn.



We then sat down with a faculty member and a recent graduate to discuss life in a college and life in Harvard. This session was incredibly informative, and it made me feel very encouraged about Harvard, despite its low acceptance rate. They told us about the social life, the food, the (rather minimal) Greek life, the housing system, and more! Much of this information wasn't just limited to Harvard; some of it could be applied to other colleges. A very encouraging thing about Harvard is the financial aid system; some families don't have to pay at all if they qualify!

After this session, we went on the tour with the student. Harvard's architecture is magnificent, though a few buildings stood out to me, especially the Science Center. They say that the Harvard Science Center was designed to be shaped like a camera! I learned quite a fair bit about the campus before we went to grab lunch at the Greenhouse Cafe in Harvard.

We took the subway towards MIT afterward, though we stopped at the MIT Coop before walking off. The Coop seems to be some sort of store that in part symbolizes the collaboration between the two universities. We continued toward MIT and ended up within the Admissions Reception Center. They told us to enter this room where we listened to a student discuss many factors about his school. There's a pass or no record system for the students, which was a bit surprising, though I'm guessing that it only helps, since I believe the courses are ridiculously hard.


MIT was rather underwhelming though, and we did not receive a guided tour. I don't think I can see myself going here, since it just doesn't appeal to me.

We then went to grab some ice cream at Toscanini's. I had some earl grey ice cream; it definitely had a taste resembling that of tea, along with the sweet, creamy flavor of ice cream. After that, we took a bus to Boston,   and we walked to Fenton Park. I'm not really a sports person, so I wasn't too interested.


We took the Amtrak back to Providence, and we were given some time to unwind after the long day. We then went out to dinner at Bar Louie. I ordered a meatball sub with tater tots; it was an absolutely spectacular meal. The tots were crisp and crunchy, and the sub was just heavenly, with its herbs and its meatballs.

We're back at Hotel Providence now, resting up for the next day! 

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