Hello all.

This is the first post of what I'm hoping to be many on this site, by myself and a collection of others. I hope that the collection of authors on here continues to slowly grow. The idea is that we will have a group of core authors with a rotating batch of guest contributors...we'll see how that goes. My first few post are going to be about my reactions coming back from abroad. Horn will do the opposite I hope...I'm not going to speculate on the other contributors, just let them do their own thing.

So, Quinnipiac looks way different. I Live at York Hill, and it looks beautiful...from the outside. The inside kind of looks like my elementary school hallways. It really is pretty ugly. But I still have my own room, decorated with some souvenirs from abroad. Like I said when I was abroad, I did not want to completely assimilate to the culture I was in. I wanted to immerse myself in it for sure, and I think I did that well in terms of learning about the town, politics, and sport. I took advantage of all sorts of things that made Wales special and I think I'm a better and broad person from it. But the same thinking applies when I come back to Quinnipiac. I dont want to be the kid who constantly says "Well, this one time in Wales..." But at the same time, it was the single largest and most consequential endeavor that Ive ever embarked upon. I dont want my room to look like my room in Wales. I dont want it to look like it did before I left for Wales. I dont want it to look like my room at home. I want it to reflect who I was and now am. I think I'm striking a good balance.

Back to Quinnipiac looking different. The Rocky Top Student Center is really an awesome building. Getting to walk from my room to the garage to my car is one of my favorite things. Id like it to be substantially warmer, but it really is beautiful up here. I am now getting into the habit of bringing my camera everywhere with me. I could take 30pictures a day looking out from where the windmills are up here.

The new student center on Mount Carmel campus is also really nice inside. Ive always loved QU and have been proud to tell people I go here, and eager to show the pictures and brag how lovely it really is here. These constant additions make that even sweeter.

Past face value though, Im still really excited to be here. Getting back into the swing of classes is going to be difficult. I took 3 classes in Wales and had a 100hour internship, and my total load of assignments all semester was a 2,500 word essay, a 3,500 word one, a 4,000 word one, and a 5,000 word one. No tests. No quizzes. No homework. The only class Ive had so far will have 3 quizzes, 3 tests, a paper, and an attendance policy. It feels like junior high again.

Until next time,

-Jeremy