Arriving at Vanderbilt

Today we had a relaxed morning. I woke up late around 8:45 PM. (I forgot to turn my alarm clock on, so Chiamaka had to wake me up.) We had breakfast at a famous restaurant called, Pancake Pantry. As Mr. Mannix had told us, there was a long line. However, the long wait was worth it. I decided to get buttermilk pancakes along with hot chocolate. At first, the hot chocolate was too sweet, so I decided to add milk; however, the milk made the hot chocolate cold. I ended up not drinking the hot chocolate, but the pancakes were great.

Buttermilk Waffles

This is the long line outside Pancake Pantry.

After breakfast, we went to a mall nearby. We only had an hour to do shopping; therefore, Shanti, Chiamaka, and I spent most of our time in one store. I ended up purchasing a couple of shirts. We then headed back to the hotel to pick up our luggage. On our way to Vanderbilt, we all discussed about how we felt about VSA. I was extremely nervous about meeting new people and making friends.

Once we reached Vanderbilt, we headed to the Hank Ingram House-where we were supposed to check in. I received a lanyard, a meal card, and a key to my dorm room. I was relieved to learn that I was in the same proctor group as Shanti and Chiamaka; it eased my tension a bit. After receiving my room key and room number, I went to my dorm room which is on the third floor. It was a sad moment when I had to depart from my cohort members and Mr. Mannix.

The dorm room is very nice and spacious; however, I have a hard time opening and locking the door with the keys. My roommate was not there yet, so I was able to decide which bed and closet I wanted. I had a chance to unpack before my roommate arrived. Her name is Abigail and she is from Tennessee. She lives a couple of hours away. This is the first year at Vanderbilt Summer Academy for both of us. I discovered some commonalities between us. We both are a part of a club called HOSA ( Health Occupational Students of America.)

This is my dorm room.

After we had some time to settle down, there was a proctor meeting at 4:55. My proctor's name is Meg, and she is a great person. She graduated from Vanderbilt this year. She gave us a tour around the campus; however, I do not remember where any of my classes are going to be; luckily, we are going to have a  T.A. who will guide us to our classes. During our tour, we played an icebreaker game. We each had to say our name and make a unique move. Then the person after had to do their own move and remember the moves and the names of the people before them. Surprisingly, I did not forget anyone's name or move. Then we played a game in which one person would raise a sword(with their hands) and the students next to him or her had to the same. Then the person who originally raised the sword had to pass on to someone else. The game was a bit confusing at first, but I understood it after a couple of tries.

My proctor group was the first to get in line for dinner once our introductions were over. I decided to get spaghetti along with a slice of chocolate cake. During dinner, I was able to learn more about the students in my proctor group. There are a total of twelve of us in the group. All of the students are outgoing and nice. Hopefully, I will learn more about them as the days progress. Most of them already know each other because they have been a part of the Vanderbilt Summer Academy for about four years.

Upon finishing our dinner, we attended the Opening Ceremony. We were introduced to the other proctors and other members of the VSA committee. I learned that VSA has three different houses: V,S, and A. I am a part of the V house. The proctors showed us entertaining videos about each of the three houses. They also told us the rules of VSA through a song in the movie Frozen; I thought that was very creative. We also played a fun true and false game. We had to guess what was true and what was false about three of the staff members- Rachael, Rosie, and John. It was a fun way to learn more about them.

Everyone then gathered outside to play the Human Scavenger Hunt.We were divided into our proctor groups. The staff member would call out certain statements and one student from each proctor group who qualified would run up to the staff member. For example, one statement was, " Whoever does not have a middle name should run up". This was one way to earn house points. Unfortunately, our group did not win any of the competitions; however, we had a lot of fun participating in the event. We had to do some crazy things which included carrying our proctor as fast as we could and doing the crab walk.

Before heading off to bed, we had a final meeting with our proctor. She briefly went over the rules about free time. She also told us what Arete class we had. My class is called, The Art of Henna. I am looking forward to the class. I am extremely excited for the upcoming day. I cannot wait to attend meet my classmates and professors tomorrow!