Cornell University

Going to Cornell wasn't in our initial plan. It was a last minute decision. Cornell University was located in Ithaca, about 4 hours away from Penn State.

We reached Cornell at about 3 in the afternoon (Mon, 14th Aug). Qi Ming met up with his friend, Yi Zheng, and I met up with Yong Sheng and Benjamin. We went for lunner (lunch+dinner), and after that the Cornellians brought us to the famous Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca. Sadly, the discharge was very small at that time (compared to the normal flow), hence the waterfall was not as impressive as it's supposed to be. We had a nice little hike up the hill, and it was good to be close to nature again after the Camp Davis experience in Wyoming.

The next day, we had a tour around the campus. Cornell University has a very nice campus, probably the best I have seen so far. Yong Sheng, Yi Zheng and Benjamin did a good job bringing us around, and that made me wondered how much I knew about my own university (not much, unfortunately). That afternoon, I got the chance to play badminton with Yong Sheng and Benjamin (and it was fun).

We headed back to Michigan on Wednesday (8 hours of driving). Can't really concentrate on writing blog now, with the tvb series Last Breakthrough playing in background (Renjie is watching it, and it seems that will be the only thing he does for the next few days :P )


Group photo in front of Buttermilk Falls


Waterfalls


Nice view of Cornell University


Part of Cornell University as seen from the bell tower


The famous bridge where a Cornell student commited suicide


Cornell University

Penn State University

Last Thursday (10th Aug), I suddenly received a call from a DBA senior - Qi Ming, saying that he found accomodation for me in Penn State University. That meant I could travel with him to Penn State to attend his friend's graduation. Sensing that it was a great opportunity for me to temporarily escape from the boring life in Michigan, I gladly accepted the invitation.

We left AA the very next day (Friday). It took us about 7 hours to drive to Penn State, with all the stops and getting lost. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Shermian, the graduating friend of Qi Ming. We went Chili's for dinner, and to my surprise, I met Michelle, a JPA scholar of my batch who studies in MIT. After dinner, all of us went to the Lion's Den to get some drinks. I had a redbull vodka there.

The graduation the following day was held in a basketball staduim. It was the first graduation that I had ever attend. The protocols made the ceremony predictably dry, but the day was sacred for the hundreds of graduates. Shermian's parents were there, and they treated us lunch after the ceremony. We walked around the campus after that, and our stops included the University creamery, the first and largest in the US. I ordered a Death by Chocolate, which I luckily survived it by throwing a good portion of it away instead of stuffing myself to death.

Sunday was my last full day in Penn State, and I wanted to contact Kenny and meet up with him before leaving the next day. Unfortunately, he didn't have a cellphone. Just as I thought we wouldn't be able to meet up, I bumped into him on the street while we were walking to get some lunch. He's still the same, and Qi Ming quickly found that he's cool just because they shared the same interest: to "zat" me. We had a good time catching up, and he stayed with us until late night that day.

There's one person that I should thank here - Ming (not to be confused with the DBA senior Qi Ming). He was our host, and although he didn't know us before this visit, he certainly treated us well and made sure we had full stomachs all the time. It was certainly a great experience meeting all those nice people (Shermian and friends).



The graduation ceremony


Group photo in front of Old Main


Group photo in front of the alumni center


Penn State University

Back in Ann Arbor 2!

I'm back in Ann Arbor, again. Nothing much happened between my arrival in Ann Arbor back from the summer camp and my recent departure...life was slow and relaxing, and that was exactly what I hope for since the first semester.

My everyday life consists of cooking, some light reading (it's really minimal), my daily doses of Sex and the City, and occasional excursions to music school (still working on Liszt's Un Sospiro and Rach's prelude in G minor). My attempt to learn some excel programming failed miserably, so did my plans to gain some muscle mass (yeah right). But overall, life was good. I got the privilege to temporarily forget about the existence of time and take everything easy. Such hiatus from the studies, I believe, is terribly precious and worth savoring every moment...

I will update more on my recent Penn State and Cornell trip later in the following posts. For the meantime, I've got a date with Carrie Bradshaw if you guys don't mind :)