As We Begin

"It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."

As I write this I am currently on my third day of the New Jersey Scholar's Program, the second academic day. It remains yet to be seen exactly what our environment will become, as we get deeper into topics and our work, and spend more time together. It's hard to predict standing at the 72nd hour, what life will be like when as much has passed, or three times, and more. What can be sure is that journey will be interesting, and the company excellent.
As far as our lectures go, we've had one on pre-colonial/ancient african history and politics, which soon evolved into a discussion of what is and is not considered developed, how correct that assumption is, why the public understanding of African peoples is what is, and how that was used (or abused) for political convenience throughout history. This morning we had a lecture from our environmentalist teacher, who spoke a great deal about soil.
Seminars have been an interesting task- our first was a library orientation which lasted only thirty minutes of the alotted our and a half, which gave us some free time. Our second was with our literature professor, who outlined the somewhat demanding workload ahead and lead us through pre-colonial religion.
When I say "somewhat demanding", I mean a 200+ page book in the span of 2-3 days.
In talking with the Art & Architecture and Environmental professors we found out that we, uhh, don't have all our books yet. So the workload may become greater... I tingle with excitement.
First two days were cool, weather was nice. Today is hot, and it sucks. I'm glad I keep the light off in my room when I leave because every extra source of coolness matters at this point.
I found a nice place in the village that sells soda and actually carries the likes of Monster, Vault, and Jolt, for when the workload makes me need some Popeye-like rejuvenation. A buddy showed me the coffee machine in the cafeteria, which would be all I need if not for the fact that the cafeteria has very strict hours (to the point of a giant cage-like gate at the main entrance to prevent the oppressive swarm of tiny little sportsfans.)

Don't trust seafood from any school, no matter how much the students pay to go there.

On another note, the campus is beautiful. When I get homesick, taking a walk around the campus is my first line of defense against malaise. Its quite obvious which buildings preceded which, and you can see an almost wave-like pattern in the architecture and arrangement. The local animals (read: squirrels) have become so accustomed to humans, that they do not become skittish or aware of your presence until about four or five feet. More than that, the famous black squirrels, native to Princeton, can also be found here. I've seen one or two, and managed to catch some shots.