I spent my summer at home: chillin’ with my mom, babysitting, and eating a lot of homemade meals (YUM). Being from Southern California and coming into my first year last year was a very scary experience, especially because I came alone. And by alone I mean COMPLETELY alone. No Mom. No Dad. No siblings. It was just be and my two lovely suitcases. But even though this was one of the scariest things that I ever had to do in my life, I was perfectly okay with taking the first step towards a big chapter in my life. (For the most part)

“Are you gonnah miss your mom?” “No…”

None the less, my first year here at Middlebury was amazing experience, with amazing people, and of course I had an amazing job here at the admissions office. And now, I am getting ready to start my second year here at Middlebury!!! Crazy how time goes by so fast, I feel like I was JUST moving in.

This year I will be living in the Italian house. I’m really excited that I get to live in an actual home and not in the dorms. Not that there is anything wrong with living in the dorms, but living in a home just feels a lot more personal and connected. Part of living in a language house means that we will only be allowed to speak that language, which will be tough but in a good way. Being from a Hispanic household, I always spoke Spanish at home. So I would go to school or be in the outside world and speak English, but then would come home and speak Spanish. I missed having this dynamic play out in my life my first year here, which is why I am very excited to reincorporate that living style this second year. The house is also beautiful and in a very central location on campus, but that was just a bonus. Hopefully, I’ll be more than prepared to use my language skills abroad!

TA DA!

A summer intern’s work is never really finished. That is, not until we help the Dean of Admissions himself with a daunting task.

Greg Buckles is a very stylish person who likes to make sure his office is impeccable in all aspects. He often graces us with presence when descends from his lofty office on the second and the experience is always welcomed.

Yesterday was a fun time getting to help Greg keep his office up to current fashion code. The phone in his office is black but the original cord attaching the phone to the  base was a light shade of brown. So I located a black cord and aided him in installing it. I’m proud to write that he said I was “handier than a pocket on a shirt.”

So yesterday was the big day. All the students here on campus moved into their fall housing assignments. I got to move to Gifford and it is fantasmablastic here!!  Packing everything up over the course of the week was surprisingly simple. Moving it all was more tiring than expected but still an adventure. Thankfully Gifford has an elevator.

My room doesn’t look like a wonderful palace yet, but it will soon. I’ve got plans to install a waterfall and a centrally located geode coffee table. It should look quite lovely.

But really, moving in is such a fun time. you get to make a space your own and figure out everything that works for you. It’s also a nice growing experience since you try to get rid of whatever you can. Moving as little as possible is the optimal goal.

Look at those homemade omelets!!!

The view from Snake Mountain is beautiful!

Sometimes it’s nice to take a break, enjoy the weather, and spend time with friends. The summer is a great time for internships, jobs, and experiences, but it’s also wonderful to relax.

I feel like I am supposed to be the contrite child…

I took the week off of work, enjoyed the weather, and decompressed. In the morning I would volunteer at the Organic Farm, and in the evening I would cook meals with friends. We shopped for groceries (for some reason the cashier wouldn’t let my friend scan me…) and made meals that ranged from sushi to poulet yassa (a Senegalese dish). It was nice to wake up, go for a run, make breakfast, and explore Vermont.

Organic Farm

Over the weekend I had a friend visit and we hiked to the top of Snake Mountain which afforded us a gorgeous view of the valley. We also went to our first concert: Ciderstock! You can read all about on the blog, but it was amazing. During one of the songs two of my friends put me on their shoulders and I got to see the entire crowd.

This is my last week in the office and it has been a wonderful summer. I’ll post my final entry later this week. Have a wonderful day, and I hope that the rest of your summer is as amazing as mine has been.

Last weekend, the Woodchuck Cidery had their second annual music festival, Ciderstock. Four bands performed all day. There was also food, drinks (for those over 21), and lawn games! My friends and I had a great time.

We got up close for New Politics and Cage the Elephant.

I hate being squished. So I enjoyed the concert but by halfway through Cage the Elephant I  had to go because there were way too many people trying to get up front. At the end of the concert there were beautiful fireworks.

Then, in the craziest turn of events I ended up backstage and got to hang out with the guys of Cage the Elephant. 10/10 would recommend. They were very friendly. By the end I was sooooo tired.

Also at some point over last week I touched some sort of plant that I am allergic to. It’s not poison  ivy but I still look diseased & everything itches. (1/10 would NOT recommend.)

I wish I was artistic. I admire those who can draw, paint, sculpt, whatever. I can’t. When my friends and i were in Two Bros a few weeks ago for a birthday, we saw an advertisement for a painting event there in September. I looked it up. It is $40. We decided to instead have our own event.

So yesterday, after work, Lea and I went to Ben Franklin in town and went a little overboard on paint. Then we went on (separate) runs, made dinner, and regrouped at her house. Another friend, Zara, joined us. Two other guys were at the house (hi Ian!). Given the heat, we decided to go swimming in Dunmore before painting.

twinning with my best friend #twin

a family portrait

It turns out, Lea and Zara can actually paint. I still can’t. At least I tried??? This is going to be a new tradition for the school year so maybe I will eventually improve.

Call me crazy, but this morning I woke up at four am to go for a five mile run and watch the Perseids Meteor Shower. I took the TAM (Trail Around Middlebury) loop through the Organic Farm, where I paused to watch the shooting stars. It was amazing to see the bright lights streak across the sky. It was incredibly still, and the only noises came from crickets, frogs, and the occasional bird call.  Mist rose off of the fields and as the sky lightened I ran through the woods and headed to a walkway that overlooks Otter Creek.

I would upload a photo, but it doesn’t capture the moment properly. I would much rather keep the memory in my head than try to capture it in a photo. I suppose that you are going to have to believe me when I say that it was beautiful. Everything. The shooting stars, morning sunrise, the light reflecting off the creek, and the steps of Mead Chapel where I ended my run.

August is always a difficult month for me. What I have been thankful for, however, is the support that continually comes from my friends and community. Middlebury has an incredible community here and I feel loved and supported. I honestly couldn’t have chosen a better way to spend my summer!

The other day, on my run, I had a lot of time to think about my summer. It’s sorta drawing to close, and I have to start emotionally preparing myself for more school (this means I need to open the math textbook I bought to review calculus. ehhhh). In my reflections, I realized that working at Midd in the summer is almost similar to Jterm.

For starters, you’re doing less. Whether it’s one class or working a job, there simply is less homework. (although just like how some Jterm classes can involve a lot of work, some jobs here are very demanding. I’m lucky that the admissions counselors don’t want us to do any work out of hours) This means more time to enjoy the surroundings – skiing in winter and hiking in the summer. Additionally, you get the relaxing time to hang out with friends without worrying about papers or exams. I’ve met so many great people this summer simply because I felt comfortable saying yes to doing insane things since I didn’t have any work to get done.

I almost didn’t work at Middlebury this summer. I almost went back to my job from last year. Who knows how my summer would’ve turned out had I done that, but I am soooooo thankful I decided to try something new. 10/10 would recommend spending a summer here.

One of my favorite television shows of all time is Firefly. I love the dialog, characters, and plot. It’s based in the future and features a mixture of Chinese and English, cowboys, Star Wars, and thrilling adventures! Unfortunately, it only lasted one season.

The short run-time meant that not many people were able to watch and appreciate it. Last night, I decided to have an impromptu movie night with friends. We used the movie theater in Axinn (yes, we have a movie theater!) and brought our own snacks. None of my friends had ever seen the show, and they were really excited about it!

We are going to watch the restof the episodes throughout this coming week. If you have time, I would recommend that you take a break, put your feet up, and watch Firefly.

I know everyone mentions how ~gorgeous~ Vermont is in their posts, but I felt those sentiments pretty strongly yesterday. I went on two different hikes: one in Ripton in the afternoon, and then a classic sunset hike on Snake Mountain at night. Before I visited Middlebury for the first time, I had spent a long weekend in Ripton on the Bread Loaf Campus. Ever since then I have described Bread Loaf as my favorite place on Earth, which rings fairly true to this day. This week, my Chinese professor invited his students who are on campus for the summer to visit his house, so four of us did just that yesterday afternoon. The catch was that we could only speak Chinese, which felt to me a little bit like seeing the world through the eyes of a kid. As the four of us walked around in awe, we began trying to name animals and fruits in the best Chinese we could come up with (that’s a lot of new vocabulary). Lucky for us, Mu Laoshi was prepared, and printed sheets with animals, tree species, bugs, and other hiking vocab in Chinese that we could utilize on our walk. His house was gorgeous, and had a huge flower garden occupied by many hummingbirds, grape vines, and blueberry bushes. His wife is a painter and showed us her art studio in a barn adjacent to the house too. After our brief tour of the place, we went to a cross-country skiing trail head, the trail itself being overgrown with plants and obstructed by felled trees. (It was awesome.) The best part, though, was arriving at an opening in the middle of the woods, where Mu told us there used to be water five years prior. As we continued walking, we stopped every now and again when he would point out the names of wild plants and flowers; his knowledge of them is really impressive. As I climbed a small, grass-covered hill, I realized what I was actually standing on was a beaver dam. We could see where the water had been relocated, and I saw some of the largest beaver dams I had ever seen. While absolutely gorgeous, it was interesting how quiet and devoid of animals the space was. Not a single beaver was spotted. We did, however, meet salamanders, a toad, a blue jay, and giant artist’s fungus. When we got back, we ate blueberries off the bush and drank Chinese tea. Being around so many of my classmates who are in the Chinese Summer Language Schools this year certainly makes me very hopeful and excited for next year, when hopefully I’ll be doing the same!