CC Student Web Journals - Colorado College

Somhrita'S JOURNAL

April 2007

Before spring break I found myself in a Chemistry 108 class. I was surprised by the number of people from my FYE who were also taking the class. It was a big jump from our Chemistry 107 knowledge, but I think all of us in class knew that. Professor Brasuel did as many demonstrations as possible to keep us interested in the subject matter. On the second-to-last day of class, he made us ice cream.

After a block of chemistry, I was very ready for a break. I went to San Francisco with two friends, one of whom lived there. Once again, it was very different from Colorado Springs. It was a bigger city, with big tourist attractions. The one thing I liked most was being able to see the ocean and eat seafood. Considering that my diet back home had fish almost every day… I had really been missing that. We often went for strolls in the UC-Berkeley area and I realized how huge the college was. It had about 30,000 students and we could definitely spot a few hundreds milling in and out of the gates every time we passed. We also went on the Alcatraz tour where I learnt how no one ever had escaped the prison. I was impressed by their ingeniously creative efforts to reach the city. We also went to other famous tourist spots like Pier 39 and Fisherman’s wharf. I also discovered an Indian grocery store and bought myself a substantial amount of treats that I am still enjoying.

We saw “300,” “Last King of Scotland,” “The Queen,” and “The Namesake” at the theaters as they had already released in California. “The Namesake” reminded me of home a lot; it was shot in Kolkata, India, and I could recognize every street they went to. The movie almost instantly gave me a bout of homesickness and the moment it finished, coincidentally, my mother called. The last night before I left for my next stop, I cooked an Indian meal for the family. It was the least I could do to thank them for letting me stay.

My next spring break stop was Boulder, Colo. We did not have very much planned for this second half except getting some well-deserved rest. We had as many home-cooked meals as possible, including my Indian dinner. We rented movies and browsed malls. Since the friend I was staying with, Meghan, had high school friends who went to CU Boulder, we often went to visit them. They too had a really large campus that overwhelmed most of us. Watching Meghan with her high school friends reminded me of the friends I had left back home, whom I get to talk to online every now and then to give them updates on my life.

Overall, spring break was very eventful and very relaxing at the same time. I liked getting away from CC and staying with friends’ families who are so welcoming of you. I guess it just feels good to not be in a dorm room every now and then. It also feels good to hang out with your college friends outside college; you often discover things about them you never would have otherwise. We drove back to CC with Meghan’s father ready to take on the last two blocks of this semester. I am still really excited about going home in about a month’s time. And I am also sure by the end of the three months of summer back home; I will be more than ready to come back to CC.