Rainy Birthday

Today was a very "chill" and easy-going day. I got a good eight hours of sleep last night, then I met up with Natalie, Kevin and Sue (as per usual) in the RPCC. I got a cup of coffee and a muffin since I wasn't very hungry this morning but wanted to make sure I had something in my stomach to keep me awake and alert until lunch.

After breakfast, the three of us began our 10 minute-long trek to class. Like yesterday, we were the first people to arrive to class, but instead of sitting all in the same row, the four of us decided to spread out a bit. We had a lecture about the Old and New Testaments regarding a shift from law and command to love. 

After our lecture, we met for our discussion. During our discussions, I get a bit intimidated since everyone in the group has really intelligent things to say but twice today I had the right answer in my head but was too scared to say anything. I answered a few other questions, but now I know I should just answer a question even if I'm not sure if it's right because there's always a possibility that the answer is right.

The Trillium

Following discussion, we walked to Trillium for lunch. I had Indian food today for the first time and it was quite an experience. The meal included a pork chop with pear chutney, coconut green beans, naan and potatoes. The pork chop was very good, but the pear chutney was a little too flavorful for me so I left it aside. The coconut green beans were very interesting to taste and I liked them, in a weird way. The naan (similar to pita bread or flatbread) was really good, but I also left out the potatoes since the seasoning was a bit strong for my taste. 

When lunch was over, we got rained on quite a bit, then we had the experience of seeing our first guest lecturer. His name is Richard Stumbar and he is a lawyer in Ithaca. He spoke to us about previous cases he's worked on, such as one he had against Cornell for not paying the female coaches enough money. He ended up winning the case. He also told us about a same-sex marriage case he worked on in New York, but did not end up winning, since the judges thought that parents should be raised.

Rain, rain, go away.

Class was over a little after 2:30 and I went back to my dorm to read, since I knew that I had a lot of reading tonight. I got distracted, however, since today is my birthday and relatives were calling me from all over to wish me a happy birthday. I felt a bit homesick today even though I've only been gone for about a week, and talking to everyone on the phone made me realize how much my family. I'm very appreciative of this opportunity, though, and recognize that I need to put my whole head and heart into this program in order to succeed, so my family will just have to praise and support me from afar. 

Me and my cake :)

At around 6:20, I went to the RPCC to meet up with the cohort and Mr. Chan-Law. I knew they had something planned for me today, but I didn't know what it was or when I was going to surprised. I sat down for a little while but then I went to go get food and when I came back everyone was sitting at the table, with a cake and a card in the middle (for me). We all ate the delicious ice cream cake and I couldn't stop saying thank you. I'm extremely grateful for this group of people and I'm glad they could make my birthday special, even though we're far from home :)

After dinner, Katelyn and I decided to meet up to study for a bit. I tried my hardest to finish reading but there was a young man by the name of Elijah that was just too funny and kept cracking jokes. I read a bit but not as much as I should've since he was so distracting. I then decided to return to my room but by then we basically had to go to night check. 

Now I'm in my room, hoping to finish my readings by 12:00. Wish me luck! And also, thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate my birthday today :-)

A closer look at my cake, thank you Mr. Chan-Law!