Freshman Year Abroad – Part I

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After three baseball games in three days, we're on hiatus in New York.  (More about my new appreciation for baseball in a future post.)  The heat wave is over and the weather has been deliciously balmy, with only brief periods of mugginess and a few scattered thunderstorms (one of which positioned itself directly above Yankee Stadium during our game, causing a ninety-minute rain delay). 

Ah, June in New York – alfresco dining, long walks downtown, performances in the park.  We considered all the possibilities, then planned the ideal activity for our first baseball-free vacation day: An excursion to Philadelphia.

We had already toured the New York schools, and a visit to the east coast would be incomplete without yet another college tour.  So we cheerfully awoke at 6:30 AM (3:30 PDT), caught the 8:10 AM train and set off to check out Penn.

Our rail journey was relatively relaxing until our engine died somewhere near Trenton. We ended up arriving at the information session with just moments to spare. 

The room was packed and we had to split up.  I grabbed the last remaining seat – in the front row.  It took a few moments before I realized I was sitting in the middle of a group of 44 students from….drum roll: the Minjok Leadership Academy in Korea.

TO BE CONTINUED

(To fully appreciate this bizarre coincidence, please take a look at my 4/28 post before reading Part II.)

Georgia on their Minds

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The boys had more to say about Emory than I expected to them to report:

- The university was founded by the Coca Cola Company (and there now is a museum honoring the beverage in downtown Atlanta).

 - CJ said I would like it (except maybe the Coca Cola part) because it's very diverse.

- You cannot tell you are in the south when on campus.

- The tour guide, a male, wore grey Pumas (I must disclose that I asked Mr. NP to take notice of footwear because I was curious about whether Uggs remained ubiquitous on campuses in the heat of the summer)  

And…most importantly:

- There are nine a cappella groups.

In truth, my family's impressions of Emory were overshadowed by the Braves game, (which included a not-very-PC tomahawk chop), 

And what male bonding trip would be compete without a a hotel evacuation - a false alarm, but it turns out the inn, now called the Ellis, had once been the site of the worst hotel fire in Atlanta's history. 

Yes, CJ managed to visit a college without me, and it was a bit like a tree falling in the forest.  Perhaps it is time for me to face the music – Not only is it unlikely that I will ever get all the details about the Emory information session, but sadly, I am destined to learn even less about CJ's college years.

Update: Mr. NP just read this and suddenly remembered another noteworthy fact about Emory – Salman Rushdie is on the faculty.  How cool is that? (And luckily for neurotic parents everywhere, the fatwa has been lifted.)

Report from the Field

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The males of the family have embarked on the first leg of our baseball journey without me. They sound very happy and have reported that Atlanta is a cool town.  Their peak experiences so far:

-  Took the subway from the airport to their hotel

-  Found a good steakhouse

-  Hotel room has great flatscreen t.v. (but they said I would not like the hotel because their view is of a brick wall)

It is hitting me that, for me, this will not be one of those life-altering vacations.

No Room on the Tour

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Ever since we decided to go on our baseball trip, we have spent every free moment on ebay, Craigslist and Stubhub, trying to procure tickets for sold-out games.  In most places, we've had decent luck, as long as we were willing to spend an arm and a leg. 

But the hardest ticket to get was to the Emory Tour & Information Session.  To be honest, Emory was not really on CJ's radar until their marketing people started bombarding him with brochures describing all sorts of cool opportunities.  Because he hadn't seen a school of that size, and because we were going to be in Atlanta anyway, we decided to sign up for a campus visit.

I called last Wednesday, and a lovely Southern receptionist told me that there were already 60 students signed up, and she could put us on a waitlist. 

(Who knew Emory was so hot?  I guess we should have realized – Whenever I mention Emory to someone who has been through the process, the response is always "Emory's a good school".) 

I am thrilled to report that today, after a week of sleepless nights and nail biting, we got the news that CJ was accepted off the waitlist and offered a spot on the tour!  

But our joy and relief was short-lived: I just found out that a work commitment will prevent me from traveling with the family on the first two legs of the trip, to Atlanta and Chicago.  Now I will meet the boys in New York, and miss the Braves, the Cubs – and worst of all, the sold-out Emory visit.  The idea of Mr. NP and the boys touring a college without me is unfathomable.  I just know that when I ask them how it went, they will say "Good," and leave me with nothing to blog about.

Proud Parents

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We are honored to report that CJ got a perfect score on his Traffic School final exam.

This means he can drive to his job – not an internship designed to boost his resumé, but a regular paying job.  He is incredibly happy there, even though it means spending hours in traffic and giving up part of his summer weekends.  Now that he's finally earning a real paycheck, the furthest thing from his mind are essays, applications, senior course schedule and more SAT IIs. 

Just looked at the calendar and there are only eleven more weeks until school starts!  Before we know it, summer will be over and CJ will have to get everything completed overnight.  What nerve he has choosing to spend his vacation living in the moment rather than planning his future - Luckily he has at least one neurotic parent to worry about everything that he's not getting done.