the calm before the storm

Fun times in Providence, Newport and Boston

It's been about a week since arriving in New England and what an adventure it has been already!

Mom, Dad and I had a fun time exploring Providence and the nearby town, Newport, which has some incredible historic mansions. But most exciting of all, while we were eating lunch, guess who was also there? It was none other than the U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, Sheldon Whitehouse! I couldn't believe it and was completely starstruck! Since he often works closely with Senator Maria Cantwell on environmental legislative issues, I had watched him multiple times on C-SPAN 2 delivering speeches on the Senate floor. Nothing compares to seeing him in real life, though! Wow, what a great way to start out this trip.

 

Saturday was an opportunity to be the ultimate tourists in Boston with my cousin Connor, who's originally from Chicago but living in the area currently. I had to beg my dad not to go on the Duck Tour though we did have lunch at the bar that the sitcom Cheers is based on. Most important, though, is that we clocked in over 15,000 steps! 

On Sunday we visited Providence Presbyterian Church, which is where I'm considering attending during my time at Brown. I met a lot of nice people and found some fun connections. One woman went to Regent College, which is where my pastor in Seattle went! She is also on staff with Intervarsity. 

Later I showed my parents around Brown's campus, though I can't say I know it very well. I'm living within walking distance of the Watson Institute, where a majority of my classes will be. I'm living on the second floor of a house with a couple of graduate students. Overall it's a really nice setup! 

Stray observations from orientation

This entire week is dedicated to Master of Public Affairs student orientation before we dive into economics and statistics next week. The first two days have been jam packed--I've left the house at 8:00am and gotten back around 8:00pm. Here are some of my first impressions:

• I find it both amusing and charming to be surrounded by so many eggheads. Everywhere I look, another egghead. I am among my people!!
• Brown is very different from the University of Washington. I don't know what else to say other than I am receiving a cultural education in New England old money. It's fascinating.
• The professors here are honestly very inspiring to hear from and confirm that I'm in the right place. Without question they possess extraordinary intellect but what has impressed me most has been their clear sense of passion for effecting positive change.

I sense there will be both tremendous opportunity as well as challenge as I go through this next year. I am genuinely looking forward to learning all that I can and am enjoying this new environment.

Thanks for reading! Bye!