Random thoughts

• Are non-Dartmouth people as aware of the current crisis in Haiti following the earthquake? I think perhaps people here are more acutely aware because of President Kim's work in Haiti with Partners In Health. I feel for the Haitians and I'm praying for them.

• I like walking through the engineering school (which I have to do to get to main campus from my residence hall) and seeing frisbee people I know. They're all so friendly and hardworking. Note to future engineers: Thayer School of Engineering is a very cool building that I plan to explore with a floormate soon, but carved in several places is, "To prepare the most capable and faithful for the most responsible positions and the most difficult service." No pressure or anything.

• I really want to go on this trip I heard about recently. It's 10 days after the end of Spring Term. About 15 students go to Eastern Europe and visit concentration camps and historical sites and then restore a Jewish cemetery that has fallen into disrepair after being disassembled or misused by the Nazis during WWII. It sounds so powerful. I can't even express how much I want to go. Apparently about 60 people apply to go every year though, so it's a competitive application pool. Here's the website for Project Preservation!

• My Little Sister (through Big Brother Big Sister) came over today and we painted nails and made popcorn and played Go Fish. And ran around A LOT. As in up and down this five-story building many times. She's asthmatic though so we had to stop when she started wheezing a little bit. Next time she's going to bring her inhaler with her. We had a lot of fun though, and every time I see her she comes out of her shell a little more. Today she told me that her dad is in jail right now (I think this is a recent development), which makes me realize even more the disparities between the life of privilege most of us at Dartmouth are living and the lives of people in the surrounding communities. It makes all the mentoring programs (and there are a lot - BBBS, DREAM, etc.) at Dartmouth seem even more important.

• I'm going to lunch with my dean next week. Doesn't that seem cool? I think it's amazing that he goes to lunch with students. I have questions about study abroad and my D-Plan (aka my plan for when I'm going to be on-campus and such for the next three and a half years) so his invitation came at just the right time.

• My room is cold. I thought the heating was fixed but I think just the common room heating is working properly right now.
  

Wow I have a lot of random thoughts. I'm sure I'll have more to share soon. I have a lot of work to do but I've been procrastinating. I hate chemistry.