Monday, June 30, 2014

Siena, Roger Williams, RISD

Waking up to no homework or no assignments that are needed to completed made the day much nicer to wake up to, which helped faciliate the process of getting out of bed earlier. I dressed quickly and went over to RISD to view the rest of the art that I haven't seen. I thought that there wasn't much older art that was featured but it just happened to be that I didn't venture up there! I learned how to appreciate art in many different forms and styles and I really liked how RISD put some sort of emphasis in older interior design as well as porcelain and other items from different civilizations. The art which had a relation to societal matters like I have described in my earlier blog still had the most impact on me. I was so busy exploring the art that I forgot where in the building I was in and fount out that one of the elevators didn't go all the way down to the library! I later had to walk across the building after taking the elevator to the 3rd floor and then I would transfer to the other elevator to go down to the lobby.

Since I got lost and I had to put my phone in my backpack which had to be left at the front desk, I had to run over to Roger Williams National Park by myself! Nevertheless, the jog along the Providence River where Waterfire was hosted yesterday was incredibly pretty, with many different charming landmarks lining the way. I quickly met up with them at the Visitor Center where they were watching a film about Roger Williams and his life. To me, seeing Roger Williams's impact on history and seeing the colony thrive to the spirit of religious tolerance by what he proposed after being banished from Massachusetts inspired me to be more active in the social justice front and to fully advocate it not only during a dedicated time that I set aside time for but rather that in my activities and my daily routine. It was interesting to explain the facts and the progression of many different faiths with Alana and Arnold, especially with the Catholic, Separatists, Puritans, and the Anglican denominations. Roger Williams basically went with the Church of England in training  in his native England but later went with the Puritans after being offered a high position within the faith and later went to Massachusetts Bay Colony. After he wrote about conflicting ideas and recognized the linguistic and cultural rights of Native Americans, he was banished and founded the site of where Providence is today. We later went through the small visitor center and talked about more of the attractions we could've done!

After walking and running a bit up the hill back up to campus, I went into Arnold's room to coordinate the trip over to Siena. We set a time and asked if everyone is okay with taking a bus that we would have to walk towards downtown to board. Everyone consented to the decision and after making sure that what our plan was, we both fell asleep in the room where Arnold's roommate continued to do his routine like nothing had happened.

I went out to Keeney to wait for the group to come out to the dinner and someone was slightly late to meeting us in front of the dorms. We then went with Option B where we boarded the bus at Thayer and Tunnel where we were close to making it on time. We did make it two minutes before 5:30 and it turned out that no one was there. Because we ran at a faster pace than everyone else, the people that we originally saw on the bus walked in after us and exuberant laughter and conversation ensued throughout the night!

I especially loved these group of students and graduates and since I have been through the dinner formalities before, I began to fire away at questions related to admissions, student life, and more. They asked me and were interested in what I had to say and what I was feeling and I appreciate that it was a mutual conversation and it wasn't totally one-sided! We also talked about matters in great detail as well as more general matters from planning how to proceed with the application process on a time frame to experiences in concentrations, where I met a wonderful geology major who opted out of the School of Engineering. I was surprised to hear that some engineering students at an institution that prides itself on its liberal arts are still rather antisocial and immersed only in the activity that they do. I am still not afraid of pursuing what I would like as I believe that Brown would foster that environment of a mutidisciplinary approach as well as incorporating many different experiences and ideas into objectives that a student or others wish to do. I also admire how students tend to be collaborative, yet care about their grades so that there is a healthy balance. The dinner went by really quick over great calamari, gelato and doughboys, as well as a great seafood pasta dish that was in a tasty sauce with mussels, scallops, oysters, and other assorted seafood! Surprisingly when I ordered, my Italian pronunciation wasn't butchered... We then walked all the way back to campus, a great way to burn off the calories!

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