Talent You Say?

It's the end of the week, it's Friday! If this were a regular school week, I'd be super excited since it's the weekend and I'd be free to to almost whatever, but alas, it's already summer.  I do have school, but given the amount of things I could do and freedom I felt this week with only having one class, the weekend feels like an extension for my nap time and my activity time.

Class was another lab today, another electrophoresis one to be exact.  There's no need to talk about that again I assume, except for the fact that my procedure today went flawlessly.  After class I went with the DNA cohort and Benji for some Korean food on Thayer at a restaurant with a familiar name, Soban.  There is a Soban back in Pinole which happens to be one of my favorite places to eat, but it apparently has a different menu than the one here in Providence.  The one in Pinole sells odd things such as "sushirritos" and "rice burgers" while the one here sells regular Korean dishes.  Nonetheless, I wanted to try this Soban in Providence.  Jing and I shared a stone pot golgi (beef) bibambop complimented with sides of kimchi, soybeans, etc.  The dish was extremely delicious.  I've had bibambop back at home a few times, but I can say for sure that the bibambop here could easily be the best I've ever tasted.

He sure does love his architecture.
"I'M HUGGING HISTORY"

After the meal, I split with the rest of the group to take a quick nap as I foolishly stayed up late the night before and was quite tired.  The group was going to an activity and was coaxing me to go, but I told them I would meet up with them after that activity if they wanted.  Thus, my slumber ensued when I got a call from Kevin about an hour and a half later.  He invited me to go to the RISD museum with him, only a few blocks down from our dorms.  Of course, I accepted.  I initially thought he was inviting me to go to the practice rooms, but apparently not.  It was fine with it, though.  There are still plenty of days for me to go check out the music rooms.  We had a nice walk, admiring the architecture of the area and bonding over numerous topics.  It was a while since I last talked to Kevin, so it was definitely refreshing and nice.

Music Stand by Wharton Esherick

The museum greeted us with free entry as we are Brown students and the first galleries were filled with contemporary art.  Although I can admire the art, contemporary art definitely does confuse me.  To the artists their pieces must look like emotions and numerous images on their canvas, but all I see sometimes are a few shapes and geometry.  The next exhibit we visited was a 20th century art exhibit.  Many of the pieces in this room intrigued me and caught my eye, including a music stand, an exclamation point, and a TV with propaganda scrolling through a blue background about how media and business controls our lives. Unfortunately, the museum was closing by the time we were done with the 20th century area, so I caught a glimpse of the graphic design exhibit before leaving with Kevin.

Kevin immersed in the propaganda by Richard Serra.

I came back to my dorm after exploring the borders of the campus a bit more with Kevin and realized that it was dinner time.  I called up Jing and Arnold and we headed over to the V Dub since the Rattie is closed on weekends.  We had a quick dinner and moved one building over to watch the talent show that was advertised at the beginning of the week.  The show was mostly just people with guitars or ukuleles singing covers or original songs or people doing solo dance pieces.  Humor was added with a parody judge section including Simon Cowell and Selena Gomez as well as a small dance session by one of the MCs.  After the talent show ended, everyone went back to their dorms for a nice sleep.

My day today was filled with adventure and fun for sure, but I can't help but to think of how much talent there is in the world.  In the art museum, talent was exerted from everywhere and was literally seeping from the cracks in the floor.  The talent show was filled with lovely individuals who were certainly experts in their performance fields.  It helped me realize that everyone is at this summer program because we're all intelligent. This goes back to a quote from Megan at MIT: "We know you're smart, what else?"  Back at home I'm seen as a smart student and the top of the class, but here I'm just another face in the crowd.  Everyone at home knows my story and interests, but no one here does.  The only way to change that is to reach out.  I'm meeting new people every day, and I'm definitely looking forward to talking with the colorful individuals in my near future.

Tomorrow is the Boston trip.  I unfortunately decided to sign up too late, so now I'm on the wait list. Everyone tells me that I still have a good chance of going on the trip and is encouraging me to check early in the morning, so I guess I'm doing that tomorrow.  If I don't get to go on the trip, I won't brood over it too badly.  I'll at least get the chance to go back to sleep, sleep in, then call up some people back on the West coast to see how they're doing.  Hopefully waking up early tomorrow won't be in vain, as I want to go to Boston with everyone else.  For now I guess I should check in with my RA and get some rest. Until next time.