Caltech, again.
I’ve been back at school for almost 2 weeks now. I’ll just give a snapshot of what I’ve been up to:
Frosh Camp: 3 days, 2 nights at the Marriot at Ventura Beach. We got lucky and it was nice and sunny. Meeting pre-frosh, s’mores, surrey bike rides, beach runs, ultimate football in the sand, dips in the cold ocean, relaxing in the hot hot-tub, and ballroom dance lessons were all included in the package.
This is what Marlyn and I rode along the beach on. So. Much. Fun.
Rotation: 240 prefrosh get to know 8 houses and the people in those houses in 8 days. Rotation is not unlike speed dating in that there are loads of people to meet and very little time to do so.
Paint Party: Fleming’s social team worked hard to make this happen. Challenges included making a dance party with pre-frosh not awkward and most importantly not leaving a massive paint and mud mess in the courtyard and hallways. Basically, the party was two hours of dancing to music while splattering everyone around you with paint and getting showered with water. You can imagine what messy repercussions could ensue, but I am ecstatic to say that we escaped with no charges from housing! Awesome fun + No trouble = Great success.
My First Term Classes
ACM 95a: Introductory Methods of Applied Mathematics - basically complex calculus - think contour integrals.
Bi/Ch 110: Introduction to Biochemistry - what it sounds like.
Bi 202: Neurobiology of Disease - learning the biology behind Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALA, schizophrenia, etc.
E/ME 105: Project Design for the Developing World - working with Indian students on a project that will hopefully help people in rural Kerala.
BEM/Ec 118: Environmental Economics - learning how economics can affect environmental factors and vice versa.
I’m actually super excited about a bunch of my classes this term. ACM 95a and Bi/Ch 110 are requirements for my major (bioengineering), but the rest are courses I really wanted to take. This whole first week has been pretty casual because we haven’t had any sets and are still finishing rotation. Next week will be the real test!
