I Went Skiing Today... Down a Mountain of Homework

The school website stays true to its roots in claiming that Maumee Valley has one of the most rigorous curricula in the area. The work is not hard but it quickly piles up. A teacher assigned me to read two acts of Macbeth, which is a third of the book. I have to read AP prep books for subjects I have no clue about. I have solve AP word problems for I class I have no knowledge about. So you can say everything is going smoothly.

Anyway, it was my first full day of class today. I take 6 classes and a free period: Honors Pre-Calculus(which seems easier my previous pre-calc class), AP Statistics, AP Literature, International Relations ( A modern world history class tied in with politics), English III, and AP Biology (which doesn't seem as convoluted as I thought it would be). All over the halls and seething through the classrooms, is a miasma of stress and anxiety. With AP exams commencing this week and the overall stringent course load of the school, students are really stressing. It's so noticeable. The best will survive, and perhaps, beat the system in a Social Darwinism kind of way.

I know where everything is. With the environment as friendly as it is, its so easy to feel at home. Today I felt like every other student, who had been there for the whole year instead of starting his/her's first day.

I've only been here for about 36 hours and the Dayal House already feels like home. I joke around with my roommate and the other inhabitants like I've known them for months already. I can already tell I am going to miss them when I leave.

The real star player of today was my student aide, Benjamin Wang. Since last evening, he has shown me the ropes. He speaks very good English, but I don't see him all day because he still has to take ESL classes. He bet me that he could beat me in a 200 meter race. Now, I am $5 richer.