| | Hey everyone! I can't believe that it's already my junior year...I really don't know where my time at Smith has gone! I had a great summer doing research on meteorites at NASA's Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston and now I'm back at Smith, ready to start a new year! Things have been pretty busy so far. The classes I'm taking this semester seem to be off to a good start. A class that I've found to be really fun is my geophysics class, partly because there are only five students in it! We all work together researching groundwater pollution near the Northampton Landfill and we get to go out to this local farm, run tests, and say hello to the many horses whose corrals happen to be over our survey sites (probably one of my favorite parts about the lab!) In December, we'll present a poster at "Collaborations" (a conference for Smith students and professors). Other classes I'm taking are Paleontology, Discrete Math, and a Spanish class called "Transatlantic Search for Identity".
Non-class related Smith activities have included Mountain Day last week!!!! We were all shocked that it was on a Friday (something that I've been told is "illegal" since my first year). Nevertheless, it was great to hear the bells ringing in the morning that day and we got a three day weekend! My friends and I went apple picking (a beloved Smith tradition) and went to dinner at a new restaurant in Northampton. Speaking of Smith traditions, Junior year is a little strange in general because a good chunk of our class is off somewhere studying abroad. It is fun reading about their adventures via email and sharing news of Smith with them. Of course, there are also the occasional facebook picture viewing parties (one of my friends is in Greece and another is in London: their pictures are SO cool!) I must say, it makes me excited to study abroad next year in Santiago, Chile!
Park, my home here on campus, is as fun as ever. Next weekend we're having a Great Gatsby party complete with 1920's clothes, food, music, and games. It will be real cute. We're also hoping to have a What Not To Wear themed Friday afternoon tea (one of Smith's many traditions). I'll definitely have to post pictures soon! We also have a crazy number of first years in the house this year (27!) but they seem to be enjoying themselves and we have great house community this year!
Anyways, I hope things are well for all you future Smithies out there! And to any seniors: good luck on Early Decision Applications! (Don't stress too much!)
Smithie love, Kristen |
