The main event of the day, as you might have guessed from the title, was touring Princeton. However, we had to get there first. We walked several blocks to the regional train station, where we purchased tickets and had breakfast. It was much hotter today, but a bit less humid. After waiting a while for the train, we took it, then transfered to another train, which brought us to within a few miles of Princeton. From here we had to take the "dinky", yet another train, to the campus. Unfortunately, we had to either wait an hour for the dinky or take a taxi that would cost $30 for a 5 minute trip. We decided to wait.
During the wait, we went into a corner store for water and a snack. We got into conversation with the cashier, who was just a year or two older than us. In her school, they have a block schedule, but a different one than I have at El Cerrito High. At El Cerrito High, we have either 3 or 4 classes each semester, and each class is twice as long. At the cashier's school, they have 6 classes per day, and as the week progresses the schedule for each day changes. Personally, I really like the block scheduling at El Cerrito High, as it allows you to really focus on individual subjects. After this conversation, the dinky finally arrived. Eventually, we reached campus.
During the wait, we went into a corner store for water and a snack. We got into conversation with the cashier, who was just a year or two older than us. In her school, they have a block schedule, but a different one than I have at El Cerrito High. At El Cerrito High, we have either 3 or 4 classes each semester, and each class is twice as long. At the cashier's school, they have 6 classes per day, and as the week progresses the schedule for each day changes. Personally, I really like the block scheduling at El Cerrito High, as it allows you to really focus on individual subjects. After this conversation, the dinky finally arrived. Eventually, we reached campus.
The campus was stunning. It looked like Hogwarts. There were turrets and crenellations liberally splattered across the buildings, separated by shaded grass lawns. The place looked like it could have been home to wizards and studiers of ancient lore. While the Penn campus was fairly nice, I simply loved the architecture at Princeton. If I was judging schools on their campuses alone, Princeton would certainly be my top choice.
We managed to join the tail end of a tour. The man giving the tour had just finished his freshman year there. In a further similarity to Hogwarts, freshmen are randomly (no hat) sorted into one of six houses. Each house has its own dining hall, common room, and other areas.
Princeton also has a fantastic library - about 12 million volumes, twice that of Penn.
Our guide also told us about various campus traditions, such as singing under arches for the great acoustics. Another tradition is marching all the freshmen in through one gate, then at the end of senior year marching them back out, to close their experiences at Princeton.
Princeton also has a fantastic library - about 12 million volumes, twice that of Penn.
Our guide also told us about various campus traditions, such as singing under arches for the great acoustics. Another tradition is marching all the freshmen in through one gate, then at the end of senior year marching them back out, to close their experiences at Princeton.
The guide also told us about how much time and money is devoted to students. Teachers enjoy providing office hours. There are many opportunities for tutoring. When I asked about the computer science programs at Princeton, the guide said that there are people willing to help you at all hours. Princeton is also willing to pay to have you study abroad. They also provide on campus housing. 99% of students live on campus, and there are various dining clubs one can join. There is a student to faculty ratio of 6:1. Our tour guide says that this focus on undergraduates is one of the main reasons he chose Princeton.
After the tour, we decided to look inside some of the other buildings. First we went into Frist Hall, room 302. This is where Einstein used to lecture. It was preserved in its original condition. I loved the sense of connection to the past that being in the same room where Einstein taught. We also looked inside the cathedral. The architecture was, as always, beautiful. Stained glass and an incredibly high ceiling dominated.
We then left the Princeton campus. We had some incredible ice cream - I had a cone with a delicious blueberry and dark chocolate. After waiting a bit longer, the dinky arrived to take us back to the larger lines. We waited there some more, took the train to Trenton, waited even more, then finally arrived back in Philadelphia. All told, it was an exhilarating but exhausting day, so we decided to have dinner at a Chinese restaurant based in the bottom of the hotel. I had pad thai; it was quite good. It was still on the large side. I have noticed two trends with restaurants on the East Coast: there are few vegetarian options and the serving sizes are gigantic.
I have to winder how many years will have to pass before young people stop comparing every old camps to Hogwarts. It’s not that this is a bad thing but it truly shows the impact a series of movies has on our youth.
ReplyDeleteAt least I’m not seeing any comparisons to vampires or zombies.
Sorry to hear that rabbit food isn’t as popular in the places you’re going. I know that with California being such a New Age haven we probably have a larger percentage of our populace that prefers grass clippings but it still surprises me that you’re having such difficulties. Of course, last night’s dinner was at a steak house so you wouldn’t expect to see a lot of veggie items on the menu. After having read Mike’s blog, though, I think he would have liked a few veggies on his plate--at least a baked potato.