09.25.2010

In North Quad, about a dozen of Chinese people were watching the movie “Wanted”. Long have I heard about it, and I actually have seen the beginning, yet I do not really like the bloody scene. Still, it is hard to deny the special effect and the imaginary skills are fairly impressive. At the end, the main character is still wondering who he is - it seems like I am dealing with a lot of identity definition recently. I do it in reading, in class, in writing, in personal experience, and now in movies. All self-defining themes, just in different perspectives. If we really look into it, we will discover a lot of things are intrinsically similar: they function in the same way, and for a lot of time, almost serve an identical purpose.

My friends prepared a lot of food. It seemed like a feast: black grapes, watermelon, soda, moon cakes, and peaches. It was something new to me, as I never did this kind of preparation for “party” (if you can call that) before. Back home, we usually went out hiking for hours. But yes, I was impressed how good people here can enjoy themselves.

On the way back, I stopped at the gym. I ended up running on a machine for 30 minutes. When running, time seemed to pass annoyingly slow. Thus it’s a good idea to do some thinking while running, which would guarantee zero complaint about how insufficient our time is. Running on a machine is definitely different from running on the field. Running outside, even just on a concrete road, makes you feel the earth, the environment, and the connection you are bestowed with the great nature. You will feel the breeze soft as silk, the firmness of the ground upon which everything grows, and the sky, always there motionless, but will time after time strike your heart. In the end, we came from the earth, and we are going back to it -- which was same as millions of years ago, when humans were tramping over the wide grassland, dabbling across rivers, and hiking over mountains. Today people dream of that, but seldom move their feet to do it.

Using machine is not a bad idea. Actually I wonder if it’s more efficient than “natural running”. With the numbers showing our heart rate, the time passed and the running speed, we certainly have a good way to pace ourselves. Sometimes these numbers encourage me to push a little harder and over my limit. If I originally decided just to run for 20 min, when I crossed that line, there will be a temptation to go for 30 min, and then more. It’s not a bad thing, but sometimes I worry it can be bad for my body to go too far.

When walking back, I decided to take a little detour across the grass field in front of Alice Lloyd, which is called Palmer Field. There were four people playing Frisbee. No race, no competition, just throwing it from one to another. Why people would call college “the best years of life”, I could see some points now. Not very far away, there lied a person (looking at the stars?). Walking near, I saw there were actually two figures. A guy and a girl, talking, lying with back toward the sky. Lovers? I really hope my passing wouldn’t disturb their peace. Far away up on the hill there were some figures chatting and laughing, creating a blurred vision imagine from here, a perfect scene to watch for developing relationships. Never in a relationship before, I heard and saw a lot about it, and I dare to say it is one of the best things in the world. Benjamin should also have said: “God created us and love is the prove that He loves us.”

HMCC and Meijer

Just upon the day I arrived on campus, I was invited to an International Game Night hold by HMCC, a local Christian church. They call it international for a good reason. People came from Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Ireland, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Australia, Greece, Spain, and some other countries I can’t think of names. They are from all years of college, including a good number of graduate students. Later at 10:00 pm, students running that events arranged a trip to Meijer which is about 10 miles away, by organizing students with a car to provide rides. Meijer is open 24 hours, and that’s why they make good money from our college students. It felt funny that all people walking in that huge supermarket were from the Game Night and I knew the majority of them. The shopping was exceptionally helpful for those who just came to the campus, for they were accompanied by older students, who provide suggestions about what to buy for dorms.

Later I participated in some other HMCC events. One that shocked me was a presentation. I was late for it, but I heard the narration of the speaker about his experience in different countries. There was a band playing background music. Later, we all stood up and sing a song for God. People were singing loudly, proudly and extending their arms in the air. That message was the strongest one I ever received from a religion. That night we had another Meijer invasion. 

But it turned out Meijer was itself a huge party that night. People were giving free hotdogs and soda outside. Inside, the building was crowded with college students, and only college students. While trying to make my way through aisles, I spotted only one woman who might be older than 30. Meijer was giving dozens of kinds of free stuff, such as free posters, free writing white board, free pens, etc. People could came out loaded for free. Near the check-out area, there was a stage with a host and three students on it. The host was asking questions such as “Who is the president of University of Michigan?” and “What is the oldest sport in Canada?” There are electronic point counters showing how many points each competitor received. Understandably, when the competitor hesitated on a simple question, people off stage grew really, really excited. That was our Meijer at midnight. Our driver, a formal UM student, now working as a high school social science teacher, did not forget to grab several free hotdogs for breakfast.

Alice Lloyd Hall

Welcome to University of Michigan!

People have been asking me about my college life. Actually there is so much to say that I don’t know where to begin. Let’s just start, and see how my words flow.

Hill Neighborhood, Alice Lloyd @ left side, MoJo @ right.

I live in Alice Lloyd Hall for my freshman year, thanks to the LHSP. LHSP stands for Lloyd Hall Scholars Program. This is a learning community (in a learning community, all students live together, and participate in various events and courses offered by the learning community) with a focus on arts, reading, and writing. That probably explains why no matter how late I come back to my dorm, there is always someone playing piano in the Barner Lounge. Sometimes not very melodious. Sometimes the lounge even gets a singer.

Board @ 4th floor Hinsdale House, Alice Lloyd

But Alice Lloyd is not all about LHSP. There is also another program residing here, called HSSP, standing for Health Science Scholars Program. Another probably 100 students not affiliated with any learning community also live in Alice Lloyd. Apparently HSSP is more about the science of human health. In one of the Ice Cream Social of Alice Lloyd, a boy told me when he started his freshman year in HSSP, his professor showed the students a disgusting dead body. “In this way, some people might be scared away and be relieved from further disturbing stuff they might encounter in HSSP.” He said. Maybe they have the same “pre-program scaring” going on this year.

Alice Lloyd is part of Hill Neighborhood, located at the northeast corner of Central Campus. Right next to us is MoJo, another dorm building. Just renovated, MoJo is widely acclaimed for its legendary dining hall, which many believe to be the best dining hall in UM. The view in the dining hall is stunning. As for food, I actually have trouble for eating too much almost every time I dine there. They always have pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, grilled meat, spaghetti, a lot of vegetables and fruits, all kinds of drink and desert (including 5 kinds of ice cream plus sprinkles @_@). More “advanced” food, such as Asian or Mexican food, they change everyday. Why college is notoriously expensive? Here is one reason.

MoJo Dining Hall