There are a lot of great things about being home. I get to see my family and friends (my brother is graduating from high school in a couple weeks!). Transportation is far more convenient. Frozen custard is once again a staple in my diet. But I'm also Olin-sick. It's hard not to be.
A few weeks ago, as I reached the summit of one of New Zealand's many stunning mountains, I found myself wondering what the other Oliners scattered around the world were up to at that very instant. This Spring semester, the class of 2011 has an incredible 26 students studying away or taking a leave of absence (LOA). My curiosity piqued, I decided to collect stories from these adventurous souls to create a patchwork of vignettes that begins to describe the range of "away" experiences Oliners seek out. So here are some scenes from the lives of Oliners last Wednesday, changing and being changed by the world...
For most of us, the memory of preparing to begin our journeys has already faded, but Stan reminds us of the flurry of emotions to which we can all relate: "Less than 14 hours left in the country, and life couldn't be more normal. Here I am, babysitting my first nephew. As I walk around the house, bouncing Joey up and down, I think of how surreal it feels - to be finally leaving for Japan after 3 months of anxious waiting. I'll finally start experiencing the same (or at least similar) experience that all of my fellow study-awayers have already been experiencing for months. Being in a new country, with its own language and culture, how will I cope? How have my friends been coping? Is coping even the right word? I wonder what my friends are doing right now - both back at Olin (which I left only a short 4 days ago) and everyone abroad..."
By Jessi Murray '10
I'm a senior. We seniors do a lot of things-- we work on SCOPE, we avoid SCOPE, we reminisce about our faraway days as freshmen. Most of all, though, we try to figure out what the heck is going on after graduation. In that way, we've almost reverted back to our high school days. Sending in applications, meeting for interviews, and trying to make big decisions without really knowing what we're doing.
I'm proud to say, though, that I know what I'm doing. Starting this July, I'll be working as a Program Manager for Microsoft in the Windows division.
It certainly could have become an award-winning nature documentary. The setting: Olin College of Engineering (might as well be our natural environment). Springtime. Birds are beginning to chirp. Rain is beginning to fall. Many are flying south (or wherever home may be), but a few remain in this Boston suburb, left with only their instincts and an adult tricycle.
Our days over spring break were generally carefree...until dinnertime. Like most animals (and like a large proportion of these blog posts), as the sun approached the horizon, all thoughts and all efforts turned to food. Just before our dining hall staff left for the week, the simmering undertones of panic began to reach the boiling point. Stockpiles formed, calls for grocery store runs reverberated through the halls (well, there were a bunch of emails sent, anyway), and suddenly, everything on our meal plan looked absolutely mouth-watering.
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