Welp, here we are again to talk about my week at Furman. I have one complaint: THE WEEKS GO BY TOO FAST! I feel like there is always so much going on, but so little time seems to exist. Each week is just as, if not more, incredible than the last and I sometimes find it hard to soak it all in. But this week, I made time to slow down and soak in some new and unique moments.
On monday night, I hurried from swimming to the P-den (Gotta have that chicken sandwich and chocolate milk... I exercised twice that day, no worries) and then to my first Forum for the Mere Christianity Forum. It was so much fun. It was a small group of students that met in a very pretty room in Furman Hall. A new professor in the Religion Department came and spoke to us for about 20 minutes before people began posing questions that really delve into the religion. Now, whether you are religious or not, it is so much fun to watch people discuss religion and philosophy as they really question each aspect of what they are being taught. The upperclassmen amazed me with the magnitude and complexity of their questions. Definitely a great night.
However, after the Forum, I ended up staying over and talking with a new friend of mine, Carrie. We had never really had much time to converse before, but we talked for like an hour about all sorts of things. She told me about her research that she is currently doing in Atlanta. We discussed politics and public health/services. We touched on urbanization and homelessness. We also got to know each other a little bit better. When you find yourself in a routine of class, homework, and extracurriculars, having conversations like this become some of the most refreshing things for 2 reasons:
1) Because you find someone so incredibly different but are able to hold such indepth discussions and learn from each other.
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| The Swamp Rabbit is beautiful... Pretend I stopped my bike before taking this picture. |
2) It validates that Furman is helping to develop me into a person who can excel in their field, even before graduation.
Another "Deep-Breath" relaxing moment came today when I realized that I had nothing to do between my Philosophy class and my chemistry lab. I decided to hop on my bike and head down the Swamp Rabbit Trail for a little while. Let me tell you, few things are more relaxing than feeling the crisp air as you ride down a nature trail with the leaves changing colors, especially when you are in the beautiful region that Greenville is located in. After 4.5 miles, I arrived at the Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery. I went inside and perused the selection of fresh and local food. I eventually decided to buy some sweet potato tortilla chips and then some banana bread to surprise my roommate. After making my purchase, I decided that I had so much time to kill.
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| The spinach is coming along nice |
I ended up spending a few minutes reading a book for my seminar and then talked with some people that were on the benches. Then I had the realization that the garden I worked on during my POP trip was 50 yards away. I made the trek over there, making sure to avoid the fire ant mounds because the current score is Fire Ants-5 Sam-0. As I approached the garden, I saw the beginnings of the spinach that we planted coming out of the ground. Although all I ever really did was plant seeds, it was cool seeing the plants develop. Eventually, I realized I needed to get back to campus, so I hopped on my bike and rode back. All in all, it has been a pretty relaxing day.
When I returned, I tried to surprise my roommate for my made up Roommate Appreciation Day, but he was in our dorm when we got back, so I did my best to put it in a place where he would find it, without me actually having to hand it to him. He says it is really tasty, so I would definitely recommend getting it.
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| I am like a mixture of Picasso and finger paints |
I feel like I have two more funny stories to talk about. First, my friend, Caroline, asked me to draw a portrait of her. Since I'm taking an art class, I went in a little too confident for what I produced. I hope you enjoy the... abstract(?) portrait.
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| Dr. K is the bomb dot com |
Also, we have weekly presentations in my Chemistry Class. This past week, some girls were showing us how you could light a dollar bill on fire by saturating it in alcohol because the product of a combusted hydrocarbon is carbon dioxide and water. The water prevents the bill from actually burning. However, since the bill was a little super saturated (meaning it could still drip), a little droplet of flaming alcohol fell into a bowl of alcohol at the front of the lecture hall. We were not anticipating the large flame, so we did not have a cover to put out the flame. Somehow, we decided our only option was to flip the bowl over to suffocate the fire that way; however, some alcohol got on a chair and the table... and the fire got bigger, yet again. Then, Dr. Kuklinski, man of the hour, found the fire extinguisher and sprayed the fire down. Unfortunately, we had to evacuate the room because too much fire extinguisher was used. Thus, we got out of class early.
People wonder why I want to be a chemistry major, but do I really need to explain? I mean we burnt a chair and a table but managed to save the dollar. So yea, chemistry is pretty cool.
This week has been chalk full of fun activities and new experiences, but I thought I would just share with you the two most relaxing things that have happened to me. Seriously, WHEN you come to visit, rent a bike and go down the swamp rabbit or find a student to talk to about ANYTHING.
I think I am going to rate my Furman Experience so far... on a scale of 1-10, Furman has been a solid 18,402,948,302.34. So yea, I love it here. Please feel free to contact me about anything!
With peace, love and DH cookies,
Sam McCoy
sam.mccoy@furman.edu
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