Preconceived Notions

     I'm here at Yale! I just feel like every preconceived notion or idea I had for what Yale would be like has been totally false. It is extremely beautiful here. The weather is perfect and the campus has a rich history which can easily be seen just by glancing around at the historic buildings and beautiful trees. I'm sad to report that my allergies are today even worse then they were a few days ago even with the pills I've been taking aimed towards curbing them. They're putting a bit of a drag on things, but I'm doing my best to ignore them.
     I have noticed a few differences so far. There seems to be a lot more diversity in the make up of  the student body (which is one of the only things I did expect), the squirrels are a slightly lighter shade of brown, more like a tan, and although there are lots of people outside enjoying the day together, it's very very quiet. I guess this is because they are all working in study groups? I'm not sure, but there's not much laughter, and apparently we stand out because we have received many stares by passing strangers today. For the most part though, they seem to be just like you and me. They go to Yale, but they are still just people and college students, and talking to them is just like talking to anyone else. They don't all get straight A's, they have fun and hang out with friends, are in sororities and fraternities and are involved in CRU.
     Oddly enough I was in my very first Frat house today, which I find hilarious. I had no idea that was where we would end up, but we went to visit a friend of Jackie's and that's where he lives. It was pretty gross to be honest. It smelled of beer and there were empty cups all over the floor. It could use a good cleaning to say the least. We sat on the balcony and looked out over New Haven and chatted a bit. I was also surprised by how small the school really is. The name carries so much weight, but I learned today that there are only about 5,000 undergrads. huh.
     Currently, Jackie is taking a nap (she was only able to sleep about 2 hours last night for some reason), and I am just chilling for a bit and waiting for her friend Trey to finish up with baseball practice so we can venture out and see the sites. We learned today that the train to New York City is only $28 round trip, so that's what we'll be up to Saturday. I'm definitely feeling fatigue from the extremely long car ride (we arrived at 4:45am which was about two hours later than we had expected to) and lack of sleep as well. I hope I'll be able to get in a decent amount of sleep tonight. We'll be attending their CRU tonight, which is called Yale Students for Christ here, basically I gather because the crusades were so gruesome and are offensive to some at this liberal college. I'm excited to be there and meet fellow believers. :) It's always encouraging to see people from all over he country and the world following Jesus. I'm fascinated by everything and can't wait for what the rest of the weekend will bring. More to come soon.