College Fly-in: Pomona College

Hi everyone!
Right now, I'm in Claremont, California at the Pomona Diversity Weekend. There are 54 students from around the nation invited to participate in the events of this weekend just to experience the college and get a taste of what it has to offer. After my 5 hour flight followed by a 2 hour SuperShuttle ride from the airport, I finally arrived on campus. It is hot and sunny like my hometown except without the humidity. Palm trees line the roads and the sidewalks are filled with friendly diverse students. There are people from the diversity team waiting to greet me as I exit the shuttle and hand me a folder with my name on it as well as a bag with a water bottle inside. They walk me  through every piece of paper in the folder and hand me over to some other students. I check in at a table of relaxed college kids, the table of which is FULL of snacks. I ask questions about dual enrollment and my host for the weekend. All the people handling check in know my host and seem to assume that we would be a perfect match based on ethnicity and similar hometown. My host isn't available to pick me up and walk me to my dorm so she sends her friend Jasmine to get me instead.

Literally what the quad looks like ^_^

Jasmine is really cool and majors in Linguistics. She tells me about the dorm and the different halls based on focus languages (i.e. Spanish hall, French hall, Chinese hall). I am ecstatic because I love language and I major in International Relations. I drop off my bags, go pick up a piece of pizza from check-in, and follow Jasmine around campus. We walk pass the quad (which looks like it came straight out of a movie) to the Psychology building. The building looks brand new with several places to relax in peace. We go upstairs to what looks like a glass sunroom filled with books, a couch, a big comfy chair, some working tables, and respective decorations. I finally meet my host. We'll call her Nelly. Nelly is really cool too. I am like the younger version of her; we both are of the same ethnic background, come from the same hometown, applied for the same scholarships, and completed high school with an A.A. degree. I meet her other friends at the same time and everyone is very relaxed and comfortable with each other and themselves.

I really like this program because they have organized it so that each student has an individualized experience. I've already got to experience the freedom and spontaneity that comes with the college experience and I really appreciate that.

Little Kids -_- : Ice Cream Day

When I was little, I loved fun days when we got to get all hyped up on sugar and run around. It was fun and I couldn't wait until the next fun day. I actually questioned why we couldn't have fun days everyday. I recently got my answer.

We wanted to give the kids an ice cream party so we got all the scoopers, the cups, toppings, napkins, spoons, and ice cream and laid everything out. I pre-scooped the more popular flavors into cups so that when the kids came I could give them their cup and move on to the next child. This system worked quite well for the first child. The second child tells me she wants mixed ice cream so I hand her a napoleon (chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry) and she bursts into tears. I ask her what's wrong and she tells me "it's not mixed right." I tell her to let me help the four other kids behind her and then I'll come back. The other kids take their ice cream with no complaints. I come back to help the crying girl. I ask her if she wants a different one and she says "I want chocolate." I give her chocolate and keep moving. We get through kindergarten through 3rd grade when the ice cream tubs have to be replaced. I take the empty ones and have to maneuver my way through a crowd of excited kids to swap out tubs. The ice cream is frozen rock solid so we have to get hot water to warm the scoopers to scoop the ice cream. The line of kids is endless and becoming more demanding. One kid demanded cookies and cream ice cream, several kids cut the line in an attempt to get seconds, and on top of that, we were running out of ice cream. After rationing ice cream and giving extra toppings, we managed to feed all the kids. After the last kid sat down, I felt like I just completed a 5k. I have never been so happy to clean up in my life.

It was a lot of hard work and a little chaotic, but in the end, I felt closer to the staff and I felt like a better person. Watching the kids laugh and smile while I worked was just so fulfilling. I still can't wait until the next fun day :)

P.S. Thank you so much for reading, commenting on, and sharing my blog posts. I really appreciate it and it really makes me feel good ^_^

Africans in China ^_^

Hi everyone!

Today we left campus and went to a museum in Quanzhou. When we pulled up to the Maritime Museum, I saw 3 black women and I was both excited and curious to know why there were so many black people in one place. As I walk through the doors of the museum, I see even more black people in traditional African clothing. These aren't African-Americans; these are Africans!! I am feeling so excited to see all of these people who look like me in one place. They are staring and smiling at me. They actually stand on the indoor balcony and smile down at me.  It was so sweet. I look at them and they invite me to come talk to them. They are so sweet and loving and they treat me like family. They give me a hug before they even ask for my name. I ask them when they are from and they say Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Antigua. I'm so elated I forgot to tell them my name and where I'm from. Eventually they figure out that I am from the United States and I am here to study Chinese. They ask me where my parents are from and I have to explain that I am black because I'm
Haitian and African American. They are still just as loving as they were before.  They had to leave quickly after our encounter, but not before snapping a few pictures.

It is so nice to be able to find comfort in strangers. It wasn't because they were black, but more because they were smiling and so welcoming. Their friendliness was just so contagious and comforting. It really helped soothe my homesickness. Just seeing people that I share a similar origin with in a foreign country is an experience beyond compare and is something that I'll never forget.