Andres goes to Reed

Day one of Reed is over. Well, not over over, but you know what I mean. From now on I will refuse to go out. Is what I mean by over. Just want that to be clear.

So, background! I am taking a week out of my very precious school time to visit colleges. I have been accepted into four: University of Colorado, Reed College, Johns Hopkins University, and Yale University. I've also been waitlisted by some (WashU, Harvey Mudd, and Tufts) and rejected by some (Pomona and Stanford) but I've decided to focus only on the colleges I've been accepted to. This is going to take me on a journey from here in Portland, Oregon all the way to the east coast. So, technically across the country.

Anyways. How did today go? We (my dad and I) woke up at 5:00 AM to get on a shuttle to the airport (which I almost just called "plane station"). We ate McDonald's for breakfast and boarded around 7:30. We then watched One Punch Man on the flight to Portland, arrived, got a car with old-fashioned keys, and went immediately to Reed campus.

We parked in front of the Performance Arts building and started walking around. Got some food at the food court (I had french toast, a pancake, and bacon) before heading to Reed Canyon. Of course, we didn't know it was Reed Canyon, because we're from Colorado where there are actually canyons. Anyways, we thought the body of water was a pond for a while, but then found it was actually a river. A river disguised as a pond. A rond.

Anyways, after a bit of walking we found the admissions office and a dude named Wayne, who told us what's what. Then I went off on my own to explore, meeting the security officer Zeke and the prospective student Tim, who had a very loud bright yellow coat. Tim and I poked around the library (they give students their own thesis desks) and then met my dad at the Physics building, where Whatsisfase's musical metal was put on display. Both the physics building and the biology building where closed, though.

Tim and I went off on our own to see the north side of campus, which is mostly residential halls. They all look really nice, with drawings on the walls and spiky burrs to throw at people. It was at this point that it hit me how blue the place was politically, as there were some very notmypresident slogans on some of the buildings. It kinda made me uncomfortable, which is strange because I am also blue. Eh.

It was about time to go to Hawthorne, so we did. I met another prospective student named Gabe on the way there. Once we got to Hawthorne, my car group went to Blue Star Donuts, which was advertised as better than Voodoo Donuts. I tried their Orchata Glaze donut, and decided that is not better than Voodoo Donuts. Then we all went to mini-Powell's, which is like Powell's but mini. Powell's is a bookstore, by the way. We poked around a bit, and I purchased How to Fake a Moon Landing. By this point, most of the group had dispersed, so I joined Jian-Carlo and Isabel (pretty sure those are their names) in wandering around. We had some drinks (non-alcoholic) at the Cup and Saucer, which were okay. Having had about enough, we decided to head back.

Wayne drove us back, along with a girl named Mia. When we were back at Reed, I decided I had had enough of it for now, and called my dad to pick me up. On our way back to the car, we saw some Performance Arts kids taking a group picture. They did some Performance Arts things. Look like fun people. I might fit in, or I might hate it. Probably the first, I think.

We got to the hotel and set up shop. Nothing special there. Every Quality Inn is the same as every other. Then, we went to eat dinner at Kennedy School, which was really good. I got a burger with egg and cheese and tater tots on the side. We walked around the school for a bit, taking in the pictures and things, and then left. Oh, also, on the check it said our server was "Matttt." Fun times.

Then I was here again. So far, it's a nice place. I don't think Reed quite met what I was expecting, but that's fine because I'm not sure what I was expecting. Also because it was a Sunday so I haven't seen it while it's an actual college. Like, a used college. A college that's being used. You know what I mean.

Anyways, yeah. First impressions. First day of a journey. What a hoot. Now I will sleep.