First day of college!

By first day I mean the two days that included all of my classes, that is. In any case, it was all pretty good!
So, after going to the Frosh Aid Dance on Sunday night (which was a lot of fun, where even I got the gumption to dance a bit), I enrolled for my classes and had only a few problems, which were quickly fixed. The final schedule has me taking Calculus 2, Chemistry 1, Arthurian Literature, Fencing, and Apocalypse Whenever. I will get back to how those went in a bit. That night, we went to a welcoming picnic at Pres. Oxtoby house, where, oddly, we had sushi appetizers, then ate scampi and salmon fillets while listening to the live Reggae band that was there, and had Italian Ice for dessert. All in all, a wonderful, eclectic night!
The following morning we all attended a Convocation. This saw us all gathered in the Bridge's Hall of Music (a old church) with all of the faculty in their nice dress robes, while President Oxtoby gave his welcome to us. Then a Professor Flaherty, head of the music department, came and played on his cello. His skill was incredible, and the beauty of the song sticks out in my memory. Then a special guest, Richard Hazlett, spoke to us about how important we are to the future, then somewhat pointedly about how important it was to ensure sustainability in California's water supply. In any case it was interesting, and now I am inspired to be a civil engineer! Just kidding.
Well, after that I had my first Arthurian Lit class. I was worried, since this class had 8 books total, but it was ok. The class has kids from all the schools and from all four years, with varying experience about the subject. The teacher is new, but has always wanted to teach a class on the subject, and is very enthusiastic. My first homework assignment was to go onto the Pomona site and watch Disney's The Sword and the Stone. It was fun, but now I finally understand more why dad wasn't so excited as we were to see new Disney movies. Now, I am neck deep in The History of the Kings of Briton by Geoffrey of Monmouth, circa 1135. It's actually pretty interesting so far, tracing the paths of the first rulers of the Isles. According to Geoffrey, Aeneas, one of the survivors of the Fall of Troy, had in his line a Grandson named Silvius, who would have a love affair with a concubine and give birth to a son named Brutus. He was to kill his father accidentally, and be banished for it. He would later come across a bunch of older Trojans, slaves brought from the war, and would set them free and set sail. He and his army (after much slaughter wreaked and villages sacked and blood running like rivers) would eventually sail to Britain (named actually for Brutus) and take over from the "giants" that inhabited it. Whew.
Later that night I went out with some friends and enjoyed delicious yogurt and smoothies before going to a conjoined church fellowship meeting and thanking God that we only had nuclear missiles and anthrax to contend with instead of 10,000+ strong Trojan armies.
Then today (Wednesday) I went to my Chemistry class. The teacher reminded me a lot of dad; full of great stories, friendly, and with plenty of excellent chemistry knowledge. I was reflecting on this when he suddenly poked a small pile of powder on a pedestal (Calcium Triiodide, Dad) which exploded violently with a sound like a gunshot, causing at least this writer and probably several others in the class to nearly wet their pants. "I didn't even make a mess this time!" said Prof. Taylor.
Next was Calculus, which was ok. The teacher, Prof. Unpronounceable Brazilian Name, seemed like a very nice man, but spoke with a strong accent. This made understanding his lecture on Riemann Sums nearly impossible, but I think I'll get used to it with time.
Finally, after a mad rush up some stairs and back down, then upon hearing directions back up again, I arrived at my Fencing class. The instructor (and this name fits his character very well) was an elderly man, maybe 60-70. Sufficed to say, not exactly what I was expecting. He was very funny , but in the way that was slightly mean and very deadpan, so you weren't sure whether to laugh or not until a second year student explained that he was nearly never serious. So, we stepped up and learned a bit about the proper stance for good balance and movement, how to hold the foil, and a few basic movements. He showed us a bit of how one might perry and counter, and the blade moved like smoke in his hands. No sooner had most of us touched his sword with ours was it expertly flicking ours aside and darting in our defenses. He was an expert in his time, and still would be if not for some injuries and a loss of stamina. He still knows his moves and has a story for every situation, though many of them seemed to revolve around himself, his wife (an Olympian fencer), or his students getting poked in the mouth and eyes during matches.
So! Excluding the first Chem lab I will have on Friday, these are all of my classes. They all look pretty fun and interesting, and I'm sure not worried about being bored this first semester!
Again, I leave you with a bit of wisdom learned recently:

"Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it."
-Andre Gide