Kaylor and Maureen were the first people I met today at Orientation. Both will be studying Spanish for the summer and will be entering the Fall as IPS candidates. Then I met Sarah and Cameron. Sarah will be studying intermediate Russian and Cameron, Arabic. Cameron had a pretty face and we hit it off well. I got the distinct impression that she was flirting with me. I could be wrong, but she had the tell-tale signs: looking directly at my eyes, touching her neck, touching my shoulder, and teasing me for not introducing her to an aspiring Portugese speaker. Although we went our separate ways for the rest of the day, it was a moment that proved that I haven’t lost my mojo.
Elan will be starting in the Fall as an MBA candidate, as well. He will be in the 2-year program, though. Damn, the man talks fast. I guess living in New York and Chicago has something to do with it.
After we got our check-in packets everybody rendevous with their program director. Professor Jiang Howard was mine. She has been director for over 14 years at MIIS.
There are about 20 or so students in the Mandarin class. About half are currently enrolled in other universities as undergraduates. There is even a young woman, I think her name is Faye, who is just 16 years-old. Quite a looker, but in the “I-know-I’m-hot” kind of way. Brownie points lost there… I felt kind of bad about her introduction by the Prof. Howard, though: “She’s only sixteen years-old. She’s the baby in the class. Don’t worry… we’ll take care of her, right?” Right. I can just hear all the males in the class mentally snicker at that idea.
Textbooks cost me $94. Not bad. I’ll need to make copies of the character grids so I can practice writing Mandarin.
After Orientation, I went to the Monterey Sports Center. It has a 4-court gymnasium, ping-pong tables, a full weight room, cardio room, and 2 pools (one heated). They even have a 120-foot water slide for the kids. Upstairs were the specialty programs like Yoga and Beginning Step. This place was pretty decked out. The best thing was the price. No sign-up fee. For 6-months, I pay $300 where I get a one dollar credit each time I come in (for a maximum of $2 per day). Theoretically, then, if I come in at least 300 times these next 6 months, I will get a free renewal. Not a bad idea. I’ve never heard of this incentive before and I wish Bally’s offered it. I would’ve gone more often.