Where has all the English gone???

So I just spoke to Bruce Keller at Arcadia. He seems pretty nice and open and whatnot. Anyway, he just so happens to be my Advisor for when I go to Arcadia this friday. It's really simple, I have to get to the Castle at 8:00 AM (harsh, but fair), I have to get my photo taken for my ID, go through a mini orientation, schedule my classes...and take a placement exam for English!!! It turns out that Arcadia doesn't accept AP credit for English 101. So I have to take English 101. Luckily, I have no more maths to take (as of right now; hopefully they won't push them at me later). But I worked so hard so I could skip 101 and now they're making me take it! Ah, but that's not too bad. I guess. Really, they had said they took AP credits...and said nothing else on the matter. And then Bruce Keller informed me that all Arcadia students are required to take 101--no exceptions. Bruce Keller also helped me narrow down my major to History, with a secondary Ed. So i'll have everything all set up for me. I'm sure they won't be giving me much wiggle room when they help me set up my schedule. But at least I get an advisor!
Beyond that lamentation, I'm doing pretty well here in PA...despite the fact that I have no human contact beyond my grandparents (and they keep introducing me to the different types of fine alcohol--in the smallest of quantities, of course). Maybe I'll be able to see my Aunt Laura and my cousin Lexi at some point this week. And maybe, before I go to Arcadia at the end of August, I'll be able to see my Great-Aunt Sandi and my Uncle Bobby, along with the cousins Scott and Beth (with their Meghan and Nicole), and Craig and his wife (and subsequent children); I haven't seen them in ages.

Chrono and Go! Fried Rice

I feel a bit isolated. And too tall. I miss the mountains. Here, all I see are trees and buildings. The horizon is flat and midling. It disturbs me just a little. But, really, I had forgotten how pretty it is just to walk around here. There are lovely trees everywhere, and the woods are even prettier than in Blairsville (less scraggly pines). And there's so many old, old houses here. But they look too well kept. There aren't any shambling, faded wooden houses, no broken barns devoured by kudzu. There are too many edges here, I think. But other than the scenery (and the very lack of human contact), I'm quite content. I still talk to people on the computer (what a lovely way to keep in contact; far easier than a phone call!), but I haven't really met any new people. I pretty much stay here on the 4th floor looking out over the pond, the geese, and the trees. I look out at the sky, too. But I must admit that I like life on the first floor, surrounded by mountains a bit better.
I'm getting excited about attending Arcadia; I visited the campus the other week and found it wonderful (if not a little crowded with buildings). There's an actual castle on campus (called the Gray Towers). You don't know how oddly small castles are on the inside. They use so much space for the high, vaulted ceilings and grand entryways. Then the other rooms are sort of secondary. I like the campus; it's rather beautiful, but there are a lot of buildings. So it makes things feel crowded.
Oh! I went on a tour the other day of the Highlands, which is a manor and farm built in the last years of the eighteenth century. The manor was built in the Georgian style, but there were a few additions made in the nineteenth century and then later in the twentieth. it was a beautiful home, as well as a wonderful formal garden (currently being restored to its 1930's glory). Hearing the history of the place was quite wonderful.
Well, on to more quiet days of reading and pondering.