I have always wanted to travel the world, and now SanrioTown is giving me a chance to not only travel, but to tell about my travels too :)

SanrioTown’s Travel the World Event -

http://blog.hellokitty.com/traveltheworld

I’ve lived in the same town for 12 years straight — it gets pretty boring now and again. Now that college is coming up ahead , I’m itching to take the chance to leave town and explore! So my friends and I took a trip last spring break, all the way to the East Coast to check out the scenery. And I have to say — sorry Mom & Dad, I cannot wait to leave!

Day 1 - LAX at 5am

It’s pretty dark and empty at 5am. Kinda scary.

Getting there was half the fun — tiring, but exciting :D

The first night we attempted to study — afterall, school was back on in 7 more days. After a tiring day, that didn’t really work out.

Day 2 - The Prettiness of Penn

Penn was amazingly colorful. We were welcomed by Hassenfeld Gate, which gives a clue as to the amazing architecture of campus. Penn claims itself as the oldest university in the US, founded by Benjamin Franklin.

Following Penn, we drove from Philadelphia to visit Princeton in New Jersey -

Princeton campus was amazingly quiet, and while I loved the architecture, the silence was a bit unsettling :/ 

Beyond this door was an amazing chapel — but the silent strictness was a bit like campus, and somewhat daunting.

Day 3 – Falling in Love with Yale :D

Yale was amazing. If I had the chance to go there, I would accept in a heartbeat. Not only was campus amazingly beautiful—don’t underestimate Connecticut!—the people were wonderfully friendly and enthusiastic about their school. 

One of Yale’s many libraries, with an amazing interior of chandeliers.

Apparently the college dorm system is divided into 12 houses, all of which are headed by a master who lives with the undergrads. The masters host Masters’ Teas and invite oodles of famous, well connected people—directors or politicians, writers and reporters alike—and the students get to spend time with them. Sounds awesome :)

 And it’s been said that the Yale housing system can be compared to Hogwarts—they even have their own basement recreation rooms, some complete with gyms, others with music recording studios or a woodshop! And plus, their clock tower is gorgeous :)

>>>

After the loveliness of Yale—and their good food!—Brown
University, in New Hampshire, was incomparable. 

Campus was small and quiet, not exactly my type of setting. Still an amazing school, nonetheless. One thing about Brown: so, apparently there was a new library on campus a while back that needed a name. It was officially dubbed something with John D. Rockefeller, but students shortened it to “The Rock”. Apparently campus officials found that unacceptable and demanded a change. So the students started calling it “The John”. Not so flattering either.

Day 4 – Harvard Expectations 

Perfect day for campus visits :)

So apparently Harvard and Yale are big rivals. Which meant I had to wear my Yale sweatshirt just to show off how much I loved Yale, even on Harvard campus. Good thing no one gave me a dirty look. Harvard was…very red. For some reason it didn’t have the charm Yale had.

 Harvard Red.    

Perhaps because all the buildings had the same look to them. The same brick red. But story about Harvard: so there is a statue of founder John Harvard on campus. Apparently there are no surviving pictures of him when the statue was commissioned, so the work was modeled after the best looking freshman attending the university at the time :D And his foot is a different color because, as rumor says, students rub it for good luck.

Good bye, Harvard, it was never meant to be.

Just a few short minutes from Harvard, MIT was an interesting school, but just not for me. The one interesting thing about MIT was their Hacks, which are pranks that students pull on the school. Apparently once some students sealed the entrance of the school president’s office on his first day to work—with a bulletin board. Lol.

^^^  ”In case of zombie attack, break glass” <3 MIT ^^^ 

And yes, that is a chainsaw you see up there.

Boston was an amazing town though, and the clam chowder there is delicious ^____^  

Day 5 – NYC. Finally.

So the amazing, infamous New York City.

I <3 NY.  

  NYU campus was a bit disappointing. Not to my taste I guess, since there is no official campus, just buildings scattered across a few blocks that have purple flags to indicate their affiliation to NYU. Loved the purple, but not the dorms—way too cramped and small. But New York City was beyond amazing. I love the hustle and bustle of city life, and the fact that most people walk everywhere. We went to Times Square, which was super crowded and oh so fun :D Mama Mia on Broadway was the perfect way to end a NYC night.

“Mama mia, here we go again!

My my, how can I resist you…..”

Day 6 – Columbia, then Home

Last day was a bit sad—we concluded with Columbia, which was in uptown
Manhattan. Campus was pretty but since it was a Saturday morning, things were still quiet. We explored a bit, just snapping shots of the lovely campus.

The NY skyline was breathtaking, and I hope to someday visit it again.   

So, after 6 days of fun, it was time to say goodbye to the East Coast. Goodbye New York, goodbye Yale.

I promise: I am coming back, most definitely!

Life is hectic. I guess this blog will help me keep track of it, just a wee bit.