Anywho.
My mom flew into the Charlottesville Airport and I picked her up on the way to town on Thursday afternoon. We settled into our room at the Inn at Darden, which is an interesting little hotel right in between the Darden Business School and the Law Center. Both schools have long lawns that lead up to the respective main buildings, which I'm guessing mimic the famous Rotunda and Lawn on the Central Grounds that were designed by Thomas Jefferson. That night, we went out to the Local, which was phenomenal. Our server was really helpful with picking out what to eat, starting with Virginian red wine and a cheese tray of locally-produced and imported cheeses. Of course, I loved the gorgonzola (I like stinky cheeses, whatcanIsay?).
(None of it.)
Friday was the actual Admitted Students' Day and it was ex.haust.ing. We were going from 7:45 in the morning until 5:00 in the evening and covered everything from student life to mock classes to alumni connections. It only confirmed that UVA has been the right choice and that I am super, super excited about starting there in the fall. Other than being amazingly helpful and open, they are equal parts bougie and funny:
"It's no secret that you all are extremely smart. You're intelligent, motivated, driven--we're all little snowflakes here."
"I mean, the General Counsel of Harvard is a UVA Law grad."
"It's nice to meet you--oh, I like your necklace!" (about my PBK key.)
"We all want to have sex, right?" (My professor in my mock law class, talking about why Lawrence v. TX is a great case to teach and study)
"Speak up. You might be right, you might be wrong, but at least be loud while talking."
"UVA has sent four counselors of International law to the US Department of State, including myself."
"The first thing you'll do at the Career Services Center is shake our hands. If you botch it, we'll make you do it again. Don't even try to offer your fingertips to me."
I left at 5:00, although there was one more event that I deemed optional, and met my mother, who is a saint and had done apartment searches for me while I was busy. On Saturday, we went to tour some apartments and settled on one!! I'm very excited about it and can't wait to move in. The vast majority of apartments had already filled up for the fall, so I was starting to panic. The community, University Heights, is about 1 mile from the Law School and will let me have Skittles AND Aryx when I decide to bring him up. The floor plan that I chose has an extra 'den' that is 7'x14' with a nice-sized window, so I'm going to turn that into my office area.
After the lease was signed and the security deposit paid, my mom and I had lunch at a burger joint on the Corner and then walked over to the Rotunda to take some pictures. The Rotunda and Ranges were the original "Academical Village" that Jefferson designed and where the first classes took place back in the early 19th Century. Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to enter applications to get one of fifty-four rooms on the Lawn, but obviously it's very competitive and more of a status symbol than a comfort issue (my mother and I were trying to figure out where the bathrooms are....). We also stumbled upon the serpentine walls, which are always very cool to look at. I had forgotten exactly where they were; they act as barriers for driveways that lead up to the backside of the Lawn Rooms.
So, as you'd expect, we were both very exhausted by this point in the trip. My mom's flight was scheduled to leave at 5:15 this morning (Sunday) so we knew that we'd have to be up at 3:00 AM. I was all set to make it a super early night, but NCIS was on and that sucked us in for a good hour or two.
Long story short: I had a phenomenal time in Charlottesville and feel like I'm going back home! Everybody was extremely active around campus and the city: running, biking, walking dogs, and playing pickup games of softball and lacrosse. I know it's turning out to the best decision I could have made!
