Colorado State University: Arrival (Day 1 and 2)

Day 1:


My journey to Colorado State University began at 4:30am.  My mother dropped me off at the airport and a few hours later I would be leaving my home in The Bahamas to fly to Atlanta, onto Minneapolis and then finally Denver, Colorado where I met my awesome Internship Coordinator, Ben.

I was extremely tired, despite having slept for the entirety of the three legs of my flight, I still wanted more sleep.  Ben understood this and invited me to sleep the entire car ride.  This did not happen as Ben and I found too many interesting things to talk about.  I totally forgot that I was sleepy.  My journey had begun and I was excited. 

I generally don't like commutes longer than 30 minutes, but the drive time truly flew by.  Ben talked about the awesome outdoor opportunities in Fort Collins - which I will definitely take advantage of!  We talked about the controversial oil rigs surrounding Colorado and politics in general.  Ben and I both shared background information about our hometowns and activities we enjoyed.  And of course, we talked about the food-service industry!  All this is to say that Ben was extremely accommodating and welcoming.  I'm really not one to get nervous, but I'm sure if I had any bit of nerves about my internship experience at Colorado State University and living in Colorado - Ben had certainly eased my concerns and made me feel welcomed.  I find Ben to be open, frank and very personable.

Due to my poor packing I needed to go to a convenience store to pick up a few items.  I was advised that a Rite-Aid was a 15-minute walk away.  Ready to explore Fort Collins on foot, I headed out for a few personal items - not realizing that this was going to be about a 2.5 mile journey.  I honestly didn't mind since I had nothing else to do. I got to see a lot of the school's campus, which is much bigger than my college's campus.  On the way I talked to a lot of locals and students and each person suggested that I had to visit "Old Town".  By the time I got back to my room it was too dark to travel alone, so I decided to put Old Town on my to-do list for the next day.

Miles and miles of  thick, green trees :D

Day 2:  

After lunch I decided to head out to Old Town.  On my way there I saw a restaurant called Fat Shack, I probably shouldn't have been, but I was excited to try something from the menu.  I ordered a Fat Veggie sandwich (mozzarella sticks, onion rings, zucchini sticks, fries and buffalo ranch sauce).  It was yummy!  I had to resist looking up the nutritional information for this sandwich.  I spent about 3 hours walking around Old Town and even found a Caribbean restaurant!   I will definitely be paying them a visit this weekend. 

Horse statue in Old Town Square

I picked up a few items on sale from a clothing store and was confused when the cashier advised that I would be paying $34.00 and not $27.00.  I had completely forgotten that only in Minnesota was clothing tax exempt.

Ben suggested that I  invest in a bike and he was right.  As much as I love walking, I will never see all of Fort Collins if I walked.  

Orientation begins first thing Monday morning at 7am!  So goodnight until tomorrow.