Hello There (January and February Updates)

Wow! It's been a long time since we've met here. I apologize for not keeping in touch but fear not, all has calmed down and there is much to report!

January was a busy month for everyone! Martin Luther King Jr Day was celebrated by a morning assembly, and an afternoon of service and/or discussion based sessions. Two weeks later, many of the 1C2C1D girls participated in Africa Fest, a celebration of African, African American and Caribbean culture. On hall, we started "Tasty Tuesdays" where we have coffee from Copa Vida delivered to campus for only $1 per person. The coffee beans come from Counter Culture Coffee, a local non profit organization that finds coffee beans from around the world. Also, Durham was rated 38 out of 41 places in the world to visit in 2011 mainly for the cuisines. To appreciate the city of Durham, once a month we are visiting cafes, restaurants and local favorites. We began our trek by visiting Guglhupf Bakery and Cafe.

February was an interesting month for the hall. The first two weeks were completely dedicated to studying for final exams and gearing up for Mini-term. Luckily, the RLAs and I were able to pull the girls away from their studies for some stress relieving activities. We celebrated Valentine's Day weekend on and off hall. On hall, each of the girls received Valentine's Day bags so their hall mates could deliver cards, candies and flowers. Off hall, we were the exclusive guests to the Mr. First Hunt Pagaent, an annual contest showcasing the talent, intellect, charisma and charm of our brother hall. Afterwards, DJ Rad provided the music to our own mini-mixer. The RLAs provided a week of exam study break activities ranging from 10 minute massage circles, yoga exercises to an instant dance party. Miniterm was a wonderful transition into the third trimester. Some of the residents had the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica, Honduras, Greece and France, while the rest of us stayed on campus. Those "left behind" were able to participate in mini-terms on trees, glass blowing, the Gaelic language as well as fashion design.

As Spring makes her highly anticipated appearance, we will begin our last trimester on campus. Spring not only brings warmer weather, but the Food Drive, Prom, Latin America and Asia Fest, as well as our end of the year celebrations!