Seven papers, twenty-plus hours of lectures, and the difficulty of choosing between several classes made my first trip with the Tramping Club perfectly timed. Adding to the promise of relaxation was the fact that the campground we were headed to was called Paradise—freakin’ Paradise!

Philosophy 101’s “Mind and Reality” was the first class I had taken in over two-and-a-half months and lived up to the brief online description of “How the brain constructs reality” with its interesting content. It was also the first class I had taken with over 150 individuals enrolled. Yes, that is right—one-five-zero. This is a fairly large lecture, and it’s easy to get lost in the crowd. However, the size also makes it difficult to find a group to study with, or to even really know anyone.

My English class was similarly sized, but had less appealing topics, making it easier to narrow down what I wanted to write about for the paper. “Human Body Systems” was already in my schedule for sure, despite the massive number of 300 students in my class—and that’s not including the two other sections of the course that were going on at the same time, as well as the three other sections in the morning.

I had already chosen “Sensation and Perception” as a class for which I would transfer the credit back to Vassar. Moreover, it turned out to have a great lecturer with phenomenally impressive slides.

Next on my list of classes was “Sports Nutrition,” which was okay, but a bit too rudimentary for my particularly hard-science nature. However, that class was still better than “English Communication.” Learning the Maori language was for sure not happening with a very boring lecturer and particularly unexciting material. Seeing as I had to decide between the seven classes soon, my choice was becoming clearer.

Finally, after taking “Improvisation in the Theater” with a small group of fellow students, I found another class I definitely wanted to be in. At this point, I had chosen my four classes: “Mind and Reality,” “Human Body Systems,” “Improvisation,” and “Sensation and Perception.”

During the week, there was a great brewery tour and dinner provided by IFSA-Butler at the fantastic Speight’s Restaurant. The good food continued throughout the week when my first rugby practice excitingly involved some sausage rolls at the end of one practice. It was great to learn rugby from other athletes who have such a comprehensive knowledge of the game.

By the end of the week, it was time for some good old tramping!