>Thankfully, before we fell asleep, I remembered to tell Nicole to turn off her alarm. (Nicole, I love you to death, but I absolutely loathe your phone alarm. It is the most harrowing sound in the universe, and you–for whatever insane reason–like to snooze it for two hours before you actually have to wake up. This means you get to hear the awful noise every ten minutes for two hours. I did not want to hear this noise. Thank you for turning it off. I love you. I hate your alarm).

After a restful and alarm-free sleep on Nicole’s king sized bed (fully equipped with a tempurpedic mattress), we greeted the day with a walking tour around Columbia. I wanted a “day-in-the-life,” so we walked Nic’s normal route to campus and she showed me some of her frequented classrooms, study lounges, and libraries. The school was beautiful, the weather was quite charming for mid-November in NY, and it was surprisingly soothing to be surrounded by the familiar sounds and smells of New York City.