Hello everyone!
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| Beautiful trees in Tryon |
This past week has been unusual for Portland - we’ve had a week of sunshine and clear skies. I have been soaking up the sun while it’s here. Some people thought the 55-degree weather was a bit chilly but I thought it was great running weather. I started running in Tryon State Park which is located just a few blocks from campus. It has great trails to run and it is really nice to surround yourself in nature after a day full of classes.
In this post I am going to share my dorm experience so far:
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| The bridge that connects D wing to E & F wing |
I currently live in a quad in Copeland Hall. I really like living in Copeland for the most part. Copeland is the largest dorm on campus and it has an A,B,C,D,E,F, and G wing which are all connected by hallways and even an enclosed bridge thing. Each wing is a little different and kind of has a different vibe to it just based on the mix of people living there each year.
I live in D wing of Copeland and I really enjoy it. My room is on the first floor so I never have to go up any stairs. D wing is home to the “Xperiment” Living-Learning Community (LLC). When I signed up for housing last spring I did not sign up to be in an LLC, but because I live in D wing of Copeland I have now joined the Xperiment LLC because why not. Xperiment is focused around STEM (the LLC hasn’t done anything yet but it can do group study sessions, fun science experiments & outings, etc) and I know that there are a lot of STEM majors in D wing, myself included.
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| Copeland is the furthest purple pin on the left |
Honestly, the only downside to living in Copeland is that it is just a little further away from things. Also, the bridge that crosses the ravine that shortens the distance is still under construction and isn’t supposed to be finished until February or so. And when I say it’s “far” I mean I walk for maybe 6 or 7 minutes to get to class - so in reality it’s not very far but sometimes it feels far. However, I do kind of like that it’s slightly further away because I feel that I get more of a separation between my academics and my home space that way.
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| My bottom bunk bed with my lights |
When I signed up for housing, my first choice was to be put in just a regular double room and then a quad and then a triple as my last choice (since triples at LC are 3 people in a room that’s made for a double). I remember opening my housing packet in July and pulling out the piece of paper and realizing I had been placed in a quad. I was so excited to be in a quad because you get to meet three new people and have a separate bedroom and living space which is super nice. I think LC does a pretty good job at matching roommates up. My roommates and I all get along really well and I am really happy that I get to live with them.
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| Our main room |
The separate room is nice, especially because we all go to bed at different times and it allows for more flexibility. I go to be pretty early as much as I can since I have morning practices for rowing on some days (I wake up at 5:40am) and the other days I like to wake up at 7am and spend my morning having breakfast in the dining hall before my classes. Also, there is just more space in the quads which is nice. We don’t have closets but we each have a wardrobe to hang and store stuff as well as a stack of drawers with a mirror. In our room, we also have a microwave, mini fridge, and coffee machine that my various roommates brought. A nice thing the school offers is a microwave and mini-fridge rental if you don’t want to buy your own for school.
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| This is roughly what my layout is like |
Currently, our room is all decorated for the holidays! I really like Christmas decorations so I’ve been putting some stuff up. On our door we have a countdown to Christmas thing, we have little Christmas lights and banners up around the room as well as paper snowflakes and a 3ft tree. Decorating is definitely important when it comes to living in a dorm because it makes it more homey and personal. Some of my friends have hung tapestries on their fluorescent ceiling lights to subdue the harsh white light and give off a cozy vibe. Lots of people have plants, string lights, posters, pictures, seasonal decorations, and much more!
Have a wonderful day!
Sarah