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Will you be flying or driving into Madison next Sat.?
S will be on the Northwest flight that arrives that evening at 8:19 from Minneapolis.

If you will be on that flight, look for him. He is almost 6 feet tall, medium build, short hair, and will probably be wearing glasses and casual, nonflashy attire.

Are you excited yet?

By Vtoodler (Vtoodler) on Monday, June 14, 2004 - 11:52 am: Edit

I'll be flying. It would be nice to meet your son, but sadly I'll be flying w/American Airlines.

I have mixed emotions about this program---I'm excited and scared. I'm excited because this is a new experience for me. But I'm also scared because I don't know what to expect. I know very little about the program and Google isn't helping me. Furthermore, I know that it's a college level program but I'm still hoping that they won't deluge with schoolwork. Cuz school ended not to long ago.

I've been meaning to ask you something. Did you confirm the arrangements w/Ms. Ebert to have someone pick your son up at Madison Airport? Or would that be totally unecessary? See my problem is that I think that someone should be there to get me but I don't want to be sure, because I don't want to be stranded at an Airport in a strange city. So should I call Ms. Ebert and confirm, or should I just leave it and assume?

There's another thing that I want to ask you. Has your son finished or almost finished packing? My mom constantly scolds me for not finishing packing and she says that I better start now or else I'll be screwed. I've already packed like 33% of what I'll need. Just wondering how far along you are. What sorts of essential stuff that aren't listed (green paper) do you recommend I'd bring because I know that I'll probably forget it otherwise.

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Monday, June 14, 2004 - 12:42 pm: Edit

S flew to Calif. Sat. to visit relatives, and will be flying to Madison from there. He finished his packing several hours before he left. I had hoped that he would finish by Thurs., but at least we were able to drive to the airport in a leisurely way.

He takes after me. I am leaving the country tomorrow, and am still packing. I started yesterday.

I like to take my time packing because I am always remembering other things to bring, and better ways to pack. As for your situation, gently remind your mom that Madison has stores. Have patience with her anxieties, too. It's hard to watch a kid fly off for the first time for such a long solo trip.

S thought to bring his assigned summer reading for English class, his drawing notebook and supplies (he has to do summer work for his art class), some fun fiction, the music he likes to hear, a water bottle (for the plane), some snacks (airlines barely feed you now), his bank card (if you don't have one, I strongly suggest that you get one. Far better than bringing lots of cash), phone numbers and addresses and his math notebook from last school year. The one thing he didn't think to bring was a blank notebook, which I know he can buy on campus, but he could have gotten cheaper here.

ESP staff will pick you up at the airport. E-mail Ms. N and she will give you her home and cell phone numbers in case of emergency.

My other general advice is get your hair done in some easy style like cornrows or braids, and make sure you bring your beauty supplies as I bet that ethnic oriented supplies will be hard to find on campus and in Madison.

Remember that if you forget anything that you desperately need, your parents can send those things to you. You are lucky. S doesn't have that options since both my husband and I will be out of the country.

Based on what I have heard of similar programs, I expect that the days will be filled with classwork, and you'll be doing at least 2 hours of school work in the evenings, plus having some time to relax, including some structured recreational program options designed to help students know each other better. This is the way that other summer academic programs that S did went.

The programs were more fun, though, than regular school work because he got the opportunity to study in the evening with friendly, motivated groups of people instead of having to go it alone. The profs also tried to teach in a fun way. In part this is because the college also is trying ot recruit stellar students, so wants to leave a good impression.

The subjects at ESP also should be of interest to you, which isn't always the case with classes that you have to take to meet high school requirements. If it ends up that you don't like the work, you'll at least know that engineering isn't the field for you!

If you will be flying in Sat. evening, anticipate that the staff will probably pick up all of the students at the same time, so you might ride with S. I am sure that the Madison airport is very small, so if there's anyone else young and minority on your plane, it probably will be one of the ESPers. You should have no problems spotting the ESP staff.

Did you not get the materials they sent the week before last which listed a rough schedule including info about the trip to Chicago and to the water park? That seems to give a good idea about what to expect.

If you want more info, though, e-mail the staff and ask them if they can give you the e-mails or phone numbers of some previous participants. It also would be good to e-mail the staff to remind them of when you're getting in, and to confirm that they'll pick you up. They responded very quickly to my weekend e-mail about pick-up arrangements. Should for some reason they not be able to pick you up, cab fare,including tip, would be about $15. I suggest having $25 in cash on you just in case.


My e-mail is now in my profile. Feel free to pass it along to your mom, too, in case she'd like to touch base with another parent who has a kid in the program. I know that I would love to connect with another ESP parent, particularly since my husband and I won't get to see the program in person.

Once I leave town Weds., I will probably be on e-mail a couple of times a week. I probably will use e-mail more than using this board.

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Monday, June 14, 2004 - 05:41 pm: Edit

S just called in to say "good-bye" before I leave town. I told him about your questions about camp and what to bring.

His advice was to bring a deck of cards because card games are popular. He also said to relax and stop worrying about camp because worrying will just make you nervous.

By Vtoodler (Vtoodler) on Monday, June 14, 2004 - 08:58 pm: Edit

What country are going to? If you're going to any West European, Latin, or North African country (especially Moracco), then please tell me all about it. I love experiencing other cultures. I have tons of books about various cultures in my room. If I get to meet your son, then he'll probably see that I wear some unique stuff which are usually indicative of other cultures. I especially like the Bohemian look. (Sadly my mom is making me tone it down, cuz she says that I sometimes look too wild)

Although I only know how to play solitaire, I certainly am bringing a deck of cards. My mom just bought me a new durable set that is LAMINATED(sort of) because my old one was falling apart.

As for nervousness--I can't help it. I am naturally a bundle of nerves. I think that I get it from my mom who worries like 24/7 about everything. Even I have to tell her to stop worrying!!!

You are right, a banking card would be great. But my mom has already bought me some traveler's checks that are insured in my name. But she bought too many---$350 worth. And she's giving me about $75 cash. I also have $25 of my own. I'm a little scared of carrying all that money. But on the flip side, I'm in a new city with $450 and no one to tell me what to do with it. Sweet!!! (But don't worry, I'll be responsible)

I got my hair braided last week. I'm a little mad at myself because I got micros and micro can be high maintance. I also won't know what to do with my micros after I go swimming. Any tips??? Now I know that your son can easily spot me, because there probably won't be many people with micros.

One thing that scares me is the fact that I'll have to take of myself. I know that I sound like a big baby, but I've never really had it on my own. My mom has pretty much done everything for me and she won't stop babying me even when I ask her to stop. So going to a new city all by myself will definitly be a big transition. But it's a transition that I need.

do you know if there is a bank on campus. I'll need to cash my traveler's checks. Ms. Ebert may know.

One last question. Did your son buy poster board for the airport. I think that Ms. E mentioned something about writing ESP on brightly colored poster board for the airport so that we're easily spotted.

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Monday, June 14, 2004 - 10:06 pm: Edit

I will be spending the summer in Paris until just before S gets back from camp. My husband is working there for the summer. S had the opportunity to go with us, as he did last summer (and had a great time), but he said, "Paris will always be there. Engineering camp won't."

S is very interested in other cultures, and has always hung out with an extremely diverse group of friends, including in summer camps. You may find it interesting to hear from him about Egypt, which we went to when he was in elementary school.

While I have worn braids and locs for years, I have never been a person to worry that much about them. I guess that all you should do with your micros is oil them after swimming. It's hard for me to imagine they would need more than that. To be able to sit through getting micros means that you have more patience than me. I have had extensions, but could not stand to sit for hours on end. I finally got locs, and I love them because they are easy.

To check for a bank on campus, look at the campus map that you can find on the U Wis. site. You will be quite flush. It will be interesting to see if you can find places to spend your stash.

S didn't hear anything about buying poster board. I bet that the staff will be holding poster board, and you'll spot them as you head for baggaged claim. I have the feeling that staff won't have trouble spotting any of the ESPers who are clearly URMs. I doubt that that small airport will be crawling with baffled looking high school students who are people of color.

Ms. Ebert seems like an interesting person. When I Googled her, it ends up she's a published poet, who, I think, described herself as a "spy" in the engineering dept.