Carleton SLAI experience | 7.08 - 7.29📅

First day: "Why would I spend 21 days of my summer vacation in a small town where I don't know anyone?"

Last day: "I wish I could spend rest of my summer here in this small town with all of you guys."

The night before our program started, we headed to Olin Hall to meet our professor. The first thing he handed our cohort were two books: 'The Prince' by Niccolo Machiavelli and selected essays from Michel de Montaigne. I was terrified. How was I supposed to read all of this in three weeks? After the lecture, I realized I was wrong. We were expected to finish these books in just a few days and complete a 12-page research paper along with an academic poster for our final project. I have to say I chose one of the most rigorous summer programs on this planet.

This was going to be my first research paper, and the challenge was not small.

But soon, I found my pace and began self-regulating my daily schedule for both work and fun. Although for the first two days, I read until midnight, accompanied by Machiavelli's monologues and recommendations on how to become a good prince and rule a country, I honestly enjoyed my organized lifestyle. Every morning, we had discussions based on the text we'd read the previous day, and I actively participated, sharing my thoughts with the class. The afternoons were dedicated to research, and just as I had feared, we were dong more reading in support of our paper. In total, I read seven books and countless articles.

The afternoons and evening activities though, covered my tiredness after studying for almost eight hours. Our