Everything we have done...in less than ten minutes!

A Word From Kristen Layne...

"After almost a week of ‘Camp Furman’, we finally realized this week that our sole pur-pose here was not to go to midnight raves, be serenaded on our balcony by moonlight, and stake out the Waffle House until two in the morning. In short- classes began. Some of us have flowed back into the pattern of school days and homework without a prob-lem; others have found that 8:30 a.m. classes are a lot harder to get to than they were during high school, especially when going downtown to the Blueberry Frog for frozen yogurt (as we did tonight) or watching a movie in the Ant Hall (the sketchiest of Lake-side’s basements) seems much more appealing than writing that paper for Philosophy or studying for the quiz coming up. It’s definitely going to be a balancing act, we’re real-izing; there’s always entertainment just outside the door.

The hall has continued to bond, not only within ourselves, but also with our brother and sister halls. We were amazed to find out that not all hall families have gotten as close as ours; the guys really have become our brothers over the past few days, and while we certainly miss our parents, we’ve found wonderful substitutes in our four “Big Sisters” living right on the hall with us. They’re always there for late night talks about any sub-ject, and offer great advice, as well as planning awesome activities for everyone.

It’s nearly impossible to believe we’ve only been here for ten days; it feels like a lifetime. August may be over, but the best part is, we still have September, and October, and November... What adventures will be next?" -Kristen Layne

The first days!

The girls have been here three days, and we have had a blast! Our brother and sister halls are getting along so well - many of them spent last night having a dance party on our hall, and a few of them went running together this morning! They've learned loads of cheers, chants, dances, and raps that we have performed for O-Staff. We're competing in a competition with the other brother and sister halls. I think we're doing really well and are definitely one of the top competitors! Our team spirit has been through the roof!

Today we competed in Field Fest. We began the competition with a choreographed entrance that included a protest, group dance, rant, and cheer. Two of the freshmen on our brother hall actually choreographed the dance themselves and taught it to us this morning! After the entrances, the freshmen competed in numerous relay races where their only goal was to have fun...and we accomplished that for sure!

Here are some pictures from our past adventures:

Welcome to the Rainforest!

Get excited to join us on Chiles 300 where we seek to save the dwindling rainforest one spider monkey at a time!

Hello, everyone!

Move-in day is not far away, and soon we will all be calling Chiles 300 our home! If you haven't already guessed, our theme for the 2009-2010 is The Rainforest. A theme simply means that our hall will be decorated like the rainforest, and that all of Orientation Week (O-Week) will be centered around this theme. For the entire year we are paired with two other halls: A sister hall (Haynsworth 100) and a brother hall (Chiles 100). Together we will become a team during O-Week. We will dress up in costumes that show off our rainforest theme, compete in games and activites, and chant cheers that are all about the rainforest! It's going to be a blast!

Some other posts to check-out:

"So, what about...?"
If you have an questions for us, simply ask them here. We will try and respond as quickly as possible.

"Meet your hall staff"
Get to know "us", your hall staff - Elaina McKie, Andi Waddell, Lindley Cone and Laura Estep - a little better

"Things to Bring...and Thing to leave at home"
Here are some things we wish we had of brought our first year at Furman...and some others to leave at home

Abbreviations and Other Furman Slang
Learn what current Furman students call different buildings, groups, etc. so you won't be lost on campus!


"What should I wear?"
Here are some costume ideas for O-Week

"Cheers, Chants and Catchy Phrases"
Help us create some of the cheers we will use during O-week...and come up with your own!"

Abbreviations and Other Furman Slang

Here are some common abbreviations at Furman! Dont' worry if you don't know them now, you'll learn them quickly once school starts!

RA - Resident Assistant
FRAD - Freshmen Advisor
PAC – Physical Activities Center
UC – University Center
DH – Dining Hall
FUPO – Furman Police
SOHO – South Housing
PDen - Paladen (the Pden is located in the UC. Spend your palapoints here on food such as Moe's, Chickfila, sushi, etc.
FUSAB - Furman University Student Activities Board
RLC - Residential Life Council
The Ant Hall - Judson Basement (complete with a kitchen, music practice rooms, big screen tv, pool table, etc.)
The Mall - The big grassy area that runs from the PAC to McAlister Auditorium
Gambrell Beach - Piece of grass between Gambrell and the Art Building where people lay out, do homework, play games, etc. It's also called GBeach
E Field - The field outside of Blackwell in SOHO. It has sand volleyball and basketball

Cheers, Chants, and Catchy Phrases

During O-week we will be learning and yelling tons of cheers and chants. Our brother and sister hall will be joining us in this as we collect points and win O-Week! (well...we may not actually win O-week, but we will have a great time trying!)Help us come up with some great ideas!

What should I wear?

Here are a few costume ideas -- feel free to post your own!

1. Animal costumes (i.e. monkey, sloth, brightly colored bird, snake, or poison arrow frog) See http://www.rainforestanimals.net/ for more ideas!

2. Rainforest scientist outfit (probably hiking or camping gear - pants/shorts and vests with pockets, hiking boots, cool hat, etc.)

3. Save the rainforest protester get-up (white t-shirts we can paint on, jeans/ripped jeans, dread locks [ok you don't have to go that far], headband, etc.)

4. Tribal clothes (A simple dress or skirt made from brown/printed material, a simple shirt, and, of course, face paint!)

Or you could always go with a loincloth (j/k!) There are many other appropriate costumes, and I'm sure you girls will think of other great ideas, so please post a comment and tell everyone!

Things to bring...and things to leave at home

Things You May Want To Bring:

- A vacuum of some kind
- Laundry Hamper or something to carry your laundry in (the laundry room is on the bottom floor)
- A few semi-formal dresses if you have any at home
- Rain Jacket and/or Rain boots (i promise you people wear them - and it rains often)
- Command Strips
- Mattress Egg Crate (If you want an extra comfy bed!)
- Photos of your family and friends
- A camera to capture memories of your first year!
- Costumes for O-Week
- All the essentials - tolietries, bedding, towels, clothes, trash can, etc.
- An alarm clock so you won't miss class!
- A shower Caddy for our Hall Bath

Remember to check with your roommate to find out what she's bringing. The rooms aren't super big, so you want to save all the space you can!

Things to Leave at Home
- A ton of stuff...or at least realize you might be sending some of it back home!
- Candles
- Alcohol
- Nothing that will peel paint off walls
- No screws or nails for the walls or furniture
- Microwaves or Fridges - they're included already!
- Quarters for laundry - also included!
- Any Pets (other than a fish)
- Toaster Ovens (Regular toasters are totally fine!)
- Extension Cords (Get a power cord - you'll need it and they work great!)

Meet Your Hall Staff...

Lindley Cone - Bonjour et Bienvenue! I'm Lindley, and I'm a senior (oh man that's kind of scary!) This is my second time being a FRAD, and I'm really excited to meet all of you! Laura and I are roommates and it's defintely going to be an awesome adventure living in the smallest room I've ever lived in with my best friend. I am a Health and Exercise Science (HES) major and wanted to complete my French major, but I don't have time :( (So any of you who love to parler francais, holla at me!) I plan on going to nursing school after Furman to eventually become a nurse practitioner. At Furman I'm involved with the fabulous co-ed acappella group, FUtones, EVM, LIVE!, and Pauper Players regularly but you can catch me doing random things with the theater department, service groups, and, well, whatever looks like a good time. In the Greenville community, I can be found at Triune Mercy Center and at St. Francis Hipanic After School Program. I am from Thomasville, GA (near Tallahassee, FL) This summer I am chilling in wonderful Athens, GA with my grandparents and spending days at the pool as a lifeguard. It's a pretty sweet deal. I love singing, poetry, great films and music, local food, baking (Laura does the cooking), contra dancing and any other dancing, being outside, all things French, barefootedness, board games, friends, bees and honey, and coke icees. Of course no one can be summed up in a blog bio, but I look forward to meeting every one of you in August! Happy summer!

Laura Estep -
Hola! I’m Laura and I will be your RA for your first year at Furman! This will be the third year I have been an RA (once on a Freshmen hall and once in the apartments). Call me crazy, but I decided to come back to the residence hall for my senior year and drag my best friend and other senior, Lindley, with me! (well…I didn’t really drag her, she came back just as willingly). I’m so excited to live in Chiles again (I was on Chiles MY freshmen year) with Lindley, your other two amazing FRADs (Elaina and Andi), and all of y’all! It’s going to be a blast!

Okay…so now let me tell you a little about me. I’m from Denver, NC, (about thirty minutes north of Charlotte). This summer I spent the month of June at Furman doing PR for an organization, and working in the Housing Office. Currently, I’m in Homestead, Florida for four weeks teaching musical theatre to high school students!

At Furman I am an Education and Communications double-major with plans to go into Drama Therapy after college. On campus I am involved in EVM, Pauper Players, random things in the theatre department, Education Club, and whatever else I feel like getting involved in ( I run in so many different circles). Off campus, I spend a great deal of my time at St. Francis Hispanic Afterschool program, The Woodlands, Triune Mercy Center, and Travelers Rest High School.

I love acting, being barefoot, cooking, directing, Dr. Pepper Chapstick, fishing, Hispanic culture and food, hugs, Mexico, rain, reading, teaching, theatre, the outdoors, water, and working with those with disabilities…I’m interested in drama therapy, Hispanic ministry, immigration reform, and social justice.

See y’all soon!



Elaina McKie

Hi! I'm Elaina and I am a sophomore. My hometown is Irmo, South Carolina, which is just outside of Columbia. This summer I've been working at Belk in human resources and customer service in addition to just spending time with my family and enjoying the small town environment. However, I do miss Furman and I am super excited about living and working on Chiles 300 this year! The change of scene will be nice; last year I lived in room 307 and this year I get to live in room 308!
I am an intended piano performance major here at Furman, so my class schedule is a little bit different than that of the "average" student! I have a job with Furman's pre-college program in the keyboard department and teach little kids (and possibly some big kids, too!) how to read and play piano music. I definitely want to go into pedagogy after college, but I'm not completely committed to one particular field of study. Lately though I've been very interested in special education in music, more specifically piano instruction for blind and autistic students.
Although music is an especially engaging (get used to that word, by the way!) major at Furman, I think it's healthy to step out of the piano bubble and enjoy new experiences and people. Some of my interests include politics (I blame it on the roomie), the Myers Briggs test, op-ed columns, wading in rivers, driving, long conversations, ice cream, comfy sofas, and constant surprises. I like to cook and bake, and in my free time I read a lot; magazines and newspapers fascinate me. I like any movies that aren't too gory or scary, and I'm not ashamed to say that I'm addicted to Facebook, Disney, and NBC's The Office! Most importantly, I love to laugh. And, of course, always being up to no good along with Andi, my roommate!
I cannot wait to work with the rest of C3's amazing hall staff this year, and I especially cannot wait to meet you all in person! August 21st is fast approaching!
As Forrest Gump (great movie!) always says, "That's all I've got to say about that!"


Andi Waddell - Hello! I’m Andi, and I’m going to be a sophomore this year. I’m from Lexington, SC, just outside Columbia. This summer I’ve been working at United Way, a non-profit organization; it’s been the best summer job I could have had! I’m also working at one of my family’s businesses. I got to cook and eat all day with my mom, so that’s been a great job too. I’m a Political Science major at Furman, and I’m considering a concentration in Poverty Studies. After I graduate, I want to work on political campaigns or for someone in political office or for a special interest group or a non-profit organization. Or all of the above; I’m still working on figuring things out. On campus, I’m involved in the Shucker Leadership Program. I’m also usually up to something with Elaina, my roommate for next year and one of your awesome FRADs.

I like reading, traveling, politics, the Myers-Briggs test, movies, eating, RISK, The West Wing, musicals, glow sticks, Coke, my friends, Washington, DC, queso, and the Library of Congress.

I’m so excited to be living on Chiles 3 (I lived there last year, it’s a pretty great hall), and I can’t wait to meet all of you!

"So, what about..."

Here is your chance to ask us whatever you want - questions about what to bring, how you should arrange your room, or our own experiences at Furman!

One of us will try to answer you back as soon as possible, but be patient -- we are busy people!