One of the highlights of my Columbia housing experience was sophomore year when an acquaintance from a Barnard linguistics class asked if I would be interested in joining a Japanese special-interest house. I had just started studying Japanese at Columbia and thought it would be a great idea to live with other students with a similar interest. We could cook Japanese food, practice conversation, and watch obscure movies. But what sealed the deal was when my friend told me that we would be eligible for a special suite in 616. Since I had arrived on campus only a few months earlier, I had always wondered what it would be like to live across the divide of Broadway. I'd be closer to Ollie's; I'd be closer to the subway; I'd be closer to the girls. My sophomore year living in 616 turned out to be a great experience. Although I met lots of people I would never have met, and my Japanese improved substantially, I didn't achieve my most significant goal: Junior year, I still wound up living in Wien.