Baby Show

I've been meaning to write this post for a long time, but I never got around to it until now! Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, my a cappella group (http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dodecs - the site now has my picture!) held our first on-campus show of the year: our baby show. All the upperclassmen refer to us new members as "babies," and the first show is meant to feature the freshmen.

The upperclassmen had previously told us babies that everybody in the group dresses in flair (see my first post) for the baby show, so on the night of the show the other freshmen and I show up to Collis (http://www.dartmouth.edu/~sao/) looking completely ridiculous.

I was wearing:

• Orange swim trunks
• A stretchy, skin-tight, blue polka-dotted shirt
• A shiny pink vest
• Elmo slippers
• A tiger hat meant for a child, complete with ear-flaps
• Angel wings

Again, I looked ridiculous. 

Soon after meeting up with the rest of the group, we quickly found out that the other group members had somehow "forgotten" their flair in their rooms and had all coincidentally decided to dress in jeans and black shirts. Of course that makes sense. They had successfully tricked us, but I didn't care at all. Flair is so common at Dartmouth, people get used to seeing giant banana suits (not even joking) walk through FoCo (the food court). Besides, it was my first time wearing flair, so I felt like I had successfully completed a Dartmouth rite of passage.

When we got to Sigma Delt (a local sorority; we have shows at fraternities/sororities multiple times a term), the place was PACKED. We could barely squeeze through the door, and once we entered, everybody started cheering and screaming. The atmosphere was electrifying, and the place erupted after every song. The other babies and I performed Justin Bieber's "Baby" with new lyrics to introduce ourselves to the crowd, and I swear we would have gotten cheers just from smiling -- the atmosphere was that exciting. 

And this definitely wasn't unique to my a capella group. I went to a lot of the other freshman shows, and every one had the same kind of turnout.

It's Getting Colder...

Currently, weather.com informs me to expect a 60% chance of snow showers tonight. It's November 7th. I'm from Virginia. Snow shouldn't fall until late December.

Although I know I haven't yet experienced the true cold, I'm already scared. I find it almost unbearable to bike home from the library late at night, and gloves are a necessity. At home, I never actually had to experience the cold. I quickly ran from warm place to the next warm place--my home to my car, my car to school, etc. My forays outside were infrequent, short, and bearable. Unfortunately, that's not possible at Dartmouth. I actually have to walk to class (unless I can dupe Safety and Security into transporting me because of my stress-fractured leg). And even though I realize it's only early November, I'm already feeling the cold.

I wonder what January's going to feel like.

Homecoming!

Biking around on campus on Friday before the bonfire, I could legitimately feel the spirit on campus. Everybody was wearing green, and the campus suddenly seemed crowded due to the influx of visiting alumni. Plus, the leaves had suddenly decided to change colors the day before, so the beautiful New England Fall had just hit campus. In short, I could sense Dartmouth's excitement for Homecoming.

Looking back on the weekend, I can say that both the freshman sweep and the bonfire were both unforgettable experiences (Homecoming traditions: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~shmen/dartmouthtraditions.html). Since I live in the farthest dorm cluster, my dorm-mates and I started the sweep. Therefore, I was at the front of the pack once all the other freshmen had joined. Whenever I happened to look behind me, all I could see was a sea of (Big) Green. Literally everybody in the parade was cheering and yelling, and I felt such a strong bond to my whole class. Perhaps the most exciting moment of the sweep occurred while marching through Hanover. Every time we passed by a group of town residents, they would respond enthusiastically by cheering and waving. It was obvious they were so excited to witness the initiation of another freshman class at Dartmouth.

After the sweep, we all marched into the center of the green and waited for the bonfire to be lit. I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about the fire. In case you don't know, it's Dartmouth tradition for a mob of upperclassmen to surround the bonfire and taunt the racing freshmen. I'd heard stories about jewelry getting ripped off, people getting tripped, and even clothes melting from the heat (doubtful?). I'd even recently read an article in the D (http://thedartmouth.com/2010/10/15/news/bonfire), claiming that some upperclassmen wanted to change the whole bonfire experience because it was too stressful for some freshmen. Although all my older friends assured me that I would never forget the bonfire, I still found myself a little scared/nervous as the fire started to creep up the wooden structure. To top it all off, I'm currently in a walking cast because of a stress fracture, so I really didn't want to be forced to run at all.

Thankfully, the bonfire did not live up it's (dreadful?) expectations. Sure, the upperclassmen screamed at us, but I had just as much fun yelling back at them and being proud of my class! No, my clothes did not melt, and traffic jams of people gave me the opportunity to hobble around the fire a few times before anybody could actually run. Upperclassmen in my a cappella group even sprinted into the ring to do a lap with me!

Homecoming was the first time I witnessed the depth of the student body's passion for Dartmouth. It couldn't be any more accurate that everyone here LOVES Dartmouth, and I know I feel exactly the same way.

P.S. the bonfire was HUGE. Here's a picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dartmouthflickr/5128189653/

Hardcore Housing

I like to think of myself as being a member of the most hardcore floor at Dartmouth. Why? Because we live at the top of the absolute farthest dorm on campus. The River, my housing cluster, is widely agreed to be the worst dorm possible. We're far from everything - classes, food, the gym - and we don't even have nice, new buildings. However, as I quickly discovered, where you live on campus doesn't mean anything when you're surrounded by the incredible people that populate Dartmouth.

My first Saturday on campus, I woke up late to find half of my floormates still in their pajamas. Classes hadn't started, we had no commitments, and so Saturday was an absolutely free day. As we sat in our hall, our UGA, Michelle, walked by and told us she was making tea and that she welcomed us to join her in her room. In case you don't know, a UGA (undergraduate advisor) lives on every dorm floor at Dartmouth and is always available to help out with choosing classes and deciding on activities. More importantly, however, every UGA is an upperclassmen who wants to help scared freshman acclimatize to the Dartmouth lifestyle.

A couple of us took Michelle up on her offer and camped out on her floor, wearing pajamas and drinking tea. And so we sat, for five whole hours. We were shocked when we looked at the clock and realized we had wasted away the whole day doing... what exactly? Talking about whale tattoos and Homecoming? It's funny that even though I can't remember all that we discussed that day, the "tea party" still sticks out as one of my most valuable memories of Dartmouth so far.

I think it's because it symbolizes what Dartmouth is all about: making connections. I haven't even been on campus for a month, and I can already tell that some of the people I've met are going to become my lifelong friends.

So even though my dorm is closer to Vermont than to some parts of campus, I wouldn't change my experience for anything.

A Cappella

As an early decision admit, I've been stalking the a cappella scene at Dartmouth since December 2009. Before I even stepped foot on campus, I'd watched all the youtube videos and exhausted all the information available online. A cappella was the only thing I was sure I wanted to do on campus, and through all of orientation, I awaited the auditions with bated breath.

At Dartmouth, a cappella auditions are a big deal. And they take a long time. For the guys, they start the last day of orientation, the day before classes start. My first round began at 1 PM. We sang for a couple hours and then had a break until around 9, when each different group posted a callbacks list. After the second round ended at around 3 in the morning, the groups deliberated once again. Two floormates and I sat in my room together, vowing to make sure none of us fell asleep. The third round started at around 4:30 and didn't end until 6:30. It's hard to focus, let alone sing, at 5 in the morning, but I somehow finished the audition and sleepily headed home, picking up a giant cup of coffee on the way back.

For me, the lengthy process paid off. As I arrived home, members of my new group (the Dodecs!) appeared outside my dorm, surrounded me, and sang a traditional Dartmouth number before piling into a car to surprise the other new members. Their energy was infectious, and I found I wasn't even tired during my first college class that morning.

The next night, they broke into my dorm room at 2 in the morning and told me to wear socks on my hands and boxers on top of my pants. They blindfolded me and forced me to belt Lady Gaga to a random stranger we encountered outside my dorm (I still don't know who that was?). I met the other new '14s in the group, ate a great meal at a gas station (don't ask), and came back to my dorm feeling so welcomed.

Situations like that are the norm at Dartmouth. Every group on campus is SO excited to welcome new freshman to campus. We had enough late-night surprises to wake up the hall every night during the first week of classes. I had heard so much about the "Dartmouth community" before starting school here, but my experiences during orientation showed me it's not a myth. People here love being part of their communities on campus, and they can't wait to welcome new members.

Trips

When I arrived at Dartmouth, I was the second kid from my DOC trip section to arrive. And when I finished signing my name, the first had already gone to the bathroom, which left me standing by myself in front of Robinson Hall, surrounded by the florid colors of H-Croo.

In case you don't know, H-Croo is a group of about twenty sophomores, juniors, and seniors at Dartmouth in charge of welcoming the new freshman to campus and sending them out on their trips. And in order to make sure that the freshman don't feel awkward, each H-Croo dresses in flair, a style of dress unique to Dartmouth. In a nutshell, flair equals ridiculousness. Typical attire for a guy: pink spandex tights, a tutu, tie-dyed shirt, and flaming red hair. Any article of shockingly, obnoxiously bright clothing is perfect. 

I surveyed the scene. The members of H-Croo were jumping around, dancing to blasting pop music. Artists of choice: Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Katy Perry. I turned back to the registration desk and awkwardly asked "So what do I do now?"

The response: "Just chat, dance, do whatever! And all the people with crazy hair really want to be your friend."

By this time, more '14s (what my class will be called during our four years at Dartmouth) had shown up, and I had other confused freshman to talk to. I wasn't yet comfortable with dancing to Ke$ha, but neither were many of the other '14s. I talked, made friends, ate dinner, met the rest of my specific trip, and the next morning set off to spend a few days in the woods.

My trip was cabin-camping, and although it was little less intense than the others, (psycho socialization vs. psycho hiking) sitting in a cabin for days was one of the best ways to be forced to become great friends with a random group of people. And besides, when it's raining and cold, wouldn't you want a roof over your head?

I don't want to spoil more about what happens on trips, but let me say it was the absolute best introduction I could have had to college. It's the kind of thing you can't explain, but have to experience before you can understand the magic (and the dancing).