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/