Friday, Friday

Hi, kids! How was your day?

1. Hosted our first prospie (a 'prospective student' for all you laymen)! My roommate and I were mother hens for a night. It was a nice experience.

2. The season premiere of Grey's Anatomy was heartbreaking. :( It was really good in the sense that the audience was able to feel the same emotions as the characters. For instance, Hunt kept noting how nothing was the same anymore and I honestly had the same icky feeling. Deep connections going on here, you guys. Poor Arizona.

3. Regatta on Sunday! Super duper-de-duper excited because it's also my first! The roommate warns that I'll be e x t r e m e l y bored with nothing to do the entire time. Which will probably be true considering I'm tagging along for kicks (kinda).

4. Totally rowed in the rain this morning. The boat was a lovely wide-mouthed bowl/rain catcher and I got to wear a wonderful highlighter suit. The suit was great. Also, let's try to not get distracted by birds while docking, ladies. I'll admit that it was pretty cool, but our docking was not.

5. I'm itching to take an art or architecture class... I miss drafting by hand and building butterboard models. Ah, those were my glory days.

There should be brownies for dessert every night.

Mother Nature Roller Coaster

It was a blazing 60 degrees this morning! Just kidding, I didn't think it was that hot but it actually was 60 degrees. It seems that the morning temperature determines how hot or cold I feel for the rest of the day, even if I take a hot shower every morning. Right now it's 66 and I feel comfortable in my shorts although 2200 other girls are wearing long pants. In contrast, I was freezing all day yesterday and even though it went up to 72, I kept my fuzzy jacket and wool scarf on all day without shedding a drop of sweat.

Enjoy this lovely table:

This really is quite interesting. I must investigate further...

Come in, the water's great!

When it's foggy on the river, it feels like you're in a hot spring and the water is so warm that it's creating steam in the air. But really, the water was quite warm. I would have much rather taken a dip than freeze to bits although I would have had to stay in the water until the temperature crawled up to 70. Or else I really would have frozen to bits.

The fog was so thick that I could barely see past 3 seat and once you could see the shore, you were definitely WAY too close. Plus the skeg was stuck and we were constantly drifting towards the right so I fully utilized my stroke and 2 seats and their holding-water abilities. My stroke seat and I have a special connection now. I can't even muster how many times I asked her to hold water.

On another note, today was supposed to be mountain day! Nearly everyone thought it was going to be today yet alas I still have class later. Madame President, your timing is a bit skewed. I just hope its not tomorrow.

Swackett says it's 59 degrees outside, but I don't believe it. In the morning it's extremely difficult to think that by 3:00 it'll be 70 degrees. New England, your weather is making me sick. (Literally)

L'Aviron

J'aime beaucoup l'aviron.
... is there a French noun for coxing?

Had a wonderful morning even though we had a shaky row. One of the assistant coaches came up to me while I was unplugging the coxbox and said she was really impressed with me, especially since I'm very new to the sport. That lifted my spirits a bit and it was nice to know that someone thought I was doing something right. Good mornings start with good rows.

Started learning sports in French which was a pleasant surprise because now I can profess my love for crew in a different language! But we're going to have to work on those rolling sixes, ladies.

Big Littles

The crew team is spectacular and I love us. White chocolate candy corn M&Ms are quite amazing. (Thanks, Big!)

My roommate and I have agreed to host a prospie next week! It seems like just yesterday that we were prospies ourselves, wandering the campus like lost puppies. One concern: morning practices. I hope she doesn't mind being rudely waken up by crude lighting before dawn. Plus, she'll have to join us for bed at 9. Poor child, I hope she doesn't hate our school based on our visit. We'll try to be very kind and accommodating! No boat tension at home, we promise.

Now I'm super curious as to whom we get... this is going to bother me until her arrival.

Mountain Day's just around the corner...

Firsts

8:28
College is the perfect time to commit all your first deeds, whatever they may be. Today was my first time coxing. I was terrified. Today is also my first sick day as a college student but I'll try not to miss any classes.

I feel like I need to keel over. More later.

10:00
I felt better during the latter half of my class as well as more awake, but while I was walking home I suddenly got a migraine and it sucks. And to add to the misery, I forgot my umbrella at Kendall on Saturday and haven't retrieved it yet. It's raining.

Anyway, despite my nauseous morning, coxing for the first time was definitely an experience. I'm glad Laura was there coaching me along and I apologize for not speaking very loud, I have a cold (it's official). I think I may WebMD that to double check. Tomorrow will be better.

To: Parents of Perspective College-ers

Hello, world. I have come across a magnificent realization... crew gets you into college. THINK ABOUT IT: Many of the top schools nationwide have excellent rowing teams like, for example, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. From that, we can deduce that in order for them to maintain their prestigious claims as rowing powerhouses, they must recruit excellent rowers! Therefore, if your child is an excellent rower (or coxswain) then they have a better chance of getting recruited by top schools without having to be a braniac genius child prodigy.

I suppose that applies to most sports, but crew sounds more awesome than football.

Man, this sounds like an advertisement for rowing clubs.

Foggy Bottom

Went out to the river for our first actual team practice this morning! At 5 AM, it was 39 degrees and I am so glad my roommate reminded me to bring a jacket. On the way to the boathouse, the streets were sparsely lit and it was quite foggy so it felt like we were in a scary movie. "It's so spooky," I said, to which my experienced roommate responded "Oh, Novice." 

With the abundance of fog prevalent even after the sun rose, the morning was especially beautiful. There was a very serene and calming sense on the water that made everything all better. The water melded with the fog and the fog melded with the sky and everything came together. I wish I took a picture. Then there was a beautiful moment just after the sun had risen where the mountains were behind a thick wall of fog and it was just so cool.

Today I spent practice in the launch boats with the assistant coach while following the Lynn and its two sets of rowers. Thank god for the coxswain jackets, it was frigid on the launches. Tomorrow, I am wearing an eskimo suit. And now that we're heading into winter, it will only get colder.

Observing the other coxswains was interesting. I learned from their methods and now I have a better sense of what makes a good coxswain.

When I got home and breakfasted, I couldn't feel the tips of my fingers though. And by the time I got to my room, I lost feeling in my feet. Hot breakfast tomorrow. Hot showers are nice, too. Mom, if you're reading this, please send my ski jackets down up with Elaine. They're hanging in the closet.

I can't... I have Crew

Had our first official meeting this morning (yes, I woke up at 5:30) as a team! The most prominent thing that I left knowing? That I have to get a boatload of stuff (pun intended). That, and cotton = bad. This is the first time I've been persuaded to purchase synthetics because cotton will turn you into iceballs when you're on the water. Maybe I can just pile on polyester from F21.

Plus now that I'm a crewton, there are things that just cannot be:
1. Naps
2. Late night television
3. Coffee after 11
4. Skipping meals
5. Getting sick

I want to take a major nap right now.

5 AM? No Big.

Just thought I'd share a bit of news: I'm officially on the crew team! Now I shall smile and appreciate your cheers and well wishes. (Thanks!) My wonderful roommate startled me with a "CONGRATULATIONS!" then I was all "what? what's going on?"

Now, I've been thinking about this for a while and have come to the conclusion that if the sun gets to sleep in during the winter, so should crewtons! Besides, how useful will we be if we maim ourselves tripping over a large rock that we didn't see because it was pre-sunrise and too dark? Not very useful, right? I'll have to take this up with management.

Aside from the princess-y talk, I would like to acknowledge that I have two nearly full cases of soymilk. I suspect that someone took a few cartons when the case was propping the door open, but I still have yet to finish a single carton. So if anyone needs soymilk, come to the soymilk lady. Maybe I'll sneak a carton into the continental breakfast fridge every day... I also have tea.

Coxswain's Seat

After spending three days overexerting myself in attempts to prove that I should earn a place on the crew team, today I spent crew tryouts in the coxswain's seat! For those of you who aren't familiar with crew, the coxswain is often considered the "brains of the boat." We steer the boat and guide the rowers to win ultimate championships and be the best crewtons on the face of the Earth. Yup! All in a hard day's work as a coxswain crewton.

It was quite nice to observe the rowers from an outsider's perspective because you see what the coaches see which helps you understand the corrections they're making which in turn makes you a better rower. I think every beginning rower should observe other beginners in the water at least once during the learning process. Observations really, really help. Really. Can't wait to do circuits on Saturday! (Just kidding, I'm going to die)

The official roster is coming out later today which I'm very anxious about... I don't think I should be too concerned, but there's always a chance, right?

11

I am now officially a part of the Her Campus Mount Holyoke team! You can read my post here: click me, click me! 

Never Forget.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat...

Today I had my second day of crew tryouts! Today was much more eventful than yesterday, so I'm content :)

Yesterday we just did circuit training that I am currently sore and aching from. Then the coaches went over the movements with us on the ergs. No big.

Then today we transported a boat onto the water (whoah!) which was fairly exciting. There were about 15 girls carrying a single boat and there was so much height discrepancy that I'm sure the taller kids ended up carrying much more weight. And because this was our first time, everyone went reeeally slow which just exacerbated the pain from carrying the boat. But that's all right. Climbed in and played around and such, which was fun. Then more erg stuff.

I'm glad that I don't have to go to morning practices (yet) because I barely woke up at 7 this morning, let alone 5:00. I think my roommate left at 5:10 for practice. But I'm really tired so I am going to go to bed. It's only 8:00. Oh boy oh boy!

The Weekend

I'm a city kid. Born in a city, grew up in a city, went to school in a city, and I never imagined myself living anywhere else besides a city. So what the heck am I doing in "No-Man's Land", MA? Here in South Hadley, the supermarket is a mile away, the closest Staples is 6 miles away, the movie theatre across the street only shows 2 or 3 movies at a time, and the closest thing we have to public transportation is the PVTA. The funny thing is that back home, I despised taking MTA buses. Even though the Q16 was the most accessible way to get to the train, I just had to suck it up and endure the lengthy ride. Now taking buses is the only way to get to vaguely interesting places unless you have a car (which I don't).

So here I am in "No-Man's Land" and I miss the Starbucks on every street corner. I miss the archetypal New Yorker attitude and the all-black blurs of people walking a million miles an hour. I miss being able to walk from Central Park to Bryant Park to Heralds Square to Madison Square Park to Union Square to Chelsea Market to the Highline. I miss Shake Shack and fashionable discount stores, H&M and Chipotle, and I cannot describe how much I want to eat thai.

This won't be a very eventful weekend. I went to the initial meeting for the Mount Holyoke chapter of Her Campus and it was snoozeballs. Not particularly enthusiastic about it, but it'll give me something to think about when I'm bored out of my mind (like now!). Plus, the rain is being particularly entrapping. Maybe I'll start in my homework... later. I also think this school would be a lot more fun if there were males. Just saying.

A Capella

Part of Mount Holyoke culture is a capella and to prove it, I'll list the a capella groups in our school...

First, we have the V8s, more formally known as the Victory Eights. They are the oldest continuing female collegiate a capella group in the history of the world nation. This is their 70th year (whoo!), and they are my personal favorite.
Next there are the M&Cs, short for Milk and Cookies, another tradition here at Mount Holyoke.
Third is Nice Shoes, a feminist a capella group that features songs about saving the world and such. They also have the best name of all the a capella groups in the history of the world. I feel compelled to join them because of that.
Fourth, Sacred Symphonies is the school's Christian gospel a capella group which I find fascinating.
Fifth, we have the Diversions who claim to have been lumberjacks at one point in their history (?). Not sure if that holds up, but they continue to don flannel shirts.
Sixth (whoah!) is MHC RAAG, the newest a capella group at Mount Holyoke that features 'South Asian fusion.' This is their second semester as a formal a capella group.

So there we have it! Six groups, and plenty of a capella to go around!

10:30? Ready to leave! Oh wait, my class starts at 11:30... back to bed!

D-Day

It has come, and now it is gone.

When I woke up this morning my table clock was disoriented so I thought it read that it was 5:45am. At that point I went back to sleep, not knowing what the correct time was. For all I know, it could have been 5:45. Anyway, at 8 I heard someone else's Ikea alarm and woke up (thank goodness for that).

French was pleasant. At first the professor walked in babbling in French and the only thing going through my mind was "Oh my lord what did I get myself into." Then she started calling roll (in English) and I was so reassured. We picked French personas (mine is Colette) and she introduced us to the study of French and how things were going to work in her class while throwing French phrases at us and kinda-sorta understanding what she meant.

After that I went back to my room and did nothing. When I got to my Global Business seminar, I pulled out my French assignment (a questionnaire and general info sheet) to fill out while waiting for the class to start (I was 20 minutes early). To my surprise, the girl sitting to my right asked me if I was taking French. I confirmed, and she shared that she was French, from France. "Oh my god this is amazing you can help me with my homework and all will be right in this world!" Otherwise, the professor for this class is great, I feel connections happening between classmates already, and I feel good.

Convocation, Cookies, and Crew

Here at Mount Holyoke, convocation is a cheering contest. Basically, all the classes congregate together in the amphitheatre to out-cheer each other. It's also meant to welcome everyone back on campus.

Of course, us measly first-years had sub-par cheers as we have come onto this campus from normalcy where people don't cheer at the top of their lungs in the middle of the street. The seniors outdid us all (of course) and one student even had a vuvuzela. We were encouraged by the beat from a drum circle onstage and silenced by a professor's call for "Stillness." Cookies were passed out and savored, helping to remember this moment in our college lives, and I will always remember that they were a little soft for my liking.

Aside from cookies and convocation, we had the first novice crew meeting today! It was interesting to see all the faces that I would be competing against for a spot on the team. My roommate and crew buddy was recruited for the team so she has nothing to worry about. Myself, on the other hand? Ruh-oh. I do suppose, though, that the recruits will be on the varsity team so I have nothing to be intimidated by. Yay no-experience novice!

Classes start tomorrow... yikes!

Hopes and Fears

Mount Holyoke is a completely different atmosphere than what I'm used to. The train isn't a block away, there aren't any homeless people on the sidewalks, the number of non-faculty/staff males on campus don't reach the double digits, and the bathrooms are communal. Since I've been here I feel like being here challenges me in so many more ways than I expected. But like all college students, I have hopes to look forward to and fears that I never want to encounter.

Hopes
During my time in college, I hope to do everything that I possibly can. It may be overwhelming at first, but I look forward to keeping myself busy.

Fears
My biggest fear is under-committing. I don't want college to breeze by without anything to remember it by. Some upperclasswomen that I've spoken to have shared that they wish they had done more during their time at Mount Holyoke because it seems as if they first moved in as first-years just days ago.
College is intimidating. I wish I could continue on that thought, but I can't find the words to express myself.

Honestly, I just can't wait for classes and practices to finally start so I can get in a regular rhythm of things.

xo from SoHads