Like, Love, CTY, Dartmouth (Part 1) (1/14/12)

 This is a very, very, very belated post, and I apologize profusely.  But, alas, I have an excellent excuse!  I have been quite sick this week, and became too weak to engage my mind and body in just about anything beyond sleeping.  I’ll complain about this misfortune in a later blog post, so be prepared for a downer.

Saturday, January 14 was the best day of my life.  I woke up very early (5 AM early, not 7:45 AM Japanese drill early) to prepare for a grand journey to Boston with my two best friends here at Dartmouth, Pranam and Meili.  Mission: to reunite with Caroline and Sharon from CTY, stay with Priyanka at MIT, and meet Adam after hearing so many wonderful things about him.  After packing all the necessary sleepover supplies, we boarded to Dartmouth coach at 7 AM and enjoyed a nice nap on the way to South Station.  When we landed, Caroline and Adam were already inside impatiently awaiting our arrival.  I can still imagine Caroline jumping up and down in front of the window and “glomping” me in the doorway, blocking the other irritated travelers from entering.  She must have grown since I saw her in Harvard Square during summer 2010 — I actually fell this time!  Although I was just shaking his hand for the first time, it seemed like I had known Adam all along.  I guess the chat sessions helped this past year and a half.

The five of us took the subway to… some place in the middle of Cambridge.  I was already pretty disoriented.  I am not sure where the destination was, but we waited in the lobby of a hotel until Sharon and Priyanka came out of the MIT Coop.  Wow, it was amazing.  I had not seen Sharon since our tearful parting at CTY Skidmore in 2009, and she looked better than ever!  So much has happened since then, as we followed each other’s college applications experience while sharing memories and making new inside jokes… all on Facebook.  It was overwhelming to have these wonderful people by my side again.  If you haven’t read my post about Thanksgiving at Dartmouth, I suggest you do, because it was such a fun day.  Of course, Priyanka and the Chatterjee family are the people who made it especially memorable.  I remember she left a really great first impression on me, not just because she’s Pranam’s twin sister, but also because of her kindness, vivacious spirit, and brilliance.  We had already shown her around our campus, so I was excited for her to share her own habitat with us.

Adam and Priyanka gave us a tour through MIT’s underground tunnel system, and even went shopping cart surfing through the corridor!  On our way, we met up with some of Priyanka’s friends and observed some epic glassblowing, a project that Priyanka has begun during her January term.  In the end, we made our way outside and across the street to Masseeh Hall, Priyanka’s dorm.  It was so new and clean, just like a hotel (apparently it used to be a hotel, but then became renovated to accommodate MIT students)!  I wish I had pictures, I don’t know why I never took some inside.  I’ll never forget how impressed I was with the vaulting in the lobby area Priyanka’s room was small, but so cute and tastefully decorated.  After Meili and I unloaded our bags there, we all walked to Flour, a famous café, for lunch.  I ordered a delicious chicken-vegetable sandwich and rich hot chocolate.  Everyone looked so happy, and I really enjoyed watching all the members of our Shmob becoming familiar with each other!  From there, we walked down the street toward Harvard Square, stopping in a quaint little shop on the way.  It was so Meili and Priyanka style; the jewelry was exquisite and there were so many beautifully colored and patterned scarves to admire.

Despite my joking with Sharon and Caroline about licking the John Harvard statue, we never actually entered the gates of Harvard.  Instead, we stopped at a sandwich place for Pranam and Priyanka to get some more food.  The day was so gorgeous, after a week of snow and bad weather; it was seriously a heavenly day, surrounded by sun, cloudless sky, and the best of friends.  From there, Priyanka took the seven of us to “Sweet,” a cupcake shop.  Those treats were so sugary, attractive, and delectable, and the flavors were quite creative, from hot cocoa to red velvet.  We gathered at a Starbucks shop to enjoy them together, and more fun conversation ensued.  Afterward, we made our way to the Kofuku gift shop, at my request.  It’s such a “kawaii” place, a little basement filled with imported Japanese collectible items, mostly having to do with Hayao Miyazaki anime characters like Totoro.  I bought a sweet little white Totoro to decorate my desk area.

My memory is not as extensive as it was last week.  I am pretty sure from there we headed to Newbury Street to engage in more shopping.  From second-hand stores to Anthropologie, the girls marveled at all the clothing while the guys just smiled and nodded.  I’m pretty sure it was all worth it for Pranam and Adam at a little dress shop called 344.  Priyanka was actually shopping for a dress to wear to a sorority semiformal, so the rest of us joined in and thought it would be fun to model some dresses ourselves.  And voila, Meili burst out of the curtains in this stunning, jaw-dropping bodycon making the guys swoon!  Everyone looked so beautiful.  I was slightly disappointed that the sweet little tube dress I tried on didn’t fit quite right around the bust, but I’m glad I didn’t buy it on impulse since Dartmouth’s formal winter ball conflicts with the Glee Club dress rehearsal (see later post).

That evening, we spent our last few hours with Sharon at a nice Chinese restaurant.  I wish I could remember what tasty dishes we ordered…  It will come to me eventually.  Around 8 or 9 PM, we brought Sharon to the Ruggles stop via the “T” and headed back to the MIT stop on the red line.  I was in utter bliss the whole day, walking beside Sharon and catching up on life, and her time allowed with us was too short.  I hope studying for that midterm was worth it! ;)  Maybe next time she will stay overnight with us, wherever we decide to reunite.  Maybe that place will be her house in Schenectady.

None of us slept much that night; I think we received just enough.  Many of us napped in the fifth floor common area until we were kicked out by the authorities.  Caroline followed Adam back to his room while Meili and I relocated to Priyanka’s room.  I felt pretty bad for Pranam, who technically could not sleep with us in Priyanka’s room and had to stay awake between 2 and 3 AM to wait for another friend let him in across the hall.  I woke up to him sitting at the end of my air mattress texting, and I wished I could have let him have it instead of me.  Thank goodness the friend arrived a couple minutes after I noticed this.

I’ll continue this story later.