Dancing My Happy Dance

I GOT MY 91!

I GOT MY 91!

I GOT MY 91!

… on the Japanese test. :D

Hit by Cupids Arrow (2/14/12 through 2/17/12)

Valentine’s day lasted nearly a whole week.  On the Friday that opened Winter Carnival, Meili and I attended a card-making activity in Collis.  We both enjoyed the chance to exercise our creativity and youthfulness, although our cards were much more elaborate and cleaner than any elementary student could have made.  I assembled a cute booklet for Pranam in which I would later paste photos, multilingual sayings, and a manga-style comic I drew up on Seashore.  For Meili, I found a large piece of forest-patterned cardstock, which inspired the idea to paste on an image of Legolas expressing some sentiment in Elvish.

On Valentine’s Day, at 7:20 in the morning, I hurried to McCulloch 2 to meet Pranam before Japanese drill.  Of course, there is great significance in his choice of a meeting spot.  Although I was running late, I actually arrived before him, and I could see Pranam through the study room’s big window, across into his Morton dorm room.  He suddenly disappeared, and before I could say “hit by Cupid’s arrow” he was behind me with a box of Lindor truffles and a really cute puppy holding a heart.  He is so wonderful.  I named my puppy Kokoro, after the Japanese word for heart!  Now Pete, the bear wearing a Dartmouth hoodie (or Pranam’s alter ego), has a companion. J

Meili and I are two birds of a feather.  We exchanged the exact same gift — Godiva chocolate-covered almonds.  She wrapped hers much better though, with a pretty tissue-paper flower attached.  I’m pretty sure I finished my almonds much faster, but they were so tasty that I couldn’t resist!

Later that night, we enjoyed a double date at FoCo.  Well, it really wasn’t a date at all — one, because it was FoCo, and two because the two guys who came along were both Meili’s suitors.  Usually FoCo is the most monotonous dining hall, but that night, they had a special surprise for us: a chocolate fondue fountain.  I made sure I saved a cup of strawberries and fondue for Pranam, since he was in a meeting.  The fruit and chocolate was definitely the main course.  Then I ate my vegetables.  FoCo also served pastries at the dessert bar, including fruit tarts and chocolate mousse cups.  Steve was entertaining since he couldn’t tell if the mousse cup was edible or not (it was).

I could have stayed at FoCo all night devouring sweets, but I had to run to the Hop to meet Cynthia, Evelyn, and Teresa for J-Shop.  That is, making jewelry while snacking on… more chocolate!  This was especially entertaining with Ian there.  He’s a junior on the demanding engineering track, and this term he’s actually on the Hanover FSP, which means he’s living off-campus but working at Dartmouth.  Why is this significant?  He’s my adoptive trip leader (Pranam, Cynthia, Erica, Conor, etc. were on the Farm Living trip last fall under his guidance) and the object of all our affectionate stalking and creepy behavior.  Fortunately, Cynthia got the chance to really impress him with her awesome wire-bending skills.  She made the most intricate rings, while I just made treble.  No seriously, I made a ring with matching earrings of that cute, squiggly G-clef symbol.  Totally deserved a laugh and a half.

On Friday, I finally went on my first dinner date.  I was so afraid that I wouldn’t be able to go, since I almost went home that weekend after being sick.  Good thing my stomach flu lasted only 24 hours!  If it hadn’t been five months (to the day) since I had met Pranam, I would have been so nervous about creating conversation and being scrutinized from across the table.  But actually, I think we were prepared well; he even matched his tie to my dress.  He brought me to the Ledyard Canoe Club, a nicely furnished restaurant with the tastiest dishes.  Together, we ordered some cod, risotto, calamari salad, and coconut sorbet.  We really enjoyed ourselves, and I will never forget this night.  It was seriously more romantic than any movie set, with the dim lighting and the small, intimate table by the window, the quaint town of Hanover, and the beautiful night outside.

I need to return the favor, and I guess I can start with Hairspray tickets!

Not Again, Please, Zeus Almighty, NOT AGAIN

February 15, 12 AM, alarm goes off to the classic iPhone “Marimba.”  My head is throbbing, my stomach is aching, my muscles are shivering.  What is this?  Have I been sleeping all this time?  I roll out of bed to start my homework for the evening, but I realize that I am mentally incapable of comprehending anything I read.  My temperature reads 102.  I give up.  I want to go home.  Blackout.  Something makes me think Pranam stayed the night, but then again, I had a dream about Meili and Steve.

Déjà vu.

I not only fell ill on a Tuesday, but I became cognitively impaired on the second week of major exams.  Huge FML — especially because this happened just a couple weeks ago.

Like, Love, CTY, Dartmouth: A Reunion (Part 2) (1/14/12)

The next morning, we woke up groggy and headed off to Little Italy for some brunch. I was starving. We walked a whole lot, through the Boston Common and North End, until we came upon Regina’s Pizza. It was so delicious and filling. I remember Pranam ordered something with anchovies, and Meili ate her pizza in a special way that consisted of scraping all the toppings off the crust.

Afterward, we walked a little more and found Mike’s Pastry. Each person ordered something different so we could all sample each other’s dessert. I really wish I had pictures of such sweet, decadent amazingness, but even those wouldn’t do justice to how nirvana the experience really was. We sampled a fruit tart, cannoli, Napoleon… I broke my fork on Meili’s cannoli. :P

After that, unfortunately, we dropped off Caroline so she could head back home to New York before returning to Cornell a week later. It was a sad parting, but I’m sure we will see each other soon, maybe in the spring, or maybe after I get back from Japan. Of course, before Meili, Pranam, and I departed for Dartmouth, we had to do some more eating. Priyanka brought us to Tuscanini’s, the best ice cream place ever. I have to go back there next time I am in Boston.

On our way to Masseeh, Priyanka also showed me the building that housed the MIT Linguistics Department. It’s really too bad I couldn’t get access to the hall containing Noam Chomsky’s office!

We were running very late. The five of us had to rush back to Priyanka’s room to gather our bags, since we only had about 20 minutes until the bus would leave South Station. And then we were back where we started, scampering like little groundhogs through the corridor. I was so sad we weren’t able to say formal goodbyes to Adam and Priyanka, but seriously, if we had stopped for just one more second, we would have missed the Dartmouth Coach back to Hanover.

O Fortuna

Highlights of this weekend:

Mom’s winter visit to Dartmouth

Glee Club Carmina Burana concert in Spaulding

Strawberries and Nutella party in McCulloch 306

Lou’s brunch with Pranam at the Top of the Hop

Highs and Lows

 I’m slightly surprised that I haven’t mentioned this before, but as part of the freshman residence program, we attend (optional) weekly floor meetings hosted by our Undergraduate Advisors.  Every week, Abby and all of us catch up on each other’s Dartmouth experiences by going around the room and stating our highs and lows of the week.  I guess I’ll do the same in this post, in chronological order, to update my lovely followers on 12W.

Low: Having my essay torn apart up by my seminar professor

I cried.  I still have the page of neuroscience notes that I cried over when I received the email full of cold criticism.  I had worked incredibly hard on this Tale of Two Cities paper, and I felt like I had wasted it all by not writing an acceptable paper.  I ended up pulling an all-nighter to follow the professor’s advice and change my topic.

Low: Getting sick on a Monday

7 AM, alarm goes off to Avicii.  My head is spinning, my stomach is churning, my eyes are burning.  What is this?  I sit up and almost fall off my bed in a dizzy, blurry daze.  Somehow I drag myself to Japanese drill, fall asleep, and wake up when class is over.  I have the chills.  Not from the cold New Hampshire winter, but just this bone-eroding freezing-ness.  The only warm spot on my body is my forehead.  That’s a bad sign.  I want to go home.  I push myself to neuroscience and the symptoms get worse.  I even go to Glee Club, and by the end of rehearsal I’m so exhausted.  I go to bed early and wake up the next day feeling exactly the same.  Unfortunately, this continued for the rest of the week, and I could not help but take naps, skip classes, miss extracurriculars, skip meals, etc.

Lower: Getting sick on midterms week

That’s right.  I not only fell ill on a Monday, but I became cognitively impaired on the first week of major exams.  Huge FML.  But somehow, I made it through with a handful of Bs.  That drives me nuts, since my GPA is quite depressing at the moment, but considering the circumstances, I’m satisfied enough.

High: Losing 2 pounds during sick week

Low: Gaining 2 pounds back

Winter is a time for laziness, not leaving the dorm on weekends, and eating junk food from the East Wheelock snack bar past 12 AM.  I’m trying really hard to manage my weight, but limited opportunity (read: motivation) to exercise makes this pretty challenging.

High: Unofficial acceptance into the Japan LSA at Tokyo

All of my hopes and dreams are starting to come true!  I met with Dorsey-sensei last week for an interview to discuss my application, but he didn’t actually interrogate me.  Instead, we discussed that the LSA was going to be like and what I would be doing with the group in the next term-and-a-half to prepare for our program.  The orientation sessions should be starting up soon, after the official letters are sent to us sometime this month.  There isn’t much to say now, but don’t worry, I’ll be devoting this blog to adventures in Japan this summer.

High: Scoring a 98 on a Japanese Quiz

Low: Scoring an 81 on a Japanese Quiz

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore Japanese and Ishida-sensei, but seriously, she takes points off for every missed line and angle on Kanji quizzes.  I know that her scrutiny will ultimately push my calligraphy skills to perfection, but how much can my grade suffer before I achieve that?  I really enjoy involving myself with everything Japanese on campus, from Nihongo Table to Dartmouth Japan Society.  The meetings tend to be more social than productive, but it’s great to be surrounded by people who are just as passionate about Japanese language and culture.  A couple weeks ago, we watched Hayao Miyazaki’s latest movie Arrietty; it was very well done.

High: Carmina Burana concert

I love our program for the Glee Club concert this Saturday.  Carl Orff really composed an epic masterpiece.  Even though the style is Minimalist, the chorus and orchestra together create such a powerful sound.  After a month of preparation and lots of technical practice, I am so excited to perform this for real.  Oh, by the way, the prelude to the major work will be some of Copland’s American Songs.

Higher: Pranam and Meili are coming to the concert

Highest: My mom is coming to the concert

Thanks guys!  I hope we are everything you expect and more!

High: Getting sleep last night

I forced myself to go to bed at 9 after Glee rehearsal.  It was so worth it.

High: Mrs. Chatterjee said YES!

My mom and I have been thinking of hosting some of my friends at the James Place Inn in Freeport, where she currently lives after having moved from Winslow, Maine.  Meili will be in China during that time — the invitation is extended to any interim break, by the way — but Pranam is interested in living my lifestyle during spring break, who knows why… it’s usually uneventful.  I guess the similarity of Freeport to Hanover makes it appealing, and my mom mentioned taking us on some nature trips and letting us shop around Main Street.  Actually, I think there’s more of a selection of shops and restaurants than downtown Hanover.  Now, I have to work out some of the dates — I’m thinking from Thursday to the Sunday before spring term classes begin.  We’re going to have so much fun!  I hope Pranam can prevent his mom from changing plans. J