Other non-academic things have occurred
this term too.
I just learned that my East Wheelock
application was accepted for Fall ’12, and Spring/Summer ’13. Phew, I’m very
relieved. My housing number 4500 was pretty low, well, not as low as my
roommate’s 4697 out of 4700. I was
anxious about the decisions letter, since I really wouldn’t want to live in the
undesirable dorms like Mass Row or… (cringe) the Lodge. I heard that Pranam and Evelyn will be living
here too, I wonder what dorm they will pick.
After seeing Pranam’s awesome three-room double in Morton, I think I
want to live there too, even though any of the four would be excellent.
Right across from East Wheelock, I am
signed up for the Tennis PE on Topliff Courts.
It’s kind of like the drill class I used to attend with my mom in
Waterville at the Champions Fitness Club.
So far we have practiced our forehand and backhand groundstrokes, and
also serves and returns. After dropping
out of tennis team senior year, I forgot how much fun the sport was. I enjoy playing with different types of
people and figuring out how best to play against their individual styles. Outside of class, I’ve also been playing sets
with my friends on the weekends. It’s
been very challenging to get back into the fast, “first singles” pace of Erica
and Chris, but surprisingly I can handle it much easier than Pranam’s painfully
slow, high slices. I still cannot beat
him because he is so consistent. I love
to hit hard since it’s so cathartic, but if I really want to improve, I’ll have
to become more of a patient, defensive opponent.
Since I am in tennis, I am no longer in
ballet. However, to keep myself in
dancing shape, I attend ballroom events from time to time, from Thursday Night
Salsa and Tuesday Night Tango. My floor
mate Cynthia is teaching TNS now, and I am always so proud of her when I watch
her show other people (including me) what she loves to do! She is also leading an East Coast Swing showcase,
although rehearsals have kind of gone by the wayside for now. Perhaps they will resume after Dimensions and
midterms.
Nightlife during spring term is much more
active than winter, I think, since it is much warmer. So far, I’ve been to Tri-Kap and Heorot dance
parties. I still like Tri-Kap better
because the dance floor is not in a stiflingly hot, humid basement. Although I am adhering to my no-alcohol vow,
it’s nice to let loose and groove for a couple hours. Greek life? Yes, I have
really considered Greek, life, but I’m not committing to anything like those
social scenes. Since I really do not
want to waste time acting superficial and stressing over fashion, I have opted
out of sorority rush, and I decided to participate in something more fun, whimsical,
and laid-back: COED RUSH! The two houses I must choose between are Alpha Theta
and Phi Tau. I know people from both,
through Glee Club and Japanese, and I have involved myself in both, like the
Staccato step show and the upcoming Dimensions flash mob. Both houses host really cool events, like
Mellows and SEX. ;)
Speaking of which, this term the Glee Club
is reworking old traditional Dartmouth music and recording a demo album. Building up to its release sometime in June,
we are holding two concerts, one for Dimensions and one for Parents’ Weekend,
and going to some rural area in Vermont (I think) for a photoshoot. Also coming up is the New Music Festival, in
which different student ensembles perform music arranged by other
students. I’ll be a soprano in the
chorus! However, Louis (director of the
Glee Club and my voice teacher)
actually told me that I have developed better as a high mezzo than a
soprano. I’ll have to try harder at
expanding my range. He did say, though,
that I have reached the breakthrough of figuring out how to physically engage
my body with my voice. I am very proud
of myself, and I can’t wait to prepare for the spring term recital.
I have been pretty active in the Dartmouth
Japan Society, too. Two weeks ago, we
raised money for the anniversary of Japan’s earthquake through a T-shirt sale
and a discussion themed “Rethink, Rebuild, Remember” in which two
representatives from Japan spoke to us about the steps they are taking to
recover. There is one organization
called JEN (http://www.jen-npo.org/) that employs volunteers. I know a lot of friends on the Tokyo LSA+ are
getting involved, probably not through this specific group, but Dorsey-sensei
will be leading students in cleaning up around the disaster site. Unfortunately, I will have to go home so I
can help my mom relocate and rest up before 12F begins. Something I look forward to every week in DJS
is movie night. We watched Warai no
Daigaku, a hilarious comedy about a playwright who is trying to convince a
censor to accept his parody of Romeo and Juliet. If you are ever looking for odd Japanese
puns, you have to watch it! Last week,
movie night was cancelled so I held my own in East Wheelock, and a lot of floor
mates came! I took out Howl’s Moving
Castle from Jones Media Center. Howl is
such a bishonen, and Cynthia really fell in love with him. I think I prefer Calcifer, such a cute fire
with tiny wittle arms and legs… :3
What else has been going on? We are having superb weather this week! To celebrate, I’ve been studying on the
green, surrounded by beach towels, joggers, and Frisbees. I even played some Frisbee with Pranam and
Ben this weekend, which totally reminded me of CTY. I’m glad I didn’t forget how to throw the
shotgun or twisted backhand, as we called them at CTY. Yesterday it reached almost 90 degrees and I
was able to wear a skirt! After we were
fire-alarmed out of the Hop, I randomly craved Gelato so I treated myself with
some delicious Bacci/Cookie-dough mix from Dirt Cowboy. Oishii wa yo~ ;)
Okay, I think I have caught up. I’ll elaborate on the events of this week…
ato de! I’ll be pretty busy with
studying, meetings, and Dimensions, so you won’t be disappointed with the next
update.
