When Hot, Think Cold

So today after traipsing around in the woods outside of Merrill Gym for my short term course in Forensic Science I ate lunch, filled out an evaluation of my abroad program and lay myself down on the Quad to enjoy the sun. However, about 7 minutes into my sunbathing I came to the unsettling realization that I was hot. I wasn’t just warm but I was hot. Being more sensitive to temperature than most of the people I know, I was so hot I couldn’t sit in the sun anymore and had to move. Sitting alone 8 feet away from my group of friends in a semi-shady region I began to reminisce about winter at Bates (as I had no one to talk to because no one wanted to sit in the shade with me).

Many defame the winter once winter semester comes to a close and spring begins. Everyone gets sick of seeing ugly, gigantic piles of snow that seem like they will never go away. People get fed up with not being able to sit outside or wear sandals. However, it seems that once the snow melts and spring arrives, Batesies forget that there even was a winter. They forget that the ground they are sitting on was just recently covered in mud-snow. But despite all of its potential depressing effects, winter at Bates is MAGICAL. And I say magical because I mean it’s of or pertaining to magic and mysteriously enchanting.

My favorite winter day this academic year would have to be the ice storm in February. Staying with a friend in Auburn, we awoke on a Wednesday morning, walked outside and my jaw just dropped. I have never, never seen ice look so awesome in my life. When I was really young there was an ice storm in D.C where I lived at the time and my dad and some neighbors had to go chip away ice covering the drainpipes lining the street which was cool but this ice storm rivaled even that. With every gust of wind the trees tinkled, they actually tinkled because each and every branch was covered in a thin layer of ice. The entire landscape glistened and tinkled and it was magical. So the next time you find yourself forgetting the snow, appreciate it for it is not all bad and remember that it’s way easier to make yourself warmer than to make yourself cooler.

Shhh,

Steph

Here are a few pictures from the February storm:

Tags: short term, Merrill Gym, winter, Bates, Bates quad, temperature, being hot, being cold, magic, ice storm