Over the break I "took Dartmouth home" and visited four high schools in my area, handing out pamphlets from the admission office, preaching the Dartmouth gospel, and fielding a number of interesting questions.
"So do you need like, y'know, like good grades to get into Dartmouth?" inquired one poor soul.
"Well..." I bit my lip. "Yes." "What's with this D-Plan thing?" asked another. Cue the five minute D-Plan schpiel. A little involved, but not a tricky question.
"I hear the winter is pretty bleak in New Hampshire. Doesn't it get boring and depressing? What is there to do?" queried someone at every single school I visited. Now there's a good question.
There's no faster way to lose credibility than to claim Hanover to be an exciting tropical paradise in the winter. I could have given the typical reflex answer: "You can go skiing and um... well the Hop must have something..." But I didn't. The idea of skiing is about as appealing to me as hanging out with townies in the McDonald's parking lot. And despite vowing every other day to attend more Hop events, it has yet to happen.
Instead, I gave them my honest opinion. Yes, the blinking neon "Fun Here" sign isn't anywhere in the town limits of Hanover, or even in the fast food wonderland of West Lebanon. Grey skies with four feet of snow may not be a morally invigorating backdrop. If you're not careful, you can get bored to death inside just as fast as you can freeze to death outside, but in both cases you'd have only yourself to blame. With a good parka and a healthy dose of creativity and initiative, winter can be just as much fun as any other term.
Not that I didn't make every effort to convince my parents that I should spend this term in California, and not that I don't feel mildly apprehensive about the Winter 97 "R" on my D-Plan, but seeing this term as a nine-week hibernation can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The key to fighting the winter blahs is to keep yourself busy. The campus may slow down a bit, but your social life doesn't have to follow suit, and so right here for your reading enjoyment, I offer the ever-popular "Julie Sloane Guide to New Hampshire Fun" (abridged version)...
If outdoor activities make you feel all warm inside, skiing, sledding on the golf course, snowball fighting, and ice skating at Occum Pond or Thompson Arena are the staples of winter. Then again, if outdoor activities just leave you cold and bad winter puns are more your thing, you might want to look indoors.
The college itself provides a number of activities that most people just don't think to take advantage of. The jewelry and woodshops in the basement of the Hop are open nearly every day and you can bring in a sketch of something you want to make and they'll show you how. Also in the Hop basement is the Paddock Music Library and its huge collection of CDs. They will lend you a headset and you can listen to any disc in the library on their stereos. Before leaving the Hop, don't forget about the Film Society's thirty-some movies per term, not to mention all the incredible performances the Hop brings in. If you buy tickets a few weeks in advance and make plans to go with a friend, you will be more likely to go.
The arts are alive and well, but that's not the end of what Dartmouth has. Alumni Gym is the home of one of my favorite places -- the pool. They have regular daily hours for anyone to swim. Of course your wet hair might freeze outside, but that's just one great excuse to use the fireplaces that are in many dorm rooms. If you're lucky enough to have one, use it! (And they work especially well when you open the flue...)
One of my absolute favorite study breaks is taking a friend to get dessert at the Ivy Grill in the Hanover Inn. For a few dollars on your Dash card, you can get a delicious dessert and coffee whilst soaking up Hanover Inn atmosphere. On the cheaper side, you can always cook for yourself in the cluster kitchens. Last term, my friend threw a "dinner party" that was unusual and great.
That is only a sampling of what Hanover has to offer, but sometimes you just need to break out. As pathetic as it might sound, bargain shopping and people watching in West Leb can do the trick when Hanover seems too small. The Advance Transit shuttle can take you to the illustrious K-Mart shopping center, home of more cheap shoes and astroturf doormats than you would know what to do with. Boston, Montreal, or Burlington are a trifle more exciting, and they're easily reached by bus.
Like it or not, winter is upon us. Enjoy it!
