A lot of things have been happening with ROTC, first of all. Last week we had a Marine Lab, which meant a lot of PT, a lot of yelling and, it turns out, a lot of fun, despite or because of the other two. Though I must say, while USMC boots may be made for mad dashes and flutter kicks, our NWU steel-toed shoes weren’t very cooperative. But everybody loved it either way. At one point I was a ‘casualty’ in a fire and had to scream my head off for fifteen minutes straight – it was fun. Believe me, it was fun.
We also had our Navy/Marine Corps birthday ball this Friday, which was nice. A former Navy pilot/SEAL and a USMC General spoke about some of their own past experiences and what it meant to be part of the military. We had a good time; the food was good, and so was the company, despite all the freshmen freaking out because of the sea of gold stripes in the ballroom. You couldn’t move without accidently bumping into somebody important.
The Veteran’s day ceremony at Harvard last night was about the same, except that all the people there weren’t only military personnel, they were also attending Harvard grad schools. Which of course isn’t intimidating at all. They were all really nice, though, and we got to mingle with actual active-duty personnel more than we did at our own ball. And they cut the USMC birthday cake again – for our ball I was on the detail walking it in, so it was nice to just be able to watch the second time around.
Having appointments directly before and after the Veteran’s day ceremony at Harvard made me notice how I change in different atmospheres. It’s not that I put a false persona on, but I see things in a different way and act differently at ROTC events, especially in uniform, especially in SDBs. It’s as if I’m living in two worlds: military and civilian.
This is exacerbated by the fact that 1) ROTC mainly takes place at MIT or BU, not on my own campus/home; 2) people don’t tend to recognize me in uniform, so people I would normally interact with now reply to my waves with blank stares; and 3) ROTC usually takes place very early in the morning, and when we go back to Harvard I tend to go back to sleep before starting the rest of my day. All of these together mean that ROTC exists in a kind of quasi-alternate universe for me, in a different place, with different people, and in what seems a semi-awake twilight zone during my fully-conscious life. This isn’t really a problem; it’s just something I notice more when things are suddenly juxtaposed.
Anyhow, enough about ROTC. There are other things going on in my life, though perhaps not quite as interesting. My CI group is going well; we had some good talks yesterday night and got to know each other a little better. I’m so glad I have a group of girls I can just sit down and talk to about things, or invite out to lunch spontaneously, however infrequently I may actually take advantage of that. We also have the Veritas forum this Friday, but I suppose I’ll talk about that when it happens.
Classes are alright. I’ve about given up hope of getting an A in math, a subject I always loved before, but it doesn’t matter as much as you might think. I’m not, of course, happy about it, but it’s not the end of the world; I got over that years ago. All my other classes are going great and are very enjoyable. I have finished most of my major assignments before Thanksgiving – I have one more paper to finish, but that’s all.
And with the assignments finishing up, there is time open for other more enjoyable things. My current preferred form of free time is a pastime I have long neglected – reading a fiction novel. The catch? It’s in Hebrew! Six months, and I can read and understand a novel – not perfectly, but enough to tell what’s going on. Just the thought excites me – even aside from my natural excitement at the unexplored pages of a physical book!
I have also, quite randomly, started watching episodes of the original “The Incredible Hulk” on Netflix. They’re not bad, if you can ignore the special effects and the fact that the Hulk wears bell-bottom jeans and has hair that looks – well, monstrous.
But TV and movies are for weekends, so right now I’m just chugging through, waiting for Thanksgiving to get here. I’m not homesick – I’m just home-excited. I can’t wait! When you’re in college and only come home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, home doesn’t just mean the glories of family reunion. It means food and rest and, at least to me, warmth.
It snowed yesterday – first time this year. It didn’t last very long, and it didn’t stick, but it did snow. I don’t know if you can see it in the pictures – I couldn’t – but take my word for it; it was there. I wore long underwear for the first time yesterday as well. I grew up with a subconscious distaste for it, probably because my only recollection of it involved vague images of Mr. Edwards in Little House on the Prairie. Turns out, though, it’s quite comfortable. I have a feeling it will be used a lot in the coming weeks – at least until I can head back to Texas. I’m dreaming of a green Christmas…
Well, this installment was pretty long, since I had a bunch to cover. I’m using a lot of next week’s ammo up here, so don’t worry; my next post should be shorter! Until then, I wish you health and happiness and, if you live somewhere less wonderful than the American South, a few pairs of long underwear.
God bless!
PS (aka Glossary, feel free to ignore):
ROTC – Reserve Officer Training Corps
PT – Physical Training
USMC – United States Marine Corps
NWU – Navy Working Uniform (the blue camouflage one)
MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
BU – Boston University
CI – Christian Impact (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ)
PS - post scriptum
aka - also known as...
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