A Weekend at Oberlin: Part One

Just because Oberlin is in Ohio doesn’t mean the weekends here are dead. There are usually so many events that it is impossible to choose between them – from nights at the Feve (local restaurant) to jarties (jazz parties) to operas, you’ll never spend a night bored. Here is a weekend in my life at Oberlin. 

Friday

12:00 - Focaccia

I ate homemade focaccia from our Bread Maker, Aster, at Pyle Inn Co-Op. Pyle Inn is a dining cooperative where a few other people (40 Obies) and I cook and clean for each other. I also edited my fantasy romance book.

12:20 - Lunch

Lunch is served every day at 12:20 pm. It was red lentils, sweet potatoes, cinnamon carrots, and caramelized onions. After lunch, I grabbed chai tea from the French House fridge and called my older brother Josh.

1:00 - Work

I have two campus jobs at the Career Exploration and Development department. I had two drop-in appointments as a Peer Career Advisor; I then worked as a Communications Assistant on some Instagram stuff.

4:00 - Pottery Co-Op

I am a part of the Pottery Co-Op, another cooperative at Oberlin (there are many). In exchange for free use of the two-story house and all of its clay and materials, I volunteer hours for the co-op. I cleaned for an hour.

5:30 - Hang Out

My eye was feeling weird, probably because of the pollen in the air. As I lay on my bed dying, my roommate Julia hung out with me and entertained my groaning.

7:30 - Jazz Recital

My boyfriend, a jazz pianist in the Conservatory, was playing at his friend and quad-mate’s recital. It occurred in the Cat in the Cream, Oberlin’s local performance venue and a cafe. Every seat was filled by the time I got there ten minutes prior. I sat on some benches in the back and watched Harrison (my boyfriend’s quad-mate and my friend) and Gabi play. Gabi played Brazilian music and invited her dad on stage to play guitar with her. Harrison crooned jazz songs into a microphone with his friends as accompaniment. It was awesome.

9:00 - Chabad

While the rest of the recital party went to the Feve for a celebration, I did not join them. I hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so I went to Chabad House and ate dinner there. The children and I played together while I ate, but I grew tired. Alec and I walked home together.

10:30 - Rock Band

My boyfriend and his band played at Bike Co-Op (sense a theme?). It was a charity show to raise money for Students for Palestine. Julia, Calista, and I went. It. Was. Amazing. His band, which he has dubbed Rock Band, played original rock songs and won over the entire crowd. Harrison, Julia, and I danced together. I was reluctant to leave.

Afterward, we returned to my boyfriend and Harrison’s quad and hung out. There’s nothing like hanging out with the band after a kick-ass performance. I felt like a real groupie, even though we did nothing more than sloth on the couch.

2:00 - Shower & Bed

At 2:00, I had to drag myself away to bed. Julia and I showered, debriefed, and then went to bed at Frouse (French House).

Saturday 

9:45 - Wake

Believe me, it is PAINFUL to wake up at 9:45 am after staying up until 2:30 am. Alas, we persevere. I stretched and read a book.

11:00 - Meet the Joneses

I met with my group to work on our rap for Rap Performance, a 300-level Theater class. We were writing a diss track. It was nice enough outside that I brought my speaker, turned up some beats, and we freestyled some bars. What a great way to wake up.

12:00 - Work

With the bit of time I had before lunch, I read some Comparative Literature theory. Rin, my friend in the class, explained it to me simply, which helped.

12:20 - Lunch

Alexis always prepares ambitious, well-done lunches. She served flatbread, breaded tofu, hummus, tomato and cucumber salad, pickles, and yogurt sauce this time. Mmmm.

1:00 - Crew

After lunch, I did crew. I washed dishes. 

After crew, I worked on homework.

3:30 - Pole Dance

I walked to Hales Gymnasium and trained in pole dance. I am preparing for an upcoming show. Saturdays are a fun day to practice, as there are many people at Hales Gymnasium for Circus and Pole alike.

5:00 - Read

I showered, read a book, and braided my hair into six parts. It took forty minutes, but I looked very cool.

6:20 - Dinner

7:00 - Hang Out

I hung out with my friends at Pyle after I ate dinner. I often do this when I have the time. The best part about dining at a co-op is that my friends are there with me to eat dinner, and we often stay after to hang out. It’s like a friend group that is always there.

8:00 - Opera

The opera was showing this weekend, and my friends Travis and Bradley were in it. Julia and I went together, dressed fancy. It was L’Orfeo, a story of Orpheus and Eurydice. It was very well done. Trust a handful of classical voice majors to deliver.

10:00 - Mochi

Julia bought us mochi from Decafe Market, a dining facility. We ate it on the floor of our dorm room, wet from the rain.

10:45 - Dough

Hanna and I have a cook shift tomorrow for Pyle. We were making a Chinese night-themed meal. We thought of preparing the dough for the red bean buns the night before. Long story short, we made three mistakes:

1. We tried to make the dough the night before. The dough does not need to be made the night before. It should not be made the night before.
2. We did not activate the yeast.
3. We invited our friends to laugh at us trying to make dough.

What turned out was these little hard rolls, perfect when warm and slathered with butter. It was a failure but worthwhile nonetheless.

2:30 - Bed

I ruined my sleep schedule this weekend.

 

Check out part two to hear what I did on Sunday! Spoiler alert: it’s not as fun as partying or making bad bread, but more adventurous. (;