Oberlin Blogs

Yard sales, integrating into the Oberlin community, and the hunt for the perfect antique desk.

I mentioned before that the first few weeks of college equals '50s housewife meets college student: shopping for classes, ironing out schedules, and cleaning and unpacking all belongings, and if the weather doesn't take the temperature dip it did a few days ago, flowery dresses and sunglasses.

It suddenly hit me that I have only four days left at my internship at La Opinion, and only two weeks left in LA.

There is no required reading for freshmen at Oberlin, but a quick flip through Lord of the Flies could be real helpful.

I have just passed the two week point of being home for the summer. And since this is an Oberlin blog, this is about what's different at my summer home and my Oberlin home.

Luck, however, was with us, in the form of a front loader.

You may or may not have heard that the bathrooms are gender-neutral at Oberlin. This may or may not concern you, your parents, or someone else whom you hold dear.

Thankfully, there were senior members who talked me through the best ways to peel garlic, fry potatoes, and make an omelet. Never would I have imagined that a group of students could be efficient and capable enough to orchestrate what functioned like a self-contained dining hall.

Remember how I mentioned there are all these distractions during reading period and finals? Ah, yes, there is another one I failed to mention earlier, and that is PACKING.

There's something cool about occupying spaces that have so much history in them, so many Obies who've lived there in the past...

I got a little overzealous and started quizzing people on their "action items," which I think only confused the issue.

I got into Harkness co-op the summer before my freshman year and have stayed loyal to the Harkness flag ever since. This year, I think I am the oldest and most experienced veteran Harkness resident. Just call me Auntie Harkness.