In the past few weeks, New Jersey and Maine have done their best to overwhelm me with winter before I head south to tropical warmth. Since I returned to campus at the beginning of January there has been snow on the ground - powdery snow, icy snow, dirty snow - refreshed weekly with more heavy snowfall. The same rubber boots I will soon wear to keep out mud and chiggers have proven useful for trudging through snow drifts. Last night I even experienced the bizarre blue lightning of a
thundersnow. Thanks for the send-off, New Jersey!
This is my penultimate day in the United States for a few months. I'm accumulating the last little things I need (Rite-in-the-Rain notebooks, malaria meds, beach towel), trying to get my taxes and my summer research planning in order, and enjoying my last few dinners at 2D and leisurely evenings in Emily's room. When I come back, the magnolias will be in bloom and snow boots won't be necessary, and many of my friends will have finished their senior theses. I'm skipping the dreariest part of the Princeton year, in terms of both hard work and gray weather.
I just met the girl who's moving into my old room after returning from a semester in Paris, which means I really don't live there anymore.
