End of Term Bonfire!

My dorm, Nourse, held a bonfire this weekend. Look:

Ok, our fire wasn’t the greatest. But it wasn’t bad!! Capri-sun boxes and scrap paper from the Goodhue printer kept it alive enough to roast marshmallows!

Takeaways from my experience:

Andrew, CSA president, likes to burn the heck out of his marshmallows—like, really burn them. Two fell in the fire, and third time was the charm for a crispy cinder on his graham-cracker. He’s graduating this year, so someone has to carry on his legacy!

Bees are insects, and do, in fact, have legs. They are not, in fact, flying cylinders. (The Bee Movie apparently caused a whole generation to question their existence…)

In the same vein as the bee fact: hibernation does not mean bears sleep for four months straight. I’m so sorry if I shattered your worldview by this fact; my roommate and I just figured it out winter term (through TikTok, no less). Carls are the smartest college students ever!!

You shouldn’t buy four bags of marshmallows because they’re on sale. I know it’s tempting, but don’t.

Ducks are not generally persuaded to join a bonfire, even if offered graham-crackers. It was a sad day for us all when we learned this, but was an especially hard blow to Shannon.

Vote!

Which is better: carefully roasted marshmallows (i.e. toasty brown on the outside; gooey on the inside) OR marshmallows that have caught on fire multiple times?

My roommate and I are trying to win a bet.

The whole experience reminded me of being back in my hometown, camping and constantly being followed by smoke from the fire. It was especially nice as we were on Mai Fete Island, which looks towards Goodsell Observatory and out over Lyman Lake—both gorgeous, especially at sunset.

It was also great to finally meet more people living in Nourse! It’s been a great home for the past year, and I’ll be sad to move out.

Unfortunately, it got cold fast, so my roomie and I headed back to our room for our last weekly movie night of the term. Fear not, though: our movie nights will continue! We are rooming together again next year in a campus house… Send us movie recommendations—we’ll need them!

Erin grew up catching salamanders, recklessly climbing trees, and running around barefoot in the Appalachian Mountains in a small town in North Carolina. This is her first year at Carleton, and she’s looking forward to meeting new people, exploring campus (especially the arb!), and experiencing her first Minnesota winter. She is currently interested in studying psychology and gender, women’s, and sexuality studies. Meet the other bloggers!