Winter Term Review, Pt. I

I know, I know, it’s late April and I am writing about winter term. I once again proved that I am the master of procrastination by, well, not posting a blog in over a month (thanks for not firing me my kind supervisors). Also, my justification is, it snowed here in Minnesota like last week! So maybe it’s not too too late to reflect on my winter term right?

Oh what a winter term it was!

It feels like the start of winter term was forever ago! Ahh the good old days when everything was just normal… It’s kinda sad how we (at least I) didn’t realize how wonderful and fortunate it is to have everything at “normal” before this world wide pandemic broke out. Oh well, there’s not much we can do right now BESIDES minimizing non-essential activities and practice social distancing, so let me just give you a quick ride of my “normal” winter term.

It’s NOT THAT cold, actually!

I know.

I really felt the need to put this out there. For my potential prospective or admitted student reader out there (welcome! Hope my blog can make you like Carleton even more!), I was as worried about the winter as you probably are right now.

Trust me, it’s not that bad at all!

The winter before this one had some crazy cold temperatures mainly because of the extremely rare polar vortex, but this year the temperature had only gone below -20 °F once (sounds like an odd thing to brag now that I said (typed) it out loud)! Usually the coldest temperature of the day is around the 0 to -10 °F range, which was perfectly manageable in my opinion!

And honestly, you would only spend limited time outdoors in the winter anyways (except for fools like us who play Intramural broomball outdoors, but that would also be canceled if it gets too cold outside). This past term, I had to get up at 7:30 in the morning to walk across campus to my 8:15 class (something that no one would recommend you to do) twice a week throughout winter term, and it turned out just fine for me (not saying I would recommend doing it though).

I guess there are two main strategies of staying warm: layering-up or get-a-big-jacket (alternatively you can also be like my roommate who’s just immune to the cold if you can). I myself is on the get-a-big-jacket side, but honestly both would work great for surviving the winter (there’s heating everywhere! You are not camping ten weeks in the middle of Antarctica)! Carleton also supports the students by organizing a winter closet program that encourages students to donate their not-so-useful winter clothes, and allows students in need to take the donated clothes for free. I took advantage of this opportunity and grabbed myself a scarf that was crucial to my winter survival.

Heated Intramural Broomball

Speaking of Broomball, allow me to introduce one of the favorite things I learned recently! The wonderfully amazing sport of Broomball! I was so excited when I first played it at the start of the term and I wrote this blog about it so go check it out if you want to! But if you don’t know what it is, Broomball is basically hockey, but less violent, easier to start playing, and a lot more (chaotic) fun! Intramural Broomball is probably of the most popular Intramural Sports at Carleton, and most people are just there to have a great time with friends (like us)! Our team of entire freshmen did really well in the league and ended up in the top 3! But more importantly, I got to know my friends on the team a lot better by spending all the time battling together!

Mid-Winter Ball

Probably the biggest event over winter term is the Mid-Winter Ball. It’s a school wide event for students to dance their winter worries away and have a lot of fun! There are several sections with different types of dance (one featuring a live band), but being the I-just-can’t-dance kind of person I am, I just spent the evening with many of my friends dancing to music by the amazing student DJs. It was super awesome (oh and there’s also free pizza which makes it even better haha)!

The Warmth of the Carleton Community

I totally mean this when I say it, but the warmth of everyone around me at Carleton made this past winter a lot better and I really appreciate it!

My friends have made Carleton my home-away-from-home and I cannot thank every single one of them more (and I miss y’all so much during this quarantine)! Besides being supported by my peers, I also really appreciate all the support earlier in the winter term when COVID-19 was mainly impacting China. From the candle light vigil at the Chapel to the Luncheon with Dean Livingston, these gestures radiate so much warmth back in these winter days. (My utmost respect and appreciation to all the healthcare and essential workers around the world as we keep battling this pandemic. The situation in China is much better now, the same will happen in the U.S. as long as we keep following CDC guidelines and keep the social distancing).

Thank you for reading this!

I have also written a Pt. II post, because this one has been getting so long (definitely my top 2 longest posts so far haha), so please check that out as well! I am sharing all the other stuff (so the less-winter-related ones) over there!

Stay inside, and stay healthy in the meantime!

Ethan is a first-year international student from Beijing, China, and is exited to embrace the environment and winter in Minnesota. Ethan is a huge soccer fan as he watches and plays it as often as he listens to music, especially a cappella music by Pentatonix and other artists. Although his passions in Environmental Studies and Chemistry flow through his veins, Ethan is thrilled to explore other areas like Music and Computer Science in his time at Carleton. Meet the Other Bloggers!