After arriving in DC and taking a shuttle bus to the bus station I was proud to see that in DC buildings serve multiple purposes. In the case of the Greyhound station, it serves as a bus station and a homeless shelter. Way to use your resources efficiently! Now, if you check out Greyhound.com, you’ll see some awesome looking Greyhound buses. Buses that scream legroom, TV’s, and overall comfort. I never saw those buses. The buses I saw screamed GHETTO. The people on the buses screamed ghetto, too. Even the stations we stopped at screamed ghetto! And weaves! My ride on the bus definitely gave me a new perspective on life. Spending nine hours on that bus gave me an idea of what some people have to go through on a daily basis…and it ain’t fuckin’ cool. Buttttt luckily, nine hours later I got to jump off that bus and say ‘hello’ to the beautiful little world of UConn.
I hopped off the bus, grabbed my bags, Michelle, my favorite sorority girl, picked me up, and off we went for a campus tour. Now, UConn is a cold place...literally. It was snowy, windy, and freezing. I think that in my haste to get out of the cold I wasn't paying attention to which bags I grabbed when I got off the bus, because after about half an hour I was called by an upset lady who's bag I had. Fortunately, she had mine, so at least I didn't lose my pillow...since that's pretty much all I had in it. She drove down to UConn, we traded bags, and all was good again.
Now, I'd been traveling for a good twenty-something hours, so I can honestly say that I felt far from clean, awake, and ready to party. Luckily, Megan and Leanna were nice enough to let me and my stuff stay in there room. A liquor store run, a shower, and a nap later, I was ready to go! That night we went to Shaun's house for a little reunion. After a bottle of rum, a couple rounds of beer pong, and a great time seeing all the people from the ATL trip, it was time to head home.
Now, I don't quite remember everything (I think I may have blasted my short term memory that night), but awesome as she is, Megan was kind enough to remind me that on the drive back I insisted they let me out of the car so I could walk back. Walking back in negative degree weather, intoxicated, and without a clue where I was will definitely be added to my list of "great ideas while drunk". After Meg let me out and asked me how I was going to get home, and after I pointed out that I would take two lefts and then be there (really it turned out to be a left and a right, so I wasn't that far off), she was kind enough to walk with me. I was dropped off in Michelle's room where I slept on the futon, did some midnight wandering, made some drunk calls, and woke up with pizza crust on me. Good night!
That night pretty much set the tone for the rest of the days. Every day I would wake up either at Megan's, Nia's, or Sean's place, get some of that good ol' dining hall food, spend my day laughing at lolcats (to Leanna's displeasure...), and go out at night.
Sunday night it was time for a reflection/reunion dinner for the people from the trip to Atlanta. And, it was time for warm and fuzzies! What? WARM AND FUZZIES! Yeah...I had no clue either. Everybody was sent a list with everybody's name on it, and behind each person's name you would write something positive about them. During the dinner, everybody made a little bag with his or her name on it in which everybody would put their little note about that person. And, as Kerrie put it, when you read those notes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Well, it sure made me feel warm inside.
Writing the notes was a lot of fun, and though I was joking around a lot of times, I can't think of anything negative to say about anyone in the group. All those hearts are exactly in the right place. It was great seeing everyone that night, including Matt and Paul; two people who I think everybody can learn a lot from. These guys know so much and have so much to tell...I can only hope that one day I and everyone around me turns out to be as good and kind hearted as the two of them.
Fast forward through all the partying, futons, dining halls, and local bars...and all of a sudden BOOM, it's Sunday and it's time to leave. After a night of partying and sleeping on Sean's futon, it was time to get up at 6.30 AM and head out to the Greyhound station again. Of course, bad news WOULD hit me right before I leave -- I heard that DC had been hit by a massive snowstorm. Well, heck, I figured I'd just hop on the bus and if all flights were cancelled, I could always stay with someone from GWU (I met those people on the ATL trip, too). Boy was I wrong. Sean dropped me off at the station and about ten minutes later I found out that all buses between NY and DC had been cancelled...nice. "Dude...can you pick me up again?"
So back to UConn it was. I stayed there for another night and left on Monday night...I think. My days kind of became a blur and I lost track of time somewhere during the week. Anyway, I arrived here at the station, and I have to say I'm going to miss UConn. Once again I learned that people really can be pretty awesome. People who had only known me for a week gave me a place to stay, took me along with their friends, and helped me out when I needed it. I can't say how much I respect these people for that. Things that may seem so minor, but when you think about it, it would have been so easy to say no, yet none of them did.
As the Greyhound's engine starts rumbling and the whole things starts rattling like an old fan, I can't help but wish I was still sitting around on Sean's comfy futon (or screwton), trying to find out what exactly happened the night before, how we got home, and why my shoes were covered in mud splatters. The bus starts moving and my stomach turns...yep, my body is still pissed at me about that last beer...or pitcher of it.
Adios UConn and thanks for an awesome week! See you in April for spring weekend :)
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