Summer Job, vol. XXI: the Second Session Begins edition

I will be home in 21 days.

Our intersession was partly magical and partly disappointing. For one, I spent dinner with two other staff members, drinking wine and eating good food. Then, we headed to the park nearby where Sister Hazel (remember them?) were playing. As we arrived, All for You, their most famous single, began playing and we ran to catch up with other staff members who were all singing and dancing, in a large glorious and joyous group. We stayed outside, as the sun set and the air cooled for another 45 minutes or so, and it was just lovely.

The rest of the night was spent bar hopping and traveling in a crowd, and I headed back early, in anticipation of another very long day and frustration at the social dynamics of a too-large group.

Today, I got to sleep ALL THE WAY TIL 8(!) and then helped prep the campus for registration and move-in. I was placed at the very first check-in point, which happened to be the health screening station. I haven't even heard how much swine flu has shut down camps around New England, but we have been very strict about health standards here and the first thing the kids did when they arrived was answer questions about symptoms and get their temperatures taken! Move-in lasted from noon until about 5 and then we met our new girls and ate dinner with them on the quad, gave them a tour of the campus and their boundaries, played some get-to-know-you games and laid down the rules.

So far, it's been a pretty chill night. We have a couple French girls, a girl from China, and a girl from Israel, which is fewer international students than last session. The girls, for the most part, seem eager and quiet and respectful, which is also a switch from last session. It will be VERY interesting to see how this group dynamic unfolds.