Random story. Today I walked out of my academic building and was greeted by hundreds of kids yelling and cheering around the soccer field on the quad. Obviously intrigued, I made my way over and got a good spot to watch. The guys playing all had crazy outfits on (ski suits, sweat bands, no shirts at all, etc.) and some of them had even painted their faces. On the sidelines each team looked like they had cheerleaders: one group dressed up in what looked like old school Britney gear, and the other group was army-style. Beer cans were sporadically littered all around the field, coming from the players, the cheerleaders, and the enthusiastic crowd. It was really a fun sight to see and I was so delighted to have caught it! But then my tired brain (which was already sort of missing Coe during its Homecoming Week right now...) turned it a little sour. This whole scene could have easily been at Coe this week. Where I would have recognized people. Where I would have been able to socialize. Where I would have been able to meet the new people without a language barrier. It didn't make me emotional or upset at all, but that realization definitely called for a deep breath in and long release out. Fortunately, on a third attempt I found a really smiley nice girl who was confident enough in her English to try to explain the whole tradition to me, and it ended up just being some crazy boys who get together twice a year and compete for status! Which made a lot of sense because the game was brutal...I saw at least three guys get punched in the face! So yes, I guess this is my way of saying I'm a little more curious about what people at Coe are up to this week than usual. :)

Thinking of everyone!

Katie