My roommate Amy and I sometimes wonder how we survived last year. Though we were lucky to be on campus together for one semester, due to COVID-19, the shuttle service was disabled and we were not allowed to go into each other’s rooms or leave campus. The one time we left campus was to go on a Trolley Bus tour into Boston. We weren’t allowed off the Trolley Bus either, so we basically just went on a guided bus ride around Boston. This year, not only are we able to go to musicals, symphonies, and ballets in Boston – events on campus are also making their own comebacks. Though finals season is picking up post-Thanksgiving, we still made time for a fun Saturday.
After chamber music rehearsal in the morning, we joined our friends Pranathi and Sophie to go see The Nutcracker at the Citizens Bank Opera House. We took the 11:00 AM shuttle right after rehearsal ended at 10:45, so we didn’t have time to grab lunch. Amy did manage to sprint to Stone-Davis to grab two chocolate muffins in a cup and a banana. Since I did not make that detour with her, I was so hungry when we were milling around TJ-Maxx before catching the train. After taking the green line to Bolyston, we walked down the street to McDonald’s and got ten chicken mcnuggets and a small fries. We were still 30 minutes early to the ballet, so we hid in a corner of the incredibly fancy hall. Surrounded by parents sipping champagne and children in red and black fancy Christmas dresses, we quickly scarfed down the junk food. It felt a bit ridiculous, reminding me of the awkward way my mom would have me try something on in the corner of a store or the times that I showed up to fancy events feeling underdressed in jeans and a t-shirt. It was also odd to see so many families and children going to see a ballet while we were a handful of teenagers dressed in the nicest sweaters and layer-able dresses that we brought in our two or three suitcases to college, eating McDonalds in the corner of a decked out theatre.
(Left to Right) Sophie, Pranathi, Amy, and I at the Citizens Bank Opera House before seeing The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker was phenomenal. Every stage set was so beautiful – from the lights on the gigantic Christmas tree to the meticulously painted, gilded palace in the Land of the Sweets. Near the beginning of the ballet when Clara’s godfather Drosselmeyer shows off his life-sized toys, a dancer in a full-on bear costume pranced on stage and did a routine. Imagine wearing something that heavy and still being able to do that thing ballet dancers do where they float in the air for a while after they jump and even doing the splits in the air. Isn’t that crazy? And just imagine all the countless hours and years of training that go into just a few perfect minutes on stage. Isn’t that incredible? On top of that, the fake snow that started to fall when the snowflake dancers came in, the fact that Clara’s crown was held in place with magnets in her hair, the live orchestra that sounded exactly like the soundtrack…so much work went into this show, I felt like I couldn’t take my eyes off the stage.
After we got back to Wellesley, we grabbed dinner at Lulu and then went to see Shruti Laya – Wellesley Association for South Asian Cultures (WASAC)’s annual culture show. We went to support our friend Pranathi’s performance, and the show was a delight to experience. There was a fun mix of class dances, pure talent in dance and singing, as well as brilliant spoken word poetry. The way those on stage celebrated their culture while reminiscing about their families made me miss home too. Many of us are international students, and watching the show with so many of us made me realize that we all are stressing about flights, travel signatures, visas, and that we all call our families that are borders, oceans, continents away from us and wonder: when can we go home?
Secret Santa on the Fourth Floor of Stone Davis with (Left to Right) Cindy, Tatiana, Jackie, Jessica, Ashley, Emilie, and Sally (Not Pictured: Me and Amy)
Later in the evening, our fourth floor block-mates, Bigs, and Littles got together for Secret Santa. We did this last year too – it was organized by my Big Tatiana Ortiz (Her birthday is this Sunday! Happy early 21st birthday Tati!). It’s always a fun time to see what people got each other, the reactions as wrapping paper is carefully torn apart, and the careful guesses made before the reveal of Secret Santas. It was funny to see Tatiana and Amy exchange gifts as Secret Santas to each other. Cindy got me a roll of the fuzziest blue yarn in the world and a wax stamp kit – thank you so much Cindy! 🙂 After exchanging gifts, we played a few rounds of Codenames and a board game called “Secret Hitler” (a very Mafia-esque game, just like lang ren sha in China). Cindy and I showed each other pictures of our cousins and nephews while chatting about our families and Christmas plans. We wrapped up our festivities at around midnight, and though I was thoroughly exhausted from a day’s worth of fun, it was a sweet evening where I felt okay with living alone at Wellesley. I am lucky to have friends around me, to be able to go to Boston and wander around a big city, and to see people sharing the same homesickness in an environment where it is easy to assume everyone is doing just fine.