It’s been a big week for bringing back things that have been on pause since the pandemic began.
For one thing, reusable dishes are finally back in the dining halls. I’m so used to using my own bamboo silverware that I keep forgetting to pick up a fork and knife. This is half of the student body’s first time navigating dish return instead of tossing plates in the compost or trash. After all the waste we’ve generated since last fall, I’m so excited to be back to real dishes. (The knives actually cut food. It’s incredible.)
This week also saw the crew team’s return to competition. Yesterday, we raced for the first time since October 2019. It was my second collegiate race ever—my first was the same regatta two years ago. (I blogged about it then, too!) My boat didn’t push off the dock until 1:15, so I was jittery all morning. We had a solid race. There’s plenty to improve on for our next one, but it was an honor to power down the course with my teammates. A bunch of us ate dining hall samosas together, and I, exhausted, was reading in bed by 8:15. (I’m finally reading the famous rowing book The Boys in the Boat. I almost read it during my gap year, but I wanted to save it for when I was deep in the throes of crew season again.)
My mom and I volunteered at the Boston Marathon this morning, checking runners’ vaccine cards, which brings me to the third thing—the Boston Marathon is back! As a junior, I’ll finally get my first Marathon Monday. I’m excited to watch the pros go by around 9:50 tomorrow morning. (Jordan Hasay, whose college career I watched when I was in middle school, is running, alongside 2018 winner Des Linden.) I’ll probably hang out as some of the ~regular~ runners start to come by, and then I’ll be off to the boathouse for a scrimmage with Williams.
We’re very much still in a pandemic. I don’t refer to it in the past tense. But it’s so nice to see the return of relatively low-risk things, like reusable dishes and outdoor athletic competitions.
Shout-out to Emma Dean for taking pictures while I raced!