Magic Bus to Dartmouth: Connor's Perspective

Woke up early this morning to begin our three-hour road trip to New Hampshire. After a brief Starbucks stop we were off to Dartmouth.

The road trip was a blast. We called Mrs. Kronenberg's rental car the "Magic Fun Bus" because that's what it was. We listened to all types of music, debated pressing issues, and laughed for long stretches of the road.

Brandon fell asleep first and drooled all over his jacket. I took a picture, but Brandon made me promise not to put it on the blog. Later I snapped a picture of Marisol sleeping with her mouth open, but she snuck into my camera and deleted it. Eventually I fell asleep and they exacted their revenge. I believe the picture is on Henry's blog post.

We arrived in Hanover, the small town where Dartmouth is located. It was a charming little city, clean and safe. I soon realized the extent of the town was about a block long and the rest of it was the college.

We took an informational tour of the campus and I realized that I no longer wanted to go to Columbia. Dartmouth is the college of my dreams. I'll explain why.

• School Spirit: Dartmouth is famous for its school spirit. They run around bonfires at the beginning of the year, they have too many weird traditions to count, and they have an awesome store of Dartmouth Merchandise.
• Location: Though Hanover is far from any major city, it is a perfect town. If you ever visit, you will understand why. The day we were there the grass was green, the skies were blue, and the people walked as if they were about to break into song at any moment.
• THE BLUE LIGHT CHALLENGE! - Every Ivy League campus is equipped with a Blue Light Safety System. These consist of telephones strategically placed across campus so that students can call for help if they are ever in danger. Since Hanover is such a safe town, no one uses the blue light system for safety. What they DO use it for is the blue light challenge.

The Blue Light Challenge is as follows: To touch as many blue light telephones as possible on campus. Naked. Without getting caught.

I told this to my dad over the phone.

"That's right up your alley!!!" He said enthusiastically.

For lunch we talked to the admissions officers over burgers. I tried to use all the skills I learned in "Never Eat Alone" to establish a strong relationship with these people, because I knew their friendship would be key in providing me the opportunity to participate in the blue light challenge.

Afterwards we rode back to New Haven. I performed a rap Brandon and I wrote the night before for Mrs. Kronenberg. Here's an excerpt:

"We got Mario Miranda, we got Ramsey, we got Don / but the sickest of the crew is this coffee loving blond / Kronenberg is quite cool because she never gets mad at me / when she buys an espresso cashiers call her Natalie."

It was filled with inside jokes from the trip, and she appreciated it very much. We brainstormed for a bit afterwards and we realized that we should write a rap and make a music video to promote the Ivy League Connection. Brandon and I will work on it when we get back.

That evening we ate dinner in New Haven with Brown graduates. It was fun talking to them, though we were all a bit sad because this was the last dinner of the ILC. Tomorrow our rigorous two week course begins, and we will be enjoying cafeteria food instead of French restaurants.

Now I'm typing my blog in the lobby of the hotel where there's free Wi-Fi, and a guy with a beer walked up to me.

"Are you playing online chess?" he said drunkenly. I shook my head.

"Isn't that what you Yalies do?" He spilled some of his beer as he pointed at me. "You look like a legit Yalie, man."

I gestured to Henry, Marisol, and Brandon. "They're going to Yale too."

"No." he said. "You're the only one who looks like an Ivy League man." He raised his fist in the air.

"Good job."

He staggered to the elevator and we all laughed. But I felt a little more confident about tomorrow. At least I won't stick out too much if I apparently look like I belong at Yale.