"EKKKK!" I emit a squeal of delight and my roommate knows immediately why.
"Oh my GOSH!" she yells from across the room. In a second we are shoulder to shoulder with our torsos hanging out of our second story window.
"It's snowing!" we scream to people walking below, as if they haven't noticed. But they don't find us obnoxious - when they look up and grin it's easy to see they are as gleeful as we are.
Turning to Jennifer I tell her I have a meeting at 3:30, it will probably last till 4:00, and ask her if she wants to go play in the snow afterwards. She has just showered and replies that she should have enough time to dry her hair and get ready.
Simultaneously, we both gush into smiles. "I'll be back soon," I say as I walk out the door. As I descend the stairwell, I wrap my fuzzy black scarf around my neck, tying it once. Then I zip my jacket and pull on my matching fuzzy black gloves. But once I step outside, I forget how cold it is. "I've got snow in my hair," I think to myself as I walk to the Russell House.
I thought the meeting was at 3:30 but I'm 30 minutes too late. Everyone's still in the office and they tell me I didn't miss much. We all stand around like we're wondering what to do next, but we all know. Brook is the first to say it, and speaking in an almost-shout like we've all been doing constantly since the snow began falling, he asks, "Anyone wanna play in the snow?"
A chorus of 'Hell-ya's echos through the office and we all take off for the door. The long and winding wheelchair ramp is the closest way down to the ground, so we pile onto it. It is covered with a slippery layer of ice, and more than one person slides down on their butt. Next best thing to a sled.
Someone spots the grassy area in front of the Russell House as the perfect place to play. I see someone (it is hard to tell who is who underneath mounds of sweaters, coats, hats, and mittens) scooping a handful of snow and instinctively I do the same. Before I know it, there is a flurry of ice and snow flying through the air and shouts of delight come from every direction. Suddenly I see Brook barreling at me and I know I'm about to get tackled. We're wrestling in the snow and it ends in a pile of snow-wet people on top of me. I've only been outside for 30 minutes and I'm soaked.
Like pick-up sticks, everyone removes themselves from the pile. Regretfully, it's 4:00 and most everyone has to attend the exec meeting. All except me, so I return to my dorm room. Jennifer still isn't ready, so I take the opportunity to plug in the blowdrier and attempt to get my clothes dry. I know I'm just going to get soaked again later, so I don't bother to change. Friends call and invite us to go 'sledding' down 'the big hill' on cafeteria trays but we've already made plans to meet Katie 1 to go play on the Horseshoe.
Again I walk outside to be met with the winter wonderland that's spread out before us, this time accompanied by Jennifer. As we make our way to the Horseshoe we see students of all kinds frolicking. Everyone seems to have reverted to the same childlike state of mind - absolute wonder. I've never seen the campus so alive and joyous.
We meet Katie and then round the corner to the Horseshoe. The scene before us is truly amazing; there are hundreds of people on the Horseshoe. Some are faculty, some are families with small children, but most are students just like us. There is an infectious energy in the air�happiness seems to come as easy as it did when we could play with the grasses and the crickets and mud puddles. We pause a few minutes to take it all in.
Snowmen big and small dot the open area. All around us, we see guys and girls hurling snowballs, not only at their friends, but also at random people. It's not long before one smacks against the umbrella Jennifer is holding. We spin around the search out the assailants, and since they are pointing and laughing, they are easy to spot. Katie and I leave our cameras with Jennifer, and walk in stride to meet the two smiling faces peeking out from fur-lined hoods. We have the same plan on our mind and without conferring, we stoop to hastily scrape together snowballs and successfully pelt our unsuspecting enemies. Upon being hit, they smirk, knowing they were successful in drawing out the fight in us. And so we fight. We don't notice our soaked fingers, even through gloves desperately scooping snowballs together, looking up always to keep from being hit. Then eye the competition - target the blue coat or the black one? Fake right, throw left. Miss by a mile. Comment to Katie that I was never very good at softball. Comment on how incredibly fun this is, how once-in-a-lifetime. Debate on which of our opponents is cuter. Throw some more snowballs. Really try to hit the black jacket, and almost do - but he sees it coming and dodges. A hard thud sounds off my back and I know I've been hit from behind. Katie gets one off unbeknownst to him and hits him right on the chest. We both let out a "YES!" and give a victorious glance to each other.
The battle continues for over an hour, until all four of us are exhausted. When we are in speaking distance, they call a truce and we are happy to oblige. Much to my surprise, our enemies-now-friends speak with heavy accents, and we guess as to their origin. "Norwegian?" I guess.
"No, " the blond fellow in the blue coat shakes his head and responds. "You know the Netherlands?"
"Ah, Dutch," I reply. Our friend in the black coat is a bit easier to figure out - German. After introductions and reflections on our grand fight, we make plans to meet our new friends Hank and Andreas for dinner.
Jennifer has since left, so I follow Katie back to her dorm, careful to step in the footprints she makes so I don't stumble any more than I have to. Outside of Columbia Hall we see a friend of Katie's so he follows us up. Interesting conversation ensues, while once again I use the blowdrier on my jeans. My gloves are soaked too so I stick one on the end of the blowdrier. It starts to smoke so I quit doing that, though I'm amused.
At 7:00 we go downstairs to the cafeteria to meet Hank and Andreas. They've brought two more friends - one French fellow and a girl from Atlanta. Conversation follows the typical barrage of questions from us as Americans to them as foreigners: How long have you been here? Do you like it? Where else have you been? Bet this snow seems like nothing to you huh?
We take them up on their offer of hot chocolate. We walk side by side across campus to their apartments in Nada. Every time I slip and look like I'm going to fall, Andreas braces my back and prepares to catch me, though I never lose my balance completely. Each step I take is deliberate, my foot landing flat, breaking through the icy crust, plunging into the snow, and hopefully meeting a level piece of ground underneath. We arrive, though it takes us twice as long as it would have on a normal day. For what seems like the hundredth time that day, I peel off my fuzzy black gloves, my matching scarf, my jacket, and lay them out to dry.
Andreas rattles about in the kitchen while Hank and another roommate set up a space heater in the living room. Germans apparently know how to make hot chocolate the right way, with milk, although I suppose anything to drink would have been a blessing. We huddle around the heater, draped in blankets. Andreas apologizes for the lack of a TV - the roommate who owned it just moved out. Instead, he tunes the radio, searching for local news. All we want to know is if school will be cancelled tomorrow. All eyes are on the radio, but USC is not listed on the report. Knowing how naive the comment is, Katie says she feels like we're back in WW2, the way we are gathered around the radio listening intently. Knowing how naive our responses are, we all agree. Honestly, it's as close as we've ever been.
A suggestion is made to move to Hank's apartment so we can watch a movie. We get bundled up again, almost humored that we are going back out in the snow in wet clothes that will probably just make us colder. But it's been such an exciting day, and the allure of the snow is still strong. It's not a long walk, but just long enough to chill us. Hank's apartment is warm and inviting. We watch the second Austin Powers, then we beg Andreas to flip it off of some bloody Vietnam documentary. Again, we search for some word on the status of classes, and finally we hear that school is cancelled. We cheer, and open the windows to tell everyone who is having midnight snowball fights outside. Though I'm relieved, and now have official cause to stay up partying, I can only think of a hot shower. I say goodbye to my new friends and to Katie whom I will inevitably see tomorrow and step out the door. Once again I am awestruck. Nothing looks the same, save the tall buildings. I try to decide which route will take me back to my dorm with the least trouble. I unfortunately decide on the wrong one. Once I get to the street, there is more slush than snow, and it is quite difficult to walk. I trudge through with slow, small steps. Still, evidence of the day's wonders surrounds me, and I smile. There are miniature snowmen families on the hoods of the cars parked along the street. I pass a larger snowman, half my size, holding a beer bottle and a sign that says "Five Points" with an arrow pointing down Greene Street. This one makes me laugh audibly. I finally make it to the quad where my dorm is located. I look up through the snow laced oak branches to the sky above. A purple haze seems to radiate from the crescent moon, filling the entire night sky. On any other night, it would be eerie, but on this night, it seems to exemplify the magical mood that has entranced our campus.
