Upper Valley Appreciation

Clearly Dan and I need to work on our blog-updating. Of course, things have been busy. That being said, I think things will continue to be busy.

We knew Fall A/Fall B would be the worst and so far, they are. Dan's first term - Fall A - is only 4 weeks in length, but the professors have crammed 6+ weeks into that time. On the plus side, Dan's already to midterm. On the downside, midTERMS.

Of course, when he's not busy with schoolwork they've continued to inundate him/us with social obligations. The bulk of these are not my cup of tea. Case in point: Saturday I am required to participate in a scavenger hunt while dressed in costume. (Our team theme is "pajamas" which I realize on the scale of embarrassing to awful is merely embarrassing as opposed to awful, but I am concerned by how costume parties seem to be "the thing" at Tuck... and across Dartmouth.)

Embarrassing scavenger hunts aside, I think we are starting to settle in. We are now official New Hampshire residents. Our shiny new Nissan Rogue has "Live Free or Die" plates (see Dan's entry on mottos for a visual) and our drivers' licenses are being reissued. I can now safely navigate to the grocery store, the local Friendly's, and back - though I have to say I am loving how little we drive. The undergraduates are back and Hanover is bustling. Or as bustling as a college town with only 4000 college students can be. The air is crisp and the water clear, the mountains very green. But fall is coming. And then winter.

Other recent events include the Tuck Club Fair. Tuck clubs are open to students as well as partners and Dan and I went hoping to find an activity we could really become involved with. The thing is, the "Executive Visitation Club" really isn't for me. Nor is the Tuck Partner's book club, which seems to pull exclusively from Oprah. Imagine a movie with a book club in it and unless that movie is a quirky indy-film that defies expectation and cliche, you know what I mean.

Colin - one of the few male partners who has trekked up to Hanover (with his lovely fiancee, Anne, a first year student) and I have proposed a "literary drinking society" to replace the aforementioned book club. Until that happens, Erika, Harvard law alum turned small town lawyer (and wife to Jamie, another first year) has devised a plan for a completely brilliant new organization.

She calls it the "Upper Valley Appreciation" Club. The UVAC's endeavor is to showcase the things we "should do" while living in New Hampshire. As such, we will be attending a pig fair on Sunday. And in a few weeks... lawnmower racing. Future activities involve Ben and Jerry's (the factory, of course,) haunted haystacks, Harpoon Brewery tours, etc etc.

One of the main attractions to moving up here for b-school was the chance to experience something new. And, let's just say no past experience of mine involves souped up lawnmowers, going for gold. So I am happy to say that we are now officially foraying into "New England Culture" and starting to appreciate this place, the Upper Valley.