On Campus

Yesterday I went to a human resources thing at Bowdoin.  I sat in a meeting and filled out some paperwork, and was directed to and from various buildings to get keys and a parking sticker.  Helpful people pointed at buildings on a campus map and gestured their arms out to the street to direct me.  I squinted at brick buildings looking for the names of halls: Rhodes, McLellan, Morrell.  The day was sticky and hot and I could feel sweat on my back.  I kept having to ask for people to repeat things, because they were speaking in University code: "you'll need to go to communications for that," or "Just ask residential life about that part, see if the upload has been done," rattling off buildings or extensions as though they were a part of the context of everyone's life.  I kept having to stop and ask what felt like dumb questions: is that a department?  If I'm not calling from a university phone, what do I dial?  Are those the same people who have the keys?  Will I need the ID before I get the email address? 

The trees are tall and green on campus and there was a slight breeze in the otherwise humid day.  I puzzled my way through my errands, back and forth, stopping to peer at the map and looking around with wide eyes, and I felt just like an undergraduate again: sweat on my back, notebook in hand, and a mysterious and promising campus all around me.

Comments

[Bill]

Scheherazade --

How do you think your coaching life will affect your blogging life? Your team will look for you to be a leader -- can that role coexist with your writings in Stay, which are often quite personal/vulnerable?

[Patrick]

Did you have to watch a sexual harassment video? I did when I took my old prosecution job. The best part - female superior walks over to male subordinate who is working at a table. There's a bottle of water on the table. She says, "so you wanna get together this weekend?" He says, "no." She has this whole personality change, smacks the water bottle over, and yells "CLEAN THAT UP," then walks away angrily. The actors did not pull it off. Everyone with a government job talked about that video.

[cmc]

Bowdoin is a great place. I had a lot of friends there during my undergraduate days, and I used to compete in sporting events there. I have lots of great memories of competitions, overnight visits, and parties.

It always struck me how wholesome and outdoorsy and athletic the entire student body seemed. On the negative side, my friends said the campus seemed a bit claustrophobic after they spent 4 years with the same small class on the same small campus.