Saturday, July 4, 2015

The Fourth of JuLines

We've been dealing with pie charts a lot lately, so if I were to divide my day up, one fourth would to to sleeping, another fourth to sightseeing, eating, and other activites, and an entire half dedicated to standing.

Although our cohort occasionally meets together during dinners or frisbee games, nothing beats traveling into town together. For the past two weeks, I've acquainted myself with countless wonderful people which I am proud to call my friends. On the other hand, my cohort has grown to be something like a family. Everyone is connected by a bond, no matter if we're in our own cliches during the day. If a difficult test comes up or an intense project deadline creeps up, the cohort is who we go to. It's remarkable how close I've grown to these people in the span of three weeks.

Everyone gathered to the van at 6:30 for the three hour long road trip. Through our naps, music jams and jokes, the time flew by like nothing and we arrived at the falls. The first thing we noticed the second we stepped out of the car was the heat. Unlike the chilly wet Ithaca morning, the sun was bearing down at us without mercy. We picked up our tickets and made our way to the Made of the Mist, a boat ride to the center of the falls. Everyone groaned as we spotted the long, winding mass of people waiting to get on the boat.

One way or another, we made it to the end in one piece. Before boarding the ship, we took an
You can see the beautiful poncho wearers on the bottom!
elevator which led us down to the deck. There, everyone picked up a plastic blue poncho and boarded the ship.

The beginning of the boat ride was very unpleasant. Everyone pushed and shoved for a spot on the edge of the boat. All the conversations were drowned by the sound of plastic ponchos blowing in the wind and rubbing against one another. The air inside the poncho along with the blazing sun didn’t do much justice either. It was when the boat started moving that the atmosphere around us changed.

Everyone started off as enemies, keeping their
The falls up close.
eyes peeled for anyone who would dare come down and swoop their spot. Those with the position at the edge grasped tightly on the railing and planted their feet on the ground. Everyone else did their best to wedge their bodies into place. Once the boat was moving, however, everyone flowed with the currents. As we moved closer to the falls, everyone shared an impressed awe as they watch the ocean currents unravel. As we neared the falls, so did everyone on the boat. I even recall a woman, who started off glaring at her surroundings for any intruders to her personal bubble next to the railing, offering me some space to take some pictures shortly after the boat took off.

The boat traveled slowly to the center of the falls. From afar, it looked like a massive cloud floating on the water. As we got closer, it became more like a rain cloud. Water sprayed at us from every direction. I could barely make out the rippling currents beneath us because of the heavy mist, but they were definitely apparent by the way the boat was rocking. All around us was the roaring gush of water traveling down and occasionally, a gust of wind would send more water flying toward us. It was a beautiful and magical scene. I’ve always been a fanatic when it comes to the beautiful outdoors. The falls certainly met my expectations.
Here is the Niagra falls, everyone!
Afterwards, we grabbed some over-priced and under-tasting food and made our way to the next
Ugh. Lines.
event. I didn’t have quite as much fun with this one. The lines were endless. We spend forty-five minutes simply getting a pair of sandals which and I’ll have you know, they weren’t the prettiest. Afterwards, everyone switched in and out of line to actually get into the event, which would apparently be another two hours. There was a lot of protesting, but eventually, we decided that going back would be the smartest decision if we wanted to be on time for check in and dinner.

Although we were met with a disappointing wait, the cohort never fails to find fun in the end. During our waits, we occupied each other with riddles, jokes and even games. Shanti later pointed out that without the long lines, we probably wouldn’t be playing Ten Fingers. The rest of the night was filled with bad pho jokes and a craving for Insomnia cookies.


Although there were not fireworks involved this year, I had a great Fourth of July. 

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