Last week was on the whole relatively quiet, with mid-term season dragging many into dark depth of study and looming over my own head, not having any until this week. The action seemed to have saved itself for the weekend however, which turned out to be quite a cracker. It kicked off on Friday with the annual Sapphire Ball hosted by Kappa Kappa Gamma, one of Harvard’s four sororities (for those internationals reading, I direct you here). The night took place at the Seaport Hotel in Boston and was a lot of fun, with ladies and gents donning cocktail dresses and dinner jackets respectively, and was filled with good music, good food, and all round good people.

The Sapphire Ball was a fantastic excuse to get dressed up and was a lot of fun. 

Saturday saw a beautiful late winter’s day in Boston, with the 8 inches of snow which had rather unexpectedly fallen over the course of Thursday still laying in piles on the ground on a surprisingly mild, crystal clear, blue skied day. Saturdays are no rest from practice, and so as is customary we made our way to the boathouse, excited to be getting out on the river on such a beautiful morning. But that was not the only delight to await us. Lo and behold, after many months of hard training, we finally received our first pieces of Harvard kit! A much awaited day by all within the freshman squad, we all looked like 8 year old on Christmas day, trying on our crimson stash (a rowers term for kit) with smiles wider than the Charles slapped over our faces. I must explain that as our main regatta season starts at the beginning of April, we only receive kit now for when we represent Harvard in the spring, but the time and effort put into training over the course of the year made it a day to savour. We received a long sleeve lycra top, a fleece vest, and a waterproof ‘splash’ top emblazoned with the HUBC (Harvard University Boat Club) crest: the Harvard insignia superimposed over two oars. It really was a great day and got us all pumped for the start of the race season, our first race against Cornell only a tantalising four weeks away!

Our kit in all its glory.

With the weekend over, this week looks to be anything but quiet. With three mid terms over Wednesday and Thursday I’m in for a few late nights this week, but the thought of Spring Break being just around the corner is a big incentive to get my head down and do what we Harvard students seem to do pretty well. In addition, as Inesha and Jeanie have already mentioned, this coming Thursday represents a major milestone in the life of any Harvard Freshman: housing day. The Freshman at Harvard live during their first year right at the heart of campus within the walls of The Yard itself, but for Sophomore to Senior year we move into one of twelve upperclassman houses, dotted around campus at distanced varying from a 5  to 15 minutes walk away from campus. With blocking groups (a group of up to 7 other classmates you wish to room with) submitted weeks ago, we find out on Thursday morning the result of the random sorting process which will decide our home for the next three years. Much is made of the different houses, with Lowell being particularly beautiful, Adams closest to the yard, and the houses in the Quad, or Radcliffe Quadrangle, being stigmatised for their (not really) great distance from The Yard, but I’m pretty indifferent. As the lottery is completely random what will be will be, and all the houses have their pros and cons. The accommodation in all the houses is lovely, and everyone always ends up loving whichever house they’re put into, so I’m excited for the festivities of housing day to start on Thursday at 8:30 with the handing out of housing letters. Stay tuned for a full report Thursday evening!

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