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Junior Parents Weekend

March 5, 2013 in Kemie's Blog by Kemie | 1 comment

It’s about 11:30 pm on a Tuesday. I have set up shop on the third floor of Lamont Library because I’m supposed to be writing a paper on the meaning of “union” following the American Revolution, but I can’t stop reminiscing about the weekend.

Daydreaming in Lamont

Daydreaming (procrastinating) in Lamont

I am fixated on the weekend, now days behind me, because it was not simply your standard Harvard weekend.  This past weekend was Junior Parents Weekend (JPW), a special time when the University invites the parents of third year students to visit campus and enjoy a weekend of college-sponsored programming. There’s also a similar weekend set aside for first years students in the fall called Freshman Parents Weekend. But this weekend was all about my mom and me.

I still can’t believe my mom was just here.  I’m from Northern Virginia, so the trip from home to school is not a particularly epic journey.  It pales in comparison to the trips that my west coast/international friends have to deal with every time they go home.  In fact, I’m just a short ninety-minute flight from the comfort of family and home when I’m at school.  That being said, my mom is a full-time elementary school guidance counselor and a mother of four, so she doesn’t make it up to Cambridge very often.  JPW was just her fourth time visiting campus (she also came for Move-In Day, Freshman Parents Weekend, and random visit this past July).  Given the rarity of our mother-daughter visits, my mom and I made the most of our time together.

Friday morning, I packed a carry-on bag full of clothes, toiletries, and books for the weekend so that I could move in with my mom for the weekend.  Honestly, I think that my bag for my trip from Currier in the Quad to my mom’s hotel room on the River outweighed her luggage for her trip from Fairfax, VA to Cambridge, MA.  The span of time from check-in on Friday to check-out on Sunday was pretty much a blur of friendly introductions and good food, but a few moments stand out in my memory.

The highlight of the day on Friday was having my mom tag along on my weekly tour.  Every Friday I give a historical tour of Harvard Yard through the Crimson Key Society.  The tours are open to the public, so it was a lot of fun seeing my mom’s reaction to my tour and watching her interact with the tourists in my group.  The best part of the day on Saturday was taking my mom to see this year’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals show.  Like I mentioned in some of my posts from last year, a lot of my friends are involved with the production of the show, so that made sharing the experience with my mom even more special.  She also got a kick out of the male students dressed as women, since the show is essentially a drag-musical! Finally, the standout memory from Sunday was ordering room service and sharing breakfast in bed with my mom before her flight home.

Me, Mom, and John Harvard

My mom and me with John Harvard after my tour.

Overall, the weekend was fun, relaxing, and a great way to center myself before tackling midterm papers this week.  Speaking of which, I should really get back to work now! I can’t keep daydreaming about Junior Parents Weekend and missing my mom. Although, honestly, I miss the restaurant meals at least as much as I miss her…

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#sistersister

March 3, 2012 in Kemie's Blog by Kemie | Permalink

Hi all!

I’m in the middle of a pretty fantastic weekend.  First of all, it is the last weekend before I get a week away from school for Spring Break.  Second of all, I just bought my ticket for an IMAX showing of the Hunger Games later this month (It’s the little things that give me pleasure).  Moreover, I’m done with the majority of my midterm papers and exams with the exception of one lingering exam for my history course on the British Empire.  Last, but not least, I am in a great mood because my older sister, Ola, is here to visit me until Sunday evening.

As I mentioned in my introduction, I’m from Virginia, so it’s not every week that I get to have friends and families come and spend time with me in Cambridge.  My sister is a senior at the University of Virginia, so she has not really had the opportunity to learn a lot about my school and what I do when I’m away from home.  With that in mind, my goal for the weekend is to offer her a 72-hour Harvard immersion experience.

Her bus got into South Station yesterday (Friday) evening, and we started off the weekend with some appreciation for the arts.  I volunteered as an usher for Ghungroo, so I brought Ola along for the show.  Ghungroo is an event put on by the Harvard South Asian Association.  Ghungroo presents a variety of choreographed dance pieces, musical performances, and other dramatic performances that celebrate South Asian and South Asian-American culture.  As you all know by now, I spend a lot of time checking out different performances by student organizations, so I’m really glad that I got the chance to share that aspect of Harvard with my sister.

Ghungroo

A photo that I took at Ghungroo

Ghungroo

One of the performances at Ghungroo

After the show was over, Ola and I went out to dinner with a few of my friends.  We had a late dinner at Border Café, which was a nice way to end the first of my sister’s visit.  I think that the chicken quesadillas at Border are a revelation (they’re undeniably delicious), and it was great knowing that Ola was able to enjoy one of my favorite meals with some of my favorite people on campus.

Today (Saturday) we had a late start to our day.  The original plan was to grab brunch in Harvard Square, and check out some of the art at the Sackler Museum in order to make the most of our afternoon together.  Unfortunately, the late night at Border Café caught up with us, and we ended up sleeping in past noon.  Although we didn’t have time to see what was on display in the Sackler, we still grabbed a bite to eat at Crema Café.

It just so happens that this weekend is also Junior Parents Weekends.  Junior Parents Weekend is a time when the parents of juniors are invited to campus in order to participate in things like open houses, lectures by faculty members, and to just spend time with their kids.  The timing is fantastic, because it means that my sister had the chance to meet a lot of my friends and their parents as well.  We spent most of the afternoon and evening running around Harvard Square and making the most of the fact that so many loved ones are on campus for the weekend.

Me and my sister, Ola

Me and my sister, Ola. This is a photo that we took and sent to my mom to show her what a great time we were having together.

That just about sums up everything that’s on my mind at the moment.   There’s time in the day, yet, so I’m off to spend some more time with my sister!  Until next week.

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