It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

One of my favorite Yale traditions is the annual holiday dinner - besides the big one for freshmen in Commons, each residential college hosts their own feast, with their own traditions.

Not only does the dining hall staff make an extra-special dinner, they show off their decorating skills in elaborate displays, like the sugared fruit below:

This year, as we ate, we were also treated to music from a quartet of trombones, composed of one Silliman junior and three School of Music students. It just goes to show the incredible talent and opportunities for creativity at Yale, that an undergrad can perform with music students, and that together they can arrange/re-adapt their own music.

Silliman in particular has a special tradition: a performance from the Silliringers! Some alum donated a lovely set of handbells, which are brought out just a few times a year for practicing ("for minutes and minutes") and the annual performance. A Youtube video below:



Of course, what would Christmas be without a little snow?

The snow falling at night

The frosted courtyard in the morning

Welcome Yale 2013!

Welcome to all the newly-admitted members of the Yale community to be, the class of 2013!

To start getting you all excited about things yet to come, a video from last year's Bulldog Days:



A quick introduction: I'm a senior in Silliman College, double-majoring in Psychology (Neuroscience track) and History of Science, History of Medicine. Some of you may recognize me from this summer, when I worked as a senior interviewer and also helped out with information sessions and tours. In my free time, I teach and perform with Phoenix Dance Troupe, serve on the Yale Scientific Magazine editorial board, and plan a lot of events for Silliman, including the Safety Dance!

Over the next few months, this space will be filled by posts about all aspects of Yale life, including but not limited to residential college pride, campus-wide parties, varsity sports, and even the occasional class or two. Our bloggers range from freshmen to seniors (such as myself), and we'll also have the occasional guest post from a professor, admissions officer, etc.

So sit back, relax, and we hope you enjoy the reading!

A History of the World...with juggling!

This past weekend was the YAGS fall show: A Brief History of the World, With Juggling! The plot was exactly what you would expect from the title, with very amusing results.

Adam and "Steve" with Eve, after she picks up the "devil sticks"

The American Revolution


The Industrial Revolution!

Dueling in the Wild Wild West


Boy bands...with juggling!

Cast photo!

More lovely fall foliage

People generally don't associate New Haven (or any other urban environment) with pretty leaves and such, but they're there, and here are the photos to prove it!

Silliman Halloween

Every year, Silliman celebrates Halloween with a full 3 days of festivities including the Halloweenie Roast, our very own Haunted House, and then a big party in the dining hall.

We began with the Halloweenie Roast Weds night: s'mores, apple cider, hot chocolate, girilled hot dogs/hamburgers/veggie burgers, and lots of apple/pecan/pumpkin pie out in the courtyard for everyone to enjoy as a study break. We also had pumpkin carving for the artistically-minded, with some creative and highly amusing results:

Mm, pie =D

Ray roasting s'mores

Dracula jack o'lantern o_O

The Haunted House theme this year was "Searching for Salovey," with the (somewhat thin) story-line being that Dean (now Provost) Salovey had not been seen in weeks, so the police had begun investigating the possibility of a kidnapping. When we devised the different rooms, most of us thought the house would be more funny than scary, but judging from the screams I could even hear in the courtyard, it was pretty crazy!

See all the cobwebs? Now imagine bumping into them in pitch-black darkness!

Preparing the clown room...think strobe light and lots more balloons!

Creepy...

Finally came the Halloween party, incluing lots more yummy food, a costume contest, and a "special performance" from Master K, Dean Flick, and Mister K. I dressed up as the Giving Tree, based on Shel Silverstein's book, and surprisingly won a $25 gift certificate to Cutler's, the local music shop =)

Our august panel of judges, including Dean Brenzel in the Sorting Hat

"Dancing Queen, feel the beat of the tambourine...oh yeah!"

The Dark Knight, literally.

Of course, no Halloween would be complete without the YSO midnight concert, this year combining The Godfather and Mario (including Provost Salovey as Luigi!) A clip below: