Burlington, oh Burlington...

MY FAREWELL NOTE

Located in the only US state which capital city has no McDonald’s,
and only one-and-a-half-hour car ride away from Montreal
(but I still didn’t get there, but passed the Southern border instead),
surrounded with green or white mountain sceneries,
furnished with adorable New England-style houses,
the land of granoli’s and crunchies,
and therefore
my eighth choice on my list to study abroad,
UVM’s status that turned into a dry one upon my arrival,
and RA’s who'd thus interrupt our international parties in D-Low,
in L/L, where there’s always free food or something going on,
where I developed my strength to cycle uphill,
where kids roll out of their bed to get to class in sweat pants,
and everyone wears Crocks or flip-flops no matter what temperature,
where people are incredibly devoted for a good cause,
where a vegan meal is an option at the dining hall,
and a vegetarian potluck is a weekly event
(and I still regrettably didn’t join as often as I wanted to),
because there’s probably no other place in the US where it can get more organic, local, fair, and environmentally-oriented,
the home of genuine art works and inspiring artists and musicians,
who throw awesome parties,
where everybody meets everybody,
because everybody knows everybody,
and its homogeneous nature
–which was probably my greatest challenge, but still:

My temporary home,
full of
life lessons,
ups and downs,
and astonishing intersections.

And by the time this UVM-experience had come to an end,
and I slowly needed to start saying goodbye,
novel friendships emerged
that on the last minute
showed me the literal and figurative other side of Burlington.

My best friends,
my hang out folks,
acquaintances who’d I run in to on a regular basis,
or strangers-I-know-but-don’t-really-know
and would continuously randomly pass by;
they’ve all been part of my UVM-experience,
which has been great, diverse, and enriching.
So, leaving this cute little town was harder than I expected it to be
and I a tough and tensed time concentrating on my finals and packing my stuff, and being sentimental, enjoying the last bits of Burlington and saying goodbye to people.







A BRIEF REVIEW ON THE LAST MONTHS




HUNGER STRIKE
Since my suite mate Kath is a member of SLAP, I’ve been directly involved with their actions for livable wages for the UVM-workers. After their cry for attention by camping out on the University’s green for a few days and nights (Tent City), they took a more extreme decision to make our school’s president realize about the workers’ poor wages. The hunger strike was done by twelf members, wearing a white band that indicated their full participation, with the tent where they’d sleep during the nights, in front of the Waterman building where the president’s office is located. They only drank water and juice, which was abundantly donated by supporters. They received a lot of attention from the media, and at the fifth day a rally took place, followed by a march, or storm in to the president’s office who closed themselves in. Later that afternoon SLAP faced a less rebelious meeting with the president, wherein they succeeded to come to a more than promising compromise. They symbolically broke their fasting with dry bread.



It was an intense and emotional period having our suitemate being involved in this action, and this is just one, though extreme, among the many more, that shows how devoted Vermonters can be for a good cause. I am amazingly impressed, and therefore couldn’t stand confronting the three guys who purposely sat in front of the strikers unpacking and enjoying their lunch, claiming that “it’s America, and they’re free to eat wherever and whenever they want”.








FRAT PARTY
In the last weeks of school, the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity held a toga party, and if it wasn’t for my friend Kate who’s dating a frat brother, I would probably not have experienced seeing a fraternity house inside out. The party took place in the spaceous ‘attic’, but we also uncovered an insider’s look of the quite old and classic house, which is bourgeois furnitured, and very labyrinthine, and therefore sketchy to me.




NAKED BIKE RIDE
The infamous tradition of UVM, took place again after the last day of classes at midnight, and this time even some internationals partook in the run of nudity! Sometimes people will decorate themselves in paint, masks, or other accessories (creative or embarrassed?). What I still like most of it is the aftermath in meeting people and hanging out, this time with people dancing on the drums under the full moon.




ASIAN AND PASIFIC ISLANDERS MONTH
While previous months had focused on different topics, the month of May was dedicated to UVM’s students from Asian and Pasific Island descent. Other than the sushi workshop and Asian party, I attended the Asian potluck, a dinner that consist of the different dishes people bring, which turned out to be a very small gathering of people I mostly never have seen before. It was cozy and fun, and it symbolically represents this minority group at UVM (less then 1%).




SPRINGFEST
This year’s big act at UVM’s annual Springfest, which is free for UVM-students, while $30 for others, was Ziggy Marley! The bad thing was that due to the grey weather, the concert was held inside our gym, which of course twists the whole concept of a Springfest. It was awesome anyway, and there was free root beer and flavored ice.

DEBATE TEAM BANQUET
At the end of a school year most recognized associations and clubs will have their final banquet, which is basically a formal (here, Sodexho prepared) dinner with the even more formal speeches. Having joined one debate tournament was enough for me to be part of the debate team banquet, which is free for its members, but $20 for guests. Many, especially seniors, took their parents, siblings and/or partners. The speeches were very sentimental and dramatic, because for many (devoted) seniors, the debate team has functioned like some kind of family; the debate team is pretty intense, in every way. Luckily, someone held an informal afterparty at his house, which basically wasn’t more than a beer keg and big table to play beirout, the traditional beer game, on.



BIN SHOPPING
It’s crazy to see what students get rid of at the end of an academic year. Big furniture are left at specific spots on campus, and every building of every dorm is provided with three huge bins for perishable food, household utilities, and clothes. Everything will be donated to the Salvation Army and other charities, so it’s not totally wasted, but the untouched cans, bags, and unwrapped boxes full of instant food indicate that people really call for food storage, which obviously shows not needed in the end. And most of the materials are still in perfect shape, but I guess people like to start the next year all fresh and clean. The fact that I also could not find any cobbler to repair my boots is to me a sign of a mentalityof disposability. A ‘good’ thing is that I expanded my closet, or suitecase, during my personal Queens Day rummage sale on Apil 29, where I got a pile of great clothes for $3, and through random skimmings into the bins, also known as ‘bin shopping’.

BIKE RIDES
Left aside during winter, I could finally enjoy my all-rusty bike again when spring emerged. A good friend of mine took me for a last minute sight seeing bike tour to the other side of Burlington, which was great, and I regret I couldn’t enjoy the more beautiful bike paths Burlington has to offer.
Apart from the few bike fanatics, equiped with the correct gear and bike helmet, most American still can’t see the bike as a main vehicle. One hilarious scene was when Eva and I got a ride back home uphill from a party downtown, on a bike! Nothing special to me to be carried on the bike’s backseat, but extraordinary in the eyes of Americans. We received many funny looks and honks from cars and buses!



DWELLERS OF BURLINGTON
When being a student and living on campus in the States, you tend to forget you’re actually living in a bubble of relatively wealthy folks or at least in a community not everybody is able to be part of. Therefore I’ve been meaning to do some volunteer work at some organization or center before leaving Burlington. Through my acquaintance Rachel who became a good friend, I got involved with Burlington’s Food Shelf that’s inirially set up by a UVM student many years ago. On a weekly basis UVM cooperates with various known (local) restaurants that donate their food at the Food Shelf. I volunteered, unfortunately only once though, but it was good to see and be aware of the different face of the commonly prosperous Burlington area. Among the homeless people who come to have dinner, there are also workers who just do nohave a hard time to make both ends meet.