March 21, 2007
The Rites of Sping: The Full College Experience
6:17 am and I am stalking through ankle-high mud. It is not pitchblack anymore, but the wee hours are grey and I can barely see the hand in front of my eyes. Hobbeling along through the British Columbia wilderness, the procession of mummified pilgrims reminds the onlooker of a romantic painting. The mist that has crawled up from the valley seizes the banks of the high trail meandering towards the beach. One more corner and the ruins of a temple will rise through the mossy hills.
But this architectural fantasy of ruined arches and pillars will not turn up. This is the full college experience. But it is as grotesque as any gothic fantasy. Two-hundred droopy-eyed students and twenty yawning facult members in an attempt to make this year more memorable are hiking down to the beach to celebrate the first day of spring. Never mind that this celebration is a fairly Western notion. Why not Persian? After all, we are a multicultural campus.
to be continued tomorrow ..
Posted by christian at March 21, 2007 5:21 PM