<p>My SoCal D had been bragging about adapting to the New England weather, going out with just a top and sweater when it was 40 degrees. </p>
<p>Hah. It was around 0 degrees yesterday and 15 today but snowing.</p>
<p>In addition to a great academic education, you get to learn Winter!!!</p>
<p>I'm heading up there today from the mid-Atlantic, where we have had a very mild winter up until our first real snow yesterday.</p>
<p>The challenge will be doing a "move-in" day in the snow. D has been away from Smith since last May -- was on the other side of the globe from June - December -- and we will need to get all her accumulated stuff (including a bike, futon, etc.) out of vehicle and storage and into her third floor room.</p>
<p>I am staying overnight with a friend who lives very near the campus, and expect to be walking around Noho in the snow this evening.</p>
<p>jyber...good luck with the move-in in the snow. It was difficult enough in August with beautiful weather.
I hear from my daughter that many Smithies were a little shocked at the sub zero wind chills. Unfortunately, we in Chicago have experience with that.</p>
<p>One word - layers</p>
<p>They already knew about layers; the new application thereof is "long underwear."</p>
<p>It was -15 in Ithaca Friday, they closed the public schools in parts of central new york...I would keep my sweater handy in the North East. For some, UCSD gets more appealing on days like this.</p>
<p>Anyone else changing travel plans this weekend? My daughter was leaving this morning, but we had to reschedule because of the storm... Rumor has it that Bradley/Hartford will close tonight. We are hoping thing will clear up a bit by Sunday. She is waitlisted for two classes on Monday, and wants to be there badly to try and get in...</p>
<p>Same here, TheDad. SoCal daughter left San Diego Tuesday with temps in the
mid 80's! Came home for winter break bragging that she still wore her flipflops.
Looks like she'll have to break out the new winter coat in Boston area today!</p>
<p>Our D is supposed to fly out tonight. She has a red-eye to Atlanta, and the an 8:30 am flight to Hartford. We are trying to figure out options if she gets stuck in Atlanta, though I am guessing that she might be able to get to Hartford later in the day on Sunday, since at least it seems to be a fast moving storm. She is taking more stuff in her carry-on bag then she did on the way home, like her computer charger, tooth brush, and more books!</p>
<p>Dooger, I hope your D gets through. If she doesn't, she might wish to e-mail the profs of the courses for which she is on the waitlist, expressing her continued interest and explaining why she could not be present at the first class. I believe -- and imagine your D knows all the details on this -- that there is a two-week "shopping period" at the start of each semester. Some students may have "overregistered" for classes - signed up for an extra one or two. They may then decide after sitting through a few which one(s) they will drop. So things may very well free up for your D as that winnowing takes place.</p>
<p>Noodle, thank you for your good wishes. I am now safely back home in the midst of our own mid-Atlantic snow storm. I believe D is ice skating today at UMASS' indoor rink.</p>
<p>TheMom and I were talking about this last night: generalized lessons already absorbed by TheD include: travel with some cash for contingencies, be flexible, when traveling into area with "weather" and/or involving connecting aircraft, travel <em>early</em> inasmuch as possible, i.e., not the day before you're due. D had originally planned to travel back for the J-term class on the day before it started. Bottom line: develop a healthy respect for Murphy, Murphy is powerful.</p>
<p>Weather update for Smith...I have Northampton's weather bookmarked in Netscape:</p>
<p>5 degrees, -8 with windchill.</p>
<p>Yesterday our D left record-breaking warmth in the Northwest and flew out over sun-bathed Mt. Hood only to get stalled in Minneapolis. A total of three hours sitting on the tarmac there, she reports, while they waited to get de-iced etc. Got into Hartford around one a.m., three hours late, and her reserved shuttle had already left. At this point she phoned, reporting the airport was spookily deserted. I couldn't get that excited about her getting in a cab in the middle of the night for an hour long ride with the temps outside at minus 6! We encouraged her to just hunker down in the hotel there. Note to everyone: Bradley is one of the few airports that has a hotel (Sheraton) right in the airport. No need to even go outside. In the morning all the shuttle rides were booked so she finally got the hotel to call her a taxi which ended up being $70. Oh, well. She got there safely, and that's the main thing as far as we're concerned, of course. This did bring up the issue of having a cell phone again, but, in thinking it all over, nothing would have been improved or fixed by having one. She says well, she could have called the shuttle company. Yes, but they would have had to leave without her anyway. We're still not convinced that cell phones always help that much. As it is, she was able to phone us from the airport. If she'd had a cell phone, we probably just would have been getting her sigh-laden calls all day as we dealt with her twin sib's birthday celebration. (We had hers the day before, on their actual birthday.) And we wouldn't have been able to fix the weather, speed the de-icing, conjur up a taxi or any of it. In the end, she's come through it with more experience and savvy. Hey, folks, we're paying big bucks to educate them, right? So, I figured she learned a lot from this. TheDad makes good points about travel. I was just thinking myself how risky it would be to try to fly in right before classes start. Last I heard, her roommate from California hadn't made it back yet so I don't know if she's gotten snarled up somewhere too.</p>
<p>I'm on the phone even as we speak, changing reservation to arrive tomorrow night rather than tomorrow morning. Of course, it flies through Cincinnati, where d. got stranded for 36 hours coming this way! Having just spent 13 hours in the Seoul airport on Wednesday, and a night in the New Delhi airport about 3 weeks ago.</p>
<p>D reports cases of skis and snowshoes being broken out by those who have.
A minimum of 18" of snow by morning. The snow is just a blur and it's accompanied by fog...I can't ever recall snow <em>and</em> fog at the same time. Lots of wind and drifts already. I think she is having an adventure even though she hasn't been outside her house all day.</p>
<p>My D reports her house is actually shaking in the wind. Says she heard rumors the start of classes might even be postponed a day or two. Just a rumor, though.</p>
<p>I just dropped our D at the airport, she is hoping NOT to get stranded in Cincinnati again but in theory Bradley is open. I am ordering her snow boots and more long underwear. She had been thinking that her hiking boots would be enough but she has now changed her mind. Northampton is going to be really cold after India and the warm weather we are currently getting in the NW. Her heavy jacket is back at school so she is arriving in her Smith sweatshirt and Pea coat. Fortunately, family friend is meeting her at the airport tonight so she shouldn't have to be outside for long.</p>
<p>I just discovered that she forgot the sandwich she had me make for her to take. Oh well, she has some other food with her. Hey she remembered her violin and computer!</p>
<p>Good luck to all who travel this day. Too bad about the forgotten sandwich, Mini...extra food in times of delay is helpful. My D doesn't like "airport" fast food but was chuffed to find a "Legal Seafood" in Boston Logan...a cup of good soup did it for her that day.</p>
<p>Oh what a weekend! D is currently on a plane to Newark which we booked after changing her reservation 3 times in the last 24 hours. However, the connecting flight from Newark to Bradley was cancelled by the time we got home from the airport (no idea why since Bradley is open again). No other flights are available tonight or tomorrow! We have her on a the Amtrak train tomorrow, and fortunatly her grandmother and a good friends lives in Manhattan. But what to do with those massive bags...? And of course she will miss her classes tomorrow... Unless enjoyingthis heard the right rumor and classes get cancelled tomorrow.</p>