England looks even more beautiful when covered in snow.
I have lived in Colorado almost my entire life, but nothing could prepare me for a snowy day at Harlaxton Manor. I could not even imagine a time when I smiled more or had such a magnificent day.
I saw the Facebook statuses as soon as I woke up and in the back of my mind I was prepared for some great pictures and a long, cold day. Instead, huge flakes of snow fell and I spent hours outside running around in it.
The first order of business was organizing a snowball fight right after lunch that ended in a group of us drenched and laughing. It was followed soon by the building of a snowman, appropriately named ‘Gregory’ after the man who built Harlaxton Manor. The snowman was a huge hit and included a face made from vegetables from the refectory.
We weren’t the only students being active in the snow. The snowball fight brought out many students from the manor, and more snowmen and snow angels were sprinkled around the entire campus. There was even a student that planned his own event, “shirtless snow angels,” that lasted about 15 minutes before he got too cold and had to run inside.
A group of us then went to explore the areas around the manor picking off unsuspecting victims with snowballs and sliding down hills. In many places we were making the first footprints in the snow, and it was amazing to see the snow covered manor from every angle. One of the best moments was my attempt to throw a snowball at one student that ended in me sliding halfway down the hill on my back. Cold? Yes, but definitely worth the laugh.
There were several instances that we planned ambushes on approaching students, but it was decided that the best possible circumstance would be if we could draw one professor out among many students and assault him with snowballs (it didn’t happen, but we imagined the result would be great). We figured that Dr. Edward Bujak would make the best victim and would probably end up playing along and strategizing with half the students, promising A’s to those that followed him. Yes, our plans were elaborate and never were carried out, but it did make for an interesting discussion on our way back to the manor.
Now my wet clothes, gloves and hat lie next to the heater while drying, and my body is still recovering from the cold, but I am still smiling. When people back home were just waking up, I was finishing another amazing day in England.
It will be difficult to beat my first snow experience at Harlaxton. I got to see the fun side of a lot more of the students and made some great friends over the day. Throwing snowballs and having a war with each other ended up bringing a lot of us together, and I am really excited to spend more time with those people.
The truth is, no one does a snow day better than Harlaxton students. Today was a day I will remember forever and I am lucky to have experienced it with my new friends.
