<p>DOC trips is such of great example of what is so cool about Dartmouth. The welcome is so warm and fun and genuine that this years trippies are going to vye for the opportunity to become next year’s leaders. And it doesn’t just stop with the conclusion of trips…more good things to come. Its going to be fun reading this thread as the year progresses.</p>
<p>Enjoy reading the thread as the excitement level of freshman and parents reach crescendo levels this week. Reminds me of my son’s DOC trip and orientation two years ago. I was amazed at how many kids he knew in such a short period of time. As we walked down to Molly’s for dinner, he was like the mayor of Hanover as he stopped and said hello to at least 10 kids. We met his roommate and his parents as we helped him set up his room in Byrne II. The amazing thing is that my wife and my son’s roommate’s mother are now best friends. </p>
<p>My son is home for a couple of weeks from Sophomore summer. He spends most of his time skyping his Dartmouth friends and cannot wait to get back on Sunday.</p>
<p>Well it had to happen. We met our first Dartmouth CC parents. We enjoyed hovering at the Dirt Cowboy Cafe with LHornmomof4 (aloha Houston!) waiting for our Ss to return from the trips. Hey Dartmouth CC parents are even nicer in real life! About 3:30 the buses start arriving and we could hardly contain ourselves and moved closer to watch from Collis. The 14s looked tired and dirty, but smiles were everywhere. They were dancing and singing and having a hard time saying goodbye. In fact I learned that they were just planning what they were going to do that evening. After a shower and some laundry, we had a quick bite with S while he gave us the details of the trip. And yes, he was on the Minibus towing Kayaks on I-91 that we passed, and saw us drive by, he said he screamed OMG it’s my parents! and everyone in the bus waved to us, but we couldn’t see. He had the time of his life and told us that he wants to be on a future H-crew. YIKES, And we thought he came here for the academics.</p>
<p>We expected to spend the evening with him, but he had to meet up with his tripees. After a quick snack, he bid us adieu and went off to Bulocos. Alas, the elastic has broken, he is a young man now, with only gravity standing in his way. Aloha from the empty nest, hovering quietly, somewhere near Hanover.</p>
<p>Same story for us - our D told us firmly (but gently) that it was time for us to go and she wanted to join her trip with her newly met roommate. Maybe we need to start a Dartmouth empty nest facebook group?</p>
<p>This is my first post. I logged on yesterday and have been reading… good to know that I am not alone! We, too, are out east here from Hawaii. My freshman student will be returning from the DOC trip tomorrow. I am preparing for (maybe?) a 2 hour goodbye/move-in session and then we will attempt to tastefully fade away and let this great new chapter begin… Aloha Skype? This going cold turkey/no cell phone check-in business has been both great (for the students) and a bit rough for this parent! Mostly, because I am so curious…I guess the “Big Wean” begins…</p>
<p>Aloha 21north and welcome to the big green parents’ support group. I’ve learned so much from everyone. You are not alone…yet! Keep in touch!</p>
<p>I am a mother of a senior to be-but I love reading all your posts. You are great parents-I can tell!</p>
<p>I am so appreciative of Coreur for starting this thread, and to BlueBayou, Redondo Dave, Consolation, VeryHappy, InFrmMom, Sybbie 719, firstonetogo, garnets, momofrower, dartmouthdad (hey I want that monniker), danas, mbsmom, mstallyrand, 1ofEach, and all others for making this journey so memorable. All the kids I have observed, and believe me my eyes are wide open, have been impressively friendly, genuine, and can I say “grounded” that I am a Dartmouth convert. Is it the water? We spoke to Dr. Jim Yong Kim again today by accident, we went into the admin building thinking it was admissionts, and he was coming down the stairs. He said, “Hello, so this is your son?” What a memory, after some conversation about his trip he said he will see us tomorrow. I told him we are going upstairs to admissions and he had to correct me that McNutt was next door. Opps, what an impression I have made. I couldn’t tell if my son was embarrassed, but surely he is used to it by now.</p>
<p>We chatted with an admissions officer to thank them for accepting our S. She was so gracious, and informed us that they really look for people who will appreciate all that Dartmouth has to offer. The peer review is helpful to see whether the person is who they claim to be. I think this is what makes the class so special. They all seem so genuinely happy to be there. </p>
<p>We took him up to the Dartmouth Skiway and he is convinced, he will learn how to ski. Hey its only 14 miles from campus.</p>
<p>As my son roams the campus and Hanover with his smob of friends, that grows and shrinks each time we see him walk by (yes we hovered in Hanover ALL day, waiting for him to say, I am free to see you for a meal) we watch the smiles, listen to the laughter and think to ourselves, he really is not leaving, he is coming home. We enjoyed exploring Baker (ooh, Tower room library), Wilder, Fairchild, Wilder, Steele, etc, and we imagined him running to class and lab with a bag full of books. Would he miss us? I hope not.</p>
<p>We had lunch with him at Mollys (try the gaspacho) and dinner with him at Yamas (2 thumbs up) and then he had to join another smob. We stayed to hear the aires? Acapella group sing on the steps of Collis, we sat off to the side and then left. We say him with his smob and waved, but he did not see us. sigh. We agreed that this is the perfect place for him. We think other parents would probably agree with us. </p>
<p>Hope this thread stays alive long enough to support us when the reality of the empty nest hits home. Hey, I’ll worry about that next week. I have one more day in Hanover tomorrow. Aloha, -MPI</p>
<p>small nit: it’s ‘schmob’ which I assume is a conjunction of Freshmen and Mob, i.e, wandering pack of Freshmen/person?. :)</p>
<p>for the 'rents:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.dartmouth.edu/~shmen/dartmouthlingo.html[/url]”>http://www.dartmouth.edu/~shmen/dartmouthlingo.html</a></p>
<p>If you have time, try Simon Pearce for lunch/dinner. It’s a few miles away in Queeche Gorge.</p>
<p>Looking at the web site of The Dartmouth today reminded me of something that has always struck me as quintessentially Dartmouth: the way the paper has covered the murders of Haley Petit and her mother and sister. They always refer to Haley matter-of-factly as “Haley Petit, '11” despite the fact that she was killed before she was able to matriculate with her class. It’s like they are saying that she was and always will be a member of the D family. </p>
<p>I used to work in Cheshire, where the family lived, so that dreadful event strikes closer to home for me than other horrible murders. Her father, William Petit, is Dartmouth '78. I hope that the way the college remembers Haley as one of their own is of some small comfort to him.</p>
<p>Concur with what you had to say Magnum. It is only just beginning for your son. Next week will be incredible. I am not sure what Dr. Kim will have in store for him. My son regaled us on convocation and the private meeting that each student had with Dr. Wright. It was truly a life memory for him. Homecoming will be here before you know it and your son will get to run around the bonfire. He will also find out that the Class of 2014 is the “worst class ever”. Hopefully, you plan to come back in May for the Freshman Family weekend. It was great to meet my son’s parents and get to have an excuse to be back on campus.</p>
<p>We are envious that you are still in Hanover, Magnum. We really enjoyed meeting you and your wife on Monday and would have loved to continue hovering with you. But alas, I have three more at home and we needed to head back. We will definitely return for Freshmen Parents weekend! </p>
<p>We hated to leave, S is our first to go, but I can’t imagine being more satisfied and excited about his new home. He loved his trip and is really enjoying getting to know his new room mates and floor mates. I can only how much fun he is having today now that everyone is moving in!</p>
<p>What a great day today! Our daughter was SO excited to finally get up to Hanover! Move in was a breeze, tho we did end up taking several things back home with us. Dr. Kim’s speech was spectacular…I loved how he ended it by saying that they’d take good care of our “sweet children”! As sad as it was to say goodbye, it felt great knowing that she’s so excited, ready to dig in, and that she’s in good hands. The strongest feeling I had was of jealousy…boy would I like to go to school there! Looking forward to getting back for Family Weekend and meeting her friends (and hopefully some of you!)</p>
<p>Whew, I made it through. No tears, just excitement for S. He and his current SCHMOB (thanks BlueBayou!) were so busy talking and enjoying meeting others that we really felt out of place. It was time. One quick hug and a good by. Lasted all of 10 seconds.</p>
<p>BTW, If President Kim’s address ever hits Youtube, you need to see it. As Garnet said, the President referred to the students as products of the “sweetness of Dartmouth”, where students treat each other with fondness and respect, something he did not experience at his schools, B & H (great schools nonetheless), but a notable difference that other guest lecturers have also noticed. It gave me great comfort knowing that my S is where he should be. If you follow Dartmouth now on Twitter (doesn’t everybody?) President Kim told the class of '14 that they were selected because Admissions felt that this was the best group to change the world, “you are the people we’ve been waiting for.” I will sleep soundly tonight. Aloha from New York City. The helicopter has landed.</p>
<p>Amen and safe journeys for all the 2014s, and their parents. Pretty sure that speech will hit Youtube soon and I look forward to viewing it. HAVE A GREAT YEAR!</p>
<p>Wife & I just got back from dropping off D’s stuff, helping her get some things set up, and going through the limited parents orientation events. I had never visited Hanover and DW was only there for a couple hours (in the rain) when D visited in April '09. It is of great comfort to me to have some sense of the town, the campus, her dorm, her room, and the people. </p>
<p>Being from the South I was totally unprepared for the chilly weather, having only a long-sleeve shirt as my warmest article of clothing. So quite naturally I HAD to buy a Dartmouth fleece jacket. I was also surprised to see so much color in the trees at the higher elevations. That was a bonus.</p>
<p>We enjoyed hearing the tales and seeing some pictures of D’s backpacking trip. She is quite busy already. After seeing how densely packed the orientation schedule is, perhaps she’ll get some relief once classes start 
All in all I think she made a good choice even if she is 12 hours away by car. </p>
<p>So now we are back home where it was 92 this afternoon. I’m hoping some cooler weather will arrive so I can wear my Dartmouth logowear.</p>
<p>Hey, made it through 2 days without wanting to call S. Love wearing my Dartmouth cap, it makes me feel connected somehow. Hope you can wear the fleece soon Standrews!</p>
<p>For the first time I can relate to the view from the Baker web cam and know what’s just beyond and to the left and right of the image.</p>
<p>Longhornmomof4, hey isn’t this your son’s roomate? </p>
<p>[William</a> Kamkwamba '14, Wembe, Malawi | Flickr - Photo Sharing!](<a href=“http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/dartmouthflickr/4971547320/in/set-72157624784809527/]William”>William Kamkwamba '14, Wembe, Malawi | High School: African … | Flickr)</p>
<p>Amazing story, I am ordering the book today.</p>
<p>I learned from my son (& twitter) that today’s 241st convocation was very inspirational so I watched it on YouTube:</p>
<p>[YouTube</a> - Dartmouth’s 2010 Convocation Exercises](<a href=“Dartmouth's 2010 Convocation Exercises - YouTube”>Dartmouth's 2010 Convocation Exercises - YouTube) </p>
<p>Oh, the places they will go!</p>