The past week an incredible event occurred, Middlebury’s Festival on the Green, where, as you can imagine, a festival was held in the Middlebury on the Green Space between Main Street and Merchants Road. This was a whole week of free live music from various artists far and wide, and of course, the gathering of the whole town of Middlebury. Though I only attended three nights out of the seven, each night was full of vibrant artists that I had never heard of, but still thoroughly enjoyed.  The three groups I was able to see were Chamberlin, a band with two members who are from Middlebury, Babik, an impressive group with a man who did a duck call solo, and The Defibulators, an excellent band that played a variety of southern covers and originals.

Of course the music was great to listen to, but the best part was lying back on the green and simply staring at the sky lost in the moment. Sounds a bit cheesy, but even in Middlebury, finding a time to slow down and think to your-self can be hard to find. However, these moments would be broken quickly when I saw the typical Vermont dance attempt: slow swaying and awkward bobbing. Then again, the dance attempts made by the individuals in my group were not exactly impressive either. Regardless, the atmosphere of moving to music, interaction among the whole town and the general sense of community was fantastic, and though it was a week long, it would have been marvelous to extend its time.

This Memorial Day, I had the chance to attend the Middlebury Memorial Day Parade. Firetrucks, boyscouts, girlscouts, local politicians, police cars, bagpipes, and aliens from the town theatre were just a few of the spectacular sites I saw marching down Main Street in the bright rising sun. Most of the town was up and searching for a good spot in the shade on this particularly warm summer’s day before the parade began at 9. The employees from the local dentist’s office were handing out free donuts and coffee to all the hungry children and parents in need of caffeine. I found a nice shaded spot with a couple of friends next to the newest addition to the town of Middlebury: the roundabout.

Middlebury is a small town with a population of about 8,000 people. Needless to say, a major construction project right in the middle of town is a pretty big deal for Middlebury. A new bridge over Otter Creek was opened connecting downtown to Route 7 through the new roundabout. There was a big celebration with fireworks and all at the opening of the bridge at the end of October.

The annual Memorial Day parade was a little bit different this year with the new roundabout and bridge. Many people crowded all around the newly paved sidewalks to watch the parade come down Main Street. It started at the south end of Main Street, circled half way around the new roundabout, passed the town green, and ended at the town theatre where a local student recited the Gettysburg Address and a public official gave a speech.

The town parade is a very local, small town Vermont kind of event. You see the same people going every year in the same spot. It is definitely one of the social highlights of the year and a great way for the student summer workers to meet some of the townspeople. Most of the businesses in town are closed for Memorial Day, so there is always a large turnout. Many people have family or friends in the parade, whether it is an elementary school student or a grandparent playing a bagpipe. I saw the Middlebury firemen, police officers, EMTs, American Legion members, the Middlebury Union High School Band, farmers on their tractors, and many of the other groups that make up the Middlebury community. The parade does a great job of illustrating the home-feel you can only get in a rural town in Vermont. Parents and grandparents are cheering for their children and grandchildren as they walk by, teens are socializing in small groups, children are running around grabbing candy, and a general sense of Middlebury pride is present everywhere you look. As if Middlebury town spirit isn’t enough, the Mary Hogan Elementary School and Middlebury Union Junior High and High School students get on a bus after they have finished their march and head to Vergennes to participate in the end of the Vergennes Memorial Day Parade.

As a student at Middlebury College, it was nice to be able to put a face to the town of Middlebury without the college in the picture. Sure, I ran into a couple of professors and some co-workers, but there wasn’t a college float or advertisement all throughout the parade. The college is very involved in the community and attracts many visitors to Middlebury, but when you put the college aside, Middlebury is still a healthy, vibrant, and welcoming place. I am proud to call Middlebury my home for the next few years.

Vermont is one of the prettiest states to drive through. On any road you take, you will surely get a gorgeous view of the Adirondack mountains off in the distance; often you’ll have a view of mountains to both your left and right. In the summer is when it is most beautiful. The trees are luscious with green leaves, and the grass grows tall. It is in the summer that you truly begin to realize why we call ourselves the “Green Mountain State”.

This is what makes a one hour commute to work everyday a little less boring, and a little more enjoyable.

Not only is the scenery worth the drive, but you’ll never be bored driving on these streets. Normally on my way to work and back, I will pass by a series of farms. Vermont as a state has more cows than people, just another thing that makes it so interesting. So as  I drive by these farms, I will usually see cows out grazing, and sometimes even horses! It’s nice to see horses and cows as you drive along on a hot summery day, but turtles?

Around this time of year, I’ve noticed, sporadic groups of turtles start to come out. How do they get here? I have no idea! We aren’t nearby any ocean, that’s for sure. But regardless, it is not too uncommon to see a turtle, especially if you’re hanging out around the Waterfront, or somewhere with moisture. Where I saw this turtle however, was entirely unexpected.

As I was driving home from work yesterday, passing through my usual route of mountains, farms, and small towns, I saw a small bump in the road up ahead. At first I didn’t think it was anything, perhaps just something that had flown onto the road. Driving up towards it though, the closer I got, the more I began to realize that it was moving. Rather slowly, which was odd. What on earth? The wheels of my car kept turning, as I kept staring at this creature. Within moments I realized it also had a neck, and a shell, and …wait what? All these observations happened in about one second of time – the speed limit on this rather empty road was 50 mph. And before I could even slow down, I heard a quiet, but discreet “cracking” noise as my car tires bounced slightly up in the air.

It was then that I realized what I had done. A turtle. I had just run over a turtle. A turtle that, apparently like the cows and horses, liked to graze on farmland. Though I felt terrible for possibly having killed this poor thing, I was far more confused and completely frazzled. The rest of my way home,  I could not stop thinking about how I would phrase this story to my family, and just how they would react. Would they too be surprised? I couldn’t imagine how one would react as though this were a completely normal event, to see turtles on the road.

And as if that wasn’t enough, there was another fun adventure waiting for me as I drove into work this morning. Taking the same route again, I passed over a few hills, and through curvatures in the road. Trees on both my left and right. I then passed through Bristol, a cute little town on the way to Middlebury. Next came the “Vermont Bug Store”, which I have never stepped foot inside, but am, with good reason, very curious about. Once past the store, I drove through a series of farms.

At first all seemed normal, though I was driving behind an incredibly slow, and rather muddy, green pick-up truck.  So needless to say, I was getting a little bored on this drive, but that surely did not last long. All of a sudden the truck halted to a screeching stop, and I hit my breaks, a little alarmed. And before I even stretched my neck to see what was going on up ahead, the corner of my eye caught glimpse of a large brown object. When  I focused in, I saw that there was a cow running fast and in random directions. She seemed to be trying to escape a tractor that had persistently been following her. I assumed the woman driving the tractor owned the cow, and was just trying to get her back on the farm. I could not stop laughing at the scene. Here we were, about 10 cars, just stopped in the middle of the road, watching this frantic cow as it ran to and from both sides of the street.

And so we waited patiently for her to calm down…eventually this little cow did get back onto the farm. She still had a piece of hay in her mouth she’d been carrying around with her since her run started. Once all was quiet again, my old friend the pick up truck began his engine, and we continued on our drive down to the college.

As I sit here, summarizing my  past two commutes, I am reminded once again of why I chose Vermont, and Middlebury in particular. Though we are in a remote location, it never ceases to amaze me how many wonderful, funny, and amusing things can happen to a person here in just one week.

Welcome to the 2011 Summer Interns’ Blog!

We are the Summer Interns, a group of Middlebury students that stay on campus during the summer to work in the Admissions Office. You most likely found your way here from our Summer Interns page on the Middlebury website. If not, feel free to check it out! For most people, summer is a great time to relax and enjoy the nice weather, catch up on some good reading, spend time with friends or family, and maybe do some traveling. For rising juniors and seniors in high school, summer is a great time to start making college visits and deciding which college or university is the best fit. That’s where we come in! We will be updating this page throughout the summer with our experiences here at the college and in the surrounding area to give you an idea of what Middlebury life is like. We’ll be writing about what interests us and what we think you may be interested in as you start (or continue) your college search. Also, please check out our student bios on the left so that you can get a better idea of what kind of students you may find at Middlebury and what the campus is like during the school year.

If you have any questions for any of us, feel free to post a comment with your question. Who knows? Maybe your question will be inspiring enough to become the topic of the next blog entry!