What better time to turn off the phone and the computer for a day than the day my roommate’s neighbor comes to town? It turns out my roommate, Lydia’s, neighbor is writing a book about cow suits. A funny joke that started in college has led her to put on a cow suit with anyone who will join her to visit races, hospitals, events, and fundraisers just to see what happens. (Check it out at cowsuitsaturday.com.) The plan for Saturday was to put on some cow suits, traipse around Burlington, see Lake Champlain, and then go to the Ben and Jerry’s factory. 

So I woke up, checked my email one last time, and at 10:00 a.m. the clock for my media fast started. I turned off the phone, ipod, computer; everything. We immediately hopped into some cow suits in the parking lot next to the student center, got into Billy’s rental car and started the journey. All along the way we stopped at a country store, a herd of cows by the side of the road, and a random farmers market to take photos. All along the way people had impressively different reactions. They would either be delighted to ask us what the story was, or they had stone cold faces unaffected by the 4 cows walking around in public. It was a very interesting dynamic.

When we finally made our way to Burlington, we found ourselves in the middle of their Saturday morning market! Artists, college students, vendors, farmers and locals all gathered in the plaza for a beautiful Saturday morning. People would come up to us every few seconds to ask to take a photo or to hear our story. And let me just say, Vermonters are probably the cutest people ever. One old man came up to us and, once he found out we were new to Vermont, waved a wrinkly finger at us saying, “Watch out! Onc      e you come here you might get hooked. A lot of people come to Vermont and never leave.” And I could definitely understand what someone’s adorable grandpa was trying to tell us. Vermont is awesome. Especially with the leaves starting to turn, the landscape is beautiful, the air is crisp and fresh, and despite the weather change, Vermonters keep such a warmth in their hearts with every season.

We moooved on to visit the lake, took some great photos and, again, met tons of cool people along the way before we drove to the Ben and Jerry’s factory. As soon as we pulled up to the parking lot, though, we knew that Ben and Jerry’s was going to be the perfect place to wear a cow suit. We sent our friend Nick to buy the tickets, where the guy gave him his ticket free for wearing a cow suit. He came out with three paid tickets and his own, but when we walked inside to join the tour and the guy saw our own cow suits, the man waved us back over and emptied the money Nick had just paid from the register for a refund. Everybody loved us!

The tour was awesome; we learned a lot about Ben and Jerry’s, how they do business, how they make their delicious ice cream, and got free samples at the end. By now it was approaching late afternoon, so we headed back to Midd for a dinner out on the town (we took off the cow suits for this one).

Coming back to campus without technology was when things started to feel strange. While we were in Burlington and at the Ben and Jerry’s factory, I really didn’t miss my phone or my email because I didn’t need it! My friends were snapchatting and texting as usual, but I didn’t feel the need to. When we got pack to campus, however, it started to feel strange. I took a nap and woke up to an empty hall – no one was around! And I didn’t know what to do with myself. I ended up taking my bike out to go for a ride and, of course, eventually ran into some people I knew. I sat with them for dinner and for the rest of the night, I had no idea what was going on except for where I was at that moment. Usually on a Saturday night at Midd, I text a few people to see what’s going on in other places around campus and maybe go to meet up with them, but this Saturday I simply went to where I was going and enjoyed it!

What was hard for me was hanging out with friends when they wanted to show me a youtube video or something on the internet. I tried to distance myself from this type of technology use also, but it was also something I forgot to pay attention to at times. It’s interesting how one is exposed to media that isn’t even his own. However, the media fast really did feel like a breath of fresh air. After living at least half of the last 3 years of my life without a phone and with limited internet access, being on email and on my phone all the time is a source of stress for me. Letting go felt therapeutic. I definitely noticed the difference when I remembered that my brother was in Burlington, and I couldn’t text him to meet up for lunch, or when I was going out with friends on Saturday night and didn’t have the option of communicating with people who weren’t with me, but it was fine overall. I think more people should know what it’s like not to have a phone or a computer.