I woke up at 5:45AM Friday morning, before the sun could break the dark sky. My roommate left for fall break already, and I was preparing to leave campus. I had to finish packing my bags and get ready for the journey ahead. This was the first time I was leaving Gambier for more than a few hours since arriving in August.
I thought that feeling scared was ridiculous. I talked myself up, telling myself that I am a New Yorker. As the old saying goes: If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. Surely, I could survive Columbus, Ohio. But I was still scared. I am 5’1” and I stopped taking Karate classes years ago. I wondered if I can still roundhouse kick someone if worse comes to worse. At that moment, I cursed the NY state law that prohibited me from ever buying pepper spray.
All these thoughts were going through my head as I packed my bags, but the prospect of adventure, Starbucks coffee, and seeing my best friend at Ohio State University propelled me onto the GoBus. My friends and I claimed our stake on the bus and enjoyed the morning gradient touch the Ohio corn fields and sleepy towns as we made our way to the city.
After getting off at the airport, we decided to forgo another bus and take an Uber instead. I was the only person among the three of us who was familiar with its glory. Luckily, Uber has a wonderful promotion where, if you invite a friend to try Uber, both of you get free $20 rides. This was a GOD SEND, because between the three of us, we had $120 worth of free Uber rides.
Do: Download the Uber app, and share the wealth with your friends.
We arrived at Morrill tower, a massive dormitory right next to the OSU stadium. We spent some time at my friend’s dorm before we explored the campus and the city surrounding it. The first places we went to? Starbucks, Urban Outfitters, and Chipotle! I came to a sad realization that there was an empty place in my heart since I moved to Gambier, which only corporate chains could fill.
Do: Check out OSU’s campus.
Do: Go on High Street and take advantage of chain stores, restaurants, and cafes.
While in Columbus, I wanted to go to Marshall’s, the department store. I used the Transit app to figure out how to get there. Transit gives you different ways to get to your destination like taking a train, bus, walking and even ubering! I used this app to navigate through New York City, and it can be used virtually anywhere in the world.
Do: Download the Transit app.
Don’t: Buy a one-way-trip pass. Instead, buy a day-trip pass for $4.50.
Don’t: Go to the wrong Marshall’s.
Luckily, all hope wasn’t lost because Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream was nearby. Jeni’s is a popular artisan ice cream shop that started in Columbus and is highly recommended by locals. To get there, we walked up a large hill, passing quaint suburban homes along the way. We did a lot of walking before we reached an adorable suburban, downtown area with charming stores and restaurants. I spent a good hour at a stationery store because I am a sucker for cute cards and notepads. We then went into an upscale boutique to admire and try on things we can’t afford. Honestly, I could’ve found the same items at Marshall’s for a third of the price. Oh, the irony.
Do: Be prepared to get a bit lost—it’s all a learning experience!
Do: Wear comfortable shoes.
Do: Shop and eat at local places.
We took the bus back to High Street and decided to do a bit more shopping. We walked to Short North, which is like the Columbus equivalent of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The downtown area has all the things a hipster could hope for: thrift stores, American Apparel, coffee shops and art galleries. It was like home away from home.
Do: Shop at Short North.
On the way back to Morrill, my friend Hannah and I stopped at this sketchy military warehouse store. It sounds bad- and it kind of was- but I had to see if they sold pepper spray. The store inside was dim and stuffed with merchandise that screamed “I love the Second Amendment.” The guy behind the counter gave me pepper spray with the promise that it would make grown men cry. Sold.
Do: What ya gotta do!
We went back to the dorms, and I took a much needed shower. I was getting ready to go out that night with my best friend and some of her friends. There was going to be a block party hosted by all the fraternities and sororities at OSU. Sounds crazy right? It was. Imagine a whole block full of houses dedicated to parties—I mean, students. The block party was right off of a main street, and so cops were there to make sure vehicles were able to get through the thick crowd of people. They were also there to keep people safe and suppress potential riots.
Apparently, the situation got so threatening that they had to mount on their horses and corral college students like cattle. The scene was like a block of Project X’s that got halted by Randy Balko: Militarization of Cops. Unfortunately, this happened right when I got to there, so I couldn’t experience the infamous party life at OSU, but the whole scene was enough for me to understand that partying at OSU blows Old K parties out of the water. Whether that’s a good or bad thing, I have yet to decide.
Do: Go to parties with a trusted group of people.
Do: Be careful and be aware of your surroundings.
We didn’t call it a night right then and there. We spent until 3AM brushing off guys and dancing to bad songs spun by a bad DJ. The whole experience, though, wasn’t bad—in fact, it was a lot of fun!
Do: Have a girls night out!
Don’t: Believe you’re in Gambier—be prepare to meet rude, gross, ignorant people.
The next morning, I woke up and got ready to take the GoBus back to Kenyon. It was ridiculously busy on campus that day because OSU was versing Maryland Terps. Hannah, Franny and I had tickets for the 3PM bus, but we didn’t coordinated with each other at all. One was shopping at Short North with a dead phone and one was back at Morrill, but all of us were trying to figure out how we can get to the airport in 30 minutes. Everywhere I turned, I saw a sea of bright red, black and white—I was ready to get out of Columbus and back to my quiet campus.
Do: Bring some red, white, and black colored clothing if you want to blend in with the crowd on game day.
Do: Plan around game day! Expect lots of traffic and higher Uber prices.
Do: Leave ample amount of time to catch the bus back to campus.
Do: Communicate and coordinate with the people you’re going home with.
Don’t: Let your phone battery die. You should always bring a wall/portable charger.
The digital clock in the Uber car read 3PM, and we were still at OSU. Franny and I got out of the Uber, which took us further than where were picked up because all the roads leading to Morrill were blocked. We walked against the mass exodus of people who’ve just left the stadium. After convening back at Morrill, there was no longer a feeling of adventure and hopefulness among us. Those feelings were replaced with gloom and desperation. Nevertheless, we all brainstormed ways to get back home that day. The 3PM was the last GoBus that day, so the only other option was taking a taxi or an Uber. We called taxi services listed on the Kenyon website, but none of them worked out. We finally settled on taking an Uber and splitting the $130 cost amongst ourselves. The ride was comfortable and the driver was so nice, he even offered the AUX cord. Sitting in the car gave us time to decompress after that stressful episode and reflect on our time at Columbus. We made a list of Do’s and Don’ts, which I promised to write about for Her Campus—and here it is.
It’s really quite amazing how we can already call Kenyon home. During the whole ordeal, we kept saying we wanted to go “home.” And we knew we didn’t mean the place where our families are. We meant our simple Gambier town. As much as I missed the lively, urban setting, at the end of the day, I wanted to be back on the Hill. I couldn’t wait to walk down the golden arching trees down middle path, say hi to familiar faces, and, most of all, curl up in my own bed.
Do: Take a well-deserved nap!
Image Credit: Giphy, Sahat Yalkabov, Hannah Goulder, Juviand Rivera, 614 Now