"The Napkin Song" by Brin

What do wet shorts make for on an extremely hot, humid day? They make for discomfort, that’s what, especially when you have to zip through the city blocks trying to get to the rest of the group in time after you spent too long playing in the fountain in Battery Park. Wet clothes help cool you down, and yes, it was worth it, but I would definitely say it was more fun getting them wet than it was walking around in them. They dry off eventually (note the use of “eventually”) but were mostly dry after our little adventure that ended with the thought, “Why don’t any of these places have bathrooms” and a restaurant in Little Italy. The food was excellent, but what stood out about the dinner was not the quality of the edibles but the music- not boring music played over the speakers, but a living, breathing, human being playing on an electric keyboard to Italian music and singing. Yes, he could do all of that at once, and more. We also joined in, upon demand, and sang along with him. At least, most of us did- the less, er, ‘outgoing’ students resigned to clapping animatedly to the beat. But nobody was allowed to sit quietly like a normal person when the “Napkin Song” (for lack of knowledge of the actual name) was played. And then the reason for us all having two different napkins was explained: we were expected to wave that baby around to no particular measure like we were ineffectively warding off hornets as we listened and sang to everybody’s new favorite song! We also got to stand on the chairs in this super fancy restaurant, which was cool. Actually, that’s a big fat lie. It was outstanding. Many of my tablemates remarked that it was on of the best dining experiences they’ve ever had, and I must say I fully agree them. Afterwards, we waited a bit for the buses (the Blue Bus had embarked on a rescue mission for the Bath students so there were only two) and took them to the foot of Rockefeller Tower. It was nice from the inside, as should be expected, but the view from the observation deck was stunning- something that you need to experience for yourself, not stare at in a picture longingly from your cellphone screen. Our way back to the hotel (with only the White Bus students, as the Blue bus had returned and taken the extras with it) was much less riotous than the night before, save for a bit of wildness that was put forth to accompany the playing of the “Napkin Song” thanks to a student who had bought the musician’s CD. All in all, the day started off slow with a lot of tired and irritated students, and probably ended with a lot of tired and irritated students, but the in-between is what counted the most. It usually does, right?