redman in the gaels' nest

i'm not alone in saying that being a student at mcgill you are entitled to certain bragging rights, such as the fact that your fine institution boasts the highest entrance average (thank you, maclean's university issue and the hours i spent poring over it in grade twelve) and that you live in hands down the greatest city to party in Canada. so, this weekend when i went to tremblant - the same weekend that the queen's campus vacations trip was there - i thought that with my inner sense of redman pride i was able to make a few presumptions that would help me fit right in when hanging with the kingston crowd. i was not alone in these deductions - before departing on my weekend getaway my roommates assured me all i needed to do to fit in was rock sweatpants and be permanently enthusiastic about playing flip cup (side note: i am totally enthusiastic about flip cup, despite the fact that my unbounded excitement towards it usually results in me getting put to bed before 10pm. the thing i love best about going to queens is that i will inevitably and happily play multiple rounds of this beloved beer game, one that is not played nearly enough at mcgill). so, after a weekend of field work, i have decided to address some tales and truths about our closest university neighbours:


TRUTHS

1. queens kids start drinking at 8pm. i was sure to be showered and with my game face on by that hour, and, as predicted, brews were already flowing by the time i hit the first pre-drink at 8:30.
   
2. queens kids are undeniably obsessed with flip cup. sure enough, i could already hear the tell-tale ole ole ole chant before i even crossed the threshold.

TALES

1. sweatpants are the go-to apparel on most occasions. i obviously didn't expect gael girls to don them when going out, but i did take this notion to heart and purposefully dressed down more than i would when going out in montreal. unfortunately, my lumberjack shirt/ugg ensemble was showed up when i discovered most girls were wearing pretty going-out-style tops and suede boots.
   
2. when hanging with the queens crowd, everyone is your new best friend. yes, i was the random mcgiller who crashed the queens weekend, yes i was vulnerable and scared. sadly that did not cause people to welcome me with open arms, maybe because their hands were already full with the telltale opaque red cup. in any case, my social skills and i were forced to fend on our own.
   

if there's anything i learned this weekend it's that despite the fact that many of us like to agree that we go to the best school in the country, maybe we should ditch our enduring stigma and embrace that although mcgill is a great school, it's not the only great school. so, i learned my lesson that the next time i make the trip to k-town, or london-town, or any town, for that matter, i should leave my attitude at the door, grab a red cup, and join everyone else who, like me, are just university kids who want to have a good time.