Get naked

It’s official: there’s no better way to get to know a group of people than getting completely naked in front of them. Usually, this is accomplished by playing bonding games like step into the circle, where a statement is read (eg. “step into the circle if your parents are divorced”), and everyone the statement applies to steps forward. Sometimes, you get naked by reading poetry in front of strangers or having a discussion about your love lives at 3am. I’m a big fan of all of these methods. But sometimes, you have to cut to the chase.

Here on Semester in the West, we prefer a direct approach. Thus, I am pleased to report that yesterday afternoon, about half of the Westies shed their clothes in broad daylight to participate in an age-old adolescent bonding ritual often known as “skinny dipping”. It started out innocently enough: we went on a hike on a fairly cold day up a stream in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. We reached a place where the stream widened enough to constitute a swimming hole, and our arrival coincided with a small break in sunlight. The possibility of swimming had been mentioned, and I scoffed at the idea, since it was obviously far too cold to even contemplate getting wet. I soon discovered that half of my peers didn’t share my views on this topic, and I stuck my head over the edge of the rock to peer below at the brave few. And to my surprise, I saw about twelve buck naked people shrieking and jumping around in the ice cold water.

So of course, I had to join them. I reached the makeshift beach after most everyone had gotten out. I shed my clothes slowly, until I was down to a sports bra and spandex. I glanced around. Four guys were standing, arms outstretched, drying off in the sun. None had put clothes on. None seemed to mind I was looking at them. And that was enough. I stripped off my underwear and dove in. I came up screaming and hyperventilating and swearing at the freezing cold water. I ran back out and stood, arms spread wide, shivering. I looked around at the naked Westies around me, and I felt what it means to be truly free.