Braving winds, rain, and 5000 granola bars

With the Hurricane currently hovering over New England and rolling over lewiston things are in full swing on campus getting ready for everyone to arrive tomorrow.  While you're hopefully keeping safe and dry all the last minute preparations for AESOP are under way.  Ever wonder what 5000 chewy and nutragrain bars look like?  how about 1000 apples?  well they're both about the size of a baby elephant.   All of the food and gear is sorted and ready to go, the leaders are trained and eager, hurricane Irene is passing through;  all that's left is all of you showing up tomorrow! (weather and flights permitting, we have trips ready to go for late arrivals!)  Remember to contact us if you're scheduled arrival plans change.  Stay dry and get PUMPED  

EVERYONE LOVES PICTURES!

Coordinator gatherings 

Leader scavenger hunt EXTRAVAGANZA

Dinner time in Commons

peace, love, and future sunshine,
~The AESOP team

Hurricane Irene Update 8/27

The latest predictions for hurricane Irene have the storm coming through Maine beginning later this evening and then clearing by tomorrow (Sunday) night!  This is terrific news as it looks like Irene will not only clear in time for your trips, but will probably clear in time for move-in day on Monday as well!

That said, Irene is a serious storm and we are taking all necessary precautions to ensure your safety and the safety of all participants of the program.  Should anything change and inclement weather persist, we have several contingencies plans in place and alternative itineraries for trips that will be impacted by the storm.

We realize that although the storm might clear earlier than expected, travel is likely to be delayed and many of you might arrive late to campus.  If this is the case, we will make every possible effort to get you placed on your trip.  For cases where students arrive past the departure time for their trip, we have created some really great alternative trips that will depart at a later time.  Rest assured, you will still have a great AESOP experience!

We look forward to seeing you all soon!
-The AESOP Coordinator Team

Tut tut...looks like rain!

Hurricane Irene Update #2

Hello all,
 
    We've been carefully looking at the weather forecasts and at this point it looks like the storm will impact Maine and New Hampshire on Sunday and finish up by Monday morning.  This is optimistic news for us, meaning that AESOP trips will likely be able to depart as scheduled on Tuesday morning!

    That said, we understand that many of you will have difficulties getting to campus on time on Monday.  Planes will likely be delayed all along the east coast, highways may be closed due to "States of Emergency"  (I'm looking at you, New Jersey) and rain and wind will make driving unsafe.  If you arrive by Monday (even if you arrive later in the evening) there should be no issues departing for your AESOP on time whatsoever. Please note that if you are arriving by plane or other mode of transportation and expecting a pick up in Portland, we will need you to keep us updated on any changes in your arrival.

    If you are delayed past Monday, we will be making every effort to transport you up to meet your trip.   However this is not always possible, but rest assured we are currently preparing contingency plans and trips and we would like to assure you that you will be placed on a trip and that fun WILL ensue!

   As always, feel free to write us at aesop.bates@gmail.com or call us at 207-330-0610

Stay Dry!
    The AESOP Team

   

Hurrican Irene Update

Hello everyone,

   With Hurricane Irene making its way north, we've been receiving phone calls and e-mails wondering how the weather might impact your AESOP trips.  

     We are currently tracking the storm very carefully and attempting to assess how it might impact our trips.  At this point, we are optimistic that the storm will dissipate before it comes this far north and that trips will be able to continue on as planned.  We would like to stress, however, that we will not be taking any undue risks by sending out trips in dangerous weather.  

    Please check back often as we will be posting updates as the storm progresses.  In the meantime, stay dry and we look forward to seeing you all in just a few days!

-The AESOP Team

OH LEW!

Some of you may have visited Bates already, and therefore driven through this small town of Lewiston, ME. Ok, so maybe it's not your average cute little college town but it does have a whole lot to offer. For example, every year Lewiston/Auburn plays host to the Great Falls Annual Hot Air Balloon Festival!

Honestly, I've never seen something so spectacular. Will and I stumbled out of bed at 5am last week to make the two minute drive down to the water. The balloons were already being filled as scattered visitors stood in awe at being so close to something usually only seen from afar. Soon, almost eight balloons surrounded us, some already taking off from the ground. The early morning crowd that filled the grassy spaces between the giant puffs of color applauded as the first balloon took lift off. After an hour, the sky was filled with burst of color, bright balloons, dark balloons, cat balloons, and ladybug balloons!! All drifting over OUR little town.

This festival, as you will soon see, is only one of the many amazing things about Lewiston, sure it's got it's rough edges, but there are so many amazing things to see and do here, I know you'll love it when you find them.

As always, counting down the days,
The AESOP Team

Nature IS Neat!

As you know, AESOP is all about spending some time in the outdoors and getting in touch with mother nature.  We love the great outdoors, and here at AESOP HQ we always appreciate people who love the wilderness as much as we do, so when one of our leaders sent us this video, we couldn't help but pass it along to all of you.  Hopefully you will find it inspiring!

Cheers!

-The A-Team

Eight Carts and a THIRTY Minute CHECK OUTTT.

HELLOO AND WELCOME TO BJ'S. The very famous and well established wholesale store in Lewiston!! Over the past few weeks Mike and I have gotten to know the place very well, organizing menus, checking prices, doing a few cart rides down isles, and getting ready to buy all the non-perishable food for AESOP trips! Ole BJs and us, we go way back, though with each visit, with each moment, we were looking forward to this day. This day of epic proportions where we broke down social norms, climbed up shelves, and made the largest credit card payment any of us will ever make in our lives. This day -was BJ'S DAY.

After a little pre-game pep talk, including a team cheer amongst empty carts, we headed for the shelves and came out with ten loads of food that is only a portion of the food you guys will be eating over AESOP. Chewy bars, jelly, pasta sauce, one helpful passerby even scored us a few coupons. That three dollars off one box granola bars REALLY helped us keep our budget down. PHEW! (It's also a perfect example of how amazingly kind the people in Lewiston are!) After the longest check out of my life, we were out the door and facing the next feat of fitting everything into the van. We made it, but barely! Luckily we had Mike Sagan at the wheel, an expert at driving vehicles packed to the brim, though usually they're are filled with climbing gear instead of hershey bars. Once back at Bates, Ellie and Will perfected the art form that is the assembly line, passing boxes from the van onto carts that were pulled into AESOP home base in Old Commons.

That's when trouble hit. It was getting late in the day and the elevator up to our room wasn't working. Now all those boxes had been a ton of fun so far, but carrying everything up a dark flight of stairs didn't sound like pancakes. We were about to table the project for the night when Greg "Vinny"Vincent, undoubtedly one of the coolest "Masters of Mail" you will ever meet, opened his door to us in the packaging area. Thus, all your food us currently chillin' in the Bates mail room. It's safe, we promise.

Love, as always,
Your AESOP Coordinators

Will and Mike lookin' good with mac and grahams.

Ellie wins the prize for best packing job.

Yeah ok, I've got a little bit of a ragu fetish!

Leave no box unbought!

The cart line up

Where's the VAN??