The Official “Harvard Independent” Guide to Rainy Days

I’m sure most of us are familiar with the iconic children’s song: “It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring.” How did you spend your rainy days when you were in elementary school? Did you abhor them and resign yourself to staying in bed like the old man from the classic nursery rhyme? Or did you look forward to them with great expectations, as I did, along with many of my childhood friends? Rainy days meant indoor recess, where teachers would present us with a smorgasbord of games to choose from. My personal favorite was “Apples to Apples.” At home, rainy days meant hot chocolate and more than enough hours of television.

Now, as a senior in college, I catch myself feeling a sense of dread when the forecast calls for rain. After all, who wants to risk getting their socks wet while walking across campus, especially with the notorious Boston winds that pelt our faces with rain? However, it is possible to embrace and enjoy those Cambridge rainy days again with just a few key items.

An Umbrella (or a Good Raincoat)

There should be a graveyard for the umbrellas I’ve lost to the winds of the Bay State. When I arrived in Cambridge, Mass., as an innocent first-year, I thought my travel-sized umbrella would suffice. I was quickly proven wrong when a gust of wind turned my umbrella inside out a mere few minutes after weathering my first downpour. A steady gale thwarted my subsequent frantic attempts to revert its shape. After one, maybe two, storms, it would no longer open or close properly. This has happened to every umbrella I’ve purchased since. A higher-quality investment may improve these outcomes. But I have abandoned the idea and have since relied on a hooded jacket to minimize how soaked my hair gets before class. For those who have managed to find a completely windproof umbrella, please email me. In the meantime, I plan on testing out the underutilized—though, in my opinion, cute—umbrella hats.

A Hot Drink

I’m the type of person who could (and would) happily order a hot coffee in the middle of summer over an iced one. However, I know that there is something extra special and comforting about a drink that warms your hands and stomach as you brave the cold that often accompanies heavy rain in Harvard Square. Fortunately, this campus is practically inundated with coffee and tea shops, so buying this signature staple on a stormy day is almost too easy. If you’re looking for suggestions, I think everyone should try the “Almond Velvet Tea” from Zinneken’s on Massachusetts Avenue. Alternatively, if you haven’t spent all of your BoardPlus yet, go try a “Peet’s-Style Latte” from Buckminster’s Café behind the Science Center. You can also craft your own hot drink in your dining hall. While we wait for Harvard University Dining Services to create a dining hall hot latte specialty (so far, only an iced blueberry pancake latte recipe is available), we can experiment with our own combination of coffee, milk, and hot chocolate. I’ll definitely miss HUDS hot chocolate when I graduate.

The Perfect HUDS Meal

In theme with the HUDS appreciation above, just as rainy days call us to reach for warm drinks, they also beckon us to embrace comfort through tasty orders from the residential Houses’ dining hall grills. At lunch, the perfect hearty, warm meal option is a chili or chicken stew. Later in the day, in another callback to childhood, request a grilled cheese sandwich, especially when tomato soup is available at dinnertime.

A Common Room

Rainy days call us all indoors to enjoy each other’s company. That’s why I believe one of the best decisions my friends and I recently made was watching “Desperate Housewives” in a dorm common room. Half of us were seeing the show for the second time (or third, if you count watching it in the background as kids while our moms enjoyed it), while the other half were just getting to know the women of Wisteria Lane. If you and your friends try this, make sure to raid Brain Break for snacks and drinks first. Outside of people’s dorms, hallway common rooms are also an option. You can connect someone’s laptop to a television or monitor with the provided cables (adapters or cables requested via your House mailing list) to project binge-worthy content. Use rainy days as an excuse to get together with the friends you promised to “grab a coffee with sometime” before the semester ends!

Tabletop Games

In the spirit of nostalgia, I suggest bringing back the indoor recess activity of playing tabletop games with your friends. Party favorites include “Cards Against Humanity,” “Bananagrams,” poker, and “UNO.” While these are all fun, I feel the need to issue a warning for “UNO.” Try your best to establish rules with your group before you start playing. Everyone has different “house rules” and can quickly become (too) emotionally invested in winning. I suggest playing games between meals in the dining hall. Then, you can easily invite other students to sit and play with you or your friends. That way, a rainy day can become the perfect excuse to get to know other members of your residential community.

The next time it’s “raining cats and dogs” in Cambridge, don’t give in to dismay. Instead, reference this guide on how to turn your rainy days into some of your most treasured times on campus.

Adedoyin Adebayo ’26 (aadebayo@college.harvard.edu)knows April showers bring indoor comfort before they bring May flowers.