Hazing and hell raising

     Yesterday was the most school packed day I have had here thus far. I had my four hour german class in the morning, and then two history classes back to back after lunch. The history classes basically just double-tapped the time between the first and second world war. Class let out at around five or so. All week I had heard about the first class initiation into the "MAK casino." This is basically a place where the cadets can go and drink after school or at night. They said be prepared to drink a lot. I decided getting food before would be a good idea, as not to drink on an empty stomach. Dan, Christian and I went to Torino's, our favorite pizza place a little ways from the MilAk. I got a ham and mushroom pizza that was extremely tasty.
     When we got back it was about five till seven, when the festivities would begin. I rushed to get changed back into uniform and went downstairs into the entrance hall where the entire first class was. The class speaker from the fourth year group (seniors) was giving an introduction to what was about to happen. The rules he gave were simple: 1. everyone must leave by 12. 2. You have to be able to leave on your own free will, and on your own two legs. 3. Should your buddy be struggling to get back, you may assist him. Then everyone went down the hall to the MAK casino, which was lined with seniors in ponchos and gas masks. At the entrance of the casino, two guards were standing by the door, dressed in overcoats and gasmasks holding scythes. In order to get into the casino they had to pass a series of tests. The hardest one involved standing on an ammo box and unsheathing a saber. Then the person had to balance a shot on the hilt, and proceed to take the shot. Once they earned the key into the casino, everyone was "baptised" by having their head dunked in a big bowl of water. I participated in this part because we hadn't been formally welcomed to the MAK casino like all the other seniors.
     The casino consists of one main bar, with several smaller rooms. It can hold about 150 people, which is about how many were down there. Upon entering, everyone had a shot and a beer at the ready. The class was christened by drinking a glass of beer and then throwing it in the corner and breaking the glass. This is done on important occasions. It signifies that no one else will drink from the glass from that event. After all this the hazing stopped and everyone just hung out and drank together. They had another ceremony where a member from each class took the saber off the wall and used it to open a bottle of champagne.This is done by unrapping the top part and then basically pushing the saber into the cork. The first two classes that went took about four or five tries to do it. The first years did it in two, which was the best so far. After a few hours of general debauchery, Colonel Fleishman, the batallion commander showed up in his formal uniform. I thought it was to bust up the party, but instead he had a drink with everyone. He then did the bottle opening thing with the saber. I didn't know we had a professional in our midst because he did it in one try. Before he went they said I was next and I had to do better than the colonel. After he went I thought I was going to embarass myself because one cadet from west point a few years ago had to go to the hospital and get stitches from cutting his hand with the bottle. I prepared myself (and the bottle) and gave it a try. To my surprise, the cork popped on the first try, and there was much rejoicing. They told me to keep the cork and busted top as a memento. After a couple more hours of hydration, I decided it was time to head off to bed. This turned out to be a great decision because a group of guys ended up going into the city a little while later and didn't stumble back until 5 a.m. Don't think that these guys are unprofessional or unfit though. I've never seen a group of people that know so much about the military, or are in such good shape. This Friday the west point cadets are going to Melk with one of the majors here to further "culture" ourselves. No other plans for the weekend yet though.