Road Trip to Indiana University - Day 1

It was dark outside when I picked Kate up at 3 am. Only 150 miles or so later did the sun rise in a beautiful orange that illuminated the farms scattered on the sides of the road. The four and a half hour drive wasn't tiring, and Kate and I had some interesting conversations about music and religion (seperately) once she woke up around 6 am. We arrived in Bloomington at 9 am by Chicago time, but 10 am by the city's clock. Though most of Indiana seems flat, Bloomington is particularly hilly, full of wildlife and nature with trees growing everywhere, and all the buildings are a sandy grey/white color, reminding me of the northern city of Haifa in Israel. We quickly found the main music building for Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music; it smelled musty in an arts way (for those of you who know what I mean) and reminded me of the fine arts building of Chicago. Sitting around a conference table for over an hour, we listened to the admissions officer's very informative spiel about different degrees and opportunities at the Jacobs School of Music. Afterwards, Kate and I went on a guided tour around the four buildings of the music school - the architecture and color schemes were quirky, often laughable 60's and 70's styles. I loved the multitude of practice rooms primarily because each one is soundproof, and there are lockers available for all the students to store their instruments in!

After the tour and a speedy lunch at Noodle's & Co. on Kirkwood avenue, the main street in Bloomington, Kate raced back to catch a 30 minute lesson with a voice teacher (I couldn't get in touch with a violin professor) while I ambled around the campus. The weather was not too warm, the sky was blue, and there was wildlife everywhere! I feel like Indiana U is a campus in the middle of a forest: trees and flowers, birds and bunnies, little brick pathways leading through the foliage from one building to another - it's very unique, definately alluring, and almost magical to walk around. I got a bit lost as I was trying to find my way back to the music building where Kate was supposed to finish her lesson soon, and the thought "Wouldn't it be nice to find Hillel and look around?" popped into my head. At that moment, I turned around and staring me in the face from across the street was the Hillel center (main Jewish social organization on every college campus)! Even luckier yet, though it's summer, Lance daSilva (one of the people who works for IU Hillel full-time) happened to be in the building, and he gave me a quick tour. It was quite large, with a spacious dining hall where Kosher meals and Shabbat meals are served, a library for regular students and Jewish Studies students, couches and armchairs to lounge, study, socialize, or sleep in, and even a fitness room with treadmills and the such! Their slogan, "Your Jewish Home away from Home" really seems to fit, and I can only image how fun it is to be part of the Jewish atmosphere on campus through Hillel at IU!

After Hillel and Kate's lesson, we found a Red Mango shop that sells delicious frozen yogurt and treated ourselves to a between-lunch-and-dinner snack. Then we parked the car, kicked back the car seats all the way, grabbed pillows, and took a two hour snooze. It must have been 95 degrees outside, because when we woke up, we were literally DRENCHED in sweat! It was incredibly unappealing...At that point, about 5 pm, we were invited by our friend Karen Mari (who was attending a summer music camp at IU with several VHHS school friends) to eat dinner at the Indiana-famous Mother Bear pizza restaraunt. The pizza really was delicious, and not expensive at all :) After dinner, we followed Karen and two other friends to the Honors concert that the summer camp was giving at Auer Hall (beautiful, large performance hall) for Karen's trombone solo. We left at intermission after the first half of the program featuring four student soloists (including Karen) had concluded. It was great entertainment! Bloomington is pretty small, and relatively quiet during the summer, but I can only imagine the flood of activities that 40,000 students bring to the campus starting in the fall. The admissions director said that there are (roughly, because my memory is so-so) 3 orchestras, 13 choirs, and a concert almost every day!! I would have such a hard time choosing where to go and what to participate in...

Finally, Kate and I stopped by at Starbucks to recharge my laptop and watch a movie. We watched 'White Chicks,' a hilarious comedy about two black FBI agents that disguise themselves as two white girls as part of their undercover service and, of course, end up saving the day. After the movie, with brains full of information from the day and legs sore from walking everywhere, we retired for the night. Next Stop: Indianapolis!

~Lisa