talight

I Love the Library!

I literally love the library. We have a bunch of libraries to choose from: The Harper Reading room looks like it should be a Harry Potter film set, the Reg is ugly and somewhat depressing but you get a lot of work done (and you can see the Chicago skyline from the 5th floor). The Mansueto (aka Man Sweat aka Bibliodome aka RegEgg) just opened and is sleek and modern, and Crerar is great too. The libraries are always clean and well maintained.

The gyms are great too, especially Ratner. It has an olympic-sized indoor pool, basketball courts, dance practice rooms, weightlifting and other exercise equipment, and plenty of treadmills and elliptical machines... so many that I've never had to wait for one to be free. Henry Crown gym is a bit older and run down, but has an indoor track and even more treadmills and exercise machines, and is conveniently located between two dining halls.

The Reynolds club (student center) has the beautiful Mandel Hall, where large performances take place, and also the third floor theater for smaller performances. It is also home to the UChicago seal (don't step on it) and an Einstein Brothers cafe. The cafe sells huge, delicious $1 milkshakes every Wednesday and there is a beautiful courtyard where you can slurp them up on warm days.

In general, campus is beautiful. The main quad is especially Hogwarts-like. I love the Gothic architecture and in the fall the colorful leaves on the trees are just so picturesque!

Classrooms are fine for the most part, some are a little small and some buildings don't have air conditioning, which is fine for most of the year but gets pretty miserable around May.

Overall though, this place is SO BEAUTIFUL!

Winter Is Too Long

I'm from Florida, so I thought I might turn into an icicle. The winter really isn't that bad, as long as you have the proper coat, boots, scarves and gloves. The worst part about the winter is how dark it gets. The sun sets around 4 pm and it's really depressing. It's also annoying that the winter lasts so long. When it's snowing in April, you feel like the world hates you. But then, spring comes and the flowers bloom and the trees turn green and it's beautiful and magical and life is good! Fall is also really nice because it's not too cold and the leaves turn, so the quad is ablaze with orange, gold, and red. The first few snows are really fun, and there tend to be snowball fights on the quad. When the snow freezes into muddy ice, then it's not as fun. But, there are plenty of fun campus activities in the winter to keep you distracted.