101 things to do at U of I... well, 79

So, since I've realised I've only got a little over a month left here are UIUC, I remembered this list I found on the U of I website* before I came here, and how much I wanted to do, see and experience at this American University.

Therefore... I've decided to do as many of these things I can possibly do in the time I have left!

There were originally 101 ideas but I've cut some out since they aren't/weren't possible with being here only for a semester anyway.

However, as for the rest, I'm going to do my best to go and experience them and then I'll pop back here to cross them off as I go!

Wish me luck!
*Thanks to the writer of this post, original article can be found here:
 http://blog.admissions.illinois.edu/?p=5454

1. Ring the Altgeld Bells
2. Experience all the sporting events (football, softball, soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey, men’s/women’s gymnastics, volleyball, etc.)
3. Do research
4. Sky dive
5. Go to a concert at Krannert Center
6. Volunteer
7. Go to notable restaurants like Courier Cafe and Papa Del’s
8. Decorate and get photos with the Alma Mater (she's currently missing still! :/)
9. Go inside every University building
10. Read/study on the Quad
11. Get frozen custard from the Custard Cup  Genuinely sad that I can't do this one since it's closed! :( 
12. Go rock climbing at the ARC
13. Learn an instrument (the School of Music offers lessons on campus!)
14. Visit Allerton
15. Attend the Urbana Sweet Corn Festival
16. Join a club
17. Tutor a friend
18. Go to Bevier Cafe
19. Listen to music in the Union Courtyard Cafe
20. Nap on the Quad
21. Join a cause
22. Learn to cook
23. Swing dance, (I've seen this, but I've not participated... yet anyway!)
24. Use the many Illinois library resources
25. Take a walk in the quiet streets of Urbana
26. Attend Quad Day
27. Go to the dining hall A La Carte (“Late Night”) (Especially at Busey-Evans – they have chocolate covered strawberries!)
28. Attend a random lecture
29. Visit Downtown Champaign
30. Golf at the U of I Golf Club
31. Visit the Champaign and Urbana Public Libraries
32. Picnic in Illini Grove
33. Watch a Marching Illini Rehearsal (on the South Quad during the fall)
34. Go to an a capella concert
35. Become friends with a professor
36. Watch an outdoor movie on the Quad
37. Pull an all-nighter studying (pulled one in NYC, does this count? I'm going to go with yes!)
38. Order Insomnia Cookies late at night after studying
39. Play laser tag at Krannert
40. See a movie at the Virginia Theater
41. Perform at an Open Mic Night
42. Create a personal website  (This is it!)
43. Attend an academic conference
44. Write for the Daily Illini
45. Create a short film
46. Become a better writer
47. Meet your Dean
48. Go to class in your pyjamas
49. Meet alumni (SAA and ESAA)
50. Have a dinner party
51. Ask a professor about his/her research interests
52. Prank a friend (all in good fun)
53. Sit in the front row of class
54. Visit the Arboretum
55. Go to a tennis match
56. Visit every campus library
57. See the Fistulated Cows
58. Take a walk on the Quad after dark
59. Play Frisbee and/or croquet on the Quad
60. Explore the basements of campus buildings
61. Join our Illinois social network, Always Illinois
62. Volunteer with children at the Orpheum Museum
63. Climb a tree
64. See live bands at the Canopy Club or the Highdive
65. Whistle while you walk to class
66. Relax your muscles with a professional massage
67. Ice skate at the Ice Arena
68. Learn how to solder
69. Eat at every dorm specialty restaurant in one week
70. Play in a table tennis tournament
71. Go to Illinites
72. Practice parkour
73. Camp at Kickapoo State Park
74. Eat at the Illini Union Ballroom for lunch
75. Ride the 22 Illini bus around the entire loop
76. Go thrift-store shopping in downtown Champaign
77. Visit the Krannert Art Museum
78. Play broomball
79. Take a tour of the greenhouses

Sports Direct.com

So generally I'm only a 'sports fan' when there is tennis to be watched, but since coming here and being exposed to the American sports culture, especially in the college scene, I have to say... I'm really into it!

So far, I've been to a college football game, college basketball game and a Cubs Baseball game in Chicago!

My personal favourite has to be basketball, I can't wait to see more (got a sweet deal on three tickets!) It's so fast paced and intense especially in the State Farm Center, also known as the Spaceship... see below!

At first when we were watching, it was so quiet, it was unnerving! The game had started and we'd won numerous points, but the crowd were so silent you could actually hear the players shoes squeaking!

But, as soon as we reached 10 points the crowd erupted! I was informed by a lady sat next to me it's called the 'Orange Hush'. If you're really into basketball you can be part of this group called 'Orange Crush' which go to every game and cheer ecstatically for them, however for the first 10 points they're silent, and then as soon as we hit that mark... they go crazy!

I mean crazy.

There was somebody dressed as a Native American, crazy chants and dances, they even had HUGE cardboard cut outs of everyone from the marching band's conductor all the way to The Grumpy Cat!

At one point the opposing team from Alabama were taking a free throw and the saxophonist from our marching band, stood right behind the net, shouted aloud: "If you miss this shot I'll buy you a pony!"

It worked. And overall we won 80-63. It was so much fun.

Seeing an American football game was also an incredible experience with the cheerleaders the entire marching band, the fireworks, the supportive student fans, the big screen and all other American-ness that goes along with it. However, it's very stop-start'y, I reckon the game wouldn't last so long if they didn't stop all the time?! It was still so much fun, sadly we didn't win the game I saw, but since it was an evening game they put on a fireworks display after the game so that made it all better, in my opinion anyway!

Baseball was extremely fun! However, it was also extremely cold and I was not prepared for that, so I spent most of it shivering! My friends and I weren't accustomed to the fact that at a certain point in the game everybody stands up and sings the following song... needless to say, it was hilarious!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwNCBxUFSG0

C. 

English 206.

I have to dedicate a whole post solely to one of my English classes because, well, it's just pure magic.

It's called: "Enlightenment Literature and Culture."

When I originally chose it, it was only to partner with another module here to equate to a module back in Liverpool that I would have taken, so I wasn't really too excited about it, but oh my... I'm SO glad I took it; below I'm just going to list some hilarious things and interesting teaching styles this teacher has incorporated into our classes!


1) We studied Narrow Road Through the Backcountry, by Matsuo Basho, it's a travel narrative with interspersed haiku's throughout. So this teacher decided to make us each write a haiku on a page about literally anything and pass it on to the next person for them to write a continuation. This happened twice and then she collected them all in.

2) Mrs W. also made us do something similar but not a haiku this time, only rhymed couplets of iambic pentameter (!) ; she also gave us prompts this time: U.S intervention in Syria, an Elegy or satirical views of UIUC. She made the room dark and said this would be what it would like during the Enlightenment, limited lighting and for fun, people would compose poems and would socially add verses together on the spot!

With both of these exercises she took away our efforts and then arrived to class the next day with print outs of them all grouped together like an Anthology, it was so cool reading everybody's and seeing how everyone has creative capability within them.

3) When talking about the character Macheath in the Beggar's Opera, she ACTUALLY said in class: "the actor who plays Macheath is meant to have a crotch-melting tenor" YES. She said those words. I almost died.

4) When depicting the scene of a theatre and theatre goers during this period she had us sit in a semi circle, enclosing a picnic blanket on the floor which represented the pit/stalls. She made some people sit on the floor there and basically cast them as commoners and prostitutes. She gave them a big bag of rubbish to demonstrate how people would throw crap at the stage during the performance to drag down the playwright's reputation if they didn't like them! She then also gave burger king crowns to two people casting them as royalty. It was hilarious.

5)She wheeled one of those old TV sets into class, the one that makes your heart jump at the thrill of a film lesson. Then she played a clip from one of the texts and handed out oranges, since these apparently were the equivalent of our theatre snacks of popcorn/ice-cream. T'was a good, since we kind of got a film lesson, plus the perk of a sweet nutritious treat!

6) One of the texts we've studied is called The Love Suicides at Amijima it is a Japanese drama which is actually performed with puppets really intricately. To demonstrate how difficult if is to realistically portray the story with puppets, what did she do? 

Of course she nominated people to act as puppets and puppeteers.

One poor guy had to sit down at the front of class and then two other people had to control each half of his body whilst another student narrated the play, I hope you can imagine of course how insanely funny this was, to see three people who know each other fairly (?) well, (perhaps only from class) standing at the front and manipulating another person in relation to the story... I nearly cried.

7) The moments when she chooses to use curse words to question what is going on in the text always makes me giggle. A personal favourite: "It's like WTF Kant, what are you saying?"

8) Final thing (so far!) the fact she quotes Death Cab for Cutie, and sends links to the class of The Who performing Baba O'Riley.

C. 

Such a foreigner.

Hello!

So I've not posted in a reallllllllly long time... oops.

This will be a short one to just recount something I found hilarious.

Whilst I was buying something in a shop on campus the other day, I got chatting to the guy who was serving me, when he asked where I lived and he realised it wasn't on campus (having to get the bus everyday to university seems unusual to some people here?!) he was like:

"Oh, so do a lot of foreigners live there?"

At first I was like, "foreigner?"

To which he looked at me like I was a right goof.

Then I remembered...I am a foreigner!

I took this slow response to be a good sign, interpreting that since I've settled in here I forgot for a moment that this wasn't England.

Of course there are a number of things I definitely miss about England, but I found this mishap of mine hilarious, and also nice to recognise my enjoyment at how smoothly and fun things are going!

C.