Wesleyana

After running a bit behind in Huntington, Indiana, haven't gotten all of my community shopping out of the way, I had to turn my interview. Along the way, five minutes into my drive, I encountered a line of police surrounding a windmill piece. Naturally, this delayed me further. However, most of Indiana is a large grid as far as the streets go. So if you took a city block and expanded it by a couple miles, and put cornfields there instead of buildings, you have the crossroads of America.

I spoke too soon when I said that Michigan was a flat State, because Indiana was even more flat than that. Lots of farms more of the countryside, as well as a few dairy farms and lakes. A couple of beautiful bridges hungover Roush Lake in the surrounding area, and because it is so flat, the fields were prone to flooding and creating new Lake formations as well. As it is, driving through Indiana reminded me a lot of the countryside of home, but with even more countryside.

And, a government building worth taking pictures of!

When I got to IWU, I was greeted by a warm group of students and taken to the 5th floor, where my interviews would be conducted. Being a Unitarian Universalist at a Christian School was definitely interesting, but I was assured that I would fit in quite well with everybody there. I got a tour of the campus, learn some history about the school, and saw one of the most beautiful miniature chapels I had seen in my entire life. I got to the library to see the private study cubicles that grad students can use, and found out that if I were to become one of the 1% of students pursuing Doctorate Degrees at IWU, I would get my own private cubicle to study in. I would also get access to an other wise off-limits cadaver lab.

When I got to their Social Hall, I saw at least a hundred undergrads enjoying food from the cafe. The whole area was set up like a shopping complex... And the track team ran straight through it wearing not much more than basketball shorts. Everybody was hooting and hollering and cheering for them. As part of the tour, I got a complimentary coffee from their coffee shop, McConn, which is actually the second highest grossing coffee shop in all of Indiana (next to Starbucks). I marveled in the beauty of the campus 4 another couple of minutes before departing from Marion to head home.

They also had a little antique ice cream shop too!

I afterwards went on to eat at a restaurant called Payne's, as recommended to me by the admissions counselor Luke. It's a small British restaurant with great food for all occasions. Britain would definitely be proud (and little did I know, I would one day be moving there to tell them in person). After finishing a light dinner there, I hit the road for some state highpoints and home.

Hunting a Ton!

The Party Shop has been around since 1920, previously called the Coffee ranch. They switched to being called the Party Shop in 1950. They've been using the same caramel recipe since the 50s, where they have been stirring the caramel for an hour and a half at a time just to make their signature pecan caramel Turtles, caramel corn, and local caramel apples. I went in and got a perfectly crafted latte and was greeted by some of the friendliest individuals I have ever met. Information on them can be found here.

Antiqology is a building that is 145 years old, originally a cigar shop that closed in the 20s. Became such 5 years ago after being empty for 10 years, before that it was a bridal shop. Over 700 sodas on the wall. A link to this vintage store is as follows: https://www.facebook.com/Antiqology/

I thenceforth stopped by the historical center of Huntington. The director, Mark Stouder, took me on a tour, which I will detail here below.

At the beginning of my tour, he told me about the 16 county schools closed that were brought Into one school in 1966; The consolidation into Huntington North. Consolidation brought into one school. Alot of senior centers came put of it, and the old high school was torn down in 2000 for a park. There are 17000 people in the city and 3000 in the surrounding county. Vice president Dan Quail came from here. There is a Lot of history here, including items from the first settlement in 1848, and 55,000 people were here for the centennial  in 1948. Huntington also saw laborstories, warfare companies, thebLackawanna and Wabash railroads, the inner urban railroad, and several canals. During the wwr, several famous veterans came from here. Their most famous pilot came from here, Russell Hosler, and got his start as a bootlegger in britain. The Schaff Bros piano company founded in 1868 also came from Huntington. I also learned that several million tons of various lumber and limestone have come from this county.

Hotel LaFontaine was founded in 1925 and was built for 7 Million and was sold durine the depression for 400,000 dollars. The basement has an Egyptian Pool with Egyptian architecture strewn about. They also had an ornate fountain in their lobby and a huge bowling alley, a four chair barber shop, a beauty salon, and many things. Since it was situated across from the Wabash railroad station, and was built to be all inclusive. It is now a senior center with apartments after being refurbished.

Amongst other things in the museum of history, there is Sully the dog (1890-1900), a stray dog that always greeted the elementary students. There are also lunch pails, wooden rifles, chalk tablets, and mom&pop shops, a display on Kitchen Maid, a display on Markle Bank, and a display on Dr. Eviston's household medical work. There also was a tribe, the Miami indians, Little Turtle being there chief. They settled all of Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. They eventually settled it to the government with Chief Richardville. Also from Huntington is the man who invented 911.

Right before leaving the museum, I learned from Mark that America has been at war for 222 out of 239 years of it being a country. More info on the museum can be found here.

Are then stops for lunch at Johnny's Drive-In, where I was greeted by friendly locals who gave me free fudge and bread (simply because i was a first timer) and beautiful conversation. The food was very cheap and very delicious, and because I was a first-timer, my waitress actually gave me some free cinnamon rolls to try. They can be found online here.

The Pure State

When I was sending out applications for grad school, I didn't think that I would get any offers for interviews here in the states. I especially didn't think that a school in Indiana would offer to interview me. And more specifically, I didn't think that a Wesleyan Christian University would want to interview me for school. But alas, not long after my interview in Boston, I was getting offered an interview spot in Indiana Wesleyan University on the last Friday in February.

Given that I was driving right out in that general direction, I decided to visit Michigan, the pure state. My cousin on my dad's side lives in Michigan, but I wanted to add another state to the list of states that I visited. I set my sights for Ann Arbor, because I knew if I went to Detroit, I'd be tempted to cross the border into Canada. This time around, I didn't have time to do so, so Canada will be saved for another day.

After an eventful 7 hours of driving, I arrived in Ann Arbor Michigan. Along the way, I saw Lake Erie, drove past Cleveland, saw a bit of Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio, took some quick pictures of Toledo Ohio, saw license plates from New Hampshire, New York, and Quebec, and Alabama, and finally entered the state of Michigan. I was surprised at how relatively flat

compared to Pennsylvania.

If only I had more time to see more of the city, I would have done so. But alas, I made a quick stop and then hit the road for Indiana for my grad school interview. Detroit and Lansing are both huge cities, and there are a lot of big colleges in Michigan. One of my friends went to Hope College in Holland Michigan, which I would have loved to go to and visit if it was not 2 hours out of the way. The highest point in Michigan was 7 hours north of Ann Arbor, so that will have to be saved

for another trip as well.

After remembering how much big city driving stressed me out, I managed to find cheap parking for a buck 20 per hour. I then went to the Hands-On House Museum and Central Ann Arbor, passing some local shops and coffee shops along the way. Inside the museum, I learned some awesome things about sound, light, water, and other natural phenomenon. The whole exhibit is very kid friendly and worth a visit. There's another installment in Lancaster Pennsylvania which I went to when I was 11. Excited to say that I had visited one of the biggest cities in Michigan, I thenceforth hit the road for Indiana.

My Day Stop!

Overall, Michigan has a lot to offer. I already know that I'll be back sometime in the future. I'm not sure when, but I will cross into the peer State once more in the near future.

To the Island and Back

After a long day spent in Boston, we got a full night's rest, had breakfast made by Brett family, and then started the Long Road Home. Our plan was to hit to high points, but seeing as how it was dark by the time we got to the one in New Jersey, we gave up on that Conquest. We headed into town to see what Ashfield itself looked like, and although nothing was open on a lazy Saturday, it was still quite enjoyable to see the locals playing on the Frozen Ashfield Lake. We then drove past Springfield, where two other schools I've applied to reside, and went on words to Providence Rhode Island.

We stopped for lunch at Murphy's Irish Pub, a restaurant in downtown Providence that my friend has been working at since graduation from college two years prior. I had an actually seen him in two or three years since the last time he was home for winter break, so bumping into him very briefly as he was preparing sandwiches was quite a pleasure. It is always a euphoric and install Jake feeling when you run into old friends again for the first time in a while. We thanked are very Irish waiter for the delicious home-cooked meal, and then headed for Jeremoth Hill, the highest point in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island was sort of flat and unimpressive for the parts that I saw, and the state High Point was also pretty up there on the scale. This would have history be my 9th State High Point, and all we had to do was drive up a road and then park on the side of it and take a picture with the sign to say we had been to that High Point. So we did just that, and then headed for a Lewis's lunch in New Haven Connecticut. It is a restaurant that I discovered on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives when I was about 16 years old, when I still ate red meat. So of course, I wanted to go see the restaurant that was claims to be the home of the hamburger in America.

Downtown Providence!

When we finally got to the restaurant, parking was quite annoying. The restaurant itself was a very small pop up from 1895, and there were only a few items on the menu. It was my first time eating red meat and nearly three years as well, as they only had regular Burgers instead of veggie burgers. Although it was quite a good meal, it definitely wasn't worth 6:25 American dollars for a single sandwich. But now, more things have been crossed off the bucket list.

Well then drove through Staten Island and Long Island, past the Highpoint of New Jersey, drove New Jersey and Pennsylvania Turnpike for approximately 230 miles, eventually got home late at night. A successful trip to New England and back in a few days, and a few more states that I have been to as well. We will have to return to Connecticut and Massachusetts in the summer when the roads to the high points are open and actually accessible. New England was a fantastic destination to visit, and I will definitely return some day.

The Tea Party

Just as I was starting my semester at HACC, I was invited to an interview at MGH Institute of Health Professions. Considering as to how this was the first graduate school in America 2 give me a call back, I figured I would pretty much be an idiot if I declined to go to the interview. Plus, it was an excuse to go on another adventure, which I am always looking for. So, my best friend Brett and I set out on Thursday morning for Ashfield, Massachusetts, to rest our heads at his aunt's house.

On the way up, we decided to try and lock down two more state highpoints, the S slope of Mount frissell in Connecticut, and Mount Greylock in Western Massachusetts. As fate would have it, the roads to the top of both mountains we're closed because of snow. In New England, you can expect there to be snow closures of hiking trails from October until February at a minimum, and we found this out the hard way. So although we got close, it was no cigar.

Along the way, we decided to stop for a beer and wine for his aunt and uncle, seeing as to how them offering to put us up for two nights saved us upwards of $80 on an Airbnb. They also provided a lot of useful information regarding things to see and do in Boston, which provided to be quite the excitement for Brett while I was in my interview for grad school. We had some pizza, a couple of beers, great conversation, and hung our hats for the night.

Shortly thereafter the next morning, we set out for Riverside bus station outside of Boston, about a two-hour drive away. We paid the flat rate parking of $6 per day, bought an all day pass for subway bus and Ferry for about $12, and rode the subway to our respective destinations. He was touring Berkeley, and I was going to North Station.

After getting off at the North Station, I have to Huff it about a mile to get to the school. It contains only a few buildings, but all were state-of-the-art of prestigious. I checked in shortly after noon, noticing that I was very under dressed compared to all of my new found friends, situated into a small group of new colleagues, learned about them and where they are from, and got prepared for the day.

Needless to say, throughout the entire day, learning about their facility and teaching them about me through the plethora of questions I have asked was quite an exhilarating experience. And I'm sure level doctorate program and the first-of-its-kind in New England, they had a big emphasis on Research. I love research, and I want to do that in the future, so I was very excited to learn about this. We toured the buildings, I'm at The Faculty, got background information, and before long, it was time for our small group interview.

Of the 90 students there, we were from 25 different states Plus Israel. My interview group had three people including myself, and my comrades were from Illinois and Connecticut respectively. Are interview are actually took the time to read our resumes and ask those questions pertaining there too, which was very comforting. I earned some brownie points by talking about music and research and my interest in the field, which I hope Landon me and favorable standing for admissions. Although there is no housing on campus, I was willing to take the dive financially to get my doctorate in 3 years and a school that partners with Harvard.

The Capitol House of Boston.

After the interview, we spent some time mingling with teachers, current students, and other prospective students. That made quite a few new friends this day, and before long, the day was over, and I was hopping on a fairy across Boston to meet with my friend at a local bar. I walked 20 minutes out of the way to cheers at Beacon Hill, only to find out that he was at the cheers at Federal Hall. I had him walk to me, and then we sat down for a satisfying dinner at the set of a TV show before heading back home on the subway. Along successful day for both of us, we were quite content, and found a second home in Boston.

After this endeavor, we headed home through Rhode Island and Connecticut, stopping for lunch where my friend John has worked since graduating from school in Providence. I said hi, chatted with him, and headed back to Pennsylvania. We thenceforth stopped at Louis’s Lunch, the home of the American hamburger, in New Salem, Connecticut. Overpriced, but worth the novelty. Then, we drove until dark befell us and we eventually arrived home, one successful trip later.

On the Way Home

Before we know it, our nine day stint in Iceland had come to an end, and we were on our way home. There were a couple things that I noticed during the process of getting back to the states that I will go in death about. All in all, although we didn't get to see or do nearly half the stuff we wanted to, we still had a wonderful time being present in Iceland for 9 days. There are few things that I noticed about the country in general, all of them worth mentioning for the sake of you there future Travelers.

Having to fly home and go back to reality is always Bittersweet, so make sure you allow extra time 2 prepare for the departure. We showed up to the airport pretty much as they were starting to line up at the gates, and we had two entirely rush through our car rental return. There was also a lot of things to check out within the airport that we didn't have time for it because we had to rush.

Security check and Iceland was not near as tedious as it was in the states. As long as you were quick and efficient everything went well, but all the people or friendly, sympathetic, and easy to talk to. Amongst the people that didn't speak much English in my travels, they lied and small towns, and and most of the airport was completely fluent in conversational in more than two languages.

I also learned that in Iceland, they can pull you at random from the security line and run an extra security check on you. This happened to my friend, and I actually thought he wasn't going to make the plane home because of how long they were taking to search him and everything.

Traveling around Iceland also reminded me to really take time to slow down and enjoy the small fine parts of life. Living like the Icelandic means living happily and humbly, being happy to offer your services to anybody in any capacity whenever possible. That has a special to become handy now that tourism has taken off again since the option of a flu local in 2011. In actuality, though, Iceland is a mighty Powerhouse of an island that deserves the respect it should get. So completely isolated for most of the world for centuries, besides by boat, they've mostly been isolated since their Inception.

The last major lesson I reflected upon as we boarded the plane was the following... Always try to learn the language and culture of the Locale before you get there if you want any sort of positive learning experience. It is best to see everything through the eyes of the beholder. There are Icelandic courses online, so if you start now, you'll be an expert by the time you decide to go. :-) just be warned, because it's grammar and vocabulary is largely based on Old Norse, it is very difficult language to learn.

A week and a half in the land of the ice and snow was not enough to fulfill me. Leaving Iceland left me wanting more, excited for the next time that I can return to see the rest of the country. I will be going again sometime in the near future. Especially because I want to see Greenland from the plane again. And I want to go hoking, see the midnight sun, and bathe in the Blue Lagoon. Will you be joining me when I go?