Undergraduate Campus

Yesterday was Saturday. I have not blogged about my first Saturday in Baltimore yet and suppose I ought to do so.

I got up and went to the Farmers Market as promised. It was fun, but smaller than I thought it would be. I walked around it for a few minutes. I didn't see any great deals on produce, at least not compared to what I am used to in Utah. I have not yet compared prices with the grocery store as to how expensive things are, what I have seen has been expensive though --- that's the down side about living on the east coast.

I almost bought some handcrafted earrings, but decided against it since I do not particularly need earrings right now. I am too practical for my own good. Actually it is a good thing to be --- practical, that is.

I left the market and took the Charm City Circulator bus (green route) to go downtown. I was not thinking and waited on the wrong side of the street. As a result, I ended up on the bus up to Johns Hopkins Hospital, around the loop and back before heading downtown. Since I had not heard from Curtis yet, it was not a big deal. There was nowhere I needed to be.

First thing I learned today: I never know what to expect from the people in Baltimore. The bus had stopped at a light, and across the street was a young fellow, completely wasted. He had found a small RV and was shouting at it. He would go up to it and look in the windows, but I think the curtains were drawn, so he might have been looking at his own reflection. He'd walk away, turn around again and come back talking to the van. For the entirety of the ordeal he was not very stable --- mentally or physically. The light was red for a few minutes and he did this the duration of the time I could see him. The bus driver had spotted him as well and said, "Do you see that? Somebody's gotta pinch 'im sooner or later!" I laughed. It was quite the sight.

I decided to head up to Mount Vernon area and go back to the Peabody Library to wait until I heard from Curtis. Once I finally got there, I rushed through the doors only to find that the library was closed.

*Note to self: the Peabody Library is open Tuesday through Friday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

When I walk into the Peabody Institute, there is a small lobby area with a receptionist at a desk on the right. Directly to the left are doors leading to a small art/history gallery. Inside that room are another set of doors to get into the actual George Peabody Library. Since I was in the art gallery already, I decided to read all of the signs it had to offer.

I'll admit that I was considerably bored after having such a let down of not being able to get into the library. However, I did find this map printed in 1598 of North America by Abraham Ortelius that I was impressed with. It's not too far off.

Once I had exhausted the art gallery, if I can even call it an art gallery, I decided to walk down to the Enoch Pratt Library. Are you sensing a pattern here? I'm kind of in love with books, and water.

Second big thing I learned today: I need to control who I smile at. That sounds weird, but I can not be giving out smiles left and right in the city of Baltimore. I only say this because as I began walking to the Enoch Pratt Library, I smiled at a man crossing the street. No sooner had I done this, did he begin saying, "Hey baby doll! How you doin'? Ehhhhh?" I put on a serious face, looked him directly in the eye, and crossed the street. Not even a block and a half later, another guy passing me on the sidewalk started giving me a "Hhheeeeyyyy" and I continued on.

I am in this contagious habit of smiling at almost every person that I see. I usually see it as a game by trying to make eye contact and see if they will smile back, or at least watch their reactions. Yeah, that is a good Utah game, I think I will try to discontinue it in Baltimore.

I passed the library without realizing it. I assumed the entrance would be on the street I was walking on, not just off of it. Luckily, I spotted a man with a bright yellow polo on that said Downtown Baltimore Guide a block away and I ran him down. He pointed me right to it. Thank you Baltimore City employees.

I picked up a few more brochures at the library. It looks like it holds a variety of free public events that I might want to consider attending. I'll put some in my excel calendar.

Side note: I love Microsoft excel. It might be an addiction. If I need to organize something (school schedule, summer calendar, vacation trips, finances, homework, etc.), I find it very useful in de-cluttering my thoughts.

I didn't stay at the library for long, Curtis decided he was ready to branch out so I headed up to Penn Station and walked north on St. Paul's Street to meet him. At this point it was already after noon so we decided to get some lunch.

I ate a chicken burrito bowl at Chipotle, a Mexican grill that is also in Utah (for Mom: I know you LOVE Cafe Rio, but I think this is a place that you might enjoy as well, I suggest you consider trying it sometime.) and I liked it.

With our stomachs satisfied, we headed over to the Homewood Campus (this is what everyone calls the Johns Hopkins University undergraduate campus) on foot. We passed a Barns & Noble with Johns Hopkins underneath it. We took a picture, and went inside.

It felt like any university bookstore with all of the paraphernalia of Johns Hopkins. I didn't notice textbooks though, besides the t-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, and even baby onsies (that always cracks me up), it was a normal Barns & Noble store. I even found some great anatomy books, especially a fascinating one only about the brain. It was $40, I have no idea why I considered getting it. I come to Baltimore and the first souvenir that I want is something I can find in Utah. Lame, I know.

A statue and I, we're just chillin' in the sun. 

Anyway, next to the campus was this Dominican Ice Cream place that I had heard about and wanted to check out, but sadly they were closed. There were no signs telling me their hours either, so I have no idea when they're open. I will come back later.

Curtis and I then explored the campus.

First, we had to get our picture by the official Johns Hopkins University sign. This was to signify how incredibly smart we are, or something like that.



No, I just think that's the thing to do, get your picture by the university sign while several shirtless men play frisbee right behind you on "The Beach." Sorry, I think that is a silly name for a lawn of grass. Sure Utah State has "The Quad," but it actually makes sense considering the fact that it is divided by sidewalks into four square areas of grass.

This was a beautiful building so, as expected with any beautiful building, I got a picture of it.

I could not get over how majestic the campus buildings all looked to me. I couldn't help myself but take a few pictures as we wandered around.

One thing that stood out to me was how small the campus was, but it felt large most likely because of the stately buildings and the open spaces.


Everything was green, red brick, and white marble. Here and there would be some flowers to add a bit of color into the mixture. It was all so official looking.

Curtis made a comment about how if he went to school here, he would probably study so much harder and try to be a better student.

I considered his comment. Maybe that would be the case, but honestly, I think I just get stoked about learning in general. I would like to think that I try my best all of the time.

Having a change of scenery is nice, but I think getting back to Logan this fall and starting classes again will put me back on a student high. I absolutely love learning. It might be another addiction that I have.

This is an important building for me --- the Clark Hall is the Bioengineering Building. This is essentially the building for my current major at USU, meaning, if I attended Johns Hopkins University, this would be the building that I would spend a considerable amount of my time.

It was an enjoyable day seeing the undergraduate campus of Johns Hopkins University. After all was said and done, my feet were tired. I can usually do great walking around a campus wearing any shoes, but today was crazy walking to and from Penn Station, all over campus, and around town on top of it all? Next time I'll remember to wear real shoes if I'm going that far.