You always know the least about the places you live closest to. In our apartment I'm still not 100% sure where we keep the vacuum. So I decided to avoid the same problem with UC Berkeley by taking a campus tour with Becs today.
It was an eye-opener! Did you know we have a (dead) Tyrannosaurus Rex inside one of the buildings? That the library has a book that's bound in human skin (post-mortem, by the request of the skin's owner)? That tour guides are specially trained to walk backwards for the duration of the tour? That our squirrels are ranked top in the nation, beating Stanford?
Our guide, Jackie, was particularly bouncy and overjoyed that there were only six of us with her today, as we could go to much more interesting places than usual. The walkabout was ostensibly for applicants - there were two additional, very crowded tours for admitted students. Becs asked several questions about life in California. Are we convincing her?
Tigger-like Jackie bounces backwards.
One of the 17 on-campus bear statues.
Here's the T-Rex!
And the most important stop on our tour: Haas.
Looking up at the campanile.
And looking down (the bars are for Bec's safety).
The midday carillon concert. The sheet music described the tempo as "relentless."
The instrument.
Not really appreciating it.
Ha!
Getting into the Berkeley state of mind.
