Monday's Views Around Campus

Since I didn't have Presidents' Day off, I headed down to the University of Iowa yesterday. Livie had had a 4-day weekend (Friday and Monday off), so Andrew came home early so I could go to class.

Here's a view from I-80 eastbound, just a couple miles before my exit:

Yep, this is Iowa. We've got farm equipment!

Once I got to Iowa City, I decided to go get a coffee before heading to the library to finish reading my assignment.

Because of where I parked, I was able to get a photo of a very colorful bridge over at the biology building:

I'd chosen to photograph it from this side, so that I could get the sunlight shining through. It wasn't quite as dramatic as I'd hoped it would be, because clouds had moved in diffusing the sunlight just a bit.

Just as I took this photo, a woman walked by and asked me if I wanted to take a photo from the inside of the bridge. I must've looked surprised, because she went on, "I mean, you don't have to, but would you like to go take a photo from the inside? I don't mean to be weird, but if you'd like, I could take you up there. It's really cool from the inside."

I'm sure I was smiling by this point, because she was so eager to show me the bridge from the inside, and she was talking quite quickly. (And I was also kind of wishing my hair were as curly and bouncy as hers.)

"Um . . . uh . . .okay. . . . My daughter likes this bridge, and I thought I'd take a photo of it. I'm sure she'd appreciate a photo from the inside, too," I'd explained.

As we walked to the building's entrance, she asked, "Oh, is your daughter in school?"

"Yes, she's in Kindergarten."

"Oh, she's little. How cute! Well, anytime she has a day off from school, you can take her up there if you want. Come find me, and I'll take you both up there. I'm in the biology building on the first floor over there," she said, pointing over in the general direction.

By this time, we'd taken the elevator to the appropriate floor, got off, and walked toward the bridge. We'd run into someone she knew, and she explained how my daughter is 5 and in Kindergarten and loved the colorful bridge, so she was taking me to get a photo from the inside, for my daughter.

So here's the view from the inside:

I liked the red windows.

And the blue ones, too!

Check out the science-themed floor patterns:

So, as she took me back down to the ground level, she asked if I teach at the University. I said, "No, I'm getting a graduate degree in English." She was really impressed with that - a graduate degree in English!

I was more impressed with the fact that there are people who take biology (and other science classes) and don't wonder what alien language is coming out of their professors' mouths!! Haha!