state schools go big.

One of the craziest adjustments has been getting used to going to a state school. I am used to the small private university campus in urban St. Louis. At SLU there was a feeling of community that ran deep. It was like you were in your own little niche in the city, but you could still step outside and visit all the great things that a city of 3 million has to offer. Going to the Hill, visiting forest park, grabbing a drink downtown, grabbing a drink in the central west end, getting up early for the Soulard market and much more. Coming here has made it apparent that not everyone has the same experiences in college.

It isn't that I don't don't like Champaign and there are a lot of things to do here. But there is different vibe buzzing throughout this campus. First of all, the sheer number of people here still amazes me. There is something like 40,ooo students at the university and we are all in such close proximity to each other during the week. I see countless faces on my 5 block walk to class. It is hard for me to believe the possibility of walking to class everyday and not recognizing a single face.

Also, here sports have such a great emphasis. I was amazed when I drove by the stadium on Tuesday this week to see that the tail-gating area was already set up for the football game today. At SLU soccer and basketball were the biggest sports. There had been no football team since the early 1900's. It is just such an a shock that school sports carry so much weight. I guess because in STL you have professional teams that garner all the attention. It will definitely take some time for me to get used to this mania.

Overall though I think that coming here is going to be a great experience for me. A chance to see both sides of the coin.