If you didn't already know, I kind of have a thing for old prestigious universities (ie: Harvard, Brown, Oxford) that are historic, beautiful, and full of learning opportunities. Every time I travel I try to find a cool university to explore and learn about. I guess I am a complete nerd when it comes down to it, and I like to imagine myself a student again, just for fun! These places also tend to have a lot of coffee shops and bookstores, which is highly attractive to me. I know I am a nerd, and I secretly (or not so secretly) wish I could be a student at such a place like this. But I love to explore the campus, the buildings, the classes, and meet people who go there. I like to learn about the university history and their silly and serious traditions.
Every time I visit such places and ask someone questions about either directions or about a building, they are so open to explain and share about the history or the meaning of something. I love to hear people's perspectives of the place. Tourists abound at Harvard, especially Asians I noticed. We tagged along on one campus tour that we happened upon while we wandered the campus. The young student in a sweatshirt and jeans was bouncy and exuberant. We stood in front of the Memorial Church and she told us about the bells and about the history of the building.
I was sad because I was not allowed in the huge columned library. Student access only. What is that? So, we wandered into the Philosophy building next to the library instead and heard lectures going on (the classroom doors were all open) as we walked down the hall to a large lecture room, where I sat and imagined for a moment that I was in school, a bit dreamily.
The motto of Harvard (and in the first picture above in white) is Veritas, which means truth in Latin. All the diplomas are still written in Latin (except your name). It all made me wish I had to learn Latin back in high school or college, but Latin wasn't even offered anywhere! I suppose since there is no country that uses Latin anymore it is considered a dead language, but it is still used at old universities. As it should be. Keep the tradition and language alive. These are things I love about these great universities.
Every time I visit such places and ask someone questions about either directions or about a building, they are so open to explain and share about the history or the meaning of something. I love to hear people's perspectives of the place. Tourists abound at Harvard, especially Asians I noticed. We tagged along on one campus tour that we happened upon while we wandered the campus. The young student in a sweatshirt and jeans was bouncy and exuberant. We stood in front of the Memorial Church and she told us about the bells and about the history of the building.
I was sad because I was not allowed in the huge columned library. Student access only. What is that? So, we wandered into the Philosophy building next to the library instead and heard lectures going on (the classroom doors were all open) as we walked down the hall to a large lecture room, where I sat and imagined for a moment that I was in school, a bit dreamily.
The motto of Harvard (and in the first picture above in white) is Veritas, which means truth in Latin. All the diplomas are still written in Latin (except your name). It all made me wish I had to learn Latin back in high school or college, but Latin wasn't even offered anywhere! I suppose since there is no country that uses Latin anymore it is considered a dead language, but it is still used at old universities. As it should be. Keep the tradition and language alive. These are things I love about these great universities.
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