Okay. Last night I landed in Champaign, Illinois, which, anyone here will tell you, is nowhere NEAR Chicago (we're two hours south). In fact, I think I'm closer to Kentucky than Chicago, actually...
The Champaign airport was practically empty when we arrived at 8:30pm last night. The largest plane on the tarmac was the one I got out of, a 90-person puddle-jumper. I chatted with the lady sitting next to me on the flight, which was a good thing; she offered me a ride to the U. of Illinois campus-- her son-in-law is a Miller beer salesman and is familiar with the layout and he picked her (us) up in her car. They were very nice people and they saved me the hassle of trying to find transportation on my own. (Though I'm sure her daughter and her husband wondered what kind of weirdo I might be...)
It was getting dark as we left the airport and everywhere were little flashing lights-- even in the middle of intersections. There were lightning bugs all over... Reminded me of Maryland or Pennsylvania.
My suitemate here is a history teacher who knows a little Russian. He's from the Seattle area and seems like a pretty nice guy. I haven't met anyone else yet; our first get-together is after lunch today.
I wandered out last night to get a bite to eat and there is NO doubt that this is a college campus! On my way to a small pizza place, I passed the Girls Gone Wild tour bus and there was loud music coming from just about every direction. Oh well. Only 4 days. And it's cool and quiet on the 10th floor of the dorm I'm in.
That's it for now.
