Columbus, OH

Columbus, Ohio met the Expedition team with open arms and mexican food (yum) at the Rebecca Ibel Galley in downtown Columbus. There we chatted with two pre-frosh, Alex and Joy, who we badgered with questions about what they hoped to do at Williams and what they were looking forward to this fall. My good friend (and Biology 101 & 102 study buddy) Jay Ingram ’09 was also in attendance, and he was able to offer the pre-med perspective, as well as funny stories about living off-campus and endeavors into “cooking”.

Professor Cruz answers a question on inter-disciplinarity and the future of departments at Williams
Professor Cruz answers a question on inter-disciplinarity in research at Williams.

The event was perfect for supporting good conversations, and I had a great conversation with Jamie Taylor ’77 and his wife Liz, famous names and fun people.  A testament to how absorbed I was in our talk is that I do not have a picture of them to add to the blog. Sorry, Jamie and Liz! But thanks for the good conversation.

After the event, we talked late into the night with our hosts,  Katie Chatas ’88 and her husband Jeff, over some local Ohioan wine (of the label Via Vecchia- being 22 years old I feel it’s high time to become more cultured in the many delicious varieties of vino. Jen and Jason, too, are interested in local fare, and plan on posting food blogs on local cuisine from the many cities we will visit).  We shared stories about the Expedition, Columbus, and The Ohio State University- which is  not simply just Ohio State, mind you. Their children are at camp in North Carolina, so we were kept company by their 3 dogs and 2 cats, and their many friends and family who dropped by the next morning. (I fell in love with their puppy, Lloyd, a black and white mutt who carried around a stuffed duck when he got nervous. Mom and dad: I think I know what I’d like for a belated graduation gift…)

We’re discovering there seems to be a general opinion among Ohioans that Cleveland has an East coast vibe, Cincinatti gets back to more southern roots, and Columbus is a bit more western than the others. We will report more on this phenomenon after tonight’s festivities in Cincinatti, our last stop in Ohio before entering Illinois.

Happily, we did clean out the van today, so we’re comfortable en route to our fifth event in Cincinatti (however, there is a lingering smell of bananas. But Katie baked cookies for the road, so all is well.)

*emily