Since Iowa had a blizzard over “spring break,” I guess the name was a little misleading. Fortunately, though, I didn’t have to spend the week on campus by myself–unlike fall break, after my family’s thwarted Thanksgiving plans. I didn’t fly home. No, that wouldn’t be convoluted enough. Instead, I once again infiltrated my Ohio friend’s car drive to Toledo. (A quick restaurant recommendation in Toledo is the Saucey Slice Pizzeria, which is a chain that my hometown sadly does not have.)
From Toledo, I reunited with my parents, and we vacationed our way to my true spring break destination: Madison, Wisconsin. Luckily for me, spring break had a lot fewer cons compared to fall break. Here’s a list of my favorite moments:
The Toledo Zoo
Toledo, Ohio, may not be everyone’s dream spring break location. But the few days my family and I spent there proved to be surprisingly interesting. The Toledo Zoo was very quaint and relaxing, and it was nice to dedicate a whole day outside when I’ve been confined to indoor lecture halls and study rooms lately.
The Milwaukee Art Museum
Shaped like a ship about to set sail on the Michigan River, the Milwaukee Art Museum hosts pieces of creativity ranging from century-old paintings to modern conceptual projects. The most compelling exhibit to me had layers that were impossible to photograph, but I’ll try to describe it here. On the surface, it just appeared to be an open suitcase in the middle of a hardwood room. Then, you get closer and look inside to see a grate. Beneath the metal bars was a rippling, vibrantly blue underwater scene, bright corals and seaweed. At a certain angle, however, you can also see a hint of what else lies down there: two sets of pale, chalky legs. One statue is a man’s, and on his lap is the statue of a boy. Your visibility of them is severed above the knee. Truly a beautiful museum with very distinct pieces.
The Mars Cheese Castle
Wisconsin. Over 700 flavors of cheese. Enough said.
Visiting my Wisconsin Friends
One of my good friends from last semester decided to transfer out of Iowa and move back to her home state of Wisconsin. Since I was heading to Madison–a lengthy but still manageable distance from my friend’s home–she (and another of our Wisconsin friends) was willing to make the drive. A lot of college friendships can form pretty quickly because of constant proximity and a general desire to meet new people after high school, but that means these friendships can also fall apart or fade just as fast. I’m glad that I’ve been able to avoid this outcome with some of my friends, even as we’re not shoved in the same class or dorm hall anymore.
Seeing Downtown Madison with my Parents
Though I think Iowa City is much more charming, I really enjoyed downtown Madison. I found the areas I was in to be fairly cozy. I particularly liked walking through Wisconsin’s capitol building and eating cheese curds at The Old Fashioned.
Presenting at UW-Madison’s Midwestern Undergraduate Conference for the Humanities
The reason my spring break was spent on enemy Big 10 school territory was that I was invited to present at UW-Madison’s new MUCH conference. I spoke on my final essay for my English major course last semester (examining the “feminist” label of Mary Shelley’s 1818 version of Frankenstein). Though I was exhausted by the end of the day, I appreciated the opportunity to share my work and hear different perspectives from other undergraduates in the region. (Also, presenting probably helped prepare me for my graded speech in rhetoric).
After saying goodbye to my parents, I was back in Iowa City, and spring break was over. While summer break is just around the corner, I’m really grateful for the chance to (somewhat) rest for a week.
Until next time!
