Best Buddies Conference - Bloomington, Indiana (July 2012)
I’ve always wanted to go to Indiana, but just to watch the Indianapolis Colts pro football team. Going to Indiana did not seem to be realistic. I mean, what is in Indiana? Why would I want to go there? As time passes on, things happen. Michael McCormick State Director (West Region) of the rapidly growing Best Buddies Program came to Oahu to recruit public schools to join the program. I was selected from my working place to jump start the Best Buddies Program at Pearl City High School. Michael asked our principal if he could send me to their leadership conference. Where was the conference going to be held? You guessed it - Indiana University (IU)
Getting to Indiana from Oahu as one would figure takes a really long time. So long in fact that you will lose an entire day. Adding to the already long trip were the two layovers at LAX & Dallas. After 13 hours of airports and flying, we made it to Indianapolis. From there, it was another 1+ hour drive to Bloomington and IU.
Cafe Food
We ate at McNutt Cafeteria for breakfast and dinner the entire time we were there. We had 10 meals at the cafe making me super fat. I have to weigh myself when I get back home. I must have gained 10 pounds on this trip. My favorites were yogurt, coffee, cheesecake, hash browns, salad, and chicken parmesan. They also had some food I’ve never tried before like quiche (mainland style and blackberry pie. I loaded plate after plate of food. The portions were huge. I ate dessert nearly every meal. Checking off all the bad eating habits is a recipe for getting fat. In the cafe, all the teachers and adults would socialize getting to know each other. Good times!!!
College Mall
On our second day, we had a chance to go to College Mall. It was a small one story mall. To compare, it made Pearlridge look big. It was fun to walk around. I went around 4 times. Oahu has all the stores in the Indiana mall, except Dick’s Sporting Goods Store. i bought a few silicon utensils from the kitchen store, no shopping for me.
Hoosier
My research did not give me a specific answer. Although the perception is that Hoosier means Indiana resident. The origin is still not known. Some speculate that it was from Sam Hoosher who helped build a small canal near the Ohio River. Another theory is the word hoozer means “the hills” in the Old English language. This term hoozer refers to a person from the hills who are bad motherfuckers. Most historians agree it’s more ingenious than real.
Indiana Skies
I always thought Oahu had pretty skies. That was until I had the opportunity to see Indiana’s skies. The shapes and colors make the entire skies look spectacular. I even caught a picture of the sky as the sun set. Damn beautiful!!!
Indiana University
Indiana University is a massive campus at about 2,000 acres. They even have their own police department. The campus was built in 1820. Their specialty is research. Their school colors are cream and crimson, which can be compared to white and red. Their school enrollment is about 42,000 students. The City of Bloomington has about 75,000 people.
IU Facilities
Up the road from our dorms were the athletic facilities. The students had a pool party so a few of us teachers did a side tour to the basketball arena and football stadium. The basketball exhibition and entrance was a sight to behold. There is a trophy case with all the National Championships displayed. There are profile banners of Indiana all-time greats like Isaiah Thomas and Walt Bellamy. After seeing the nice arena, we tried to sneak onto the football field. Unfortunately, there was a wedding and the usher said we couldn’t go in.
Kirkwood Avenue
On the southern part of campus is Kirkwood Avenue known for their bars and restaurants. It has a college town atmosphere, where the party takes place. Funny, the campus is so big, it took 45 minutes from the stadium to Kirkwood Avenue. A college student inebriated from a football or basketball game will have to make that long walk to go to the after party. It was hot as teachers Erik, Stacey, and I walked down the street of Kirkwood Avenue talking story about random topics.