A Beautiful Day in St. Louis

After breakfast this morning, the cohort met up at 9:30 in the lobby to go to the information session and campus tour. We walked from the on-campus hotel to the Admissions building, where we were greeted by a very cheerful woman who had a tendency to say "cool beans" a lot. She gave us each personalized itinerary packets along with a Washington University tote bag to take with us. After a short wait, Jenny S. Alessi, an admissions officer, led us to a room where we sat and listened to the information session.

During this time, she explained to us all of the positive aspects of the university. I was delighted to hear that the college has such high ratings in categories such as dorm and it is even #1 for its dining hall, the Bear Den. I also liked that there is a music festival every year called WILD (Walk In, Lay Down). She didn't explain the origin of its name but it was nice to hear from the student presenter Ethan that artists such as Childish Gambino, Chance the Rapper and Matt and Kim have performed there in the past since they are all artists that I greatly appreciate and enjoy. I also liked that there are 5 different schools to choose from and that there are Study Abroad programs for everyone, and you can even create your own program when working with and advisor. 

After the session we met with a rising senior named Grace who is majoring in Art History and Architecture. She gave us an extensive tour of the beautiful campus, including every single detail about every building. We started at the Brookings Building, which has a seal next to it, on the floor. If anyone steps on it, then that means they will not graduate in 4 years unless the Chancellor's ring. We then made our way to the Jerzewiak Auditorium, or the largest lecture hall, typically used for general chemistry courses.

Jerzewiak Auditorium

Grace showing us the newly built Bauer Building.

On the way there, Grace explained to us that in 1904, the Summer Olympics were held at Washington University during its World's Fair. This was probably one of the most interesting aspects of the school, even though it was something that happened so long ago. Also during the World's Fair, the Wright Brothers flew one of their airplanes there, which is something that was fascinating about the school.

Grace ended the tour by showing us a dorm and one of the dorm rooms, explaining to us that there is an option between the modern and traditional halls. The modern halls have jack and jill bathrooms, while the traditional halls have big bathrooms that the whole floor shares. While having your own bathroom sounds relaxing, I'd rather share a bathroom so I could get to know the other girls in my hall better.

After the tour, we ate at the DUC, or the Danforth University Center. The building was beautiful and I was pleased to find out that there is a TV and game consoles on the second floor. I ordered spicy Korean pork, which was neither spicy nor bland, but very flavorful.

Following a quick stop at the hotel room, Mr. Chan-Law, Kevin, Sue, Jun and I went to the St. Louis Zoo and the St. Louis Art Museum. The museum was absolutely beautiful and I couldn't get over the art pieces they had there. We then walked to the Zoo. It is ranked #2 in the country after the San Diego Zoo and although we saw a few of the animals, we ran out of time and had to go back to the hotel to get ready for our evening dinner. I still enjoyed seeing some of the animals though, like the sea lions and the apes.

A sea lion at the St. Louis Zoo.

A large and beautiful painting at the St. Louis Art Museum.

Linguine with shrimp and lobster.

A few hours later, at 6:20, we all met in the lobby to go to Tony's, a very nice Italian restaurant. By 6:30 we were on our way. We arrived to the restaurant and were met by Danielle, one of "Wash U's" admissions officers, and Akhil and Ellie, two interns in the admissions office that are from Fremont and Berkeley, respectively. The three of them were wonderful to talk to and spend time with and I'm really happy that they were the ones we got to spend our night with. While giving us college advice, they also showed their great personalities. They were very funny and Akhil and Ellie were sitting on either side of me which was great since we talked a bit about the Bay Area, since we are all from there. 

After mingling, I ordered a linguine with lobster and shrimp which was probably one of the best plates of pasta that I have ever had. The linguine was a bit al dente but that was perfect for me since that is exactly how I like my pasta. It was covered in a butter and tomato sauce and the shrimp and lobster pieces were perfectly tender.

Chocolate and coconut torte with toasted coconut ice cream

For dessert, I had a chocolate and coconut torte with toasted coconut ice cream. The torte was very rich and had a coconut filling that reminded me of an almond joy. The toasted coconut ice cream was heavenly, since I adore anything with coconut in it. Overall, the food at the restaurant was scrumptious and the service was like none other I've encountered in the past and I hope to be able to have the opportunity to eat here again, whether it be in the near or far future.

We arrived to the hotel at around 10:45 PM and all headed straight to our hotel rooms. Tomorrow we  leave to Chicago at 6:00 AM and I could not be more excited! 

Danielle, Ellie, Kevin, Natalie, Sue, Jun, me, Katelyn and Akhil.