Tours Galore!

A Hahvard tour guide.
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Having worked in the Office of Undergraduate Admission at Saint Louis University, I have four years experience of giving campus tours.  Thus, whenever I see tours on Harvard's campus, I always kind of pay attention.  However, after only spending a few days on campus, I quickly discovered that Harvard always has tourists. There are always groups of tourists being shepherded across campus.  I have maybe seen two or three tours that actually consisted of prospective students and their families.  The rest are tours done by another company that does tours for tourists.  There is always a group of people around the John Harvard statue taking pictures.  Thus, not many students ever walk near it, lest they be confused for a tourist!

That being said, I've become accustomed to the idea that many people on campus are not enrolled.  Since the weather is so nice outside, I try to read outside as much as possible.  However, I can't help but notice that on a few occasions, people on tours will take a picture of me.  I mean I can understand their thinking.  "Oh look, there's a student studying. Let's take a picture." However, I have to relay the following experience to you, as it is just too funny.

It was a Sunday afternoon and I was reading outside, lying in the grass in the quad between Memorial Church and Widener Library.  Every half hour or so, a large tour group would pass by.  I had noticed maybe two people take pictures of me.  On this occasion, however, a group of Japanese tourists were stopped in front of the church listening to their tour guide and taking pictures.  One of the said tourists proceeded to lie down in the grass maybe 15 or 20 feet in front of me in the exact same position I was lying in.  Then her friend took a picture of her with me in the background.  I found it somewhat humorous, but then three more people proceeded to do the same thing!!! Am I just supposed to be OK with this?! I mean I felt it was funny, but slightly awkward.  I just continued to read.  No harm done. It was a funny experience.

In other news, today is Gandhi's birthday.  My seminar on him has gone very, very well.  I'm really enjoying it.  I just finished reading his autobiography about half an hour ago.  In honor of his birthday, my class is getting together tonight to watch the famous 1982 classic Gandhi that really introduced him to much of the Western world.  It won eight academy awards.  I've never seen it all the way through, so I'm anticipating it tonight.  But, I'll have to miss the Florida vs. Alabama football game tonight, which is kind of a bummer.  But, then I want to slap myself, as it's just a game of no significant importance. Life deserves more.