Evening at Stanford University....

I have had a truly incredible stay here up till now. Each new thing is a new discovery and each new sight does not fail to amaze me. We visited many stores like Trader Joe’s, Safeway, Fry’s, India Cash and Carry etc. All these stores are so big that one could easily be lost in one of them!!!
This Monday, I took out the bicycle for the first time. Was carrying a map and few dollars for emergency situations, such as, getting lost in the city or something like that. Also wore a helmet (A helmet here is compulsory even when you are on a bicycle.). Initially I was a bit confused….coz here you have to keep to the extreme right, unlike in India where you have to be on the left (Is that so? Naah…In India, you can walk or drive on any side of the road that you feel like…) Went around in circles in nearby locality. Discovered that there is a big soccer field out here and two elementary schools.
The thing here is that parking lots are in abundance and no cars are parked on the roads. People only park where there is permission to do so on the roads…or in parking lots. Parking is sometimes time based….that is, parking in that area can be done only for a fixed period of time, after which you have to pay more to park for a further period of time. This system is called paid parking here. Also, just as car drivers obey signals, even the pedestrians do. Although peds usually have right of way, there are roads where there are pedestrian signals. Only if peds get a ‘white’ light, they can cross. At times there is a button which peds have to push to get the ‘go’ signal. Even otherwise peds cross roads only at zebra crossings.
The other day saw a screening of the marathi movie ‘Valu’ which was organized by the California Arts Association. After seeing the movie we went to see the Stanford university. Stanford University has a large campus and separate buildings…department wise. Stanford university is quite old (100+ years as I was informed by Dr. J….my sister’s hubby). As you enter the University complex, students’ residence is seen on either sides of the road. As you move in deeper, the various department buildings can be seen. After you turn from one of the junctions, a huge lawn space is seen ahead. This is called as the oval. The oval is like a huge park. On the periphery of this oval is the car park. When you stand on the approach stairs of the main university building and the church……the oval and the main approach road can be seen at a slightly lower level. (Can the above layout description be understood? I don’t think so….I ain’t too good at explaining….. The photo above makes it more clear!!!). The church was closed that evening…because the following day was convocation day!!! (Imagine the pride of passing out from such a coveted university!!!) There is a big clock in the same complex which sounds a ‘gong’ every 15 minutes. The mechanism of the clock is displayed in a nice glass enclosure on the ground level. When the gong sounds, you can see the cogs, wheels and the gears moving!!! Its great fun to see it!!! The architecture of the buildings and the walls and arches makes one feel as if the buildings are of historic importance…which they probably are!!!