This article would be part of series of articles on Michigan particularly Ann Arbor and surrounding areas. To begin with Ann Arbor is a picturesque town surrounding University of Michigan (U Mich). The place is full of Victorian like houses with a feel of pristine town imbibing spirit of intellectualism, progressive & libertarian values, innovation, vibrant culture and art. (Pic inset: The iconic tower in Central Campus U Mich). Remember the movie Back to the Future staring the great adorable dude Michael J Fox. To refresh your memory its the scene wherein he needs to recharge his futurist car to go back in time making use of lightening which regularly strikes the ever imposing tower. To sit beneath this one is truly a moment to remember and leave the rest to your imagination. The town’s population is about 100000 people wherein University of Michigan comprises about 45000 people which includes students, professors and professionals working in the town. People are very friendly and cheerful which might be a three standard deviation in a normalized curve. I have been positively taken aback with professionalism and laid back exuberance surrounding the town. Its befitting to say that U Mich defines the heart and soul of the town. U Mich is well oiled engine in a top end sports car which drives the town forward everyday.
The first people I met when I entered Ann Arbor near my place at Michigan Campus were two American dudes who were pursuing Phd in Science. After exchanging pleasantries and discussing a bit about Science we exchanged our coordinates. One of them, Anthony was kind enough to take me out on a wonderful trip around Detroit and Ann Arbor which was simply spellbinding. We met again and went for a cinema with one of my other recent acquaintance Andrew (another smart dude from Gerald Ford School). Btw Gerald Ford School of Public Policy is one of the best public policy schools in the world and has an iconic status worldwide. It has a very strong quantitative and qualitative focus backed by some stellar academia. Will enunciate at length about the various places we visited but sadly I do not have many photos.
Leave you with a mesmerizing & soulful video of the sky in Ann Arbor. Its about 9 pm Michigan time when we came out of the movie show. Its pitch dark in India or in Asia around that time but this the western hemisphere so teh sun sets in West and therefore the daylight is much longer compared to our eastern world. Love the long days here but things will change soon as winter sets in Ann Arbor. Here we use the slang Have a good one to bid bid farewell which means have a great day ahead.