Welcome to Wisconsin

Not the chemistry building, but a pic from the bus stop.

So much has happened this month!  I'm just trying to collect a few of my first thoughts and impressions of Wisconsin.

Baby Thor loves his new home!

We went to Sam's Club on one of our first days here, which isn't too far away from our apartment.  They sell wine at Sam's Club!  I didn't even know that.  Not that I'll ever buy any, but I guess it just doesn't sell that well in Provo.

Sam developed hand, foot, and mouth disease right after we got here.  We had a rough couple of days, but just rolled with the punches.

One of the first things the Chemistry Department had us do were the qualifying exams.  They aren't used for a whole lot, but they were certainly intimidating still.  They're graded on a pass/fail standard, so they aren't too stressful.  I just wanted to brag a little bit about how I was the first person to finish the inorganic chemistry exam, but I still passed.

Just a few our details from the rest of our adventures so far (you'll have to imagine the rest of the stories, I guess):

I think these seats are original to the building

• I love hearing Baby Thor laugh and giggle.  He really loves being thrown onto our bed.  
• It's wonderful to have LDS friends nearby.  Brian Graham also came from BYU this year, so we've been spending time together during our new grad student training.  It's also great to remember how awesome it is to show up at the local ward and meet a wonderful group of people who are accepting of you the way you are.
• Wisconsin cheese is delicious.  We got some cheese curds and other local cheese in Middleton, which is essentially a suburb of Madison.  I think we'll always have cheese on hand.
• I hate the humidity.  It's like living in a cloud of warm sweat.  Maybe I just don't like the fact that I can't afford, and it doesn't make sense, to buy an air conditioning unit this year.  
• Lastly, Baby Thor falling asleep on his own has been such a blessing.  He definitely understands that being carried into his room means that it's time to go to sleep.
• Some of the classrooms are okay, but others of the lecture halls, and especially the teaching labs, are absolutely outdated and should probably be re-done.  If I was looking at being a professor instead of a grad student, I might think twice about teaching here.
  
  

  

  Lecture hall stuck in the 60's.