Bloomington-ism

I visited Bloomington earlier this year for the third time. I had not spent enough time to really experience this town until this year’s three-week visit, though. Before the trip, my very first thought was, “Three weeks away from home is not a short time. So why not spend the time like I actually live there!” The very first question a non-Hoosier may ask might be “What can you do for three weeks in Bloomington? It’s not a metropolis!” BINGO! This is actually what I like about it.

First off, let’s make a disclaimer: meetings and work already took up 12 hours a day during weekdays. So there wasn’t much free time. Second, the Hoosiers I know live a pretty good work-life balance. So I’m very sure there must be fun things to do in this town. Discovering the typical life of local people is always an interesting experience for me.

Performing Arts

Nothing is better than to explore and experience a place starting from your passion! So for me, this means performing arts and food. Before I made the trip, I did some research for places where I could keep up my dancing and singing practices after work or even during weekends.

Some of you may have heard that Bloomington is a town for arts and performing arts. The Jacobs School of Music was ranked first by the Change magazine, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and U.S. News and World Report. The Indiana University School of Music as a whole was recently listed first among the “Top Ten Voice Schools in America” by Classical Singer.

One more thing I discovered during my pre-trip research: the music library of Indiana University was dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Cook in 1995 as IU William & Gale Cook Music Library. It houses over 70,000 items on 10.5 miles of shelves (as of July 2011) including books, journals, scores, sound recordings, etc. It is recognized as one of the largest academic music libraries in the world. The music school provides the best soil to cultivate great musicians and performers. If I came in the right season and there are late lectures, I think I would sneak in to attend a few, but I was visiting while classes were not in session.

Unfortunately, there were also no shows at the Indiana University Auditorium as during my stay either. But do check it out if you are visiting Bloomington later because there are usually shows scheduled year round. I missed Gospel and Lés Misarablé. But if you are a musicals lover like me, they already have a few interesting shows scheduled, including Sister Act.

My manager made up for my missing the IU Auditorium entertainment by bringing me to a play called “Greta” by Bloomington Playwrights Project. It was a musical comedy about a girl who sacrifices her dream to be a doctor to help her grandmother run the family bowling alley business, where she met her boyfriend too. She gets a double surprise—her boyfriend’s proposal and acceptance to the medical school in Ohio. The comedy presented Greta’s struggle to decide through a lot of funny incidents with her friends. The theatre was a small one but I do really like it. The stage is so close to the audience, you can share the energy of the performance like you are one of the cast. As a performer, you see how audiences are responding to the show, making it easer to “serve the audience.”

Food

May I suggest you to get a cup of tea and some snacks before reading on? I’m going to talk about food! I have no idea why I have a western or even American appetite. I told my Urology teammates that every time I go to North America, “I can’t li-i-i-ive…if living is without…” IHOP, Subway, and hotdogs. And I like chili, barbeques, etc. I think they were surprised.

Though some of the foods I like are from chains, they are typical, aren’t they? In Bloomington, I always want four more tummies (ok, I admit, I always want them anywhere I am). I like that Bloomington maintains unique local taste and culture by minimizing chain restaurants in its downtown.

I also like that some restaurants cook with seasonal local produce and change their menu from time to time. Food is full of original natural flavor from the ingredients rooted behind the cooking and seasoning. Even just a simple salad is so yummy because it’s fresh. Seriously, even a side dish just as simple as asparagus. I haven’t had such good asparagus that really tastes like asparagus for a long time.

I never got bored with the local food even on this third visit to Bloomington. The pot roast from Uptown Café, pizza from Finch’s, the grills from Malibu, soup and vegetables from Sweet Grass, pancakes from Runcible Spoon, burgers from Scotty’s Brewery, Naughty Dogs, breakfast and coffee from Scholar’s Inn Bakehouse, ice-creams from Chocolate Moose…there are so many interesting choices!

I live in a city known as a paradise of international cuisine. However, the deficiency of fresh local produce and an overly commercial business environment eliminated many small unique restaurants because they cannot afford paying ridiculously high rent that also make food expensive. The rush lifestyle in Hong Kong ate up a lot of the patience needed for food preparation. Eating out in Hong Kong, for me, is not as much fun as when I was young.

Environment

If you’ve been reading up to here, I guess you already finished your snacks. Let’s change the topic to scenery. Honestly, if I didn’t join Cook, I would not know the existence of this beautiful town. My impression of Bloomington is simple, natural, original, and artistic. I Googled about Bloomington. It was described as the “Gateway to Scenic Southern Indiana,” and the word Bloomington refers to “a heaven of blooms.” It has been designated a Tree City for more than 20 years. I envy the abundance of trees and flowers in Bloomington and the fresh air brought by having them everywhere. This is something I can’t find in Hong Kong anymore. Driving on a highways lined by trees was a relaxation after work.

This visit, I also noticed that there are very beautiful and special breed of birds in Bloomington. Maybe they are scared of Asians because I didn’t manage to take any photos of them!

A boat trip on Lake Monroe was incredible. I am not good at photography, but I hope these few pictures can replace the thousands of words I would need to write about how beautiful the lake is. I could spend a day at the lake doing nothing but enjoying the sun, listening to country music, and reading a good book – if I don’t bring my mobile phone with me. This lake experience is another thing that I don’t have living in a city filled with high-rises.

More art

I spent a few paragraphs at the beginning of this article talking about music and performing arts. In fact, art is everywhere in Bloomington. Galleries, studios, and theater… I can also see how supportive the local government is to the arts. Bloomington Entertainment and Art District (BEAD) is proof of that. Walking round the BEAD area, if you turn your head, art is just everywhere. A decoration, a light pole, graffiti on the streets, a statue, a bench, a sign, or even a building itself is a piece of art.

When I walked around downtown and a few blocks further, I just loved this place. Again, I might have come in the right time, when most of the students are gone. It was so quiet and peaceful just walking around. Some of the houses and buildings are quite Gothic that added an elegant flavor to Bloomington.

I finally had a chance to take a good look at the IU campus. It was named one of the five most beautiful campuses in America by the author of the book The Campus as a Work of Art in 1991. Most of the campus buildings are built of Indiana limestone, and the original campus was established in 1820. Walking around the campus was like going back to the Medieval period.

People

It’s impossible to experience local culture without getting along with local people. Or I should say, this is the core of the culture. I have been to a few other cities in the U.S. Though they are all American, people in different cities give me different feelings. Hoosiers are incredibly nice and friendly.

I was away from home for four weeks, but I felt like home with the people in Indiana. They are proud of what they do and what they have, but they are not arrogant. They live in a simple style, but do not sacrifice quality of life. They appreciate development but do not sacrifice the root culture, values, and history of this town.

In one conversation, I was told that there are more Asian students in Bloomington, especially from China. Their parents send them to I.U. to study, with the ability of living with more than just basic needs. Such as buying expensive cars. I see very similar phenomenon in Asia. If you have had a chance to follow society and political news of Hong Kong, you may know how much life in Hong Kong is affected by the flood of visitors and immigrants from China. We are seeing how this is eroding the core values and culture of the city.

At the end of that conversation, I sentimentally said, “I love Bloomington very much. I hope the Bloomington government will do whatever they can to defend and maintain the unique culture of this beautiful town. Sustaining how this town looks, developing the artistic resources, and maintaining local food and restaurants are easy. But managing the values of our younger generation would be quite a challenge. Students are at the age of setting their values for life. The local and root values are vulnerable to being shaken. I hope parents and mentors in Bloomington can do whatever they can to protect their youths – explore the world as much as they can without giving up their originality even under culture shocks.”

Until my next visit

I hope you enjoyed reading how I experienced Bloomington through my passions, enjoying the environment and getting along with Hoosiers. I’m sure there is a lot more to do in this town. I will be glad to hear your suggestions for my next visit.