Visiting the school of hard Knox

"Where the hell is that?" is the usual response.

Feeling slightly slighted, I answer with what has become the go-to reply. "It's in upper west Tennessee, in the middle of nowhere. We're like Knoxville's country cousin."

And this weekend, this Country Mouse paid a visit to our dear cousin City Mouse.

Our diplomas may be the same, but there are indeed some major differences amongst the two.

First of all, the people. So freaking many of them. As much as it sucks when you run into that certain ex  boyfriend/girlfriend/best friend four times a week in the Quad, I can imagine that it sucks oh so much more to walk to and fro and never see a single familiar face.

Just compare: Knoxville has 21,378 enrolled undergraduates. UT Martin has literally a third of that with 7,559. In fact, with 9,767, Knoxville has more faculty and staff than Martin does students.

I realize that college is the time to meet new people and make new friends, but I kind of prefer to know at least one person in each of my classes.

Second, the campus itself. I have long been aware that Martin is unique in that our Quad is so..quaint and collected. I can wake up at 9:12 and still have time to shower and hurry to my 9:30 class (making it on time), and then walk over to Wendy's and grab my Junior Bacon cheeseburger and Spicy chicken go-wrap lunch before my next class. That's in under ten minutes.

As I found this weekend, it takes you ten minutes to get to your building from the parking lot nearest towards it (add that to the thirty-seven minutes spent looking for a parking spot).  

It's so big!

Two hundred and thirty-six buildings spread across 560 acres is mighty intimidating when I'm used to max ten buildings across our little Quad.

Oh, and everyone there sucks at driving. Speed limits and stop signs are more like "suggestions". I ALMOST prefer our sloth-like 25 mph zones. Almost. What really baffled me however was the cost/quality conundrum.

Spoiled we are. Never again will I complain about the two years I lived in the Residence Halls.

For almost double, as in 100% more, you get a dorm room about 50% smaller. And no privacy. No kitchens. Not even a divider.

Fortunately, the insane hills and steep sidewalks will keep you from ever gaining a Freshman 15, so your svelte figure will better fit in your fish tank of a dorm room.

I genuinely believe that Knoxville is responsible for the popularity of Toms shoes, for no one can possibly navigate that damned campus wearing high heels.

And speaking of navigating (while also referring back to my point about it being so scattered about the massive city), it's just plain confusing to determine at any given time when you are on or off campus. Being a dry campus, this can cause a little bit of an issue. Bar, Andy Holt, pub, Clement. Whoops.

Massive campus and all, there are still lacking two things:

Ropepull- to which I get the same "What the hell is that?" response. YouTube videos just don't do it justice.

And the second?

Our squirrels.