Here at this U-M, I am reminded of my early years at another U-M.
Yesterday we drove up to Flathead Indian Reservation and the National Bison Range, where we saw elk, bison and antelope, including one big elk drinking in a river. We also passed by mighty mountains capped with snow under a sky that occasionally sent out some rain or hail but also bright sunshine, leading to some of the most fantastic cloud formations I have seen anywhere outside of the South Pacific.
As Aidan, said, "This is what they mean by 'Big Sky Country.' The sky just looks bigger here."
Today, Julia went to a class with him, while I visited Dylan's counselor.
Tonight, we visited the mall where Zaira works at Payless and got winter boots and thick socks for the boys. The locals say winter will start by the end of the month.
We had dinner at an Italian restaurant last night and an Asian restaurant tonight -- both quite good. The kids talked about their classes, their readings, their professors in ways I never remember them doing in high school.
They seem genuinely engaged, serious about their studies, and reflective about the ideas being raised in class.
This is a charming college town, in a green valley with a rushing river and trees now sporting a variety of fall colors -- yellow, orange, red and green -- and nice little houses that look like cozy places to live. The people are friendly and happy to tell you bout the best places to go and things to see.
Mixed in with the locals are ranchers, with their big belt buckles, red faces, jeans, boots and reserved expressions, driving big trucks and talking about fishing, hunting, and fixing those trucks.
There are a lot of older people here, like all over America, mainly whites but also quite a few Native Americans. It seems like a peaceful, safe place. Locals tell me they do not bother locking their front doors or even their bicycles out front.
The campus is nestled at the bottom of a precipitous cliff that sports a block M halfway up, rather like the famous Hollywood sign out west. The boys claim they are going to climb up there one day.
The river has bridges across it and the campus sits on the other side of the river from most of the town. Our hotel is exactly one mile from campus. People in the town tend to smile and nod when you pass on foot. On campus, the students, boys and girls, smiled at me, probably assuming I am a professor.
I met a young man, Chad, while waiting for Dylan's counselor to be free, who is a sophomore, attending on the GI Bill. He is just back in school after leaving Fort Bragg, and says he is having a rough time adjusting. I talked with him for a long time.
He grew up in Butte, so this part of the country is home, more or less. But he is 25 and feels so much older than the other students. He says his main comfort is to work out in the gym every day from 4-6.
I told him about Aidan, whose main comfort is to work out at the gym every night, sometimes starting at 6, sometimes later.
I think they might like each other, so I hope they meet.
Unlike my boys, who are still hesitant and a little ambivalent about their new lives here so far from home, Zaira has embraced Missoula.
"I like it much better here. It's so clean and the people are nice. It is a *lot* better than the Mission." Like most San Francisco kids, she does not describe the city as an entire place but as the neighborhood she knows best.
Zaira, a first-generation American, always has to worry about her parents and their status as immigrants in a country that treats them ambigously.
But she is a person on a mission, majoring in International Business and Business Administration, with a emphasis on Event Planning. She is an intern in events here, which means she works the concerts. Saturday night she worked the country music concert, and said "It got crazy, way too much drinking."
She also works at Payless three days a week.
And keeps an eye on the boys and encourages them in many ways. She is trying to get Aidan a job in security at the events, so he can see concerts for free too.
Well that's my report from Missoula, Montana tonight. Tomorrow morning at a frightfully early hour, Julia and I will reverse our route of Saturday and head back to the City by the Bay.
I will post better photos tomorrow or on the days to come.
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