The City as My Classroom – One Programs

Our last class outside the classroom was our "Psychogeographic Walk" in which the goal was to get lost (literally). We created a set of directions such as two lefts then right and stuck to it religiously. We had spent the whole year discovering the city and once you've circled UC two-to-three times, you notice things you often overlook!

Halloween, Harry Potter, and Me

Right off the bat, let me just say that I've never been a huge fan of Halloween. I'm not particularly fond of dressing up or anything of the spooky and scary variety, but I will tell you: I LOVE candy and all things magical/fantastical. That's why, for the past couple years, including this year I've been professing my love for Harry Potter on Halloween. I've been a fan of the Harry Potter series for a very long time and it doesn't hurt that U of T is basically an architectural twin of the magical universe. For Halloween, I recommend watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets because it is one of the most classic, spooky films in the series (before the darker and scarier themes are set in the later films). In celebration of Halloween and all things spooky (including those remaining midterms), here's the rundown on the two most Hogwarts-like buildings on campus. Whether you choose to visit for studying or dreaming about Hogwarts is your choice, but personally, I usually choose the latter. Also, because I mentioned that I love candy (love it, I really do), these buildings are rated on a scale of being most like Hogwarts to least like Hogwarts:
Picture of chocolate frog, wizard trading card, and box
(Source: shop.wbstudiotour.co.uk)
1 Chocolate Frog=not like Hogwarts at all and just reminds you of doing school work (bleh) 5 Chocolate Frogs=just like being at Hogwarts so much so that you've wondered where your wand has gone (yay)        

A visit to the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery / University of Toronto Art Centre

The other day I was rushing through the UC Quad, something I do on the regular, when I did something out of the regular, I stopped to read the sign that I usually side-step to avoid. This sign lives outside of The UTAC. The Justina M. Barnicke Gallery / University of Toronto Art Centre is one of those places that I've been promising myself I'd visit, but could never quite find the time to do so. The sign drew me in with its poster-board charm, and I decided to abandon my readings for an hour and finally make good on my promise. photo of the UC tower taken from outside the art centre, facing the quad