This past weekend I went to visit my roommate from study abroad in South Bend, Indiana! She goes to Saint Mary’s College, the sister school of Notre Dame! My friends and I woke up super early Friday morning, drove to LaGuardia Airport and flew into Chicago O’Hare Airport. From there, my friends who went abroad picked us up, we got Portillo’s (famous in the Midwest), and we continued our journey to South Bend. When we got there, it was so cool to walk around the giant, infamous campus of the Fighting Irish. The bookstore was nothing like here at SHU! Even though only a few more thousand students go to Notre Dame compared to us… the campus was huge. We saw the famous Touchdown Jesus and went inside the beautiful cathedral, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart! The mural on the library is nicknamed Touchdown Jesus because it looks like he is throwing up his arms as if he scored a touchdown like the players do every weekend!
It was great to catch up with friends, relive memories, and walk around the college town of Notre Dame, something we don’t really have here at Sacred Heart. The next day, we woke up early and got ready for the game. We went to the parking lot for multiple tailgates with fun, food, families, and friends. Student’s parents come to almost every game driving from all over! There were alumni everywhere, it was so interesting to hear how people ended up in the Midwest, somewhere I had never been prior to this weekend. We went into the stadium and my mouth dropped, it was HUGE! I’m not a big football fan, but I was definitely fangirling. The Fighting Irish were playing Bowling Green, it was a great game. The stadium was packed, and we cheered with the Notre Dame students, trying to blend in even though we were amazed! We enjoyed the halftime show and I even got lifted up to do pushups in the air for a touchdown! When the game was over we made our way back to the Saint Mary’s campus passing the grotto for a prayer on the way, a beautiful end to the day. I loved seeing my friends abroad after being apart for so long and it was great to experience a different school and spend my weekend a little different than normal.
Now it’s time to get back to work here at SHU! Go Irish, but forever Roll Pios!