PTSD

seeing things i'd only read of before

Today's entry: the University itself. UC Berkeley (or "Cal" as the locals seem to call it) has a lovely campus, numerous sports fields, swimming pools and an excellent location with buildings meandering up on the hills overlooking the city.

It also has this. Sproul Plaza, was apparently "ground zero for '60's era campus activism", anti-war protests during the Vietnam era and a site where people were gassed by the National Guard*.

One of the best parts of this summer has been seeing places I'd read of in actual life, so to spreak. The Beat Generation's hangouts, Steinbeck's Cannery Row, the dodgy pub where Jack London used to drink, the rocks and crags where Chinese seamen used to live (before it became "cool" to immigrate to San Francisco), the gold rush towns that have now all disappeared (except as tourist sites) and the overall enjoyment of wandering through a university with a history of doing stuff.**


* Not on a regular basis, mind yous. Just once, I believe, sometime in the (when else?) '60's.

** I believe it has been frequently mentioned that I'm not the more articulate one of PTSD.

Labels: berkeley, history, San Francisco, Sproul Plaza

posted by Priya @ 11:20 PM