Yesterday it hit mid-50s. In central Illinois this is cause for much celebration. I went on a few walks, got some food, and observed the following:

  • A cluster of students leaving a neighbor’s house, all speaking French.
  • Two women holding hands, one with an eye patch.
  • At lunch at the new H Mart, practically everyone was speaking Korean or Japanese.
  • A group of students fundraising on the Quad for the war in Ukraine.

By all counts, a town in the middle of cornfields should be as plain as a slice of Wonder bread. Instead it’s abuzz with people from all over the world. People who came here as students or teachers to better themselves and others.