I first encountered Newark two summers ago while taking a couple summer classes at the University of Delaware and rooming with a high school friend who attends UD. However, living in Kent with the Undergraduate Research Program was a big step up from living in Rodney! Modeled after popular prison designs, Rodney was the dorm I lived in for 5 weeks two years ago.

Although not a newcomer to the UDel scene, I had a great time further exploring Newark and the surrounding area this summer. My adventures and activities included:

• DQ
  I remember that fateful day two years ago, when I first sampled the Newark Dairy Queen's Blizzard. Only eight minutes from the center of town, it was love at first bite. Since leaving Delaware two years ago I have searched in vain for a comparable chocolate with peanut butter cup blizzard. In the ten I have sampled up and down the eastern seaboard, none have ever come close.

• The HiperSpace Lab
  Where I spent most of my summer!

• Eating at Lori's
  I was lucky enough to be invited to eat at Lori's house twice, however the second time was definitely an adventure!

• The Amazing Maize Maze
  The maze was a special Pennsylvanian treat. The HiperSpace lab, Lori's family, and Katie's boyfriend Ben, all came out for a day of fun in the sun (perhaps a little too much sun on my part!).

• The Christiana Mall
  Not the biggest mall around, but plenty of shops to meet my clothing quota!

• Outback Steakhouse
  This summer was the first time I had ever sampled Outback's delectable cuisine -- I wish there was one as close to my home in NJ as there is here in Newark!

• Iron Hill Brew Pub
  Located right on Main Street, Iron Hill offers great food, a chique atmosphere and prices that beat TGI Friday's!

• Peace of Pizza
  A popular lunch spot for HiperSpace, Peace a Pizza definitely offers the most affordable lunch on main street! The gourmet slices of pizza eat like a meal but cost less than a sundae from Baskin Robbins!

• Ernie's Hamburger Joint
  A good place for a hamburger.

• Subway
  Not the best sandwich in town but a good place for a research meeting.

• East End Cafe
  East End attracts a little bit of a different crowd for the college scene, but it's varied menu and affordable prices make it a good spot for an evening snack with fellow lab members or friends! I highly recommend the caesar salad, it's so garlicky it burns!

• Ben and Jerry's & Trabant
  Not nearly as good as the Baskin Robbins of two years ago that it has since replaced, Ben and Jerry's does satisfy those mid-day cravings. Trabant has always left much to be desired in the quality of its food. After eating there everyday over the summer the first time I came, I longed for my school food (which is pretty pathetic)! To use my meal plan this summer, I continually purchased large bottles of water from Trabant and treated everyone in the lab (and sometimes Nirmal) to BJ's.

• Ultimate Frisbee and Volleyball
  Missing the nightly volleyball games of my previous summer, I was glad I got to play a few games of volleyball and ultimate frisbee on the mall at Delaware.

• Pizza Hairs: The Newest Look
  I was graced with two days of excitement and free lunches this summer. With my luck of finding two separate hairs in my pizza this summer, one each at Grotto's and Piece a Pizza, I wonder how many I unknowingly consumed on a regular basis? Eek!

• Does my hair look like a beehive?
  By far the most disturbing experience this summer occurred one afternoon in early August. A few people from the lab (Amie, Katie, and myself included) were chatting about grad school over some Ben and Jerry's on the grass lawn outside Trabant. The first episode occurred when I spotted an ant crawling on Amie's shorts, that was a little creepy. My long curly hair happened to be down that day, and Katie later spotted a bee in my hair! As she came closer to inspect this revolting site, she exclaimed, "Ew, the one is eating a dead bee!" It was almost more than I could handle, and by this time I had begun to feel the bees moving in my hair as the hairs they moved pricked my scalp. After attempting to dislodge the bees from my hair, the brave soul, Katie realized that both bees were alive and they were mating! Definitely an experience to remember!