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The Spot

Another uneventful Saturday evening was slipping through my fingers as myself and three friends sat lazily in our quad.  The channels on the TV were being flipped through so quickly that I could barely make out what was on, but it didn’t bother me; television was truly the last thing on my mind. Without warning, one of the room’s occupants blurted out the suggestion to take a walk. I jumped at this idea because familiarizing ourselves with my new home sounded infinitely better than watching yet another episode of Deadliest Catch.

We threw our shoes on, exited the room and climbed down the three flights of stairs leading out the back of our residence hall. Pushing the door open, our group of four stepped into the dusk and was instantly greeted by a wave of heat. This brutal transition from our cool interior dorm to the outside would normally have made us think twice, but today we were fueled by boredom.  

The idea was to explore West Campus, since none of us had ever been there.  We crossed the street and stepped onto a path leading through a field, empty except for several Frisbee golf cages scattered around. It felt good to be out of the dorm and into nature. The setting sun painted the sky full of orange and purple and illuminated the path that guided our way from cut grass into thick forest, which we plunged into curiously. Engulfed by woodland, the path led us to a narrow metal-worked footbridge which we crossed to find yet another change of scenery.

None of us were quite sure what to make of what we saw. In front of us, constructed out of stone, was what appeared to be a miniature stadium. Benches worked out of rock were curved into a half-circle all surrounding one spot that I can only imagine would be used for speaking. This miniature lecture hall would be the perfect place for a professor to host class as a treat to deserving students. The four of us remained at this spot until the sky grew dark, and then reluctantly found our way back across the path using light from tall-standing lamps, previously unlit.  Thus far in my Miami career, I consider this to be a truly unique place on campus that I know will be visited again.