Hello new MAPHers! Welcome to MAPHtastic, the blog for all your MAPH-related needs. We’re your new Mentors, Matt and Lucy, and we’ll be running this blog over the course of the next year, keeping it updated with info about the program, advice on living in Chicago, and the occasional enjoyable diversion. Apart from the blog, you can also follow MAPH on Facebook and Twitter for periodic updates.
Just look at that ivy
We both graduated from the program last month, and we will be working in the MAPH office throughout the year as a resource for you guys. If anyone is in Chicago already, please feel free to come by Classics Building 117 to say hello, or you can email us at matthewcstone@uchicago.edu and/or lbryan@uchicago.edu. We’d love to hear what you’re up to this summer and answer any and all questions you might have as you get ready to start this whirlwind year!
We’re excited to get to know all you new MAPHers, so here’s a bit about us…
What are we reading:
Matt: I just finished Elizabeth Bishop’s Collected Poems, and I plan to start Manning Marable’s biography of Malcolm X next.
Lucy: I am starting Donna Tartt’s Goldfinch, and up next is Lynda Barry’s 100 Demons.
Where we are from:
Matt: Philly
Lucy: Denver
Our Biggest misconception before MAPH:
Matt: All of last summer, I thought every other MAPHer had moved to Hyde Park in June, was done with Core reading, and had become best friends without me. This was patently false, and is not true this year either.
Lucy: That all my classrooms would have fireplaces and secret cabinets (I am still holding on to that last one). I also wish I had known that Chicago is humid, even in September.
Our Non-USA World Cup team:
With the US out, we’re cheering for Brasil. Or Sarah will hurt us (she is the Program Coordinator and a huge Brasil fan—you’ll meet her in forthcoming post!)
Favorite Hyde Park Breakfast:
Matt: Go to Clarke’s and get the Hobo Omelet—red onion, portobello, and mozzarella (plus pancakes on the side!)
Lucy: I am a big fan of Valois and of anything with hash browns.
Favorite moment of MAPH:
Lucy: Met and talked with Chris Ware.
Matt: MAPH Talent Show.
Summer binge watch:
Lucy: Breaking Bad
Matt: The Wire
Ask us about:
Lucy: Animal studies, the best coffee shops on campus, and bookstores.
Matt: The best running spots in Hyde Park, the Theater and Performance Studies workshop, and soft pretzels.
Our new favorite GIF:
