Must-Do Things When Your Family Visits Chambana

Must-Do Things When Your Family Visits Chambana Last weekend, both of my brothers decided to visit the U of I. Were identical triplets, and rarely spent time apart from each other before collegeâ€"needless to say, I was extremely excited. Since Im from the other side of the world, my brothers Jefferson (a History major at the University of Wisconsinâ€"Madison) and Hamilton (a Film major at Vanderbilt University) were the first faces from home Id seen in a long time. I wanted to make the most out of this weekend and ensure that my brothers would have a blast, too. Unfortunately, the weather wasnt great, so we didnt get the opportunity to get any good photos of us three. Nonetheless, we still did a lot of thingsâ€"you can do them too, when your family visits! Visit iconic locations on campus. Our campus is home to gorgeous pieces of architecture and wonderful bits of sceneryâ€"show them off! Here are the places I took my brothers to see: 1. Alma Mater Jefferson, one of my brothers, posing with Alma. One of our first stops was Almaâ€"its probably the most iconic statue on campus, and I wanted my brothers to see it. If your family visits on a special occasion, Alma could even be dressed up! 2. Altgeld Hall Image Credit: Illinois MakerLab. Home to the Department of Mathematics, Altgeld is my hands-down favorite building on campus. If youre lucky, you might even hear the bells play a familiar tune! 3. Japan House Image Credit: Japan House Gardens. Although its a little far, the Japan House and its gardens are absolutely gorgeous. I didnt go there with my brothers, but would definitely recommend it if youre just looking for a place to walk around with your family! Eat at one of the great restaurants in Champaign. There are endless possibilities if you want to find a good place to eat, but my personal favorite is The Hub. Image Credit: The Hub Champaign. The Hub is a new restaurant and bar on First and Green, and my favorite place to go for brunch. They offer great deals on food, especially when theres a Bears or Illini game on. The Hub is usually pretty quiet on weekends, but can get pretty packed on special occasions like Dads Weekend. I took both my brothers here on their last dayâ€"we had a great meal and watched the first half of the Bears game before saying our goodbyes. Go to a sports game! Image Credit: The Champaign Room. If theres a game on, head over to Memorial Stadium or State Farm Center! Jefferson, a student at Wisconsin, was still sore about our homecoming victory, so we didnt talk about going to see a football game. Nonetheless, watching our Illini play is a great way to spend the day with your family. Illinois has a gorgeous campus, with tons of really cool stuff to do. My brothers both had a great time when they visited, and told me later they were really sad to leave. I enjoyed bringing them around Champaign tooâ€"walking around with them made me really proud of my school. Im going up to Madison to visit Jeff the weekend before Thanksgivingâ€"I know Ill have a great time, but Im sure their campus isnt as nice as ours! Franklin Class of 2022 I grew up in Hong Kong, China, and I’ve come across the world to Illinois to major in Astronomy in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. I’ve always thought outer space is super cool, and I love that I’m learning everything that I can about it at Illinois.