<p>I'll be participating in a Chemistry Internship at Vanderbilt for a few months this summer, and I was wondering what the school - and the city it's in - are like. I'm from the East Coast and never really visited that part of the country... I figured the campus will probably be pretty dead because of summer break, but I was wondering if any of you knew any interesting locales to check out. I'd be pretty much up for anything, and I definitely want to meet some cool new people.</p>
<p>I toured there in the summer. It was so incredibly hot and humid, if was the most uncomfortable I have ever been in my life. But other than the weather it was nice, haha.</p>
<p>I did a six week summer program there last summer and, personally, I loved the weather! I’m from Chicago which is fairly cold all year, and while Nashville was definitely hot (usually around the high 80s, low 90s), I didn’t find it uncomfortable. There was a week or two where there was a heat wave and it reached the 100s, but as long as you drink plenty of water and dress appropriately you should be fine.</p>
<p>It’s more humid than hot but sometimes there are this wonderful thunderstorms that cool everything down (so bring an umbrella). </p>
<p>Things to do wise - there is a lot! You can walk to the downtown area from Vandy in 40 minutes or go the the village which is closer. Downtown it’s mostly bars but there are also some nice restaurants with great variety - Japanese food, BBQ, seafood. In the village there are many little shops you can visit plus more restaurants! The food is great (okay not really on campus but off campus it’s great). On campus there the cafeteria food is not the best so go eat at the hospital (which is on campus) or off campus if you can.</p>
<p>Oh and you can always visit the Parthenon which is modeled after the one in Greece.</p>
<p>I appreciate all the responses. I’m not entirely sure if I’ll have a vehicle there as of now - but I have a feeling it would be pretty necessary to have one, as it is pretty much anywhere else in the States, haha.</p>
<p>And thanks for all that weather advice too. I go to school in Maryland and it gets pretty bad here in the summer, so I have a feeling the humidity in Tennessee won’t be too alien of an occurrence.</p>
<p>With that said, what I was really trying to drive at with my initial post was the “meeting new people” thing. I’m not from Tennessee, I don’t have any friends at Vandy, and I’m single… and I’d honestly prefer not to spend my entire internship without some social contact (as any other sane person). I know I can go hit the bar scene every night, but I was wondering if there were any other good ways or places to just get out there and mingle?</p>
<p>One of my buddies at Vandy spent the past two summers on-campus doing chemistry research. The general impression I got from him is that you hang out a lot with other students. He had at least one roommate, but no more than two. I believe he was living in Morgan/Lewis, which has nice suite-style dorms. </p>
<p>In terms of meeting people…there’s always the downtown scene, but there’s also volunteer opportunities. I met some other college kids from neighboring colleges when I volunteered with AGAPE Animal Rescue. They do stuff at Centennial Park, which is like maybe 1/2 mile from the edge of campus. In general, Centennial Park is a pretty nice place and there always seemed to be something going on there, at least during the school year when the weather is nice. Fannie Mae Dees Park and Sportsmans Grille are also places you might be able to meet people.</p>