Picture this:
You just met them in Intro to Spanish and oh gosh do his/her eyes distract you. “Yo me llamo Zahra” turns into “yo me llamo [repeats his/her name]”. Nonetheless, you build up the courage to talk to them after class and carefully plan your walk out of class so that you walk out together. You ask if they’re free and they say “Yeah sure, what do you wanna do?” You both have class later on so you can’t stray too far from campus…
Where do you go?
As you’re trying to decide on a place to go, his/her eyes do that cute distracting thing again and you completely forget your entire campus along with your verbal skills. Your first thought is to have a traditional coffee shop date but those are, well… outdated. Good thing you have me, your personal guide to the nooks and crannies of all places Ryerson!
But before I get into any locations, you should probably first know how to start, or even keep the conversation moving. It’s best to start out casual with socializing over a drink. Coffee (or anything hot and drinkable) is the knight-in-dark-roasted-Tims-cup-armour during exam season, as well as in pretty much any social situation at the moment (what with the change in the weather and all). Drinks are easy to get and won’t put a dent in your wallet! Besides, knowing how someone likes their coffee/drink is a MUST if you ever plan on bringing one to them at your next class or the next time you decide to hangout. Trust me when I say it’s very flattering when someone knows how you like your coffee. Lucky us for having a Timmy’s/Starbucks at every corner!
This might be your first time hanging out with just the two of you, so you’ll want to keep things informal and just let fate take the reigns (that’s what you want them to think anyways, heheh). This list consists of both the most public places to hang out, as well as some of the less crowded places, depending on how comfortable you are being alone with your date. If you just met, it’s a good idea to go to a place filled with people, but if you already know the person or if it’s your second or third rendez-vous, you can choose a place that has a little less human population. Now without further ado, here are some places for that cute and memorable first date:
Dundas Square
This location is for total newbies. If you’re just meeting your special someone and don’t want things to get awkward, the seating by the fountains at Yonge and Dundas are perfect. Better yet, sit on the stage! You are in the core of downtown with all it’s lights and glory. Take advantage of such an enormous space and make your company still feel personal. Make it so that in the midst of all this stuff they feel like it’s just you and them. Also, laugh at the deadly pigeon attacks on random strangers.
Lake Devo
Be creative, don’t just go for the side seat under the umbrella, climb on top of the big rocks! The whole point here is to do something totally new with this person so that you leave a lasting impression. The goal is that twenty years down the road, when they walk through the university campus, they would remember that one coffee out of the thousands they had.
Engineering Building Lecture Room
After hours? A big lecture room is perfect: dimmed lights, blue projector for a cheesy, fake night sky, and all the room in the world. Because this is a secluded space, maybe keep it in the bag for the 3rd or 4th date. The options are unlimited to what you can do. Teach each other something on the board, play hide and seek (we’re all children at heart), pretend to be your worst prof… you get the gist. However, security does come around every so often so don’t say I didn’t warn you.
What a View: Image Arts Building
Sure, you can watch the lights of the building glimmer from Lake Devo, but where is the adventure in that? Take your soon-to-be to the top – watch the lights from the 3rd floor of the parking lot. This is where the real ‘oohhh’ and ‘ahhh’ view happens. It’s picture perfect. But again, if you stay too long, security might start asking questions considering you probably don’t have a car there… Also, there is quite an extensive amount of bird remainders on the ledge, so watch where you’re putting your hands!
The RAC Arch Window
This is probably my favourite place in the entire Ryerson campus. People pass it to go to the gym without even looking up at the beautiful old structure that leads them there. This is your chance to finally take advantage of our architecture and share it with a special someone. And when the clock tower rings at the hour mark, I mean is that a romantic cue or what? But why be so serious? Make the most of the fact that the location is an entrance to the gym and get some doughnuts with your coffee; why not tease the gym lovers a little bit ;P .
There you have it, first dates on campus that don’t even break your budget. Wait, they don’t drink coffee? Drop them right there and walk away… haha just kidding, they will learn… they always do. And if you’re lucky enough to nab a second date, check out the post-first dates places on campus 😉
