You're going where?

"You're going WHERE?" That's the common response I received when letting friends, co-workers, family, workmates, strangers and my cat know that I'm going to Detroit for my spring break. Granted, people gave me a similar reaction when I went to Montreal during an undergrad spring break, but they didn't put "where" in all caps and question what they assumed about me. But that's what I'm doing and I'm going with more than a dozen other masters students from University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Urban Planning and Policy, so it makes more sense, since Detroit is still considered an urban setting, but, even knowing this, people still give me that reaction. Why Detroit?
When I heard about the possibility of going with our student association, I jumped at it. This will be my first visit to D-town (hopefully, since the last attempt aborted after an icy patch sent part of my car caravan sliding off the road), and all I really know are news accounts and movies. The most important movies include Action Jackson, The Crow, scant parts of the Beverly Hills Cop saga, Gran Torino, Out of Sight, Tigertown, True Romance and of course the 3 RoboCop movies.
While the movie selection is mixed, media accounts aren't nearly as kind. Take for example the Rosa Parks Transit Center. This appears like a pretty awesome architectural gem for a city who's best known building is the GM Tower, and that's only because it's shown in every bankruptcy and bailout news story. I'm pretty excited that, for once, an inter-city bus I ride will arrive at something that looks cool and doesn't remind me of Thunderdome. However, a smattering of news stories about the transit center gives me the impression I should put old issues of National Geographic in my waistband and look for materials that can be made into weapons on the megabus.
I for one favor the old Quaker adage to "expect grace and pray for mercy" whenever I encounter something new. I figure spending the night at the St. Louis bus station and the cesspool of all cesspools, the Springfield, Massachusetts bus station should have prepared me for this. They didn't even look cool. I'll just wear those same pants that got soaked in someone else's pee at the Springfield station and hope for the best. My hypothesis is that most people who wear those "I'm so tough I vacation in Detroit!" t-shirts probably thought the punk scene in Royal Oak was awesome and go to Evanston to feel the grit of a real city.
We'll see, I'll get pictures of any punctures I give or receive and will see if my hypothesis holds any water.