Hola amigos...........
and bienvenidos to my first week of class! The State University of New York Stony Brook Campus is welcoming me into its tender grasp until the end of May, and so far it's involved getting lost, walking past a group of sorority girls about to have their hazing experience, having those little American individual desks, classes with BLACKBOARDS- sorry, what?-, falling in love with the folksy NY accent, and of course the painstaking process of enrolling and figuring subjects out.
My subjects here are all counting towards my Environmental Studies major- I'm doing sustainable urban design, history of cities, an anthropology subject on the agricultural revolution, an environmental writing course, etc etc. My classes are small and there's familiar faces in all of them, so I think we're gonna be friends. The Friendship Jacket worked a treat on Monday, got chatting with a few fun-looking people, so I'll have to try it again tomorrow.
I'm in the library and feeling the beginnings of a cold coming on, which is not great. This afternoon I'm heading to the mall to fix myself up with a proper coat, some bedding, food, and clothes. I have an insatiable appetite to shop, so hopefully that goes ahead without TOO much loss in the funds department. Tonight I meet my landlord and pay my four months' of rent. Also tonight a group of kids are heading into the city- to an Australian pub- to listen to the triple j countdown. It's absolutely, horrifyingly cringe-worthy, but I guess every Australia Day is like that. Cummon Aussie Cummon.
I HOPE that on Thursday I secure myself tickets to go see Antony and the Johnsons. I think I'll go by myself--obviously it's going to be a spiritual experience (the performance is in collaboration with a MoMA lighting designer- holy heck)...so I don't mind taking the trip on the train and doing some thinking. I get the feeling it's gonna be huge. I just have to book the tickets. Any minute now.
Love love love. It's been warm and sunny the last few days (warm, as in like, I dunno, 4 degrees). It rained a bit yesterday and all the snow has melted again. Until later,
G
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
back in the game
I arrived into Stony Brook, New York, on Tuesday the 17th of January, 2012. After a gruelling day of waking up at 4am, hurtling out of Guadalajara in the pre-dawn darkness, getting captured by Cesar of American Airlines, enjoying my final huevos rancheros, and making my way through Dallas, La Guardia, NY Bus, Metro and Long Island Rail Road systems, I arrived to a vegan feast at the family home of my couchsurfing host, Chloe. The house is situated along Robin Hood Lane, just off Story Book Road, with names like Cinderella, Peter Pan and Merlin close by. I kid you not. The house also includes four Chinese-crested dogs - you know those ones with just skin and a few tufts of hair-. It's been a great place to have my first proper shower, feel clean, feel comfort, and a refuge from the cold and (now) snow, and to rediscover the eccentricities of American suburban life.
The last few days have been a blur of fatigue, culture-shock, temperature-shock, and shopping. I still hunt for a good quality coat, but I've found boots and a few tops. My other clothes are pretty shabby. I don't feel stylish enough yet to really call myself a local. Give it a few visits to Goodwill.
I move houses tonight. I'm still tossing up whether living on campus is a good idea, but in the meantime I've found myself a cute apartment overlooking the main street of the harbour town of Port Jefferson. It sits above the street, squeezed above a pizzeria and a pub. Things are looking sweet. I can't wait to be settled somewhere..To put my clothes in a wardrobe, and to hang up the decorations I bought in Mexico. Once I find a place to call mine, I can focus on taking NY by storm.
Next week's Australia Day, which may involve a cheeky trip to 'The Australian' - no doubt a horrible pub- in Manhattan, to celebrate getting drunk and Tim Tams, and listening to the Hottest 100 countdown, beginning 8pm Wednesday night. Classes on Thursday may be a struggle, we'll see what happens.
Welcome back friends.
xog
The last few days have been a blur of fatigue, culture-shock, temperature-shock, and shopping. I still hunt for a good quality coat, but I've found boots and a few tops. My other clothes are pretty shabby. I don't feel stylish enough yet to really call myself a local. Give it a few visits to Goodwill.
I move houses tonight. I'm still tossing up whether living on campus is a good idea, but in the meantime I've found myself a cute apartment overlooking the main street of the harbour town of Port Jefferson. It sits above the street, squeezed above a pizzeria and a pub. Things are looking sweet. I can't wait to be settled somewhere..To put my clothes in a wardrobe, and to hang up the decorations I bought in Mexico. Once I find a place to call mine, I can focus on taking NY by storm.
Next week's Australia Day, which may involve a cheeky trip to 'The Australian' - no doubt a horrible pub- in Manhattan, to celebrate getting drunk and Tim Tams, and listening to the Hottest 100 countdown, beginning 8pm Wednesday night. Classes on Thursday may be a struggle, we'll see what happens.
Welcome back friends.
xog
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