A Change is Gonna Come

Here I sit, marveling at the sky. A sky that is free of stars and glows purple as if illuminated with an ultraviolet lightbulb. I breathe air that is not tinged with salt, but instead tainted with the exhaust of countless cars and city busses. Made stronger by the beating sun and nonexistent breeze. Tonight, I miss the beach. The actual beach. The sand in your toes, the salt in the air, and the breeze that stirs your hair. Even the crowd at the Jack Johnson concert tonight was different from the concert back home. Well, yes. Of course they would be comprised of different people. That is a given. But the sheer mentality of the crowd of a landlocked city was completely different. It's like an alien world that I've been sent to masquerade in. One with people who hold 9-5 jobs, office hours are kept, and there is public transit. What the adventure the latter is! Apparently the bus system around here is being revamped so the bus routes and times may not be those which are actually listed. Plus there are different schedules for holidays, weekends, and non-peak times of year. Heavens be! The roomie and I waited for over an hour for a bus that never came. We ended up having to catch a cab to my car. Turns out the lot is nearly 3 miles off campus! It's way farther than I ever thought it'd be. This has been one huge adjustment. The walking or taking the bus thing. It's just not something you do back on the beach. You get in your car and go to the store. Not wait 30 minutes for a bus. I mean, how inconvenient is that?! Plus they smell awful, and slow traffic for all the other drivers. But it's not like they were thinking of driving and parking when the university was founded over two centuries ago.

Classes begin on Tuesday. I can't believe it's been nearly 5 days since I moved. I've been kept so busy there's been no time to sit and "miss home" per-say. From new student orientation, to getting lost on campus, finding the bookstore, to moving in while rain is lashing from the sky, it's been quite a crazy few days. I made some friends at orientation and went to lunch the next day. Good people, or so it seems. And most surprisingly, so far at least, I've been able to keep my part of the room relatively neat and clean. Go me!

My roommate moved in today (Can anyone say "major adjustment"?), and we plan to figure out our routes to class tomorrow. Plus there's free brunch given by one of the Jewish societies here on campus. Lots of free food this week. It's quite exciting! But along with finding free food, one must also find the gym. That's on the list for tomorrow too. Apparently we have not one, but two gyms here on campus. I'm quite happy about this fact.

But anyhow, I must be off. While my roomie is apparently a heavy sleeper (most excellent), I don't want to push the time boundaries too much the 1st night!

I'll try to write soon on more adjustments to college life in the big city!

Peace,
Elina

The photo is of Dingle Bay at the change of day and night.