summer is certainly winding down and i am headed to the northwest for a few days before beginning my classes. a memorial service for grandmother will be held on saturday, august 30 at the lower columbia community college in longview, washington — it will be a relief to get some closure and to celebrate her extraordinary life.
since i really haven’t updated in a long while, here’s a recap of what i've been up to lately. this past saturday i took a little jaunt to new york city. that's one thing i love about the east coast— you can go through four states and spend a reasonable amount of time in another city all in literally one day. we left baltimore around 6 am and returned at 10 pm…it was a long day, but a worthwhile one. i really do enjoy visiting the city, even on a tight budget, because there is just so much for the senses to absorb. i always stumble upon some cool art, design, architecture and graffiti— among my favorite things in life— while just wandering around town. and the people-watching is amazing, whether it is a fabulously coordinated man carrying a little dog under his arm, a teenybopper wearing a low-slung miniskirt and cowboy boots (see above), or elegant french travelers. however, this trip reinforced my understanding of new york as a great place to visit but not a place i’d ever want to live. we saw several people moving (and didn’t get a chance to visit two friends in the city due to the same reason) and it just seemed like a logistical nightmare. while i have been more and more enamored with the concept of urban living lately, new york just seems completely over-the-top. i much prefer a city like baltimore, where it is still possible to get around easily without a car but there is also space to breathe and move freely.
on the topic of cities and city life, i've been thinking a lot about the whole urban versus suburban living thing. it has been really refreshing this summer to be able to get out and about relying on public transportation and my own two feet (although, ironically, this was the first time since moving east that i've had regular access to a car, thanks to the generosity of my second-cousin randall). while this can be difficult during the school year because of goucher’s location in the suburbs (baltimore county is NOT baltimore city) and my usually limited time frame, i have really enjoyed these modes of transportation this summer. considering the cost, responsibilities and environmental repercussions of having and maintaining a car, it makes a lot more sense to live in a city and have access to all one’s resources without one. so, at this point in my life, that is what i'd really like to do.
yesterday i went to the maryland state fair, which was quite an experience. i went two years ago as part of freshman orientation and was not impressed by the amount of fried foods, the size of the rides, or the stench of the farm animals. this time, however, was quite different. i'm not sure if it had really improved or if i was just more open-minded, but i had a great time seeing the animals (see above), eating a fresh peach sundae, watching a chain saw-carving contest, and really embracing all the crafts and handiwork of maryland residents. it was also awesome to see the range of people there. in addition to seeing more orthodox jewish families than i have ever seen in one place, there were a ton of teenage 4-H participants, twentysomething hipsters, a group of disabled adults, and many families feasting on corndogs and french fries while speaking with a thick mid-atlantic accent.
i am back at work on september 2 and begin classes on september 3. i am taking some interesting courses— performance studies, intro to social work, history & culture of india, qualitative methods of sociology, and digital imaging— and will be working about 20 hours a week in a variety of offices. another huge challenge for me will be serving as managing editor of the newspaper, considering i’m not the enthusiastic news reporter the former editor was, but i hope to do the best i can for the fall semester. i am really, really looking forward to going to copenhagen in the spring; i've heard only wonderful things about the program and i am going to be able to travel around both eastern and western europe using copenhagen as my home base. i also recently decided to graduate early, in december 2009, and (hopefully) get a jump-start on joining the working world. i have really enjoyed the routine of going to work, coming home, making dinner, and having the evening to explore/hang out/work on my own projects/etc. this summer and, for the first time, am not whole-heartedly looking forward to returning to school. (i suppose technically, i never left campus, but i’m referring more to writing papers and doing hundreds of pages of assigned reading each week.) working this summer has been surprisingly rewarding and enjoyable considering i held three part-time, clerical positions, so i am really looking forward to having a career in a field of my choosing.
