First month: my own orientation to the city life.

The first couple of days here were made of up half days of me driving/walking around the city and then unpacking and organizing my apartment.  I had kind of a strange mix of feelings.  I was excited to be in a new place, but reminded of old memories when unpacking.  When unpacking my artwork, I was not only reminded of the assignment or the conceptual meaning of the piece, but of what was happening in my life outside the studio at the time of making the piece. Kind of like how a photograph keeps a memory frozen in time, my pottery reminded me of what was going through my head when I was originally throwing the clay on the wheel.  It was a very unique experience!


The first week of school was real encouraging for me.  I kind of feel like a little girl with a crush when I'm in my classes, I LOVE MY CLASSES!  Everything that is being taught is exactly what I want to learn!  It is an adjustment from having mostly studio classes to having more lecture/discussion/reading classes, but the classes are all based around teaching art so it's very enjoyable for me to study the material for class.


The cool thing about this city is there is always something to do!  I have been very busy with school work, signing up for workshops, volunteering, and alumni events that I have just barley explored all the museums, parks, and nightlife that is here.  I love biking around, there are plenty of bike trails that are fun to ride when I need a break from studying.  I've also ventured out to the Zoo when Drew came to visit and we had a great time!  Sadly, not all the animals where out, but we got to see the Panda's and Drew made a unique connection with the Meerkat!    


I'm getting use to the public transportation after being dependent on driving a car for pretty much my whole life.  People watching on the bus and metro is fun, but it's also a good time to read the paper or review notes before class.  The one thing I don't have yet is an MP3 player and I feel out of place walking around with out one.  Hopefully I won't be an outsider much longer as I slowly but surely ease into the life of a Washingtonian!