College Life

Have just spent the weekend back in Massachussets- this time to properly see S for two days and experience the wonder that American's call The College Experience. Amherst is a small liberal arts college, and shares its town (Amherst) with another university/college UMass at Amherst. So pretty much its a cute little town full of students and academics, with lots of good places to eat and really beautiful countryside surrounding it. Amherst campus itself is really pretty, and up on a hill looking down on forests and fields.

 Freshers Quad- all the freshman's dorms are around here. Interesting how everyone has a roomate, it's a pretty intense relationship when you live 2m away from another individual for the whole year. Luckily it seems to work out in most cases, but man would it cause havoc if you didnt get along.

View down from the fields, think we came accross at athletics session. Heaps of sports on campus, there were gangs of sportsgirls/ guys all over the place. Most impressive gym I've ever seen! Would sure make sure you weren't wimping out on the exercise- how could you when you have to walk through pillars to get there.

The campus was getting into Christmas big-time, and I was lucky enough to get to see S's a cappella group perform on Friday night, American christmas carol singing in the morning and Eggnog! mmm...

I went for a run about 3 in the afternoon- by the time I had turned around to come back the water was freezing in the stream besides me and I couldn't feel my face. Very cold! Discovered a really interesting rail trail which I'll talk more about later, connecting Northampton and Amherst. Lots of people out until it started getting dark and you had to retreat. I really want to learn to rollerski.

Have several more posts to put up this week when I get some more time, and have prioritised my life correctly. I need to go buy vegetables. I need to wash my orienteering shoes.  I should probably enrol myself for uni next year.

Pre-xmas the plans are to get to New York (somehow), go to a farmers market, go skiing, go to theater, send letters home, buy warmer clothes for the snow, go the Swedish xmas party! go to work xmas party, go to yale xmas party, watch The Room, learn to make eggnog, finish my book, go buy more books, regret buying books b/c they are an entirely impractical thing to carry home. Actually sort out what I'm doing for xmas so I'm not sitting by myself cat-sitting and reading books.  SNOW!!! (please)

Have just moved apartments which should make life so much easier (having the 3rd taxi driver announce to me that I was going to be mugged in the ex-neighbourhood was enough. Although hilarious, I should do a post on some of the conversations I have had with taxi drivers here).

These were taken at 4 in the afternoon