First Signs of Exhaustion
Remembering to fill the blog with new impressions is really not easy.
Of course a lot of stuff is happening. But as a matter of fact it is exhausting to think of documenting or even just remembering the interesting parts. Life here itself is exhausting, and this holds the more so for the secondary, "meta"-task of mentally sifting through it to filter out the gems.
Yes, in all my earlier trips I kept lugging my camera with me, at every time of day, to every corner of the place, at noon under Mexican pyramids or at midnight in the Forum Romanum. Now and here, my life is less of a travel, where you know that after two weeks you'll return to your home where everything is under control, and more of a tiresome odyssey to get everything working. It is not impossible to deal with things, sure, as most people speak a comparatively clear English. Still, the culture is different enough to force you to be attentive all the time.
The new office building, named Computing Science and Engineering Building or CSEB.
One of the many yards, or quadrangles or "quads" of JHU.
The last two-and-a-half weekends since I have come here I spent looking for housing and a car. Luckily I found a very nice place to stay on the very first attempt.
However, the right car has eluded me so far. Never having bought a (used) car before, and never having dealt with all the difficulties you face when coming to a new place where very few of your assumptions about how things really work really hold, I am wary of scammers, thieves, and simple car dealers. I am also exhausted with looking for a car. While I have believed it might be possible to live without one, after the first two days my initial positive attitude to public transport has broken down (as reported here before). My preference with regard to cars during my search has run the full gamut from European makes, to known American ones, to unknown American 60s classic cars, back to European ones, with a short detour through Japanese ones.
Then, of course, there are also things really, truly, honest-to-goodness American. Like highschool football.
Of course a lot of stuff is happening. But as a matter of fact it is exhausting to think of documenting or even just remembering the interesting parts. Life here itself is exhausting, and this holds the more so for the secondary, "meta"-task of mentally sifting through it to filter out the gems.
Yes, in all my earlier trips I kept lugging my camera with me, at every time of day, to every corner of the place, at noon under Mexican pyramids or at midnight in the Forum Romanum. Now and here, my life is less of a travel, where you know that after two weeks you'll return to your home where everything is under control, and more of a tiresome odyssey to get everything working. It is not impossible to deal with things, sure, as most people speak a comparatively clear English. Still, the culture is different enough to force you to be attentive all the time.
The new office building, named Computing Science and Engineering Building or CSEB.
One of the many yards, or quadrangles or "quads" of JHU.
The last two-and-a-half weekends since I have come here I spent looking for housing and a car. Luckily I found a very nice place to stay on the very first attempt.
However, the right car has eluded me so far. Never having bought a (used) car before, and never having dealt with all the difficulties you face when coming to a new place where very few of your assumptions about how things really work really hold, I am wary of scammers, thieves, and simple car dealers. I am also exhausted with looking for a car. While I have believed it might be possible to live without one, after the first two days my initial positive attitude to public transport has broken down (as reported here before). My preference with regard to cars during my search has run the full gamut from European makes, to known American ones, to unknown American 60s classic cars, back to European ones, with a short detour through Japanese ones.
Then, of course, there are also things really, truly, honest-to-goodness American. Like highschool football.
posted by PJS at
Monday, October 06, 2008
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