Arrival in New Haven

So I'm here in my dorm single in Trumbull. It's smaller than my term time room both last year and next, but no biggie - only here for about 2.5 weeks. I'm on the first floor, which is nice - no more 4 flights of stairs... anyway, the workload is looking to be similar (or greater) to what it was during the term of intensive... $50 to print out the course packet at a FedEx Office Whatever Used to Be Kinko's back home, in addition to the $75 set of texts for the course.

Makes me glad to be in Davenport, but this college isn't half bad. We'll see how the dining hall measures up.

I'm excited to start classes... what a nerd. Just that all this unstructured time can be confusing. Almost reminds me of summer camp when I was little - we even have a counselor (how quaint!)

Visa considerations

So to get a visa to Russia, especially a student visa, much paperwork is required. Last year I went with the lovely Beans, on a tourist visa (which required some invitation or something... Russia's a little weird when it comes to travel restrictions). But this year I'll be there for more than a month and on a student visa! So I have to get an HIV test (they don't let HIV-positive peeps into the country)! Luckily, that sucker came back today and was negative, so that's one obstacle out of the way.

We're still in Kansas, Toto.

Make that Pennsylvania, Nala. Anyway, I'm sitting in my living room right now, procrastinating on the final paper due in exactly 24 hours for a class that I'm not entirely crazy about. It's only 1500 words, though, so whatevs.

This summer I'm going to St. Petersburg for 5 weeks, with my beloved Yalies via Yale Summer Session. I'll be in New Haven for 3 weeks first, doing some preliminary language work (over the summer I will earn 4 credits or one semester's worth, doing 3rd-year Russian; this year I did intensive, 1st-and-2nd-year.)

I leave for New Haven ... well, tomorrow... but also on May 30. Then back to Philly and to St. Petersburg on June 18 (via British Air, Club World Europe Whatevertheheck Business Class.) I'll be staying with a host family. And blogging as much as I want to/can. Hooray.