Wednesday 8 December 2010

Rochester, New York, United States of America

i thought it would be a shame to simply stop blogging just because i'm no longer in a foreign land.

things are snowy and cold here, and i came unprepared. i neglected to bring shoes outside of tennis sneakers and dress shoes. so, i wear my sneakers. they have a pretty serious leak despite looking pretty fresh at first glance. i also didn't bring a winter jacket. that's pretty unfortunate given the blizzard-like conditions in beautiful rochester. should have read the travel guide.

we've gotten more than two feet of snow over the past week. in fact, i can't remember the last day it didn't snow. it seems plausible that it has snowed every day since i got back. but in typical fashion, rit remains undaunted. the roads here in henrietta have been pretty messy, but as soon you get on campus the roads are flawless.

rit. hah. that's a funny story. they just built a $57 million dollar "university marketplace" (i.e. shopping mall) on campus. the facility, global village, also has "414-bed student residences" that "feel more like an upper-Manhattan hotel" (RIT Celebrates Opening of $57 Million Global Village Complex). meanwhile, electrical engineering students are using six-year-old pentium 4 systems and broken oscilloscopes. in my college, departments are getting combined and consolidated. some joke that our professors are leaving faster than students these days.

ironically, i'm still thankful to rit (hopefully this will keep destler from sending his squad after me). rit's mandatory co-op program allowed me to get lots of work experience before graduating. if i had gone to an ivy league, i'd have no work experience and probably be afraid of the full-time job search. furthermore, if i had enjoyed rit, i never would have traveled and lived abroad. it's not all so bad you see.