run run run

Hey everyone, yep that's right, I find myself in beautiful but cloudy Monterey, California.

My new roommate Amy picked me up from the Monterey airport on Saturday and took me to my new house, which is rooooockin'! Haha... it really is a very nice house, especially compared to what I was used to from Spain this year. Spacious kitchen, big living room with space for a couch, two comfy chairs, a bookshelf and a dining table; it even has a fireplace, where we've been having fires regularly since I got here. Amy even bought an axe and has been splitting our wood into kindling. (She's from Michigan.)

Amy has the room at the front of the house; between her room and mine further back is the bathroom (also spacious, with tub :D); then comes the kitchen and finally the back hall and Nick (roommate who should show up in a couple weeks, also from Michigan)'s room at the back of the house. The past few days have been full of errand-running: there's always all kinds of things to buy when you move to a new place. I got nice speakers for my computer :D Finally....

Yesterday we went for a drive along the coastline, and man is it cool. The landscape here is kind of low and scrubby with hills and short gnarled trees that I'm not familiar with, but that burst with bright-coloured flowers. The shore is rocky and full of seaweed, and sea lions sun themselves on the rocks. Gorgeous.

Monterey itself spooked me a little bit the first night I was here. Everything is picture-perfect, spotless and landscaped, with expensive signs marking the various historical landmarks of Monterey (the old jail is across from my house). It's a little bit like a fairytale town. And everyone is freakishly (to borrow Jocelyne's word) nice here. And I mean freakish. Amy and I are hoping our Brita filter gets rid of whatever those people are obviously contaminated with here. ....

This morning I went for a run on the recreational trail that starts out at a picturesque wharf and eventually starts running beside Cannery Row, which is a street that served as the setting for John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannery_Row_(novel)

All in all it's a great place to run, the trail is very well kept up and it's great to run beside the ocean again. I hope the weather will permit further activity!

I've been sleeping on the couch for two nights now but today Amy and I picked up a queen-size mattress and box-spring from a MIIS alumna for my lovely bedroom :) Of course I have no sheets or blankets yet, but...

Tons of stuff to do still with the university. I looked at course schedules tonight and came up with a possible timetable for myself that looks very comfortable indeed - no Fridays for possibly the first time in my university career. Not sure when I'll be able to actually register though... oh so much excitement. Haha.

I don't have a bike yet but once I do and it's sunny out, you better believe I'll be out taking pictures. Can't wait to show you guys this place...