It's been a month and 10 days since I moved to the bay area.
Many people (more than 3, at least) asked me how things were going, so I decided to tell how things were going in a well organized matter. To put it in other words - there's going to be a list following:
1. I finished my first Math class, which is nicknamed "Math Camp" at the Economics department. Having 4 hours of math a day and a problem set every 3 days to submit took me back 10 years in memory. Met lots of new students, and saw what a professor in the US is like.
2. Met all sorts of new PhD friends. A Chilean, German, Briton, New-Yorker, Canadian and Californian. Hadn't it been so much fun with these guys, it could have made a good line to start a joke with.
3. Lived in a summer dorm for a month, having Berkeley's "Greek Theater" (the local concert venue) next door. Got to me listen to a Dolly Parton concert for free. Not that I had any other chance. Got to realize the finer differences between a male and a female dorm.
4. Have been trying all of the coffee shops I could find. Still working on finding good coffee, but I am getting there. This will require a specific post...
5. Played the "bureaucracy game" for almost a month now, and haven't got 50% through yet. I have so many plastic cards and accounts already, I can't even remember where to use what and why. The system is working here! The only problem is that most of the times you're not sure whether it's working for you, against you, or is just oblivious of you.
6. Went apartment hunting in San Francisco. This has been crazy. Tel-Aviv is nothing compared to here in terms of how they invade your privacy to make sure you exist and are honest.
7. Found a lovely apartment, with a magnificent property manager, great location and a lot of carpeting I now have to understand how to clean.
8. Racheli (yeah!) visited for a week, and we both developed a love/hate relationship with Ikea. I am still building stuff, and it's been two weeks already.
9. I am slowly finding out about funny rules Americana think are logical. Like having mailboxes without any openings in them, so you won't be able to put mail inside, or not being allowed to use air-conditioning even if the room reaches 40 degrees (Celsius).
10. And, I opened this blog. It's my first attempt at writing, almost ever. If it bores you, tough luck...I truly believe that when you are new to the US, you discover all the points where the system either malfunctions, or just doesn't even apply to you.
- Ron