Baltimore

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It's been a while Travelblog! Since I last updated this I've done so much. I've settled in properly here at RPI and just about started my research properly; I've gotten myself a part time job on campus (as not to break immigration law); I've been to a drive in movie; and been to Baltimore for a weekend as well as spending quite a bit of time round at Sigma Phi Epsilon.

So where to start? I went to the activity fair one day last week to have a look at all the different clubs and teams here at RPI, and there's a lot of them - presumably as a result of Troy being so small. I put my name down for Volleyball and Curling for some reason, neither of which I really meant to sign up for. It turns out I can't attend the meeting for either now as I'm previously engaged so I guess I'm not going to be rivalling the Scottish at sweeping ice any time soon. I also had a look at a stall for an organisation called RenXchange who employ students to call up alumni and pester them for donations.

After a quick interview at an open evening sometime last week I've ended up with a job where I can work a few evenings a week for $10 per hour and eat all the free pizza I want. Awesome. I'm also currently considering joining the outdoor club as they seem to run trips for pretty cheap up to Lake George and other reasonably close places. Apparently I'm also now a member of an intramural football (soccer here) team with the other English guys and the Danes.

My classes have been going pretty well, 8am is becoming easier and easier and today I only had a small bottle of Coke with me and I didn't even nearly fall asleep once. In NMR we're starting to use the actual machines, and computational chemistry is still as baffling as ever. My Monday and Thursday afternoons are taken up with research, I started preparing a Montmorillonite Clay sample today from Manitoba (I think) to see if it has catalytic properties with regards to RNA polymer synthesis. The works pretty easy at the moment and has large breaks in between mixing and centrifugeing so I'm going to start taking my computer in. Graphic Storytelling is really interesting but my first assignments are due Wednesday evening and I've not started them yet! I hope I can draw...

Luckily the work is submitted to a blog online as I won't be able to make the class as I have training for my job that evening which is unavoidable so I'll just have to hope no one notices I'm not there.

This weekend I've been down in Baltimore seeing my Great Auntie Margaret and my Great Uncle Mike. They're great. (no pun intended) My Nan was over visiting them so it was the perfect opportunity to go and see them all, as well as the rest of Margaret and Mike's family many of whom I previously didn't even know about! I thought I only had a few relatives over here but I have a huge amount. The weather wasn't too great Friday or Saturday but being English it really didn't bother me, and we had a look round the inner harbour and Mike showed me around the area he'd grown up in which was really interesting.

We had dinner on the Friday in an amazing seafood restaurant right on the inner harbour called The Rusty Scupper (Shaq and Michael Phelps had been in the previous week) and on the Saturday we ate at a Japanese Steak House called Kobe's where all of the food is cooked right in front of you in the most flamboyant way possible. I had steak and chicken which I just about managed to finish along with the noodles, rice, salad, soup and vegetables.

Baltimore seemed like a really great city - although previously only have seen it on The Wire meant that any kind of visit where I wasn't shot would be a good one. The coach journeys were really nice, some of the scenery (not to mention the engineering) in this country is phenomenal. On the way home I found some friends from RPI getting on the bus up to Albany and got a lift back to Troy with them which was handy.

Today I had 11 hours of classes in a 12 hour period, and despite still being tired from yesterday I really enjoyed the whole day. Tomorrow I've got to do a Medicinal Chemistry assignment as well as loads of drawing and I'm cooking Risotto for 4 for dinner as well. I wonder if they have Arborio rice here?

A week ago on Sunday, Melissa took me to see The Time Travellers Wife at the drive in which was a super surreal/amazing experience and I've been round to SigEp a fair bit for Food/Poker, and on Friday they have free pizza from all of the pizza places in Troy so I'm sure I'll be there again!

I have some pictures from Baltimore to put up that I took on my phone but I can't currently find the cable so they're going to have to wait. Now that I'm employed I hope to be able to buy a digital camera, and maybe a laptop that actually charges. (Since I left apparently my laptop back home has been working fine 😞 ) I'm currently trying to find the best way to get up to Toronto to see Jess and also to see Brand New whilst I'm there. Instead of going down to NYC and then back up past Albany, I think I can change buses in Syracuse and save about 6 hours.

Anyway, that's quite enough from me for now, I always think I should stop just regurgitating my daily activities and talk about the state of the American health care or education systems but suffice to say they are both comparable to systems in place in most of Africa unless you happen to earn a lot more than $100,000 per year.

Adios!

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