Well, my Olin days are over. I didn't really cry until the last half hour or so before leaving for the airport. I was expecting it, but it was still messy and inconvenient, and made it hard to say goodbye to people (sorry to my suitemates, who I walked past in the lounge and completely avoided making eye contact with... I would have lost it).
I made it to DC without incident, and found my temporary house. It's like a block from where I'll be working, in a really nice neighborhood where all of the townhouses have been fixed up except for this one, which is why it's so cheap. John, one of the housemates, was here to let me in and give me a key, and showed me around a bit. The room I'm staying in is on the third floor. It's huge, and the walls are papered with fliers and posters from various organizations. At the end of the hall there's a window that opens onto the roof, which John says offers an excellent view into other people's windows. The people in the house take turns cooking (everyone is vegetarian or vegan), so I asked a few questions about that. The kitchen has ants and roaches, but for some reason this doesn't bother me very much... also, this led to me discovering that John did a semester away in Nicaragua, and actually studied at UNI, which is where Grupo Fenix's offices are.
John had plans, so he left, and I found myself standing awkwardly in the kitchen with Zainab and Amrita, not knowing what to talk about. I was about to head up to my room to unpack and be lonely and sad, when Amrita started making chai and asked if I wanted some. So I sat at the kitchen table and was happy. Eli, who used to live in the house, stopped by, and Jalene showed up around 9 and started making burritos. I really really like these people... which is kind of bad, because I can't stay here.
I made it to DC without incident, and found my temporary house. It's like a block from where I'll be working, in a really nice neighborhood where all of the townhouses have been fixed up except for this one, which is why it's so cheap. John, one of the housemates, was here to let me in and give me a key, and showed me around a bit. The room I'm staying in is on the third floor. It's huge, and the walls are papered with fliers and posters from various organizations. At the end of the hall there's a window that opens onto the roof, which John says offers an excellent view into other people's windows. The people in the house take turns cooking (everyone is vegetarian or vegan), so I asked a few questions about that. The kitchen has ants and roaches, but for some reason this doesn't bother me very much... also, this led to me discovering that John did a semester away in Nicaragua, and actually studied at UNI, which is where Grupo Fenix's offices are.
John had plans, so he left, and I found myself standing awkwardly in the kitchen with Zainab and Amrita, not knowing what to talk about. I was about to head up to my room to unpack and be lonely and sad, when Amrita started making chai and asked if I wanted some. So I sat at the kitchen table and was happy. Eli, who used to live in the house, stopped by, and Jalene showed up around 9 and started making burritos. I really really like these people... which is kind of bad, because I can't stay here.
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