Today I took the bus home from school. Wow that sounds like I'm in elementary school, doesn't it?! Seriuosly, it was not a big yellow one, but a city bus, part of the Valley Regional Transit system. I got to talking with another new grad student in the Music Department, a pianist. Neither of us knew anyone when we first arrived in Boise, and she had just been in New York for a year after moving from Russia. We both got into our conversation and she missed her stop. Oops. Anyway, it was great to make a friend, ya know? On the other hand, the bus doesn't run all that frequently and stops altogether before 7 pm, so one of the one of the highlights of this week has been having an independent mode of transport - a bike. I found it Sunday at the Idaho Youth Ranch (a thrift store) for $30. It isn't exactly high quality but I find its issues somewhat endearing. Half of what makes riding a bike fun is the road traveled. Lucky me, I live just a few blocks from the Greenbelt, a bike path that goes along the Boise River, all the way through town and right past the Morrison Center, where I have most of my classes. It's a pretty sweet way to commute, riding next to the rushing water and under trees and past joggers and walkers.
A couple other highlights:
+ When attempting to checkout a "Current Periodical" from the BSU library, I was told "a graduate student can check one out for two days. Are you a grad student?" with a little thrill in my heart, I was able to say "Yes, I am"
+ I was pretty discouraged by my performance at the Orchestra seating audition last Saturday. So it was a pleasant surprise to find that I ended up where I had hoped to be - prinicipal second. And I even have a cool little soli part with the other principal string players in one of the pieces. (fyi: "soli" means that the four of us play like a quartet with all the other instruments in the orchestra silent for a little while)
+ Eating my luch on the lawn in front of the Morrison Center, people watching the students and faculty - theatre, dance and music.
So I am slowly settling in to this new place. Can't wait til my cold has finally cleared up and I can really enjoy the mountains, the sunny days and this great opportunity to study music at the graduate level. I will not be sick forever...
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Cool, someone from Russia! Tell her "Pree-vyet" that means hi.
I have been riding my motorcycle this summer, and I must say that it is a pretty darn sweet way to commute also. I'm kind of dreading the winter commutes though because gas is getting really expensive, especially for someone who drives a truck. The bus service is really lousy in Missoula otherwise I would be taking it as much as possible. As it is, I would have to walk about a mile and a half to catch the bus to work, and the earliest one gets to work at 7:45.
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