Tomorrow I head into the third week of classes. It will be the first week with a full, regular schedule. I'm hoping that I'll be able to establish more of a routine now that I'm getting used to everything. By "everything" I mean classes, my apartment, and all the other facets to life up here. I also hope that I'll be able to update my blog more regularly. Although it's interesting: it's not for lack of time that I haven't. Rather, it's that the Great Change has apparently already begun and it's happening with a greater intensity than I would have expected. Ideas for entries come to mind, but my thoughts are so busy churning over what I've learned that it's hard to distill the inspirations into coherent and substantive prose. It's more than an "all circuits are busy, please try again" kind of thing; rather it's that I'm not entirely sure what it is that I think about things. Previous perceptions and misconceptions are being challenged by further study, and the jury's still out (so to speak) on how I will eventually come to think about them.
However, while I suppose this could be a disorienting and disconcerting period for me, I'm enjoying it nonetheless. The discovery is invigorating in its own way. Every new insight ends up being it's own reward. So it's fair to say that so far I'm liking my studies, and more than that, I'm also enjoying my life outside of school.
This past weekend, for example, I hung out with classmates playing cards on Friday afternoon, caught a movie and pizza and went to a bar afterwards on another night, and today went to dim sum with still more classmates. I've never been this social, ever, even as an undergrad. I never even go to bars! But it was fun - hanging out with nice people that I have a lot in common with. And it's so easy to do things like that here in Boston. It's very easy to get everywhere, often on foot, and there's tons to do. Of all the places I've lived before it's reminding me most of Paris. In fact, I've been interacting with it much like I did with Paris when I lived there. Exploring it, occupying it, and taking advantage of its many opportunities for getting out and being with people.
At the bar last night there was a moment where I mentally checked out for a bit to take it all in. I had a strange, unfamiliar feeling. And then I realized that what I was feeling was happy. That this is the place for me. What a relief, especially after the months of agonizing. It could so easily have turned out to be a nightmare. But now I feel strongly that I've made the right decision to come here. It won't be without its trials, I'm sure, but they will be easier to face since I don't have the constant desire to run away and be somewhere else.