My First Week in the Midwest

So far, things are going well. No real culture shock yet. People are very friendly. My biggest fear was finding a group of people I can fit in with. Being an intellectual is still one of my biggest vices and I assumed that people here were going to view intellectuals as elitists and treat them with disdain. Not so, so far. I can be laid back and I like how this environment is forcing me to be a little more "real". I can still get my intellectual fix from the other three students in my studio and from foreign students. It may sound like being judgemental but to me, being intellectual doesn't necessarily require intellect. The best definition I've ever heard of an intellectual is someone whose primary role in life is to talk about what they do for a living. It's a way of life, and sometimes not always the healthiest manner of living.

In some ways, I like Champaign-Urbana better than Baltimore. There are better wine bars here. It's much safer and the public transportation is much more extensive, reliable and customer friendly. I haven't had to deal with the whole college-town aspect of it yet. I'll reserve judgement until basketball season rolls around. The girls here are gorgeous. It's great to be in an environment where looks is paradoxically taken out of the equation when looking for someone. You just rely on the things you're supposed to rely on like personality, chemistry. Pretty weird how that works.