Welcome to my blog. Again.

I just can't seem to stop myself from writing in one, even though only a few people ever read it. But it's an easy way to chronicle my life for those who might be interested in whatever it is I'm doing. Those who are interested in whatever I'm doing but are not blog readers, can be directed to this site to catch up on the crap I'm doing when I'm really busy and can't write it all over again for them.

I'm going to be pretty busy. I am working full-time as a secretary in an organizational psychology program, which shall remain unnamed, at a graduate school of education, which shall also remain unnamed, where I study bilingual education. (I am paranoid about revealing too much information about where I work; remember that girl who was fired for writing a blog about her job? Not that I think I'll get fired, but it's just not good to say anything that could get back to anyone, know what I mean? It was easy in Mexico because no one at my school understood English and I could talk as much shit about the school as I wanted. But who knows who'll get their hands on this one!)

Don't ask me whether I am studying full-time, because I don't know how to answer that question. I think I am full-time, but technically I am not. At my institution of higher education, a student with 12 or more credits counts as full-time, while 6 credits puts one at half-time. Since I am taking 10 credits, I've heard myself called a 3/4-time student. Whatever. I am finding out that this is pretty characteristic of my school -- bureaucratic things that don't make a whole lot of sense. I work and study here and I'll probably go a little crazy for the two years I'm here.

That said, I am actually quite excited about being here. I think this institution is trying to do great things, like advocating for educational equity, and I'm happy to be a part of it. I am excited about being in my program and studying to become a certified teacher of bilingual childhood education in English and Spanish (even though my courses aren't always that exciting). I am also glad to be in New York, where I've always wanted to live for a while.

New York so far has meant traveling a lot by subway and bus. The public transportation is wonderful, as long as it's not the weekend. On the weekends, the only days I have free time, I take on the massive crowds and try to go shopping for necessities. This proves rather irritating at times, because I'm not used to the sheer amount of people who are out and about all over town. So, on all days, I love coming home to the cozy apartment in Washington Heights and chatting with my roommate a little and then getting a great night of sleep, which is made possible by ear plugs that filter out the occasional noise from the street/park below.

I also love going to Fort Tryon Park, where the Cloisters are. It's about a 15-minute walk from our apartment, and it's not terribly crowded. I still haven't been to the Cloisters, but I think I'll try to go to the park every weekend to read while the weather is still nice.

Going out at night has been fun, too, though I haven't done much of that yet. I went with my roommate to her friend's birthday thing one weekend, and last weekend I went out with my roommate and one of her friends. Both times, we just went out for drinks, once also for dinner. All I can say is, the martinis are indeed pricey, but man are they tasty. I have never before had such delicious cocktails as these. One night, a ginger martini, and another night, a ginger-lemonade cosmopolitan (ginger the essential ingredient in an attempt to combat the cold I caught my first week of school/work). Seena, my roommate, had a frozen lychee martini that was incredible.

While we're on the subject of delicious things, I have of course had some wonderful food here, but nothing notable as of yet, except for the day that Seunghyun, an old roommate of mine who now works at an art gallery downtown, took me to Koreatown for some yummy Korean food.

As you can see, my social life at the moment revolves around my roommate. Lucky for us, we get along fabulously. Though she is allergic to my cats, she adores them, and so we are experimenting with ways to cut down the allergies. I am also mildly allergic to the kitties, so I've invested in an allergen remover/HEPA filter, and we're cleaning religiously (or at least we mean to). On very bad days, we have allergy medication to fall back on.

What else can I tell you? I live in Washington Heights, which is in northern Manhattan, above Harlem and near the Bronx. From our apartment, we can see the George Washington Bridge, which crosses from Manhattan to New Jersey. There is a little park across the street, so our bedrooms look over trees, grass, a playground, and a doggie run. There is a subway station right by us, and my trip to school takes about 20-30 minutes, door-to-door. The neighborhood is predominantly Dominican, so there are lots of Spanish speakers around, which is good for my Spanish. People and kids are out a lot, even at night, so it feels like a safe area with a close community. The Columbia University medical campus is just to the south of us, so there are other students around, too. I really like my new neighborhood!

Plans for the weekend: reading at the park, cleaning, bathing the cats (to reduce allergens), longer and more thorough yoga practices, and sleeping. Some students in the org-psych program where I work are organizing a salsa night for tomorrow, so I'd like to go to that. Haven't been dancing in NY yet, so I'm looking forward to it.

I should probably get back to work now. I'll try to update this every week, but I still don't have internet at home, so it might not happen if things are busy at the office. I want to hear your news, too, so please do write me!