We've begun

Although school doesn't officially start until next Tuesday, I feel like we've both begun. Orientation for both the college of Engineering (me!) and the college of Kinesiology (Katsu!) was yesterday and our graduate school one for all of the University of Michigan is tomorrow. And boy - are we going to have diametrically opposite experiences. My school is HUGE - over 500 new graduate students in engineering with over 50% international (mostly China, Taiwan, Korea, and India, though I met a nice girl from Germany); Katsu's orientation has a whole 10 new graduate students this year. I am on a fellowship at the moment, so all I have to do this year is go to classes (well, and pass quals, get really good grades, and get an advisor). Katsu is a research assistant, has already been working about 50 hours a week at the lab, and feels like a full-fledged graduate student already.

But putting academics aside, we LOVE Ann Arbor. We still have little pangs of homesickness for Boston (what a great city, finances & parking aside), but Ann Arbor is almost like a mini-Boston in terms of culture with the added in nature that Boston was seriously lacking. We still feel like we live in a forest (we've seen deer twice this week!) and there are tons of outdoor activities - there are over 150 parks in Ann Arbor (!!!!) and biking is a huge thing here (and everyone wears helmets too).

We love the bus system here too. It's free for U of M students (YEAH!!!!) so we take it ALL the time - to school, from school, to the stores, to downtown, to the library, even to church (though people are always trying to give us a ride home - "you poor bus riders", but what can we say - we just LOVE the bus). Especially with gas prices .... Mon $2.63 Tues $2.99 Wed $3.19. Can we just way - AHHHHH .... no MORE CAR!!!!!

We love downtown, especially the farmers market - yummy food & we bought ourselves a rosemary plant that is delicious! Hopefully we don't kill it. We love the library (YEAH!) and go all the time! THe DVD selection is fabulous!

Well, enough from me for now.

Ann Arbor-ites

I guess we're officially residents of Ann Arbor, now. We were here for two weeks, then to Utah for two weeks for a friend's wedding, and now we have been back in Ann Arbor for a week. We have Michigan plates and temporary Michigan licenses, and even an Ann Arbor library card! It's a small library - absolutely no comparison to the beloved BPL - but I think we'll survive.

Ann Arbor is very green. There are plants and wildflowers everywhere! I feel like we live in a rural forest. But we love it so far. Katsu loves to pick wildflowers to bring home. And by the time we finally got furniture (only 2 weeks of eating on the floor), our apartment looks pretty cute.

So, anyone and everyone, feel free to visit anytime you are out this way. Katsu started working at his lab but I"m still pretty free until September when school starts.

We're here

We've finally moved in and have become Michigan-ians, I guess. We're missing Boston quite a bit though ... So, we miss all of you.

Us at the never-ending gardens in Versailles.

Katsu in front of the clock at D'Orsay - the impressionist art museum that used to be an old railway station.

Us at the Louvre - what a great art museum ... we saw so many in Paris - Louvre, D'Orsay, Pompidou, Rodin, Picasso, Cluny, ...

Katsu in front of Sacre Couer.

Us in front of Notre Dame.

Amanda & the Eiffel Tower in the rain.

Back

We're back from Europe ... it was tons of fun ... and now the jet lag sets in. Unfortunately I got sick the last day there, so the plane ride was miserable. But hopefully I can recover and somehow Katsu and I can manage to get everything done in time to move in ... 5 days ... or something crazy like that.

Posting pictures soon.