Bowling, Diabetes, and Bus Drivers

Well, classes have started! I'm taking a Metalcasting class (among other not as exciting, but still interesting classes) which is really fun so far and promises to only get even more fun.

The past week I've learned that Diabetic camaraderie is the best kind of camaraderie and it's always helpful to befriend the campus busdrivers.

Being that I'm new to this campus and don't know anyone, I had already decided to make a point to get involved in student groups and activities. Luckily, I ran into a friend I knew from Fargo on the Washington bridge! Neither of us knew the other was transferring here and neither of us know anyone. Plus, we're both diabetic! You gotta love Diabetic camaraderie. We talk about our glucose levels, check our sugar at the same time before we eat, and compare flavors of glucose tablets. Diabetics stick together. So we've been hanging out and "student group hunting" together. Last weekend, we decided to go bowling with the Student Commuter Group and then to a meeting with the Transfer Student Group. Bowling, we ate free giant pretzels and endured the aggressive friendliness of our Student Group teammates. At the other meeting, we played uncomfortable icebreaker games and designed t-shirts. Although we met some pretty nice people and did have a good time, we both considered the night unsuccessful. However, it was better than sitting at home watching reruns of the office on hulu... Needless to say, I have been searching for groups that are more my cup of tea. I recently began volunteering for our oncampus radio station, Radio K. They'll be giving me cds weekly to listen to, rate, write some comments and info about, and list my favorite songs for the DJs to use on air. Eventually, after getting the hang of how the studio works I'll hopefully start DJing too! I also joined the Students Against Hunger Group, the Film Club, Significant Heads Improv Troupe, and I may have, in my group hunting frenzy, joined the Coffee and Fiction Enthusiasts Club because they keep sending me emails..

Last week I tried to figure out the campus bus systems. They're extremely confusing to me because the "washington bridge circulator" takes one route (but I think i understand that one), "express" will take you somewhere I'm still not sure of, and the "campus connector" will take you from Willey Hall to Coffman, but you can't go from Coffman to Willey Hall without first going to St. Paul. I found that out the hard way. I was on the bus, trying to get back to West bank to get to one of my classes on time, when I looked out the window and saw familiar buildings turning into unfamiliar ones and all of a sudden I was headed to St. Paul. The bus driver was old with a faded navy newsboy type hat on, a gray mustache, glasses that rested on his cheeks when he smiled (and he was always smiling), and a maroon vest over a worn long-sleeved light blue dress shirt. He had an endearing smile and bright eyes faded with age. I went and asked him where this bus went. He had a thick accent, I thought it Ukrainian because it reminded me of the characters from "Everything is Illuminated," which takes place in Ukraine, but I could easily be wrong. Anyway, he was slightly hard of hearing and stared at me with a pleasantly furrowed brow and listened intently when I asked him for help back to West bank. He had a surprisingly quiet voice and a difficult accent, but loud hand motions so, although I couldn't understand much of what he was saying, he managed to point me in the right direction. The next day, I was standing, waiting for the bus in the freezing wind and snow. When it pulled up it was totally full. Some people got out at the stop, but it filled up again fast. After trying to push to the front of the crowd with no success, three other people and myself were left on the sidewalk to wait 15 minutes in the snow for the next bus. The bus driver was about to close the door when I glanced at him and saw his faded hat and old eyes. He was my (possibly) Ukrainian friend! I didn't think he'd recognize me, but he looked at me and smiled. I smiled back. Then, he waved the people away that were trying to cram onto the bus when he wasn't looking and nodded his head for me to come in. I gratefully squeezed into the heated bus, much to the chagrin of the other three left to wait outside, and thanked my bus driver friend. He simply nodded, smiled, and drove away.

On to a New Adventure

Welcome to my brand-spankin new blog! My brother Quinn has not one, but two blogs and asked me a few weeks ago when I was going to start my own. I figured now is as good a time as any.

As you may know, (if you are not a stranger to me), I spent last semester studying Art in Cortona, Italy. I learned a lot about people, myself, my art, and the relationships between the three. It was the greatest adventure and the time of my life. However, I am now back to US dollars, gigantic cars and everything American. Thus begins my new adventure.

I have recently become a student at the U of M and a resident of Minneapolis, MN: The Midwest's "Big Apple." I arrived Thursday and have absurd amounts of free time since classes begin Tuesday. I don't know anyone on campus here, so I have been happily painting, writing, reading and watching crappy tv shows on Hulu (i.e. Gilmore Girls...). I'm taking babysteps in the process of "venturing in the city." Yesterday I wandered around campus and got lost for a little while. I don't know how many times I would be walking along, realize I was going the wrong way, and suddenly stop, make some motion to suggest I had "just remembered something" and turn back in the direction I came in order to avoid bystanders knowing I was lost (you know you've done that before).

Today I decided that since I found my way back to my dorm yesterday, I could take on the city Metro system. I even planned ahead and wrote down which routes to take and how to get to them. I shared the bus stop with two French-speaking people and a singing boy who had a cartoon monkey on every article of his clothing. I'm still learning how to people watch without staring too much. I successfully made it to Target in the Nicollet mall! On my way back, I wasted close to an hour waiting for the bus that the Metro Transit website told me to take. Then, after pushing through crowds of post-game Vikings fans (Go Vikes!) I put on a desperate face and befriended a bus driver who irritably told me which bus to take. And on top of that, I was dropped off at a stop much closer than the one I had planned on! And now my spirits are high, my stomach is full of Chicken Tortilla soup, and I'm looking forward to exploring campus tomorrow without getting lost!

That's all for now.