Thursday, August 24, 2006
counting down
so this is it. one week till i fly off and, hmm, start a new phase of my life. that sounds so cliched, but i guess that's what it really is.right now i have all my stuff strewn here and there in my room, my luggage half packed. it seems impossible to pack my entire life into two suitcases. i never realised that i owned all these clothes and books and miscellaneous items until now, and i'm leaving, most reluctantly, the majority of them behind. i keep reminding myself that princeton isn't cut off from human civilization and that i'll be able to buy things over there, so that i feel better about not bringing my ratty hc pe tee over. then i'll remember that i'll be spending us dollars and everything suddenly seems exorbitant when you multiply the price by 1.6. not to mention that the princeton area is a haven for loaded i-bankers to retire and you walk around an array of shops selling rolex watches and designer goods. who on earth buys rolex? what happened to your average banana republic and the gap? not that they are that affordable, but rolex is really way out of league. at least there's a walmart to comfort me.
i don't know if i should be sentimental about going away and write a lengthy goodbye, but hmm i can't seem to feel the nostalgia. the truth is i can't wait for school to start, though at the same time there's the slight apprehension about going so far away and being all alone. i know i will adjust, but there will still be a period of total disorientation. all the seniors assure us that there will be culture shock, but no one offers tips on buffering the shock. sigh. i guess i'll just have to take things in their stride and hopefully be too busy to feel lonely. the academic part excites me (heh i'm such a nerd) what with amazing professors, fantastic peers and the overall atmosphere of college education. you don't get the author of your textbook teaching your class all the time! (granted, he may have chosen the textbook, but still. i won't mind if campbell was my bio tutor) the social life part. i will find my niche somehow. there'll be the pink polo tee and checkered pants doning, collar popping, yacht owning everson-reginald-the-thirds, but there'll also be the normal people who make up the overwhelming majority. so all i have to do is stay healthy and eat normally and exercise and keep off the freshman fifteen and i'll be fine!
if you want to send anything to me, here's my address: 015 Buyers Hall, Rockefeller College, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA. i'm not quite sure what the correct way of writing the address is, but the above will definitely get to me. so send me mails! i promise i'll reply! contact me if you are coming to the area! or just try to keep in contact!
i'll attempt to write the last bit in german, and hopefully it'll be grammatically correct:
ich war sehr glucklich hier und will ihr vermissen. bitte vergesse mir nicht. auf wiedersehen. ich liebe euch!
ray at 6:33 AM
