So I have finally settled in the small town in Southwestern Virginia called Wise. I missed my first bus here and had to settle for one leaving a day later, costing me 15 dollars more. I left NY on Sunday evening and arrived to Kingsport yesterday around 2:45PM. The bus was half an hour late due to the weather but luckily my tutor was waiting for me at the station nevertheless. While she took me to the campus I admired the mountainous landscape of SW VA from her car's window. Everything looks kind of barren now in January but I'm sure the mountains will look stunning when there are leaves on the trees.
I share my apartment with 5 other guys, one of which is my roommate. The apartment also has two bathrooms and a large living room/kitchen featuring a fridge, freezer and an oven. I've been told that this is way more than most of the other students have and so far I'm quite happy with the apartment. One stereotype that has some foundation in reality (according to my limited experience at least) is that guys tend to be messier than girls and I can't say that living in this flat has changed my view.
The lectures started today and I was in quite a hurry to get everything sorted out before starting my studies. I needed a password to get to the school computers and a CAVS card, which serves as a student identity card containing my meal plan. The courses I have chosen for my semester are The Immigrant in American History, Jane Austen's World, Creative Writing I, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Introduction to Music Reading and Beginning Class Voice (a singing class). The lecturers seemed professional and the students interested in the subjects so I guess I will enjoy most of my classes (I might still drop one if I feel overburdened by the workload). A quick note to the students going to exchange and possibly reading this blog: check your book requirements beforehand if possible and make arrangements if you want to order your books online. For example, our campus does have a book store but the books there can be found more cheaply on Amazon.
One of the things that is way different in here than it is in Finland is food. I have a plan with which I can eat 19 times a week (3 a day on weekdays, 2 a day on weekends) at the campus eateries, which include a burger place and a sub place alongside a more traditional buffet-style caféteria. If I go to the burger place for example, with a swipe from my student identity card I get a hamburger with fries and a soft drink, just like I would at any McDonald's (which are ubiquitous here, by the way). Today I had a veggie burger from that place which was not half bad but I think I will not be eating there much due to the monotonous nature of the food. At least the caféteria menu changes from one day to the other. Might try out the subs too, though.
I'll promise to post pictures soon, as soon as I get them out of my camera and resized. Just a few selected ones will be posted here and more on Facebook, if you're interested.
