I have been way busier than I’d originally anticipated, and so I’m going to be erratic in postings over the next two weeks as I get settled into my new home, school, and way of life.

So far, America has been fun. My friend Jon, a native of California, drove all the way up from southern California, came to pick me up at the airport and showed me all around the Bay Area. In the six days I’ve been here, I’ve been to a steampunk party, a barbecue, had the quintessential tourist photo taken with the Golden Gate bridge in the background, and driven all over Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco and little tourist towns on the way.

I’ve been productive too. Apart from the usual trying to figure out of the coolest bookstores, bars, and restaurants in town (in that order), I’ve managed to make a few new friends, have coffee with one of the faculty members (who also happens to be one of India’s top journalists), get some advice on my for-love-or-money conflict, chalk out a plan for the next semester (so many courses, so little time), set goals for the year (pay off debt!), meet an important deadline, and spend three days deciding on a phone plan.

Now I have five deadlines in the next five days, a dinner date, several hours of classes to attend, and a lot more discovering to do. This is going to be interesting.

(I’m also really behind on e-mails. If you’ve written to me in the last week, I will respond. Just not as quickly as I typically do. Sorry!)