Yesterday (Thursday) was possibly the most boring day I have had in a long time, so naturally I fell asleep before writing to you when I got home. I'll start by saying that Wednesday was great - we all enjoyed a day at the Smithsonian, in our different ways. It turned out that it was lucky that we went then, as on Thursday the public part of the museum was closed to mend storm damage before the weekend and its attendant hordes (the rain on Tuesday was apparently the second heaviest rain form recorded since scientific recording began. When we arrived in Cambridge in 2001, a similar occurrence took place; unfortunately, ADC and I do not seem to be similar rain-bringers when we return to Israel).
Anyway, on Thursday I went to Baltimore to check in at the Office for International Students and Scholars. As ADC had to take the children for a TB test and hoped to buy a car, I braved public transport. Incredibly, there is no reasonable way of getting to Baltimore from DC in under two hours (at the right time of day; at most times it takes close to three). I walked to the Metro station, and went into DC. At Union station, I changed to the commuter (mainline) rail, and waited 40 minutes for my train. The train took over an hour to get to Baltimore, stopping everywhere - including Baltimore airport, where very excitingly, a woman and her two children did not get off the train with their luggage in time, and had to continue to the next stop. This is a phobia of mine that has never actually happened to me, and probably never will, since I would have started getting ready to disembark long before this unfortunate woman did.
On arrival at Baltimore Penn Station, I spent a long time finding the bus stop I needed. I was indeed the only white person on the bus - which took a detour just before the stop I wanted to get off at. Thankfully, I was already in possession of a smartphone, which helped me walk to John Hopkins campus. The campus is huge, and the maps are very confusing, so it took me half an hour to reach the building I needed. Door-to-door: 7:45-11:00 a.m.
I will not bore you further with precise details of the administrivia I had to battle, I will only say that I was delayed by a lunch break at OISS, and every time I left a building I lost my way going to the next one, even when it was the third time I needed to go to the same building but to a different office. I finished everything and began my way home at 2:30 p.m. Once again, I lost my way trying to get off campus, and once I reached the street where I was supposed to catch a bus, I seriously considered just walking down the street back to Penn Station, just so as not to spend more time hanging around. As I began doing so, I saw what looked like - and in fact was - a university shuttle stop. Now that I had a JHU ID card, I had a number of free public transport options that had not been available on my way in! I caught the shuttle, immediately caught a train to DC, and then immediately caught a Metro back to Takoma Park. I walked back home, and arrived at 5 p.m. Door-to-door on the way back was a mere two and a half hours ... I will have to drive to JHU in the future, the departmental seminar is Mondays from 4 p.m., no way I am leaving Baltimore around six to come home at nine!
Today (Friday) is a quiet day at home. ADC has gone to the Smithsonian, and on the way home will hopefully buy a car (he test drove one yesterday, but needed additional documents for financing to be approved. The entire banking system here seems to the opposite of Israel's, where a credit card is the best security, while here it is the worst). I have just edited an article for a client, and shortly the children and I will plan a walk. I'm not going to the library yet, as I will need our lease to prove residency in order to take out library cards, and Ariel has that with him for the car buying. The children went to the comics shop yesterday and are quite happy not to be doing anything at the moment.
Anyway, on Thursday I went to Baltimore to check in at the Office for International Students and Scholars. As ADC had to take the children for a TB test and hoped to buy a car, I braved public transport. Incredibly, there is no reasonable way of getting to Baltimore from DC in under two hours (at the right time of day; at most times it takes close to three). I walked to the Metro station, and went into DC. At Union station, I changed to the commuter (mainline) rail, and waited 40 minutes for my train. The train took over an hour to get to Baltimore, stopping everywhere - including Baltimore airport, where very excitingly, a woman and her two children did not get off the train with their luggage in time, and had to continue to the next stop. This is a phobia of mine that has never actually happened to me, and probably never will, since I would have started getting ready to disembark long before this unfortunate woman did.
On arrival at Baltimore Penn Station, I spent a long time finding the bus stop I needed. I was indeed the only white person on the bus - which took a detour just before the stop I wanted to get off at. Thankfully, I was already in possession of a smartphone, which helped me walk to John Hopkins campus. The campus is huge, and the maps are very confusing, so it took me half an hour to reach the building I needed. Door-to-door: 7:45-11:00 a.m.
I will not bore you further with precise details of the administrivia I had to battle, I will only say that I was delayed by a lunch break at OISS, and every time I left a building I lost my way going to the next one, even when it was the third time I needed to go to the same building but to a different office. I finished everything and began my way home at 2:30 p.m. Once again, I lost my way trying to get off campus, and once I reached the street where I was supposed to catch a bus, I seriously considered just walking down the street back to Penn Station, just so as not to spend more time hanging around. As I began doing so, I saw what looked like - and in fact was - a university shuttle stop. Now that I had a JHU ID card, I had a number of free public transport options that had not been available on my way in! I caught the shuttle, immediately caught a train to DC, and then immediately caught a Metro back to Takoma Park. I walked back home, and arrived at 5 p.m. Door-to-door on the way back was a mere two and a half hours ... I will have to drive to JHU in the future, the departmental seminar is Mondays from 4 p.m., no way I am leaving Baltimore around six to come home at nine!
Today (Friday) is a quiet day at home. ADC has gone to the Smithsonian, and on the way home will hopefully buy a car (he test drove one yesterday, but needed additional documents for financing to be approved. The entire banking system here seems to the opposite of Israel's, where a credit card is the best security, while here it is the worst). I have just edited an article for a client, and shortly the children and I will plan a walk. I'm not going to the library yet, as I will need our lease to prove residency in order to take out library cards, and Ariel has that with him for the car buying. The children went to the comics shop yesterday and are quite happy not to be doing anything at the moment.
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