wow

i'm in portland.. and i like it a lottt. it is sooo incredibly beautiful and its been raining all day, but everythings so green its like you dont even need the blue sky anymore. everyone at this school is so interesting and unique.. it's like they're all thrown together and i can't tell if everyone's nice or if ppl are sort of hostile, like thats the one thing i didn't really get a feel for (the actual students!). the programs look awesome, the classes seem really really interesting, the study abroad programs are everywhere and look so fascinating, english program seems nice, even the music program feels inviting and interesting.

inviting is a good word for the school. everything feels inviting except maybe the cost, which is still kind of high. oh, and the distance, because a 7 hour plane flight is quite real. and the 3 hour time difference.

well i havent really seen the city yet, right now i'm in the beautiful house of kelly and ken (i dont know they're last names but they are really cool friends of my mom), they designed and built this beautiful house. i can't even describe how beautiful it is and they even have this lake on their property. so tonight is when i venture into the city with a younger friend of kelly that goes to another college in portland. i think we're going to a huge independent bookstore (powell's) and to a coffeehouse/open mike night! perfect, right?

this city is really clean.. or the little bit of it that i've seen looks so clean. and like... the trees are taller than i thought was physically/structurally possible. apparently there's a huge mountain somewhere hidden by these clouds that isn't too far away (that means snowboarding!). outdoor life is for real here. man.. it's all like just how it said it would be, i'm not used to being this pleasantly surprised. the image they tried to portray wasn't just some hoax, it's all there and even better than i thought. looks like you ppl will have to visit me in portland next year-- i think this is my kinda place! I'll take more pics tonight


lata,

Jo