So this is Xmas

Even though everyone always says that the year has gone so fast, it doesn't feel that way to me. It is surprising that I've been here for almost 5 months but I can't say that the year has gone either fast or slow because my time here feels disconnected from my life in Australia, on a different time-line somehow. (When I return it will probably be with some unrealistic expectation of picking up exactly where I left off.)

As you've seen from photos it's a White Christmas here. More snow is forecast for Xmas eve and morning. This makes the holiday fare far more appropriate. Australian families are forced to choose between the traditional Christmas dinner, requiring a hot oven on top of the midday heat, and the more practical cold meats and salad. Here it's a no-brainer, every source of heat helps. (Not that it's ever been much of a choice for me. A cold meal is not a meal - it's a snack. I even toast all my sandwiches!) Luckily, I have two friends who haven't fled Bloomington for the break so I'll be eating Xmas dinner with them.

An American Xmas treat worth mentioning is egg nog. I knew to look for it because in one Xmas episode Homer Simpson buys a fridge full of egg nog instead of milk! Anyway, the supermarket version isn't alcoholic (easily fixed!) and tastes like a thin custard with the spices from the pudding mixed through. Which is good, because I couldn't see any Xmas puddings at the supermarket so nog just might have to substitute.

A Suitable Job for Me

One of the things that attracted me to IU was that, even though I'm a philosopher of science, I like being in the same department as historians of science (I'm looking forward to the history of science class I'll be taking next semester). But back when I left school I wanted nothing more than to be a scientist so I went to UNSW to study chemistry (I continued to like it well enough to work as a chemist for a while between undergrad and starting grad school here).

Now the two loves are coming together as the head of the department, Prof. Bill Newman, has hired me to help him reconstruct Newton's alchemical experiments! Today I had a look around the lab and bought some chemicals for the next experiment. (No, we're not aiming for the Philosopher's Stone just yet. But the Bloomington campus does look a lot like Hogwarts!)

The project looks like a lot of fun. Some of it is just writing experiments for teaching purposes, to provide some history along with the chemistry. But there is a lot in Newton's notes that really can't be understood because he used mystical language. It's hoped that some of his terms can be deciphered by examining what it was he saw, so I will also be trying to reverse-engineer those experiments.

My visa only allows me to work on campus so this really is perfect for me. Also, I'll finally be elegible for a Social Security Number, without which life in Indiana can be very difficult.

A short break from classes

Monday was my last class and yesterday I submitted a paper for my ethics class, which means I'm now on a break. Because it's winter here in the Northern Hemisphere we only get a short break over Xmas -- classes start back 9th January. I do deserve a break, seeing as we only got a long weekend (Wednesday - Sunday) for Thanksgiving. Still, I'm very surprised that it's gone this quickly!

I'm not planning to go travelling anywhere (left it too late, now) but I will have plenty to do: the International Center has activities; I still have a couple of papers I'm working on; and it looks like I'll be starting a part-time job. (I will post more about that after I find out the details Monday.)

Not just dreaming of a White Christmas

Yesterday a serious snow came. It started in the middle of the day and kept falling late into the night. Walking home from my last class around 8 pm there was about 15 cm of snow on the ground. I was a little surprised at how bright it is at night with the snow reflecting light.

Today it's stopped falling and the whole town looks magical, especially the campus with the big old gothic buildings and the enchanted forest. This photo makes me expect to see a faun walk past wearing a red scarf, carrying parcels and an umbrella. (I'm going to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe tonight!)

I've taken some more photos of where I live and around campus.

I think I'm pretty well equiped with clothes for cold weather now (I've been buying bits and pieces for the last few weeks). In fact, I'm starting to gain a new appreciation for garments I never cared about before. There's no way I can leave the house without a warm hat, scarf and gloves -- things I never needed in Oz!

A Thanksgiving Dinner that couldn't be beat

Today was my first Thanksgiving!

Trying to get into the spirit, I listened to Alice's Restaurant on a loop all day. I can now recite the whole 18min 37sec; I'm not proud.

All the other students left town a couple of days ago but will have to rush back for classes on Monday. So, feeling a little jealous, I invited some other international students over for lunch so we could spend the day among friends while all the Americans are off with their families.

I cooked walking bird with all the trimmings! The baked spuds were a little too crunchy for my taste but the sweet potatoes were perfect! (But not American style! They call them "yams" and cook them in syrup! I wan't prepared to go that far for the sake of authenticity.) The turkey was over 12 lb (5.5kg) and the three of us ate less than half! It looks like I'll be having turkey sandwiches for lunch for the next year or so.

Don't know how Xmas could beat that, maybe with a turducken!

It's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!

After a few days of sub-zero temperatures I feel like whinging about the weather again. This morning I woke up to see snow outside but apart from that today has been ok - the range was a sultry 0-11˙C. That really is quite warm compared with tomorrow's expected -12˙ low!

This probably isn't too interesting for most of you so, instead of continuing to whinge, I've placed a weather meter in the side bar, which will let you all know what's happening here in Bloomington, Indiana.

Americans and the Environment

A recent post of Cameron's got me to thinking about one of the things they do better here in Bloomington - public transport. One reason I chose Bloomington over La Jolla is that I didn't want to buy a car. Apart from learning to drive on the wrong side and the cost, it is better for the environment and my health for me to walk most places. But when the weather's not so nice for walking (woke up to find snow outside this morning!) the buses here are really good; much better than public transport ever was in Western Sydney. I was surprised to find that here in Bloomington the city runs a bus company, something Penrith Council refused to even consider when it was suggested. Fares are dirt-cheap (75c or completely free for IU students!) and to encourage people not to use cars, the first Friday of every month everyone rides free! The buses are well-maintained and wheelchair accessable; not to mention the "para-transport" minibuses that are provided for the handicapped on demand. I'm starting to understand that America gives a lot more power to lower levels of government, which means the city actually controls a lot of everyday things but it's still hard to believe that in a red state there is a local government that actually provides services that are good for the community and the environment.

On the other hand, there are ways Bloomington are not nearly as good as Penrith council, like waste management. Almost no-one recycles here. The city runs a basic recycling collection so I phoned up to get a recycling bin but they told me I couldn't have one because I'm in an apartment building! I'd have to bundle everything up and take it to a depot to recycle my rubbish - but I don't have a car! Such a waste!

I'm not sure how much happens at the state level but there's an ad on TV featuring "Senator Dick Luger" touting the benefits of using special 85% ethanol fuel (I think it would have to go in a Diesel engine, but so many people drive "pick-up trucks" here!). In Australia biofuels only get support if the PM gets donations from an ethanol company!

It's Snowing!

Just after I left my apartment today it started snowing!

There wasn't much, only a few minutes worth, which soon melted. I was just surprised to see it so early. I'll probably still have to wait until late December or early January to make a snow-man but I think it's going to be very cold for many months.

More Tornados

Today a tornado did come quite close to Bloomington. I'm not sure how far in miles but it was close enough for the sirens to sound! That was in the middle of a lecture so we all went down to the basement level of the building and stood in the hall for half an hour, waiting for it to pass.

It died down for a while but now that I'm home I can hear a lot of thunder (and very violent lightning) so there could be more tornados form. The storm warning remains in effect until 10 pm. When I asked the others in my class, they were a bit blasé about the whole thing. Most people here don't have storm cellars, they just recommended I hide in the bathroom!

Watch out for those winged monkeys

This is wierd: people in Australia know more about the weather in Indiana than me! This afternoon I got 3 different people emailing me to ask about the tornado and whether I'm safe - that was the first I heard about a tornado!

That is to say, I am perfectly safe and no-one needs to worry about me getting sucked into the sky à la Wizard of Oz.

Reading up on it now, it seems people were right to worry; it was in southern Indiana (and northern Kentucky) but it wasn't actually close enough to affect me. Apparently 23 dead and more than 200 injured! (Those of you who remember the movie Twister might be interested to know it was an F3, medium.)

When in Rome

All the stores are decorated for Halloween. I thought I'd get into the spirit so yesterday I made a Jack-o-Lantern. He's not as scary as I would have liked (I never was much of an artist) but I'm happy with my first attempt.

Today I'm making pumpkin soup.

Super-Size Me: Adventures with American Food

I just have to say something about American food for those who haven't been here. All foreigners here feel they have to discuss it and compare notes whenever they meet and it's not that hard to see why; you'd expect the food to be the same as other Western countries but, in so many ways, it just isn't.

The bread it sweet. I don't understand why, but they add glucose syrup to all bread here. You know the hamburger buns at Maccas, all the bread is pretty much like that. You can buy wheat bread (light brown) or Italian style but they still have added sugar!

Everyone who comes to American for a holiday comments on how fatty everything is. They don't seem to really bother trying to keep their meat lean. Supermarket chicken and beef are very fatty but the bacon is unbelievable. Bacon is not middle rashers like in Australia, the American cut is about 90% fat!! (I normally trim the fat off the edge of my bacon but when I tried that with American bacon I had nothing left!) More surprising is that they do have a lot of low fat products, just not the ones you'd expect - like a low-fat ice-cream with choc-chips and cookie-dough in it!

The cheese is orange! (Again, think Maccas.)

Not many Americans drink hot tea (Southerners drink a lot of iced tea) since the Boston Tea Party so they haven't discovered the electric kettle yet - they use a stove-top whistling kettle. Everyone seems to drink drip-filter coffee which is ok but most cafes serve it too so it's hard to find anything stronger. And iced-coffee often comes black and unsweetened (being cold it's very hard to get sugar to dissolve)!

One of the difficult things for me cooking for myself is that there are not many short-cut sauces. Most of the instant sauces are for very boring dishes (eg macaroni cheese) and contain tons of MSG!

All these things I'm getting used to avoiding but the problems are sometimes more fundamental. I mean that Americans have different taste-buds to us. They have cherry-flavoured soft drinks! That one caught me unawares a couple of times now.

I have been trying to eat sensibly and I feel a little reassured when I see that the staples here are enriched with vitamins: bread and rice have iron and folate added; milk has vitamins D and K added. I had assumed that the hot sunny Indiana summers would be enough to prevent rickets but maybe the winters are longer and darker than I'm expecting. The cold weather is starting already, but I'll save that whinge for another post.

My weekend

On Saturday I went the the Farmers' Market again. I'm trying to get along every week and buy something then I'll be forced to eat whatever vegetables I buy and, with any luck, I might be able to stave off the scurvy. I bought a large pumpkin which I plan to make into a Jack-o-Lantern. I've never done it before but I've seen enough American TV to have a fair idea of what it's supposed to look like!

Saturday arvo a futon was delivered. I've really been wanting a lounge for a while and eventually got around to buying one through the uni's classifieds website (I've been buying lots of things through the classifieds but no jousting sticks yet). I'm pretty happy with it because, unlike some sofas, it's long enough for me to stretch right out on when I'm reading or watching TV and if anyone comes to visit it can fold out into a double bed. I think my apartment is fully furnished now!

Saturday night I went to see Tom Stoppard's Arcadia with HPS folks. The script was fantastic (I'd never seen or read Stoppard before) the acting very good and the English accents decent (on the whole, one minor character was terrible and the others' accents did break down a bit when excited). I really enjoyed it. I'm already planning to go see their next production, Macbeth, with some other friends.

Now Entering the Blogosphere!

When I first came to America I had planned to send out emails en masse quite frequently. But after three emails (posted below) I ran out of interesting things to say...

Then it occurred to me:
What do people do when they have nothing interesting to say?
They start a blog!

So if you want to feel like we're still in touch, bookmark this page -- I'll be posting inane bits and pieces here as frequently as I can.

Disparaging The Boot is a Bootable Offence!

Today I was asked about The Boot.
I wondered how long it would take. 1 month, not bad.

The maintenance guy for my building is about my age and a Simpsons fan. We discussed the toilet fallacy and he seemed pretty knowledgeable about the toilets of the world so I thought he was joking when he first broached the subject of Bootings. But the thing is he was neither joking nor completely stupid: he had heard about the rattan beatings they give in Singapore and wondered if we really had some bizarre corporal punishment that Matt Groening was trying to parody... I dunno, I was expecting to be asked about the size of our beers or whether we call bullfrogs "chuzwozzers" but the Boot question really caught me off-guard.

The only other really stupid question so far was "Have you ever seen a kangaroo?" from an Indian guy. His Indian friend pointed out that this would be like me asking him "Have you ever seen an elephant?" and it stopped there.

I thought by this time I would have more anecdotes about how Americans see us. I think it might be that they can't tell the difference between my accent and the English. Oh, well, I'm sure I will get plenty more in my time here.

Getting Started

I've just finished my first week of classes; finally I've started what I came here for.

It does feel a little strange going back to coursework after 2 1/2 years but I've been eased into it pretty smoothly. I'm so glad I got here early, all that walking around campus during the break helped me to get my bearings so that, now the campus is bustling, I don't have to think too hard and try to orientate a map. Luckily I've bought most of the necessities for my apartment so I can concentrate on finding the right books etc.

There are 6 other incoming grad students in masters and doctoral programs, so it's not too hard to know them all. But each of my classes have about 20 students because the older grad students are there too, even some students from other departments. I guess that's what happens when the system is geared as a whole grad school. The atmosphere seems pretty similar to Australia: not too formal; class discussion as well as pure lectures.

The orientation party last Saturday night was pretty good. It was at the house of one of the professors, Colin Allen, so I think the department must be pretty social. I got to talk to a few people including, for the first time, my supervisor, Jordi Cat. He was unconcerned about my choice of classes (I had already emailed him about this) but wanted to make sure I was settling in ok. We discussed groceries at some length, where to buy lean meat etc (seems all foreigners commiserate about the quality of American food!). And I've now been invited to a welcome party for the Philosophy dept, where I'm not enrolled yet. It seems HPS and Philosophy get along so well that they are happy to invite each other to social events.

I think the best thing is my timetable -- none of my classes start before 2.30 pm. (One class is on at a very strange time, 5.30-8pm! but there's a break in the middle for pizza!) Makes a nice change from getting up at 6.30am to catch the 7.52 train from Emu Plains! I've heard that Descartes preferred never to get out of bed before noon and did most of his philosophy in his dressing-gown, looks like I'll be able to follow his lead!

Greetings from Indiana, the Crossroads of America

I've been in my apartment here in Bloomington, Indiana for a week now and am settling in well. The weather is stinking hot and very humid. But I guess I should savour it before winter comes and it starts snowing.

When I first arrived I stayed in one of the dorms temporarily but it wasn't the most comfortable place and they set a 3-night limit on my stay. So I looked at a few apartments and, after hearing from various people where not to live, I found a tiny 1-bedroom apartment 10-15 min walk south of campus, which is perfect for me.

It's also walking distance from a laundromat, a big supermarket and a small international grocer. Before I left I heard horror stories about not being able to get various Australian products but this little grocer sells Cadbury chocolate and even Milo (but not Vegemite, so I'm still glad I brought that with me)! And Bloomington even has a farmers' market on Saturdays with real Amish selling veges!

Orientation was pretty straightforward. They didn't make me take the English test! But I think I'm the only international student this year with English as my first language. The others are mainly from Korea, India and China, which makes me feel far less of a foreigner, especially when they assume I'm American!

I've completed the special orientation for international students and have another week before classes start. Talking to other students I found that Business, IT and Law all have week-long orientations for their programs. My department has a 2-hour meeting Wednesday arvo and then a party Saturday night!