An Alaskan Girl in New York City

(Disclaimer: I'm not really an Alaskan, just an Alaska resident for the last six years. According to most "real" Alaskans you have to live there for roughly 20 years before you qualify.)

I guess I should be used to this cross-country moving stuff by now. After all, I grew up in Minnesota's Twin Cities, moved to Denton, Texas for college (it's 30 miles north of Dallas), and then spent the last six years in Alaska. I've also spent a good chunk of months at a time in other places: Pensacola, Florida, Cuernavaca, Mexico, five months in the John Muir National Forest in the mountains outside of Fresno, California, and St. Mary's City, Maryland. And that's all in my adult life. But a half-summer in New York City is unchartered territory for this girl. As much as I enjoy visiting big cities, I’ve never actually lived in one. And after living in ocean-locked, mountain-locked Juneau, Alaska (Population 30,000) for the last six years (SIX! How did the time pass that quickly??), this could be a real culture shock, albeit an exciting one.

Just a few blocks from my dorm

I was lucky to have help getting here, since my wonderful boyfriend took a week off work to fly from Juneau with me. On the way, we celebrated my birthday in Seattle, then flew into Newark and spent two days camping in the Catskills. (Details coming soon...)

Starting tomorrow, I will be attending classes at New York University’s Summer Publishing Institute (SPI). I was also accepted into their Master’s program in Publishing starting in the fall; successful graduates of SPI are awarded six credits toward that degree. I am over-the-top excited about attending the program, since I’ve wanted to learn more about the publishing industry for years. However, I’m a little worried about the cost of going back to school, especially since I’m used to working full-time.

In other news, I checked into my dorm yesterday. Yep, I just said dorm. I haven't said that word since I was twenty-one and on exchange for six months. From nineteen years old on, I've always lived in in apartments.

My room (and the guy) is cute, but the view leaves something to be desired (my two huge windows stare out at a drainage hole, home to a few nesting pigeons).

My dorm room

Still, you can't beat the location on the edge of Chinatown, Little Italy, and Tribeca. It also seems like there are almost too many good places to eat and class is only a half-mile away.

Home sweet Lafayette

I'll be back soon with more updates and big city adventures!