rain

we got the first small rains of the season last night, which was lovely, even a little thunder and lightning. i can't wait for it to really pour, i haven't seen a rainstorm for maybe half a year at this point. on the downside, this is a high lightning strike area, so you have to unplug your electronics when a storm comes along. not as bad as central africa though. i think the eastern congo is highest, since they have year round thunderstorms.

some people stayed up till 3 am to watch the VP debates on the tv in our building's lounge room (usually it is monopolized by really serious soccer fans but not at 3 am). since i am pretty elderly in my sleeping habits so i went to bed earlier than that. i heard palin sounded like a wind-up doll, how predictable.

seven of my fellow students in the program went to durban over the past weekend and got mugged at gunpoint, all together, in broad daylight, while walking to the beach just after going to see a famous mosque. one of them was saying last night she almost can't fault the muggers for doing what they did because they legitemately needed what they stole, and they only took some of what people had on them, as well. no one got hurt, thank god, but i think it served as a wakeup call (or perhaps a reminder) that we are really conspicuous here, which limits where you can reasonably go and at what times you can go places.

that is a big piece of advice for people who might want to do this trip in future years from nyu: your movement is going to be really restricted, and for someone who prowls around new york at all hours seeking adventure, it's like being trapped. expect to be at home a lot in a building that is designed like a high security nyu dorm, expect to need a car, expect things to be segregated, expect people to tell you to go to malls for fun, all of which might be weird, especially for a new yorker.