update....
welp, I just got back from Colorado, and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!! CU-Boulder is most definitely my first choice, in fact I'm 99% sure I will go there.
Boulder is the perfect place for me. The campus is practically built on the Flatiron mtns, and the Rockies are a stones throw away. There's awesome hiking, climbing, and skiing close by, as well as some good rivers. It's extremely liberal/progressive (except for the rich Northern part...where the Ramsey's lived). There's a huge Nepali/Tibetan population (more on that later in the post). The weather is awesome (over 300 days of sunlight a year, but they still get a fair amount of good snow). The campus is really close to the Pearl Street Mall, which is an outside mall that reminds me of Park ave in Rochester (only better). They have all sorts of cool seminars and talks at the outdoors centers...I actually went to a couple while I was there (including one by a mountaineer who has CFIDS!). It's just far enough away from Denver that you don't have to deal with typical "big city" stuff, but close enough that you can take advantage of what it has to offer.
The college itself is awesome, as well. It has it's issues (aka football recruiting scandals, semi-frequent riots caused by police overzealousness, etc), but I think its a good well-rounded school with a great International Studies/Asian Studies program. It also seems to have a good science department & good advisors, so I'm ok if I decide to go pre-med.
I went to a Chinese literature class, and was very impressed by both the students and the professor. The students all said that the IS program was great, and that they had above-average professors. Even when I was just walking around campus, I could def see myself fitting in here. There weren't any of the "princess" types that I can't stand, and everybody was very friendly. I should also add that the food was *really* good :) I could go on a while longer about it, but I won't. Lets just say that I will probably be in Boulder this time next year :D
One great thing that Boulder has to offer is a shitload of restaraunts from every corner of the world. There are 4 Nepali/Tibetan restaraunts alone, and I went to all of them (would you honestly expect any less of me?). One of them, Sherpa's Adventurer Restaraunt & Bar, was written up in Outside a couple months ago. I had decided to save that one for last, so I didn't go there until Thursday.
The food was spectacular (best momos I've ever had!), and they had a really sweet library with tons of guidebooks. What blew me away was this poster on the wall with a picture of every Sherpa to summit Everest. I immediately found Kili and Nima, both of whom worked at the camp I went to from the age of 7-14.
Later on, I got to talking with Pasang (one of the waiters). During the conversation, I mentioned that it was really neat to see two people I knew on the Everest poster. When he asked me who I knew, his face lit up - it turns out that Nima is his brother-in-law! He said that Nima just moved to Seattle, and that he and his wife have an 18 month old little girl. When I asked Pasang if he knew Tad (the owner of the camp, who was also my 3rd grade teacher), he said that he is good friends with him. He even went and visited him for a week in DC a few years ago.
Pasang and I talked for a while, and he told me that he is one of the boarders at the restaraunt. He and his wife live on the top level of the house with their little girl. He gave me his phone number, and we are going to go hiking together once I move to Boulder.
While in Boulder, I also went to all of the Nepali/Tibetan/Bhutanese stores in town (there are like 9). At Little Buddha Imports, I got to talking to the shop owner (she was impressed that I already knew how to use a singing bowl when she tried to show me). It turns out that she and her husband are going to be in Kathmandu the same time I am, so we are going to try to hook up there. She wants to give me a "real" tour of the city, lol. She also said that her family lives in Kathmandu, and that they would love to have me stay with them (or anything else I need). I'm thrilled to have that connection, especially because there will be parts of my trip when I am independent from an organized group.
Before getting into election stuff, I want to say that I am aware that not everyone on my friends list shares my political views. While I am vehemently opposed to many concepts and policies associated with the Bush administration, I respect your opinions and your right to hold them. I may use this journal to vent about Bush and certain philosophies/opinions held by some members of the population, but please know that it is not directed at any of you personally. Even though I may rant about some political groups, I still respect their opinions. We all have different reasons for believing what we believe, and I completely understand that. I will not attack any of you for your political beliefs, and I hope that you guys will do the same. There's no reason why we can't all act like civilized, sophistocated people and be friends despite our differences. Afterall, whats the point of being friends with someone if they agree with you on everything? That would be incredibly dull!
There was, of course, a damper put on my trip on Tuesday & Wednsday. Seeing George Bush win the election made me physically ill (I actually did become nauseated when it was announced that Kerry would concede). What really made me mad was the results of the various exit polls that stated the significant number of people whose #1 issue of concern was moral values. How the hell does an issue like gay marriage trump that of the war in Iraq, or the economy? If we're all dead, broke, uneducated, and/or living in an overdeveloped metropolis with no ozone layer, it won't exactly matter whether two gay guys can marry, or whether a woman can have an abortion legally. I will never understand that.
I am still displaying my Kerry button on my purse. I'll probably take it off sooner or later, but it's there for now. It's actually become quite the conversation starter. I had no less than 6 convos at the Denver airport with fellow "mourners" (lol). The flight attendant on the plane said he hasn't watched tv or read a newspaper since the election. The ticket agent said that he was in disbelief that so many people fell victim to the politics of fear and the idea that one party "owns" moral values. The couple waiting in line behind me at security said they were ready to move to Canada. I could go on, but you get the idea. Of course if Kerry had won, I'm sure there would have been plenty of Bush supporters who would have been just as upset. Such is life in a politically polarized nation.
I guess the only thing I have left to say for now re politics is
BARACK '08
Boulder is the perfect place for me. The campus is practically built on the Flatiron mtns, and the Rockies are a stones throw away. There's awesome hiking, climbing, and skiing close by, as well as some good rivers. It's extremely liberal/progressive (except for the rich Northern part...where the Ramsey's lived). There's a huge Nepali/Tibetan population (more on that later in the post). The weather is awesome (over 300 days of sunlight a year, but they still get a fair amount of good snow). The campus is really close to the Pearl Street Mall, which is an outside mall that reminds me of Park ave in Rochester (only better). They have all sorts of cool seminars and talks at the outdoors centers...I actually went to a couple while I was there (including one by a mountaineer who has CFIDS!). It's just far enough away from Denver that you don't have to deal with typical "big city" stuff, but close enough that you can take advantage of what it has to offer.
The college itself is awesome, as well. It has it's issues (aka football recruiting scandals, semi-frequent riots caused by police overzealousness, etc), but I think its a good well-rounded school with a great International Studies/Asian Studies program. It also seems to have a good science department & good advisors, so I'm ok if I decide to go pre-med.
I went to a Chinese literature class, and was very impressed by both the students and the professor. The students all said that the IS program was great, and that they had above-average professors. Even when I was just walking around campus, I could def see myself fitting in here. There weren't any of the "princess" types that I can't stand, and everybody was very friendly. I should also add that the food was *really* good :) I could go on a while longer about it, but I won't. Lets just say that I will probably be in Boulder this time next year :D
One great thing that Boulder has to offer is a shitload of restaraunts from every corner of the world. There are 4 Nepali/Tibetan restaraunts alone, and I went to all of them (would you honestly expect any less of me?). One of them, Sherpa's Adventurer Restaraunt & Bar, was written up in Outside a couple months ago. I had decided to save that one for last, so I didn't go there until Thursday.
The food was spectacular (best momos I've ever had!), and they had a really sweet library with tons of guidebooks. What blew me away was this poster on the wall with a picture of every Sherpa to summit Everest. I immediately found Kili and Nima, both of whom worked at the camp I went to from the age of 7-14.
Later on, I got to talking with Pasang (one of the waiters). During the conversation, I mentioned that it was really neat to see two people I knew on the Everest poster. When he asked me who I knew, his face lit up - it turns out that Nima is his brother-in-law! He said that Nima just moved to Seattle, and that he and his wife have an 18 month old little girl. When I asked Pasang if he knew Tad (the owner of the camp, who was also my 3rd grade teacher), he said that he is good friends with him. He even went and visited him for a week in DC a few years ago.
Pasang and I talked for a while, and he told me that he is one of the boarders at the restaraunt. He and his wife live on the top level of the house with their little girl. He gave me his phone number, and we are going to go hiking together once I move to Boulder.
While in Boulder, I also went to all of the Nepali/Tibetan/Bhutanese stores in town (there are like 9). At Little Buddha Imports, I got to talking to the shop owner (she was impressed that I already knew how to use a singing bowl when she tried to show me). It turns out that she and her husband are going to be in Kathmandu the same time I am, so we are going to try to hook up there. She wants to give me a "real" tour of the city, lol. She also said that her family lives in Kathmandu, and that they would love to have me stay with them (or anything else I need). I'm thrilled to have that connection, especially because there will be parts of my trip when I am independent from an organized group.
Before getting into election stuff, I want to say that I am aware that not everyone on my friends list shares my political views. While I am vehemently opposed to many concepts and policies associated with the Bush administration, I respect your opinions and your right to hold them. I may use this journal to vent about Bush and certain philosophies/opinions held by some members of the population, but please know that it is not directed at any of you personally. Even though I may rant about some political groups, I still respect their opinions. We all have different reasons for believing what we believe, and I completely understand that. I will not attack any of you for your political beliefs, and I hope that you guys will do the same. There's no reason why we can't all act like civilized, sophistocated people and be friends despite our differences. Afterall, whats the point of being friends with someone if they agree with you on everything? That would be incredibly dull!
There was, of course, a damper put on my trip on Tuesday & Wednsday. Seeing George Bush win the election made me physically ill (I actually did become nauseated when it was announced that Kerry would concede). What really made me mad was the results of the various exit polls that stated the significant number of people whose #1 issue of concern was moral values. How the hell does an issue like gay marriage trump that of the war in Iraq, or the economy? If we're all dead, broke, uneducated, and/or living in an overdeveloped metropolis with no ozone layer, it won't exactly matter whether two gay guys can marry, or whether a woman can have an abortion legally. I will never understand that.
I am still displaying my Kerry button on my purse. I'll probably take it off sooner or later, but it's there for now. It's actually become quite the conversation starter. I had no less than 6 convos at the Denver airport with fellow "mourners" (lol). The flight attendant on the plane said he hasn't watched tv or read a newspaper since the election. The ticket agent said that he was in disbelief that so many people fell victim to the politics of fear and the idea that one party "owns" moral values. The couple waiting in line behind me at security said they were ready to move to Canada. I could go on, but you get the idea. Of course if Kerry had won, I'm sure there would have been plenty of Bush supporters who would have been just as upset. Such is life in a politically polarized nation.
I guess the only thing I have left to say for now re politics is
BARACK '08