Hereabouts (the description)

I spent a little while walking around this morning. So far, I like the neighborhood a lot, for reasons I remember being listed on "Stuff White People Like." The streets, buildings and parks are in good shape, but still covered with graffiti, so it still feels 'real.' The demographics are pretty mixed - there's a huge mosque nearby, and a lot of Turkish immigrants. Then there are lots of stereotypical-looking Germans (the owner of the restaurant I went to last night had round glasses like me), and plenty of hipsterish Americans (not what I came here for, but it does make it feel a little more like home). And bikes - loads of bikes to fill the well-marked bike lanes. I feeling like I'll probably get a bike, though I might be being lured in by the weather (it's been picture-perfect today, and was yesterday too, but people tell me this is a little odd).

Amy, my roommate, has been extremely helpful. The vibe's good. She's going to help me find a conversation partner, which seems like exactly the right way to work on the language.

I haven't started back on work yet, but will soon. It looks like I'm going to go out to Frankfurt on June 12 to present in their colloquium, which should be fun (I can't tell how formal it is - it might be closer to NYU's thesis prep than to a genuine speaker series). I also wrote to the main Humboldt Kant guy (Rolf-Peter Horstmann) to ask for a meeting. So those should force me back into action soon, after I spend a few days figuring out some sort of routine.

That's all for now. I think I'm going to take a nap (though I slept better last night than I thought I would).

Missing you all still...