Booze Cruise

So part of orientation this week, my class went on a boat cruise on the East and Hudson rivers. The boat took off from 23rd street, right across the street from my school, and went down the East river under the Brooklyn bridge, and a couple of other bridges, out to the Statue of Liberty, then up the Hudson river to the Holland tunnel where we turned around and went back to where we started.It was actually really interesting to see some of this stuff from a boat but I don't think too many other people cared about sight-seeing because this was a BOOZE CRUISE. It was a cash bar but that didn't stop many of my classmates from getting tanked, most were already a drink in hand before we left the dock (I had to explain to a guy from Utah what pre-drinking was). The rocking boat and slightly intoxicated people with drinks in their hands is never a good combination. Overall it was a pretty good time, though it was no raft trip.

My Walk to school

I've said before that it takes me about 45 min. to commute to school. I walk to the PATH train staition, the subway from Jersey to Manhattan. The train ride it's self is pretty short (about 20min.) but the staition in Manhattan is only five blocks away from the school. That might not sound like a lot but the blocks on the island are longer east-west than they are north-south (you'll see when you come out here) and I walk east to my school which takes me about 15min. The nice thing is that I walk by some pretty interesting thing everyday. I see the famous flatiron building, the Empire state building, and I walk though Madison Park (just a nice park in middle of the city) everyday, twice a day.

Here in Jersey

Well I'm here! I've been here for about a week now. I found an apartment in downtown Jersey City and it's a one bedroom walk up on the second floor. It's a good size for one or two people but with my parents and Melissa camped on the floor of the bedroom for the first few days made it seem a little small.
The first week here was full of trips to Target and Ikea but we did manage to go into the city a couple of times so my parents and Melissa could do some sight seeing. Now that I have all this Ikea furniture I'm trying to air out my apartment to get rid of the smell of the particle board and the foam in my mattress. School doesn't start till next Monday so I've spend some time wondering around the neighbourhood to see what shops are around and areas where I shouldn't spend too much time. The street I'm on is a pretty nice street with all the building build around 1900 +/- 20 years. The street is tree lined and I have an Ivy plant that has climbed the back of the building and the fire escape out my back windows.
I don't have a car here, and probably won't for a couple of years, so I get around everywhere on foot or on the subway. The total time it'll take me to get to school will be 35-45 minutes. The church is only one stop away but walking to it only takes 12 minutes.