Life in the Bay

My first two weeks in the US have been… well, I have no idea how to sum it up in an opening sentence. Firstly, I am really happy here. Perhaps I’ll start this blog entry at the center (see, I am starting to use US English; note the –er not –re ending) of daily life. Home. I love my house. 

I have incredible housemates; they are an eclectic mix of people who all feel completely comfortable to be themselves, and whose personalities and outlooks on life I greatly enjoy and respect respectively. I also feel really comfortable to be completely myself, and I feel there is a great sense of understanding and acceptance in the house, including a willingness to be a ‘house family’. We garden together, go to music festivals together, cook together, drink wine (and scotch) together, have bonfires in the garden, talk with, yoga with, shop with, exercise with each other… of course not all 8 of us together at once necessarily (actually that rarely happens), but there is an awesome community vibe to the house. The surrounding neighborhood is one of the nicest in the area, and a short stroll up the street finds you immersed in nature. Speaking of such, I saw my first Raccoon come investigating on our balcony, little Bambis on the street at dusk, squirrels everywhere and apparently there are mountain lions that venture down from the Hills every now and then. I have a feeling, though, it is pretty rare for a mountain lion to be found in Berkeley and my housemates might have been playing on my naivety a little. American humor, I’m still working on it. The town itself, Berkeley, is a really interesting place. It is an incredibly progressive town with a significantly socially and politically liberal and relatively wealthy population. Neighboring areas, such as Oakland, a heavily industrialized area, do not predominately portray the same characteristics and hence there is a mix and flux of different demographics in Berkeley at times (particularly at the borders). Homelessness and theft are major issues in the Bay area generally. Honestly, I feel more threatened here by security issues than I did in Brazil. Probably because I am usually alone, the men in particular are usually significantly bigger than me (I was quite tall compared to most of the Brazilian population), and there seems to be more resentment as opposed to sorrow and despair from the homeless here; they often carry a really aggressive and threatening attitude. Of course, I speak only of my experience with panhandlers on street corners, and I do not intend to generalize all people subject to homelessness. Nevertheless, one of my housemates attributes the 'attitude' to the US's generally liberal politics and therefore many homeless feel like the system is at fault and carry an attitude 'well, what are you gonna do about it?'.

Given the many political chats I’ve had with my fellow Berkeleyans I am starting to understand the US political system and the less tangible, but actual ‘system’ that governs US culture(s). The US is definitely stereotyped by the majority of the ‘rest of the world’, and people often ask me about my perception of the US before and after being here. The longer I am here and the more I learn about the US, I am really starting to see the ignorance inherent in the stereotype. This country is way too diverse to be categoriZed. Perhaps stereotypes, generally, are based on a certain level on ignorance through generaliZation (note the Z, not S – US spelling). The state of California is a particularly interesting state to live in – hey, it has Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor, how can it not be? I am really looking forward to learning more about the politics here. Marijuana is a topical issue here right now as Arnie just passed a law to make smoking pot as criminal as getting a parking fine. Given there aren’t any ‘pot-smoking inspectors’ that walk around neighborhoods and cities in a cool uniform and hat like parking inspectors, I can’t imagine anyone being fined for smoking unless you blew smoke into a police officer’s face and they had a particular personal aversion to the green stuff. Hence it is effectively legal. There is an election coming up for the people of CA to decide whether to completely legalize it or not. On the back of the East Bay Chronicle, there are adds for doctors where all of which have little hemp logos indicating “medicinal marijuana available here”. I am really intrigued to see what the outcome will be.

Speaking of politics, I am starting work this week at an influential political non-profit, the Californian League of Conservation Voters. I had my interview today and I really, really liked the staff, the values and goals of the organization and the pay/working conditions seem pretty reasonable! Not to mention, I'm working in a really topical and challenging field that I am really passionate about. Can't ask for much more? The US economy is still going down, with the AU dollar 99c to the US dollar. Not bad if I hadn’t already transferred my savings into my US bank account… dang. Come on dollar, go back up! Research positions and a possible fellowship are also on the cards, but more to come on that later. Career prospective are nevertheless not bad, and I feel this is a fantastic place for my career to blossom in time. I am also going to enjoy having some sort of financial freedom again. I am definitely still interested in post-graduate academia, be it a PhD, Masters or Grad Program. I am going to enjoy my time to work (for money) and gain some practical experience nevertheless over the coming year(s).

What else? I feel I owe it to you, my friends and family, to fill you in on everything as I am becoming increasingly distracted with ‘life’. I saw Diogenes for the first time since he departed this weekend. We enjoyed some touristic activities in San Fran (Golden Gate Bridge – a must do), and generally enjoyed what being in our 20’s is all about. Life is just grand, what can I say? I am really happy and really comfortable here, and am really enjoying building a life here. I went to an incredible music festival, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, in the Golden Gate Park the other weekend and chillaxed with a picnic and friends (and 300,000 other people) to some awesome music. There is always something happening in SF (downtown San Francisco) or the East Bay (Berkeley and surrounds), every night, it’s just a matter of choosing what/when/where I want to be. So…. This is, so far, my life in the Bay. I’m loving it.