The Wait is Over!

Your job-search enforced Distant Wanderings hiatus is officially over! I am pleased to announce that I have accepted a position at Penn State University , and will start on August 23rd. Now, State College, PA may seem like an unlikely place for me to end up, given the "glamour" of my previous work and travel abroad. But although it is hundreds of miles away from any major city, the town itself is really pretty cool, has all kinds of interesting restaurants and cultural events and all the amenities of life one could hope for. Plus it is surrounded by beautiful countryside, state parks, mountains and rivers. Also, my grandparents, an aunt, my cousin, her husband and their three little kids live only an hour away in Williamsport. Finally, taking this job fulfills a long-standing family tradition: eight of my close family members went to Penn State as undergrads, so I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised to end up there myself, and even possibly wind up as a Penn State grad: I am hoping to start a Master's program right away. My first challenge? Becoming a football fan. After a great season last year, the Nittany Lions' home games for Fall 2006 are almost entirely sold out, and the first game will be played before the semester even begins. With Bates as my only college football experience, I will definitely have a little adjusting to do.

I'll be spending the next two weeks getting ready to move, which is going to be a lot of work: I need to buy a car, find a place to live (my new colleagues are helping me find something temporary), and replenish my supply of real-life things that I need. When I left Switzerland, I only shipped some things home: clothes, books, photos, kitchen things, etc. I sold all of my furniture and gave away a lot of stuff. So basically, aside from some pots and pans and framed pictures and some knick-knacks, I don't have any furniture or anything for an apartment and will have to buy it all. But today I got a really good start on this task. My mom and I made the rounds of all the tag sales we could find on our side of town--we knew of four from the paper and one we had seen signs for, but by noon we had visited ten, with a spectacular haul: a microwave, a toaster oven, a George Foreman stand-up barbecue-like grill, a set of 12 very nice coffee cups and saucers, four knives, an ironing board, a loaf pan and two little kitchen implements mom thought I had to have, a laundry basket, a garbage can and a brand new (but pretty small) TV/DVD combo, all for $111. Awesome. So I can definitely cook things now, and watch a movie while I eat my meals, but maybe soon I should start thinking about a place to sleep or sit down...

Anyway, stay tuned for more news about the move and The All New Adventures of Jess in Central Pennsylvania.

P.S. My new senators will be Arlen Spector and Rick Santorum. Oh god, how horrible! But Santorum is up for re-election this year and you can bet I will be the newest registered Democrat in Centre County, PA, as fast as humanly possible.