The long awaited (and much needed) second post! (Part One - Miami)

Well, first off I owe an apology to all you avid readers of my blog - this update is more than a little late and should have been written at least 2 weeks ago...

Now that I've got the apology out of the way its time for my update. I'm warning you now that because I'm covering about 3 weeks of stuff this is going to be a long one... Consider yourself warned!

The last post left off just as I was starting to settle in to Rutgers - I had walked a bit around the area, been to the football stadium, got lost and was sorting out my room (and still didn't have any bedding...). The next day was the start of my trip to Miami for the Fulbright Gateway Orientation - a chance to meet Fulbright Scholars from all over the world and also to prepare for the reality of being a Fulbright Scholar.

Leaving the flat that morning I headed to the train station, arriving in plenty of time to get a cup of tea from Dunkin' Donuts (unfortunately not to try the donuts) before hopping on the NJ transit up to Newark Airport. The train journey was surprisingly pleasant - the train was a double decker swish number with plenty of seats free and plenty of space for my luggage. I was sitting reading my book and generally minding my business when (about 5 mins into the journey) a conversation was struck up between the strangers around me. Considering that no-one knew anyone else I found this rather surprising and decided to join in (after all, even if I made a fool of myself I would never meet these people again!). After talking a little about how hot the weather had been recently, they asked about where I was from (another lesson: everyone will love the British accent and will ask you lots of questions about the UK, including usually 'Why did you choose to come to America?' - I think the UK has a special place in the hearts of a lot of Americans so the thought I could actually leave there is shocking to them...). After letting them know I was studying at Rutgers I mentioned about being a Fulbright Scholar - I have never seen a reaction like it! Everybody was amazed and impressed and couldn't praise me highly enough. I knew that Fulbrighters were well respected in America but I didn't realise the amount of acknowledgment I would get from (a) complete strangers; and (b) non-academics.

This set me in a rather good mood for the flight to Miami and the week ahead - and I wasn't disappointed. The flight was uneventful but also long - I didn't realise it would take nearly 3 hours to fly just 'down the coast' - as my 1st lesson showed me - the US is HUGE! I arrived at Miami airport and attempted to find a couple of other Fulbrighters I had organized to share a taxi with. A useful hint: trying to find 3 people in Miami airport, all arriving on different planes, at different times, none of whom you've ever met or seen before is COMPLETELY FUTILE! Needless to say I didn't meet them and ended up just heading to the hotel by myself.

Arriving at the hotel I was greeted by an all you can eat buffet for us which I promptly dug into (after surviving on pretty much only cereal for 2 days this was much needed sustenance). I met a few of my fellow Fulbrighters and headed to a bar on the bay front for a drink and some salsa dancing (don't worry Dad, I was watching not dancing - so I didn't break Wilson tradition...). Then it was off to bed to get some sleep before the sessions the next day.

The next morning I got up bright and early and headed for a run around Miami - my roommate Fabian came with me and we explored a bit of the bayside. I thought running in the heat in New Jersey was bad but this was truly something else - the humidity meant it felt like you were running through sludge, it was pretty horrible. We then headed to Miami Dade College to be greeted by a bag of freebies and a packed schedule for the next few days.

The next few days flew by - we had lectures every day on subjects ranging from what to do if you're arrested (or rather, how not to get arrested in the first place), to 'culture shock' (the process of adapting to life in a new culture), to leadership (as Fulbrighters we are expected to be cultural leaders), to the US judicial system (the supreme court is a fascinating topic) to a jazz seminar (which consisted pretty much of listening to our own private performance by a jazz band for an hour and a half - bliss). I learnt so much during the week and it was hard to absorb all of it in, but then I think the main thing I took away from the week was not stuff I got form the classroom.

I've got to tell you something - every single Fulbrighter I met at Miami is amazing! They are all really cool, grounded, amazingly intelligent and friendly people. I can't list everyone here because I'd inevitably miss out some people but I made some really good friends there - and ones I'll stay in touch with in the future. I've included a picture here of some of us before heading on the airtrain.

During the week there was so much to do outside of the lectures - we had a cruise of the bay and 'star island' seeing such sights as the house from Scarface, and many celebrity homes, we had a night at an all-the-meat-you-can-eat restaurant, we went to a local club which had amazing live music for free(Jazid if anyone is ever in Miami), explored little Havana, and had a night at a private club on South Beach where we swam in the Atlantic (much warmer than the North Sea!) and tried to spell Fulbright in the sea... There is photographic evidence, but I think we ended up spelling FULBRGHIT - you win some you lose some...

All in all it was just a fantastically good time, and one I'll remember for a long long time. And I've now ticked another state of my list to visit!

This is the end of part one, tune in next time for part two:
MORE RUTGERS! MORE FREE FOOD! MORE ORIENTATIONS! FINALLY SOME MATH!

Later Days

David