Meeting America

Holy cow the last two days have been amazing. It's insane how quickly I've fallen in love. So classes haven't started yet even though I'm all signed up (for too many I might add, I'll probably end up dropping the heaviest reading one so I gots me some more free time) so I'm living life like I'm on holiday still. It's been crazy crazy hot so exploring Portland has been lush. Wandering along the waterfront, checking out the coffee here - trust me, the American's really do know how to do coffee, walking up Woodstock or down Hawthorne where every other store is an independent coffee shop, a thrift store, a food cart or a record shop.

So I met a couple of transfer students a few days ago and finally went for dinner to this place called mellow mushroom (the organic non hallucinogenic kind I might add) with Grace last night - she's a hybrid Amy, Cadi which is kind of insane, who is on exchange from Sarah Lawrence in New York. And today I indulged in some serious Americanism with a group of incredibly lovely and interesting transfer students, starting off with brunch at this lush little food cart (my first ever English Muffin happening to be in America definitely got a few chuckles)

(Photo stolen from google I was too into my food to remember to take my own)

and  then driving to Hawthorne and wandering to THE most amazing ice cream parlor where ice cream flavours are as unusual and exciting as Biddy's Tearoom Tea list back in Norwich (I settled for honey Lavender after sampling as much as I could for free first aha). I definitely felt like I was really actually literally here, in Bailey's car with music blaring, a huge cup of coffee in hand driving through Portland talking about anything and everything under the sun. I had some really amazing discussions about America and national identity and all those kind of crazy things with Americans from all over the US, and hearing their stories and views is just so amazing. There was also a bit of vintage clothe shopping involved ofcourse - I cannot get over how cheap everything is! Goodbye scholarship, hello excess baggage. Oh and four or five times now we've had some hilarious miscommunictions over the word 'jumper' - apparently it's really cute and endearing. Sweater just doesn't have the same kind of ring to it! Also being taught what a french press is (not a cafetiere apparently) and all the nuances of coffee by Bailey, the biggest coffee connoisseur I think I'll ever meet was wicked. Imagine my love of tea in coffee form.

Yesterday in between exploring downtown with the other imperialists (yup, us Brits) and lovely Naima (imagine me in Canadian form but a lot sweeter and incredibly perceptive), and meeting up with Grace I managed to grab a few hours alone to drink in Portland and orientate myself. I LOVE the grid system here, it makes finding your way round so so easy, and using Powell's as a centre point it's almost impossible to get lost (she says). I forgot to mention, Powell's is so big you need a map. For real. A bookshop with a map. But I digress. Have some more pictures and photos and things because there is too much to say and so much happens of a daily basis it's impossible to record everything!

OH and I had my first pluot today. Yeah, America has some crazy crazy hybrid fruit, who knew!?