July

It's been nearly a month, so I figure it's time to post again.
Things have been going rather smoothly, apart from my two brief lessons on learning to ride a bike. Those have been more or less unfruitful, except from the 10 feet or so I rode yesterday after Res let go of the bike.
Work is good. It can be kind of boring at times, but I am kept busy. At the Alumni House I have been going down to the science building and interviewing professors and students on what projects they are working on. During this, I stumbled across a really cool topic, synesthesia, or two senses reacting to one stimulus (in my own words). For instance, the most common type of synesthesia is when letters or numbers appear in a certain hue- involuntarily and consistently. There are other types involving different senses, such as seeing colors when hearing music, smelling or tasting certain things when seeing or hearing stimuli, etc. Needless to say, I find it fascinating. Anyway, I am writing a full article on synesthesia for the fall edition of the Quarterly. I am pretty excited, but a little daunted by the task. International Studies is fun too, I finally finished the list of non-Goucher approved study abroad programs. You're welcome, future generations of Goucher travelers.
Apart from work, things are also going well. I have become re-addicted to Lost, so I watch that on my computer. I have some work for Mali I have to do. I still spend most weekends in Hampden. A week or two ago, Res and I rescued my friend Mary from a hellish day involving a flat tire on her bike and many hours of bus-riding. We ate dinner at her lovely house in Waverly, and got to hang out with her hilarious roommate and her dogs. Waverly is pretty close to Hampden, on the other side of Charles Village I believe (though I'm probably wrong), but completely different. It's pretty dangerous, I wouldn't feel comfortable out at night, but it also seems a lot friendlier: everyone we crossed said hello, and Mary says the kids a few houses down read to her. It was a nice change from Hampden, and great to see Mary!
A few days later was Fourth of July. It was nice to have a three-day weekend, and celebrating in an historic location was a first for me. Res, his friend Andrew and I went to Federal Hill to watch fireworks from the Inner Harbor. It rained a bit, but stopped in time for the fireworks. There was a bit of confusion for the audience, because fireworks started going off in the Harbor on one side, and from Fort McHenry on another! We settled on the Fort side, which is where, according to the man next to me, "we kicked the shit out of the British". Maybe not exactly true, but funny. We made the mistake of driving up to Fed Hill, and it took us nearly an hour to get out of the Harbor area.
This Saturday, I got to work at the Waverly Farmer's Market selling dairy products. It was a ton of fun, well worth getting up at 6AM for (even after a thrilling night at Joe Squared, meeting tons of Goucher alums as Res played bass with his old bass teacher and another Goucher professor). The people watching was great, and the customers were really friendly. My arms ached for a few days after, though. Still, I've got to try some of this milk, the customers act like it's crack out of a cow. After worked the Farmer's Market all morning, Res and I went up to his parent's house in Pennsylvania. His sisters came too, so it was good to see all the Saxtons together. Res and I went to Longwood Gardens on Saturday, a really nice botanical garden. We liked the tree houses spread throughout the grounds. I especially liked the Children's section and the Mediterranean section. I liked pointing out all the plants that grow in the wild in southern California, and what we have in our yard at home.
Now it's back to work for a few more weeks, though I'm having a bit of trouble with housing. I will definitely not be homeless, though, so all is well. This weekend is Artscape, a huge free outdoor art festival. I can't wait!

More to remind myself than anything else, there is a sliver of hope that I will spend summer of 2009 in Singapore. I need to get on this. Mom, send Roxanna's email please.

Also! I got skype, so please talk to me especially when I am abroad. My skype name is laura_langberg.