Huh.

Well, I'm back from the hotel. Back at my apartment.

I'm vaguely overwhelmed..... we didn't really do anything at orientation. Basically Ilana, Emma, Amanda and I only had to go to meals to socialize with people..... I know more names than I think I do right now, but it's kind of weird having all these new people now and they want to know things like what bars are good to hang out at and how to use public transportation and all this nonsense that is "so June." Ha.

But there seem to be some good people. The group has a different vibe than the summer..... more studious, more serious, no Bard kids, less laid back, I think. But then again, this is all the first few awkward weeks where "groups of people hang out who have nothing in common other than they are in the same program" (quote: new friend, Matt from Reed). So we'll see. I'm back in my usual life again though and I think I'm going to hang out with Katya and Misha tonight.

Oh, some unrelated bad news. In between orientation meals I went to pick up more of my film..... well, first of all, only three pictures from the roll of the pinhole are any good because I always overexpose the pinhole film "just in case" because I am dumb and that's basically the opposite of what you're supposed to do. As for the first Supersampler roll, the photo store refused to make prints because the negatives were so dark and they didn't want to ruin their machines (just like Newtonville Camera and those slide film negatives from Providence!). So I have no prints from them. And then, lamest of all, my first roll of color film shot with the Holga was a total disaster. I had a feeling this would be the case as when I opened the back of the Holga after finishing the roll I noticed my camera hadn't wound the film quite tight enough and then I had opened the camera while at the beach which is just kind of dumb in general...... so that was a big old mess. Nothing really came out on that at all, but at least the nice thing is the photo store doesn't charge when you don't have prints made. They feel bad for you if your film is bad and don't make you pay. Adams knows all about this.

So tomorrow I'll put up the pictures I do have that worked.... I still have two more rolls that will be done on Monday, both black and white -- the last roll from the summer program and one from the Holga. Maybe those will turn out ok.

Oh, and tomorrow we have another boat tour! (Jealous, Sasha??) Except this one won't be a fun pie-eating and champagne-drinking excursion in English but a getting-to-know-the-city kind of thing with a tour in Russian that we are supposed to pay attention to. Damn.

But things are good. I think the fall will be good. I have a good feeling.