Surviving Iowa...Once Again!

So, for the past couple of weeks, I've been slowly settling down here in Iowa. I have a whole bunch of mixed feelings - some exciting, some not so interesting, yet some...very pleasant ones. Ever since I moved back here, I have a whole bunch of "deja-vu" feelings. Since I had lived here before, adjusting to a small town environment is definitely not a problem. It just takes a little time to fall back in to the "usual" routine. As you can imagine, I am starting it all over again here...

I rented a nice apartment (a town house - two floors! Don't imagine anything super...it is just a student housing apartment) close to campus. I bought a new bed, some new furniture, and started decorating the place. I'm seeing some of my old friends and it is just awesome! Also, I'm being reconnected to the lovely international student community, and I've also been loving speaking ("practicing") Russian.

This place also brings me a host of wonderful memories from my student life - the places, the hang out spots, some nice moments ...it is quite interesting! It is almost surreal in a sense that I almost feel that I never left this place at all!! Well, there are a few differences from the time I was a student here. Things have changed, I have changed! I no longer have to drive a crappy car and live on a measly grad assistant stipend, for example! : )

Work-wise, it has been plain OK so far. I *definitely* miss my job in UMD and the freedom I enjoyed. Now, I must also say that since I've been here only for two weeks, my thoughts about work will always be skewed toward DC. I will wait to see how things will unfold here. I'm going to give it six months to see if I will like my job. If I do, I will stick around. If not, I plan to go back to my job in UMD.

Let us see how this "Iowa Experiment" of mine will turn out! Wish me luck!