The Twins

So what I should be doing at the moment...this is always the preface of a blog entry, although soon one of the shoulds will actually be write in a blog (not this one).

I'm writing from Saint Paul, Minnesota, a place I never thought about six months ago.

It's breezy outside, but warm enough for me to need to blow cool breath on my fingers every few words I type. As I began, what I should be doing at the moment is refining the day's intensive anthropological field notes that I took during the first two days of work at my internship at the Progressive Technology Project. These notes are nonexistent but I have made a lot of observations in my first two days. What an exciting place to work! Exciting in a low-key way now. But in a big way if you think architecture and engineering --- the building is completely green, with a rooftop garden complete with a huge solar array, recycled glass ceramic tiles in the bathrooms, low-flow toilets, efficient heating and cooling systems, and a very stylish industrial look (strangely similar to the HQ of my other office in SF).

Instead, I want to reflect on what it's like to be here in MinnesOWta --- this place that is both part of my home country and more foreign to me than at least one foreign country.

First, I'll just give a few key details and elaborate on my experience in a later post. I'm staying with the family of the former director of PTP and they've been extremely welcoming and comfortable with us so far. I say "us" because another Santa Cruzian is here with me, interning with the same org. We have our own rooms in this big, beautiful house that used to be a boarding house, at one time housing 18 people. There are three stories, plus a basement (um...did you say there are tornadoes in Minnesota??). Two kitties come included, Iris and Katie. The worst problem we've encountered so far is TOO MANY RASPBERRIES! And I was sad about leaving all that beautiful fresh produce at the Santa Cruz farmer's market.

That's all for now. So far so good.