This is a rough neighborhood to live in. It’s not because it’s dangerous. It’s probably one of the safest areas of the city, and inside the gates of the school basically nothing can happen to you. It’s not because it’s economically downtrodden. There are definitely poorer areas than this, and in fact there are plenty of new, fancy condo buildings going up all the time. It’s not particularly because it’s so isolated. The area is well served by city buses, and having managed to get out of the neighborhood by bus, it’s easy enough to get back the same way or catch a taxi.
It’s just that it’s so freaking boring. I anticipated a lot of potential problems before I came here, but I never imagined that boredom would be one of the largest. If I lived downtown, or especially if I lived in a larger, more developed, more international city, it would be a lot more exciting.
Partly it’s my fault. I could get more involved with the life of the school. There’s no question that the students would love to do more stuff with me…sit around and talk, play basketball, learn American songs and whatnot. Sometimes it’s just hard to pull myself away from the computer.
Anyway, hopefully I won’t feel like this for too long and I’ll get things figured out. But I’m past the honeymoon stage and culture shock is setting in…
