This. this.

In the next room, there is a man sweeping the floor of the dining hall whilst singing along with the radio. It is turned up just enough so that it fills each adjoining room, and I wonder if he knows I can hear him and that I like his voice.

After a busy week in London, my parents and I have finally arrived in Cambridge and have settled into a cozy B & B just outside Emmanuel College (John Harvard, the founder of Harvard University, graduated there in 1632). The town is small and beautiful but has the feel of a large bustling city because of all its people. I am told that next week will be even more hectic when school officially starts.

So far, everything has been really smooth and there have even been several pleasant surprises. For one thing, the chinese food is pretty decent here, and there is a fresh supply of fruits and vegetables just outside of King's College each day. I even surprised myself today by purchasing a bicycle! Not having ridden one in 9 or so years, I finally gathered up the nerve to hop back on. Cambridge is an incredibly bicycle-friendly town and there are so many roads and paths most easily accessible by bicycle that it's hard not to have one. I think the image of a Cambridge graduate wearing a long black gown riding a bicycle is still fresh in my mind.

Despite their funny traditions, I feel at home here. And it's funny because it has really only been two days but that's the feeling I get deep down. My dad and I picked up a lecture list yesterday at the bookstore and as I flipped through the pages, I felt this sweeping feeling of excitement and familiarity, feelings that brushed aside all nerves and anxiety. It was so reassuring because in that moment, I remembered what I was doing here. Up until that point, I had been a tourist, an outsider, but perusing through that book made me feel like a student, like someone who belonged.

That said, I don't think I won't feel any less homesick in the days to come. I know there will be bad days but I also know that there will be some good ones. Maybe I won't fit in with the people here but maybe I will. And that maybe is what excites and encourages me. It is what feels good.

The thing about Cambridge is its secrecy. There is a feeling of code and of knowing something that the entire world does not know about. It opens its doors to the public and yet it keeps its deepest courts, the most beautiful places, for those who belong to the colleges. It is completely transparent and yet fully opaque. It's a feeling that I cannot yet put my finger on but it's one of promise. Looking past the buildings and all their grandeur, there is something that resides behind the public eye and I'm eager to find it, to be a part of this spirit that I cannot know but feel so fully inside.