The dwindling lazy days of chi-town

It's a pretty dreary Tuesday afternoon here in Chicago, but the recent weather has been only a small spot on an otherwise incredible time here so far. Most of you will probably be already thinking about midterms by the time I actually start classes. I arrived a few weeks ago into a surprisingly nice apartment (this is a first for me), and I've been slowly getting into the swing of things.

We've had math camp over the last two weeks, and we'll be finishing up this Friday. It's probably not too much different from whatever you all were studying. I imagine we all need to know the same stuff. If anyone is interested, email me, and I can show you the syllabus, problems, notes, etc... I've found the review incredibly useful. Just having all the material presented in one continuous span, and more than anything else, having the same teacher explaining all the concepts, makes it much easier to see the connections between ideas and really get excited about the material. We'll see how much of this I retain when it comes down to doing proofs for micro, I suppose.

It's been a nice relaxed time to do math, meet the people in my program, and explore Chicago. I understand that there are 27 or 28 of us (the number seems to vary). Most of us are here for math camp, and among those that are we've got a pretty good cross section of the globe with just under 1/3 or so american. We' ve been making frequent pilgramages to the bar to--several encouraged and sponsored by our great math camp prof--to "learn about each other's cultures." Everyone is really friendly, and we're getting along well as a class. I've got high hopes.

I've managed to see a lot of Chicago by bike. There's a great trail that runs alongside lake michigan, and it's only an 8-mile ride or so to get downtown. Tomorrow night I'm hitting up a Cubs game with some people from my class, and I'm going to try out Wrigley's bike valet. Hopefully, I'll have a bike to ride home on.

Classes start on the 25th. Until then, it's sweet to be in Chicago.