This time I write you from the laundrette. Yes, they have a wireless connection here, which is very convenient while watching my clothes spin.
The three weeks of math camp are over and they were actually quite enlightening. Not only did I learn quite a bit of new stuff, but I can actually boast a little intuition on eigenvalues, vectors and such, which where mainly mysterious definitions to me before the course. I think this was the case for most people, except for a handful with serious math degrees - mostly Chinese. The final exam was yesterday morning, and even though I had a hard time getting myself to sit and study (as usual), I think it went reasonably well.
Afterwards there was much celebration and beer. I cannot understand the European/American obssession with beer. Dark, yeasty beer. Light, frothy beer. They may have different shades or nuances of bitter, but they all taste like, well... beer.
There were many more people than I expected in the course. Close to 50. Only 20 or so are economics students. The rest are a combination of exchange students, business school, agricultural economics, political science and civil engineering students (the last two groups are limited to those taking an MA in economics). The majority of these people will continue studying with me throughout the first year in the microeconomics sequence, and some in the econometrics sequence as well.
Now there is a short break for a few days, and with a bit of luck this weekend should be spent out hiking with some school friends somewhere near San-Francisco. The fall semester starts on monday, and I've registered myself for two city planning courses aside from the economics curriculum. I'm toying with the idea of estimating the effects of bridges on the spread of population and on real-estate markets. In particular, I have the Bay Bridge between San-Francisco and Oakland in mind (as well as the Chunnel and a more recent bridge between Denmark and Sweden that has made "cheap" Malmo into a distant suburb of Copenhagen). This will require me to do some homework before I can tell if it's a feasible topic to pursue, but one professor who I spoke with this morning gave me a couple of useful tips.
Other than that, not much news. I will shortly attach some photos of the new place.
Till next time.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Deeper in
For a few days now I've been telling people that I arrived two weeks ago, but I realize while writing this that it's actually been longer.
On friday the economics department put together an orientation day for the incoming graduate students. We were greeted by a stack of oatmeal cookies, two cardboard cases (?!) of coffee and decaf and a pile of printed name stickers. The day began with some short welcomes and continued with a series of long administrative rambles that lasted through the afternoon. Lunch provided a welcome break and consisted of a bunch of pizzas and salads. It gave us an opportunity to speak with each other, as well as prior students. I also got a chance to meet Maurice Obstfeld - a well known macro economist - whose textbook we used (supposedly) at Tel-Aviv. Later on there was a question and answer session with a group of previous years' students who we met again in the evening for drinks.
As it happens, most of the incoming students arrived only in the past day or two, so they are either knee deep in apartment hunting or else they have temporary setups until late august when they can move into the "international house" (which is essentially a graduate dormitory that is only indirectly related to the university). Having arrived here much earlier, I have already moved in to an apartment and with the more than a little parental assistance I have even furnished and decorated it - quite nicely I think. I haven't taken photos of it yet - that will come - but I can tell you that it's at the edge of downtown Berkeley, within minutes of the university by foot, and that it's bright and colorful. It has large windows facing the street, so I get to see activity other than of the wind and leaves, and on the rear it has a wooden deck that faces greenery down towards the Bay, so I can enjoy both worlds. The floor is wooden, the walls are in different pastels and the color scheme is basically on the blue vs. orange (brown) axis. I like it.
Knowing that the others had just arrived while I already had a home, I waited for people to thin out on friday evening and when only a handful of people near me were left I invited them for lunch at my apartment the next day. As some of you probably realize, this is tricky business, because I tend to eat pasta with ketchup unless someone actively suggests otherwise. Nonetheless I made food and everyone was polite enough to eat it (one person even said it was delicious, but I gather that's just politeness, otherwise it doesn't make sense). Later that afternoon a smaller group of us climbed up the hill behind campus to get a cloud top view of the city (cloud top here is not that big a deal, as the clouds seem to slither near the ground), and on sunday we marched from Market to North-Beach and back, giving them a first glimpse of San-Francisco. As for me, I have been in and out of there several times over the past three weeks and am beginning to get more of a feel for the different areas.
There were four of us including myself: Francois who is from Brussels, and Frank and Martin (Mahh-tin) from Mannheim, Germany. The latter two are exchange students and will only be studying here the first year, although I estimate that one of them will try to stay on. As expected, I am the oldest incoming student so far (some have yet to arrive), but not by much, and it does not seem to be an issue. There are several students from the Far East, quite a few Americans and Canadians, and a large group of South Americans. Aside from the exchange students Francois is the only European and I am the only Israeli. In addition to Frank and Martin there are five (!) more German exchange students expected to join us in late august, so I'm expecting the first year to have a Deutsche sound to it. So far being Israeli has not brought up any negative attention. At one point in the conversation Frank mentioned how on a previous visit to the US he had noticed Americans' exaggerated pride in their nation (and how he promptly proceeded to irritate them on this basis). He explained that he cannot understand pride in something one is randomly born into and that consequently he does not feel proud of his own origin.
The events of the past few days have kept me busy, and thinking surprisingly little about being far from home, family and friends. During the week or so that my parents were here I was worried about the impending feeling of loneliness that was bound to return once they left, but so far it has not hit me. The week with them was, in retrospect, right on the mark. Not only did it help me in the material sense, but we also had a chance to explore San-Francisco and to travel north and south. Apart from the standard tourist sites, we got a glimpse of the De-Young art museum, and its definitely something I want more than a taste of. It is not every day that you get to inspect a Herzog, De-Meron masterpiece up close (A Swiss architecture firm and very much a contemporary bigshot). More importantly, it is one of several museums, so there is still much in store. As for shopping: if consumerism makes a nation fat, then the US is morbidly obese. It is much, much worse here than at home, and despite the usefulness of it, it easily makes you buy much more than you need.
In half an hour I begin my first class. It is a math course that will review things I ought to already know, and as such is not very exciting, but it should be a useful refresher and a precursor of what school will be like later on. Before then I must eat, and figure out where I can print the handouts, so I must be off...
On friday the economics department put together an orientation day for the incoming graduate students. We were greeted by a stack of oatmeal cookies, two cardboard cases (?!) of coffee and decaf and a pile of printed name stickers. The day began with some short welcomes and continued with a series of long administrative rambles that lasted through the afternoon. Lunch provided a welcome break and consisted of a bunch of pizzas and salads. It gave us an opportunity to speak with each other, as well as prior students. I also got a chance to meet Maurice Obstfeld - a well known macro economist - whose textbook we used (supposedly) at Tel-Aviv. Later on there was a question and answer session with a group of previous years' students who we met again in the evening for drinks.
As it happens, most of the incoming students arrived only in the past day or two, so they are either knee deep in apartment hunting or else they have temporary setups until late august when they can move into the "international house" (which is essentially a graduate dormitory that is only indirectly related to the university). Having arrived here much earlier, I have already moved in to an apartment and with the more than a little parental assistance I have even furnished and decorated it - quite nicely I think. I haven't taken photos of it yet - that will come - but I can tell you that it's at the edge of downtown Berkeley, within minutes of the university by foot, and that it's bright and colorful. It has large windows facing the street, so I get to see activity other than of the wind and leaves, and on the rear it has a wooden deck that faces greenery down towards the Bay, so I can enjoy both worlds. The floor is wooden, the walls are in different pastels and the color scheme is basically on the blue vs. orange (brown) axis. I like it.
Knowing that the others had just arrived while I already had a home, I waited for people to thin out on friday evening and when only a handful of people near me were left I invited them for lunch at my apartment the next day. As some of you probably realize, this is tricky business, because I tend to eat pasta with ketchup unless someone actively suggests otherwise. Nonetheless I made food and everyone was polite enough to eat it (one person even said it was delicious, but I gather that's just politeness, otherwise it doesn't make sense). Later that afternoon a smaller group of us climbed up the hill behind campus to get a cloud top view of the city (cloud top here is not that big a deal, as the clouds seem to slither near the ground), and on sunday we marched from Market to North-Beach and back, giving them a first glimpse of San-Francisco. As for me, I have been in and out of there several times over the past three weeks and am beginning to get more of a feel for the different areas.
There were four of us including myself: Francois who is from Brussels, and Frank and Martin (Mahh-tin) from Mannheim, Germany. The latter two are exchange students and will only be studying here the first year, although I estimate that one of them will try to stay on. As expected, I am the oldest incoming student so far (some have yet to arrive), but not by much, and it does not seem to be an issue. There are several students from the Far East, quite a few Americans and Canadians, and a large group of South Americans. Aside from the exchange students Francois is the only European and I am the only Israeli. In addition to Frank and Martin there are five (!) more German exchange students expected to join us in late august, so I'm expecting the first year to have a Deutsche sound to it. So far being Israeli has not brought up any negative attention. At one point in the conversation Frank mentioned how on a previous visit to the US he had noticed Americans' exaggerated pride in their nation (and how he promptly proceeded to irritate them on this basis). He explained that he cannot understand pride in something one is randomly born into and that consequently he does not feel proud of his own origin.
The events of the past few days have kept me busy, and thinking surprisingly little about being far from home, family and friends. During the week or so that my parents were here I was worried about the impending feeling of loneliness that was bound to return once they left, but so far it has not hit me. The week with them was, in retrospect, right on the mark. Not only did it help me in the material sense, but we also had a chance to explore San-Francisco and to travel north and south. Apart from the standard tourist sites, we got a glimpse of the De-Young art museum, and its definitely something I want more than a taste of. It is not every day that you get to inspect a Herzog, De-Meron masterpiece up close (A Swiss architecture firm and very much a contemporary bigshot). More importantly, it is one of several museums, so there is still much in store. As for shopping: if consumerism makes a nation fat, then the US is morbidly obese. It is much, much worse here than at home, and despite the usefulness of it, it easily makes you buy much more than you need.
In half an hour I begin my first class. It is a math course that will review things I ought to already know, and as such is not very exciting, but it should be a useful refresher and a precursor of what school will be like later on. Before then I must eat, and figure out where I can print the handouts, so I must be off...
Sunday, July 15, 2007
OK. So I have a blog.
Yes, I have a blog all my own and it says "Berkeley".
Lovely.
From my 4th floor hostel window I see a terra-cota rooftop that shelters the arcaded facade of Berkeley's main post office. Despite some differences, it is so strikingly similar to Brunelleschi's orphanage (early renaissance) that it could only exist in America. To its right is a local-looking pine tree, and in the distance behind the two I can just make out the cranes of Oakland's port. Farther still is a body of water backed by a towering mountain range. This is the peninsula at the end of which San-Francisco is perched, just out of view. Every day for the past week a fresh bed of clouds has climbed over this range and rolled down onto the bay. Another one is doing so right now.
I've probably found a place to live, but a definitive conclusion and a thorough description will have to wait for a later post. In fact, there are several issues that await a definitive conclusion, not least of which is my identity: I am currently suspected of fraud by AT&T, who claim that my name is not my own, at least in so far as their social security records go. I will have to clear this out in the morning, as it is quite troubling and likely to affect many things.
Cellular communications here are remarkably expensive compared to home. On the bright side, calls to Israel are cheaper than to any other country on the list.
The first person I met with here is Ity. Now that I've arrived he's no longer the only Israeli economics student at Berkeley. He's entering his second year and is extremely friendly. It turns out that he was my metargel in Manuel Trajtenberg's seminar (I met him once at the time and he said "you must read more..."). We met for coffee on tuesday and he invited me for dinner with him and his wife the next evening at their apartment. They have a very cute baby girl who walks excitedly around the house and ate (well, drank) with us for a bit before going to sleep. They live in the "UC village", which is where graduate students with families can rent university housing, so I got a glimpse of a part of town I hadn't seen yet. Yair is their downstairs neighbour and he came up for a moment to tell me I look just like my brother. On friday I met with Shachar, who is a young economics professor here, and who is also terrifically warm and welcoming. Last in line was Mark, an English student turned economics graduate with whom I'll be taking courses this year. We spent a couple of hours over coffee. He makes great conversation, and if he's indicative of the other people I'll be studying with then I can expect to have a great time, at least as far as good company at school can take you.
Other than that I've adopted the single tourist attitude and been open to conversation with people I might otherwise not be. Today I spent quite a while with Thomas, who was in the Navy for a few years before studying at "Cal" (as the university is called here). He's "rushing" for fraternities, even though he is 26, and oh so American. I also had a long conversation with a Nepali store owner and another with an Indian PhD student who is deliberating between an assistant professor position at one of the smaller University of California campuses or returning to a university in India.
Finally, there's plenty of coffee and bookstores around, which is wonderful. Unfortunately, everywhere seems to close around 8 or 9 at the latest, which does not make for good evening out-of-house studying. I guess Berkeley is no replacement for Tel-Aviv in that sense, but I will keep looking. Berkeley is not really a good replacement for Tel-Aviv in many senses, now that I think of it, even with San-Francisco in the bundle.
More to come...
Lovely.
From my 4th floor hostel window I see a terra-cota rooftop that shelters the arcaded facade of Berkeley's main post office. Despite some differences, it is so strikingly similar to Brunelleschi's orphanage (early renaissance) that it could only exist in America. To its right is a local-looking pine tree, and in the distance behind the two I can just make out the cranes of Oakland's port. Farther still is a body of water backed by a towering mountain range. This is the peninsula at the end of which San-Francisco is perched, just out of view. Every day for the past week a fresh bed of clouds has climbed over this range and rolled down onto the bay. Another one is doing so right now.
I've probably found a place to live, but a definitive conclusion and a thorough description will have to wait for a later post. In fact, there are several issues that await a definitive conclusion, not least of which is my identity: I am currently suspected of fraud by AT&T, who claim that my name is not my own, at least in so far as their social security records go. I will have to clear this out in the morning, as it is quite troubling and likely to affect many things.
Cellular communications here are remarkably expensive compared to home. On the bright side, calls to Israel are cheaper than to any other country on the list.
The first person I met with here is Ity. Now that I've arrived he's no longer the only Israeli economics student at Berkeley. He's entering his second year and is extremely friendly. It turns out that he was my metargel in Manuel Trajtenberg's seminar (I met him once at the time and he said "you must read more..."). We met for coffee on tuesday and he invited me for dinner with him and his wife the next evening at their apartment. They have a very cute baby girl who walks excitedly around the house and ate (well, drank) with us for a bit before going to sleep. They live in the "UC village", which is where graduate students with families can rent university housing, so I got a glimpse of a part of town I hadn't seen yet. Yair is their downstairs neighbour and he came up for a moment to tell me I look just like my brother. On friday I met with Shachar, who is a young economics professor here, and who is also terrifically warm and welcoming. Last in line was Mark, an English student turned economics graduate with whom I'll be taking courses this year. We spent a couple of hours over coffee. He makes great conversation, and if he's indicative of the other people I'll be studying with then I can expect to have a great time, at least as far as good company at school can take you.
Other than that I've adopted the single tourist attitude and been open to conversation with people I might otherwise not be. Today I spent quite a while with Thomas, who was in the Navy for a few years before studying at "Cal" (as the university is called here). He's "rushing" for fraternities, even though he is 26, and oh so American. I also had a long conversation with a Nepali store owner and another with an Indian PhD student who is deliberating between an assistant professor position at one of the smaller University of California campuses or returning to a university in India.
Finally, there's plenty of coffee and bookstores around, which is wonderful. Unfortunately, everywhere seems to close around 8 or 9 at the latest, which does not make for good evening out-of-house studying. I guess Berkeley is no replacement for Tel-Aviv in that sense, but I will keep looking. Berkeley is not really a good replacement for Tel-Aviv in many senses, now that I think of it, even with San-Francisco in the bundle.
More to come...
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