Our place 2

We don’t have the Internet set up yet so I’m typing this from my iPhone.

Day 3 in Baltimore and it feels like we’ve been here for weeks already. The new apartment is very cool but I have just one complaint: our ceilings are low! Some of the other units in the building have 14′ ceilings but our floor was divided into two. So our apartment and the one above us are just short of 7′. It was strange at first but I hardly notice it now. Still, 14′ ceilings would be nice.

Baltimore is fantastic and beyond my expectations. Our neighborhood is gorgeous and fun. The park adjacent to the Washington monument is 20 feet from our front steps. We just happened to arrive with the moving truck on the same day they had a concert in the park. Our neighbors all seem about our age. There is a husband and wife two floors up that are a U of M and MICA couple as well. She’s also in the Sculpture program and he’s involved with the Medical school.

Everything I could ever want is within walking distance. I knew we really wouldn’t need a car in the city but I didn’t expect to not even need public transportation! Restaurants, markets, boutiques, museums, everything! And with all the beautiful architecture even the longest walk becomes a pleasant exploration.

Of course, we stay within our bubble of safety and low crime. The boundaries between the good neighborhoods and the bad ones are obvious and easy to avoid so I’m not too worried about it.

Tomorrow we take care of our licences and checking out walmart for a dresser and a new TV (ours was damaged in the move). Maybe we can even get a few more boxes out of the way. 🙂

V

The New Place

Outside

Interior

The neighborhood

We finally got a new place. After we turned down the basement apartment because they $2,200 two months before we were going to move in, we were starting to get worried. Then we found this place and we were approve. Its a much better location in Mt. Vernon downtown near a bunch of stuff, exactly between the two trains I will be using to get to DC. Its an old converted mansion, $900 which is more that we wanted to pay but still less than what we pay now and we don’t have to rely on the car to get around. Its caddy corner to Mt. Vernon Square which you can look up.

Read more about the neighborhood here.

http://www.livebaltimore.com/nb/list/mtvern/

J+V

Note to architecture students: School is hard, you shouldn’t work.

This was sent by the University of Maryland to help prepare me for grad school. I’m posting this for my family for them to better understand what I’m about to do.

J

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NOTES TO ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS

Outlined below are a few things that you can do to prepare for the upcoming academic “experience” to ensure your success

Architecture school is intellectually, physically, and emotionally demanding. At the University of Maryland, we offer you an education that prepares you for a professional career. Consequently, the degree of seriousness and commitment to study expected of our students is equivalent to that of a law or medical program. Additionally, our faculty and administration have set out a series of high goals for your education. The “partnership” that we are entering into over the next years necessitates your full participation. No doubt this will require you to make many hard decisions along the way. We hope that you will feel comfortable in seeking advice from the faculty when the need arises.

Architecture school demands long hours of its participants. There are few architecture schools in this country where the commitment on the part of both the students and the faculty rivals that of Maryland. Often students find that this immersion into education presents some true difficulties in planning their time and making choices. We suggest that you begin now to consider scenarios that will enable you to give your best effort to what is, after all, the beginning of a life’s work.

The studio forms the central focus of the Architectural Curriculum. The studio is the place where the lessons learned throughout your education, in your history/theory, technology, and other professional courses are analyzed and synthesized into a whole body of experience.

Studio is not a class, though it does meet from 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Studio is a learning environment made up of people who share your passion for architecture. Consequently, it is crucial to your development that you are in studio working with your peers as much as possible. The actual amount of studio contact time between an individual professor and student engaged in direct conversation/criticism concerning the student’s personal work is relatively short.

Students learn from each other as much as, or more than, they learn from their faculty. It has been our experience that the students who become the best designers have developed a healthy habit of working in studio. Participation in studio is the equivalent of having a full-time job. Students estimate it requires 30-40 hours per week to successfully complete the required work.

Since studio is so labor-intensive and the hours are usually long, we cannot overemphasize the importance of living within a short distance of the School of Architecture (preferably within walking distance). The reason we mention this is because in the past some students have tried to coordinate relatively long commutes (in excess of 15-20 minutes) with their architectural education. Typically, long drives home (particularly after a long day’s/night’s work) can become hazardous. Additionally, if you live at a remote location you will be tempted to work at home and consequently will not benefit from the studio environment. In the past, students who have chosen to commute have found that their performance in studio suffers. So, if you have any control over your place of residence try to find some place close by.