Flying the Nest (but not too far)

Rebecca and I with a home-cooked meal.

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry... especially in the era of COVID. My plans at least. Two months ago I would have told you that I would be moving into an apartment in Santa Barbara for the school year. That is not what happened.

Isla Vista (IV), the neighborhood next to UC Santa Barbara, is the most densely populated square mile in California. Many UCSB students live there in apartments and houses, often sharing a room with 1-2 other people. This means that a 4 bedroom house can easily house more than 10 people... Which isn't a problem until COVID comes into the picture. IV is also known for it's party culture, and so, predictably, there was a sizeable COVID outbreak there in August which has still not decreased substantially. My family and I decided that it probably wouldn't be the best idea for me to move to Santa Barbara until the COVID situation got a little better.

However, it was still time for me to move out. I had originally planned not to live at home for more than 2 months at a time, but as the summer dragged on 2 became 4, 5, 6... As much as I love my family, I was ready to move out. Luckily, those two statements are not mutually exclusive.

I talked to a friend of mine, Rebecca, who was in the same situation; Barnard college had cancelled in-person classes and on-campus housing. We decided to get an apartment together in Davis and "go to college" together for the fall.

We found an affordable sublease, and by the 2nd week of September had moved in. The people we are subleasing from left us most of their furniture, which spared us from the process of finding beds, desks, kitchenware, and most other things needed to make a space habitable. We each have our own bedroom, are about 2 blocks away from Trader Joe's, and are still able to visit our families on weekends.

Our living room, kitchen, view from our balcony, my desk and bed.

Since I can't have pets, I better have plants!

There are two big changes I have noticed in terms of living alone: first, it feels like I'm living only my life. At home I felt like I was always aware of everyone else's life too, and there was always someone I should be talking to or helping. Now, it's just me. The second thing is that buying food for 2 people is very different than buying food for a family of 4.

I am a big fan of German-style food, namely food that tastes good without having much flavor. Boiled potatoes, boiled carrots, and rice and beans are all foods I like to eat and will cook often. Because I have not been in college classes since we moved in and Rebecca has, I have been doing a lot of the cooking. One day, Rebecca sat down on the couch and exclaimed "I'm tired of eating all this bland food, I don't know how you do it!"

"You're welcome to cook..." I offered. Since then, however, I've been making an effort to actually make my food taste good by adding spices and other flavors, and my cooking skills have improved dramatically overnight.

Fried potatoes seasoned with onion salt, oven-roasted asparagus with garlic powder, lemon juice, and cheese, and stir-fry with Persian noodles, tofu, and red bell pepper, flavored with homemade peanut sauce.

My tolerance for online activities has dramatically increased over the past few months. I have started taking capoeira classes with the group in Flagstaff again (online). A few months ago I took a class and hated it-- I felt so disconnected from the other people in the class. Now, however, I thoroughly enjoy the classes. I believe the ability to feel connected via a screen is a skill that is learned over time, and has become crucial in today's world.

In October I will start fall quarter classes: college writing, math, and Introduction to Environmental Studies. Although I am excited to start college, I am disappointed that it must be online. Because of the amount of credits I have built up with my AP tests and summer classes, I have decided that I will take this winter quarter (January through March) off to do a hands-on (preferably paid) internship. I have applied to several but have yet to hear back from any, and any ideas would be much appreciated.

So that's where I am! It's a weird time but I'm hopeful for the future!