I have been in Bloomington for approximately two full days now and things are awesome. Let me rank the following items regarding being in Bloomington as to their awesomeness:
My House: Severely Awesome. Set back from the road and behind some trees, it is in a prime location, if a little ways from campus (no matter, the bus stop is a short walk away and campus itself is a good 1/2 hour walk on a nice day). It is an older house, but our landlord is busy busy busy cleaning and adding things. I live on the porch, which is a window-heavy, very spacious and open-feeling room. The fact that it is not naturally a bedroom has been remedied by the addition of a wardrobe and many blinds on the windows. My roommates are three: Dustin, Ramsey and Chris.
Dustin: Moderately Awesome. He is another first year grad student, but in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA). His girlfriend Jenn has also moved to Bloomington, but can't move into her place until Friday, so he's been spending most of his time with her. He is friendly and straight-forward, but a little grumpy right now. Perhaps this will ease in time.
Ramsey: Quite Awesome. A second-year SPEA student, he has a social life here already, of which I've been a small part of. He is intelligent and well-spoken and interesting to make conversation with -- but still very much a black man from Virginia -- listens to hip-hop, dresses the part, etc. I'm excited to spend more time with him.
Chris: Curiously Awesome. A Ph.D. candidate in Cognitive Science, he hails from South Africa. (!!!) Besides the obvious accent, he is a walking psychology experiment. The last time he has spent any significant time in the USA was when he was 11. Watching his reactions to things here is endlessly fascinating. He as well is quite smart (near as I can tell, at any rate) and will be awesome to spend time with.
That's all I got for now. I'm off to contend with the Financial Aid office and look into health insurance and other basic stuff. Peace.