The first thing I am aware of is the coldness of the lower half of my bed. I’m curled up into a tiny ball and it’s almost warm. Everywhere my body isn’t touching is freezing. Opening my eyes, I’m staring at green mesh over particle board. There’s that second of “where am I?” before the realization “oh yeah, the woods.”

The sun is streaming in, not through open windows, but through the space between the boards that compose the wall of my room.

This is what I meant when I said woods. This is not kidding around. Culture shocked. I am living in a loft over the “Lower Pub” shared with 8 other people in four rooms separated by pieces particle board. The guys in the next room roll over, I know about it. Someone sneezes, it’s a chorus of “Bless yous!”

When the sun streams in on beautiful mornings it’s lovely. When rain blows in it’s horrible. When mosqitoes fly in it’s unavoidable. Thus the green mesh of my first morning eye-full. I finally have the canopy bed I’ve been dreaming about since I was four years old. It’s green mosquito netting shrowding my tiny cold twin bed.

My friends in NYC call complaining about how hot it is in the city, they’re dying without air conditioning. Up north it’s about 20 degrees colder- something I didn’t consider, didn’t pack appropriately. June means summer to me. Summer means no pants, maaaaybe a sweater at night. It seems that here, summer actually starts June 21st. I’m hoping at least, because if it’s cold all summer I will cry, and wear the one pair of jeans I brought everyday, and one morning find myself unable to get out of my curled-up-ball-of-warmth.

I’m spoiled. My heating normally is included in my rent. I haven’t been cold indoors in years. Then again, here I’m not indoors. I am under a definite roof with sorta-kinda walls. I am getting used to it and hopefully if the sun keeps shining and the weather starts warming, in no time I’ll be whistling happily, along with the birds that start chirping at 5am.