10 Answers to the Question, "So How's New Haven?"

We're 6 weeks into our 104(ish)-week stint in New Haven, Connecticut, we've attended more than 2 dozen get-to-know-(people/New Haven/Yale/SOM) events, and we're 2 weeks into what may be the beginnings of a routine. We've also traveled back to Atlanta twice this month, which means we've been asked, "So How's New Haven?" many, many times.
 
Here are my top 10 answers:

1. Hot. We live in an attic apartment and, while we have window a/c units, it has been an expensive daily battle to keep the apartment at a comfortable 78 degrees Fahrenheit. I've adapted well enough, but now walking into a room that is cooler than 76 degrees makes me want to put on a jacket.
2. Too...much...pizza. This I won't speak much above a whisper so as not to offend the locals. I won't say how often we've eaten pizza for lunch or dinner at various events, but I will say that we've eaten pizza topped with spinach and broccoli, pizza with clams, with artichokes and red onion, sausage and pepperoni, tomato and mozzarella, tomato and feta, mushrooms, broccoli rabe, barbeque chicken, and mashed potatoes. 
3. Lots of walking! This was something I looked forward to before moving here. Most days, I average 3.5 miles and 6 flights of stairs, more on Wednesdays. I'm hoping my enthusiasm holds when the temperatures drop!
4. It's a perfectly sized city (for me). Moving here, I wanted to take advantage of a pedestrian lifestyle, but couldn't imagine myself navigating a huge city like Boston or New York. I'm loving that, so far, anywhere I've wanted to go--from the farmer's market to the library to the art museum--has been less than 1.5 miles away.
5. We've figured out the essentials... where to buy groceries, the quickest way to campus, how to get to the airport, how many meals to plan for in a week, etc. 
6. ...and now we're working on the fun stuff: which restaurants we like best, where to order take-out, which events we want to attend on and around campus.
7. Not working is hard work. Before, I could excuse myself for having piles of laundry waiting to be washed or leaving the dishwasher full of clean dishes because I had a pile of essays to grade. I could also excuse the occasional three-hour Netflix session because I just graded a pile of essays. Now, I've absorbed 95% of the tasks related to keeping our home-life organized while pushing myself to stay busy with the goals I set for myself during our time here. I am lucky, I am grateful, and I am genuinely appreciative of anyone in charge of running a household.
8. I'm excited to be auditing classes! The classes I picked--writing, Bollywood film and music, and Corporate Responsibility/Sustainability--are interesting and challenging. 
9. Getting involved is next on our list. Now that the school year has officially started, we're looking into clubs and other opportunities to be involved in the campus community. What will it be: Hockey? Rowing? Food and Wine? I hear the Japan Club has great sushi events...
10. We've checked 1 Yale tradition off of our list: drinking from a trophy cup at Mory's. I'm glad I took my sip before we learned the second half of the tradition--the one who finishes the drink has to spin it around on his head to dry out the condensation. Yum...

I'll update with a photograph or two later--It's time for class!