Here in Pittsburgh!

 Hello, there!

We are finally here in Pittsburgh at 2nd week of class. Luckily the classes are online so I was able to participate - sort of - during the transitions. The lectures have recorded zooms so I could simply just go back and re-visit missed lectures. Nonetheless, yeay, I am now officially a student at Carnegie Mellon University. Woohoo!

Nonetheless, I have a strong support system to help me get here and it would not have been a breeze without them:

1. My family, my in-laws & makcik. For helping me with all the stuff - beli barang, kemas bags, jaga Mikael and Afrael when I needed to run some errands.

2. Kak Ifah, Abg Yus & family. They helped sending us to Pittsburgh and got us settled in super quick. I mean, without them, I probably wouldn't have a mattress to lie on the first day of my arrival here - that's how crazy supportive they are! I would never forget this - and they mentioned that it's a pay-it-forward, so if and when I found anyone needed some help later in life, I would provide the same gesture. I am super thankful!

3. Friends and family.

Alhamdulillah.

Ok, let's move to settling in. This was really different from my settling in at Maryland previously. During the Bachelor's degree, we had MARA officers who helped picked us up at the airport and brought us to the MARA's residence before we can go into our dorms. Once we could go to the dorm, the MARA officer brought us to the dorm. It was quite easy and I did not have to do much due diligence.

This time around, for the Masters program, there was less help from the officer - probably considering we are older? But instead of that, I had help from Kak Ifah & Abg Yus from the airport to a warm home with all the warm food (Kak Ifah's) to Pittsburgh. Luckily I did my due diligence on the house rental way earlier - so I had a place to stay at Pittsburgh immediately. This is actually quite tricky since I was far and there is definitely a chance for scammers - but again, Alhamdulillah, Allah has helped made it easy and the rental home I got was a really nice big home for us - a family of four. (Shout out to Kak Ifah for making a visit a few weeks prior to confirm the existence of the house haha) 

The day we arrived Pittsburgh was snowy and though we managed to get everything else settled, we were not able to get a line yet. So this was actually very tricky too since I have class the following day (which is today).

Pittsburgh is such a winter wonderland at this time - super beautiful yet it's also super cold. The snow is thick - I've only seen that much snow at Maryland when we had the snow storm in 2010.

So early in the morning at around 8.30am (my class starts at 9am), with no cellphones, I walked based on what I remembered on Google Maps when I looked for the address of the house back in Malaysia. I thought of getting to the library or something to get internet access so that I could participate in class. I wanted to drop by to pick up my student ID as well and some swag bag. I saw people waiting at a bus stop - so I approached a person and asked if the bus is going to CMU. The person suggested to walk a few blocks to Forbes Ave and take bus 61C or 61D. I did exactly that and I saw a 61C. Quickly rode on the bus and told the bus driver that I am a CMU student. I got the fare free of charge.

But, in a turn of events, I got into the bus to the opposite direction instead. T_T

Rode the bus for probably half an hour and arrived at McKeesport (?) and was asked to leave the bus as it was the final destination. I asked the driver again on how to get to CMU from there and I had to take the bus from the opposite direction. So I had to wait a couple of minutes and finally rode into the bus. It was probably 10.30am by now. My first class ended at 10.00 am and my next class would end at 11.00 am. Along the way, I decided that I had to get a cellphone anyhow since I do not know if the library would even be open due to Covid-19 restrictions. I asked the drive and the driver told me that Boost Mobile is along the way. Got off and went straight to Boost Mobile. Got things set up and saw the Xfinity Prepaid Internet. I have been looking at the internet plans and Xfinity topped my list as I wanted something temporary since I'd be in Pittsburgh for a semester only. So got the Xfinity Prepaid Internet as well. While I got things set up at the store, the store owner said that my address is just close by. (I really had no idea - I thought of getting into the bus to the stop I walked to previously)

So once I got my phone, entered my home address, it's only 8 minutes walking distance away. THAT IS PERFECT. Honestly I was super nervous since I had no contact with my husband the whole time - more worried of the kids - and of course how would I know if I got into the wrong directions, etc, because I had no information at all. (I did get the map from the bus driver after I rode on the bus and that is how I noticed I was in the wrong direction. But I did not want to get off the bus since I do not know the neighborhood and do not know which is a safe neighborhood and which is not)

I got some groceries - tea and whatnot - and walked straight back home. 

Ah, home sweet home.

Made some lunch for the kids. Did some organizing. And with the internet, I finally felt more at ease.

I'll probably try going to the university again this Wednesday. My classes are pretty packed on Tuesdays / Thursdays since I am in the waitlist for two of my classes.

Oh before I forgot, I got prepaid lines first. (I did these back in Maryland as well) So I have more time to figure out which line I'd like to have. And postpaid lines require some sort of bank account / SSN, so I'll settle with prepaid lines while I get them set up.

So there you go! Adios!