My favourite places

I finally managed to tear myself away from the books and write a bit more about my life in Portland. To start with I thought it interesting to show you some of my favourite places up to now.

1.) My apartment

After two weeks in my most favourite hostel, of which I already posted a picture, I moved to some friends’ place to stay there till my apartment would be ready. I cannot tell you what a pleasure it was to finally sleep without ear plugs!! It was a lot of fun staying with them, but I still lived out of my two suitcases which can be quite annoying after a while. For this reason I was very happy when I got to know that I would be able to move into my apartment last Wednesday (three days before the agreed upon date). Riding on a wave of happiness, I took the offer by a class mate (owner of a big truck) to drive with him to Ikea to buy all the furniture I needed in one big shopping marathon. I actually did quite well. It took me about three hours to buy kitchen supplies, a table and chairs, a desk, living room furniture (sofabed, side table and a rug) and the sheets for my bed. Within two days I managed to put together all the furniture by myself (I had to state that. I’m so proud. Everybody that knows my technical skills will understand that.), and am proudly presenting some pictures of my apartment.

2.) My university

One of the most important places, of course, is my university. I cannot really impress you with a beautiful façade. The building of the School of Business Administration is admittedly not the most beautiful on campus.

I just passed the first week of classes and I’m already overwhelmed by the amount of readings, homework, individual and team assignments that we are told to do. I just dropped a little tear yesterday night when I finished my last novel. I anticipate that I will spend the rest of the term (till Christmas) adoring my economic and business books, articles and the Wall Street Journal.

3.) My places to go shopping

The Farmer’s market

The Farmer’s market takes place every Saturday on the PSU campus. Local farmers from the Portland area offer their products which rank from vegetables, fruits, cheese, bread, and meat to even flowers and other things. It is a great place to shop around for vegetables and fruits or just enjoying the nice atmosphere.

Trader Joe's

Another place I think is great is “Trader Joe’s”. They have a great selection of cheese, wine, bread (European style) and dips. I thought I would not be able to afford to buy cheese and find “real” bread in the US, but thanks to “Trader Joe’s” I’m happy. Interesting to know is that “Trader Joe’s” is a supermarket chain originally coming from California and it is owned by Theo Albrecht (Aldi).

(Adrian & Hannah)

It is somehow weird that my most favourite shopping places are supermarkets. But the basic needs have to be satisfied to be able to drive personal growth. :)

Powell's

Oh, and I have to introduce to you books’ paradise – Powell’s. I think I already mentioned it in the first post. I never saw so many books in a bookshop in my life. It is impressive and the best of all is that you can shop for used books there. Powell’s is a great place to spend the rainy days in Portland, if you don’t have any readings and assignments to work on, of course.

4.) Places to spend my leisure time

I definitely have to work more on the last section. I already uploaded some pictures of the Saturday market which is a great place. I should have mentioned it under the shopping section actually. But I will definitely have to work on that section especially to explore some places outside of town like the Columbia gorge, Mount Hood and the wineries.

I have to add this picture. It was taken last Friday (October 3rd). We went with a group of our MBA cohort to a German restaurant to celebrate our national holiday.

(starting from the left: Adrian, Nate, Michael, Harry, Liza, Bettina & Hannah)