Yesterday I spent part of my last day in Havertown visiting Karakung Swim Club, my summer home for the last 5 years. It was a bittersweet reunion as I welcomed back my friends and said goodbye just as quickly. On the staff whiteboard, a note from my brother announced: "100 Days Till Labor Day". It's hard to believe a summer which has barely begun is only 100 days away from completion.
Today I am writing to you from Erie, PA, my home for 70 of those 100 days. I am here for a summer internship with a major industrial company (I will spare you the details to spare me the litigation). I am staying at a local university here and starting to get settled in. Erie is different than any place I've ever lived before, not just because its next to a body of water. Its a large and sprawling city-town, parts of which are run down. My brief tour suggests it is mostly waterfront industry and strip malls. Maybe there was more at one point in history, but this is all that seems to remain. It doesn't seem bad though.
We did drive out to Presque Isle, which is a state park that features most of the waterfront activities. There were lots of people out walking, biking, fishing, and swimming. We did get out and gaze across at a hazy horizon where Canada should be. The lake is pretty big and it looks very nice – I look forward to spending more time there. The drive up to Erie, by the way, clocked in at 6 1/2 hours. Not as bad as I expected, but I don't plan on making it again anytime soon.
That's all I have to report for now, I look forward to meeting more of my fellow interns tomorrow and further exploring the town. I'll try to keep posting throughout.
Good luck tomorrow, Steve! Show them what IST students can do! 🙂