RITRATTO DI PENN STATE

ciao belli! niente foto o avventure mirabolanti oggi, pubblico soltanto una mail inviatami da Hannah Williams, project manager del gruppo di gravitazione a Penn State, nonche` cara amica del mio socio CNC. CNC l'ha informata del mio arrivo e le ha detto che sono un 'cazzone'. date le mie perplessita sulla localita`, Hanna ha pensato bene di fornirmi un quadro dettagliato dell'amena localita`. e` in inglese, ma vale lo sbattimento della lettura.....

p.s. comunque se a penn state hanno tutti il senso dell'umorismo di questa tizia, potrei non trovarmi cosi` male...


Dearest Alberto,

I was just passing the time kibitzing with my dear friend Carlo Nicola -
discussing the record high influx of Italians to our beloved Gravity
Center here at Penn State - when he told me how excited you are about
coming here. As I will be one of your new colleagues when you arrive,
Carlo informed me that you were a bit concerned about the location of
Penn State here in Central Pennsylvania - more specifically that it is
in the middle of no where - and that I should send along some kind words
about your new home.

Let me begin by saying that your geography is *excellent*. I just
walked outside and said to myself, "My god! I am in the middle of no
where!".

Have no fear though. You'll love it here. As a German friend once told
me, "this is a place that completely lacks culture and social action".
We shouldn't mind him though. He is rushing to Canada of all places to
get away from here - hesitating not for a moment to let grass grow under
his feet.

So what do people in Central PA like to do? People here like to watch
football (not soccer). When I say "people" - I am talking about about
120,000 of them - as we have one of the largest stadiums in the US here
- and by the time you get here, the season will be full blown.
Something like 1 in 12 people in the United States has graduated from
PSU - and they all flock here on the weekends to watch the football
games and get drunk.

Aside from that, there is basically nothing to do around here, unless
you like firearms. If you enjoy firearms, we have lots of sportsman's
clubs, shooting ranges, and other ways to kill a few hours with an
automatic rifle in your hands.

We are 3 to 4 hours away from anything resembling a city - which
essentially translates to "bring your own entertainment". :)


So, I am making a bit of fun. I quite enjoy living here. It is a very
safe place to live - but many people strongly dislike the area because
of what they consider a lack of things to do. In my mind, there is
plenty to do around here - but they are all things which require an
outdoor spirit - something of which I naturally grew up with. I myself
am very fond of hiking and mountain biking (something which I do
avidly). Our local state forest has some of the most difficult single
track to ride on the east coast - and more appropriately because they
are almost entirely rock gardens that you have to ride. If you like
wildlife, I have seen 3 black bears so far this season, and as the
blueberries begin ripening up on the ridges, the bears will be
everywhere. It is quite a site. :)

The local area also has a very strong Pennsylvania Dutch culture to it,
which some people (especially those from the western US) have a hard
time getting used to the highly organized and rigid fashion of its
people - as it permeates much of what life is like here. It is not so
bad though - and as Carlo once said to me: "it adds to the charm",
which I think is very true. :)

There are a lot of wonderful people here to work with. One of the
things that makes me sad is that many of the individuals whom I have
become good friends with are all leaving! (We have 8 post docs leaving
this season!) However, we are looking forward to the new people who are
coming on - all of which we are excited to meet and bring into the fold.

If you have any questions that would aid you in getting more acquainted
before you arrive, by all means, let me know. I will do the best I can
to help out and will try my hardest to not be frightening and overly
sarcastic.

Take care,
--
Hannah Williams
Project Manager
The Center for Gravitational Wave Physics
Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry