Traveling to Grand Junction

How did I get here?

As most of you probably know (and the rest guess at this point) I went on a student exchange for this fall semester. How it all began? Inspired by few of my friends who had had a year at US University with Nordic ski team, I began to figure out my possibilities to do the same. I was advised to contact the head coach at College of St. Scholastica and he was totally into the idea of having me on their team for one year. After couple of months of email exchange this door was closed due to lack of interest at the management side of St. Scholastica to set up the exchange. This was between October 2013 and January 2014. Then I forgot the whole idea for a while.

During August 2014 I contacted several Nordic ski team coaches but the problem was either my nonexistent skiing merits or the fact that through ISEP (International Student Exchange Program) my exchange would be limited to one semester and therefore I wouldn't be eligible to compete in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) races. A few days before the deadline I applied for the ISEP anyway. Somehow I got accepted and eventually got even placed at my first option for fall semester. I contacted the ski coach at this university and he said he would be happy to have me train with the team even though I couldn't compete.

Then it was just the matter of getting all the paperwork and other compulsory matters (visa, TOEFL language test, immunization form, housing, course selection...) in order. Have to be honest those things required more time and money (oh yeah, plane tickets too) than I was expecting, but I knew it was going to be worth it. With the same attitude the 40+-hour travel (Helsinki - London - Dallas - Grand Junction, one night in a hotel in London, though) with some 7 hours of sleep was just fine.

What Mesa?

Now you might be wondering what the title of my blog means. "A mesa (Portuguese and Spanish for table) is the American English term for tableland, an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs" (Wikipedia). And just east from the town of Grand Junction lies Grand Mesa, the largest flat-topped mountain in the world (Wikipedia). Regarding this blog this amazing piece of land represents all the magnificent nature the State of Colorado has to offer. That's the first Mesa. The university, evidently named after this natural formation, is called Colorado Mesa University. That's the second Mesa and it includes the studying, the ski team and people I'm meeting.

Grand Mesa from airplane window

Settling in

When I arrived in Grand Junction (Wednesday evening (12th of August)) everything was nicely organized for me. The local ISEP coordinator picked me (or actually us, I met this other ISEP student at Dallas airport) up from the airport, our RA (resident assistant) was ready for us at the apartment and instructed us about the most immediate practical issues. So basically I was just able to throw my luggage under my bed and go to sleep (sure, I got to know my flat mates before that).

It was nice to arrive a few days in advance (the semester began on Monday 17th, though, we had an orientation meeting on Friday 14th) so I managed organize practical issues and get to know the town and people without too much hassle. I live in a new (built 2012) campus apartment (the campus area is really nice, by the way, but more about that in later posts). There are 6 people in my apartment (4 rooms) and I'm sharing a room with this cool Brazilian guy. The room is not large but spacious enough. There is decent size kitchen and living room and two bathrooms, so the apartment doesn't feel crowded.

At the gates of CMU

My apartment

Part of campus area in evening lighting

My room

Living room

Kitchen

The system to manage and organize all your student errands is really simple and clever. Similarly as at University of Jyväskylä we have user name and password for online portal (called MavZone) to manage email, courses, material etc. and to use computers in the library. In addition we have these MavCards that seem to open all doors. They are our rooms keys, allow access to facilities like the gym, swimming pool, climbing wall and also the dining hall (more of which in later posts). You could almost say that living at the campus has been made too easy for students.

Training

As I mentioned earlier I had discussed with the coach earlier about joining the ski team's training program, but was under the impression that they begin same time as the semester. By coincidence I happened to meet this guy from the ski team on Friday (14th) evening (he recognized me to be a Nordic skier based on my drinking belt).  He told me that they are going for a hike early next morning. Obviously I was in. The landscape during the hike was spectacular. After the hike we had lunch with the team after which the coach invited us to his place to gather some blackberries. Great day as a whole!


I'm ending this post on the images below, but more stories (and images) about training will follow.

Team before the hike

Hiking at 3400m

Blackberries