New Co-op Living

I just moved into a new co-op in DC, kind of blindly assuming that all co-ops are pretty much the same, and knowing only tidbits about this new space I was about to inhabit. I've been here for less than a day now and it's already been a challenge in so many ways... There are six kids, one of whom is mentally challenged. I awoke this morning at 7am to screaming children and slamming doors. . . I'm not sure how to address that. Some of the people seem standoffish, but then again so do I. Some of the people are really gentle and centered, though, and I think I will pretty much depend hugely upon them for the first few weeks.

The common spaces are huge and the dumpstered food is plentiful! The house is beautiful and my room is massive, though un-air-conditioned. The age range of house members is wide, and I'm definitely one of the younger ones, the kids and dogs excluded, which is weird since I'm 21. There is no uniform dietary intake -- that is to say, not everyone is vegan or even vegetarian, though I believe house dinners are all vegan (we'll see). In spite of all the awesomeness, though, I feel very unsettled, constantly on edge, not really knowing where I'm going just yet, but I'm sensing that I'm going to learn a great deal from this time here. Much more than I'd be learning from living in a single room in some craigslist apartment anyway... This is a difficult summer for me in a number of ways, so hopefully I'll come out of this experience with some tools to better understand the world.

Silver Lining: I bought a guitar in new jersey and I believe this will punctuate my summer. I'm going to be one of them self-taught guitar players, because I don't have the patience or money for guitar lessons. Woot.