♪ In the Ghe-tto ♫

Ramshackle, neglected, densely-packed housing is a fact of urban booms (Cabrini-Green, what-what!), and for the first time in my privileged life, I'm experiencing it for myself! Here's the view from my apartment:

It looks way worse than it is. I have a strong water heater, a Western toilet, a room heater, a large bed free of bed bugs, consistent electricity, a considerable freezer, and a neighbor's insecure internet connexion to leech off of. And if the weather gets hot this summer, the draftiness is going to rock!! Also, see the white building with the orange stripes peeking through on the upper left? That's one of the school buildings- I'm wicked close!

In related news: