It's good to be back in America, but I won't lie - it's been a little strange. I'm sometimes slow to warm up to new places until I get really comfortable there. It's like coming home after your first semester of college - everything is comfortable at home, because you know it.
Though I do really like living in Glasgow, I had missed America a lot; there's a lot of familiar American things that I had taken for granted for the past 22 years. On the other hand, it was like reverse culture shock to come back to the States. I guess I've integrated myself into Scottish/UK culture pretty well. It helps that I'm surrounded 24/7 by Europeans.
My friends in the UK are convinced that everything about America is huge. I respectfully disagreed with parts of this - America itself is huge, you could travel for hours and only make it across a few states - until I came back. Everything IN America is massive! The roads, the portions, the stores.... I went to supermarket recently and was just floored by how much stuff we can cram into one store. I'd have to go to three separate places to get all the stuff we sell in one store. It's almost excessive. I was equally amazed by Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble. (The other thing that floors me is how expensive America seems to be - I've been thinking in pounds rather than dollars. Of course, when you convert everything, it evens out.)
Now, I am not a fashionista in any sense of the word. I can barely put together an outfit by myself - I have effectively one outfit in a few different colors. When I first came to Glasgow I was amazed at how fashionable and well-put-together everyone was; coming back I am amazed at what some people wear in public - American standards for clothing is appalling. I mean, cargo pants? really? Simultaneously I feel awkwardly underdressed for UK standards and overdressed for American standards, which is a little strange.
I even speak this really weird combination of American and Scots English that I didn't realize I was doing. While I was in London, I kept throwing people off by saying really Scottish things with an American accent, but I chalked that up to simply still being in the UK. I came back here and catch myself saying some really BrE/Scots things, like "hiya" and "cheers", which must make me sound really strange. The other day I said "jumper" - I don't even say jumper in the UK! It's nice to hear so many American accents and not have to mentally translate them, but I almost fell out of my chair when I heard a proper Boston accent the other day in the coffeeshop.
I have an ex-boyfriend who lived in Europe for some time growing up. There's a lot about him I understand now, that I didn't understand before. I've definitely noticed how I feel about a lot of things now have changed from three months ago. For starters, I am really alarmed at how self-centered and self-congratulatory American news is... Yes, there's a lot of America, but things that are happening in the world affect us much more than we think! Previously I was amazed at what UK news chooses to highlight about American news, but I came back and read the past months' TIME magazines, like the Person of the Year stuff and all of that, and it is SO us-centric, which is really kind of disappointing, you know?
I do miss how ridiculous the UK can be over simple things. But it's good to be back in the land of fame & excess.
02 January 2011
30 December 2010
so this is the new year
I could write something long and redundant about 2010 in this space, but I won't. I think if you've been keeping up with my blog, you know that 2010 has been a big year for me. A new chapter at the dawn of a new decade, etc. I think it's been a good one, but I also think it's too early to say that.
The one thing I will say about 2010 is that it taught me a lot about myself. I've grown up a lot this year. I am happy with the person I am (becoming).
---
Usually, I'm not one for new year's resolutions. I always forget them after a day or two. I do have a new year's resolution for the blog though- I want to make it more interesting, rather than talking about being cold all the time. Unfortunately, my day-to-day life is rather boring - I sit in an office and read/write all day. But in my free time I'm doing some cool things, so I'll try to write about that. Deal?
---
2011. It feels weird in my mouth, like every new year does.
The one thing I will say about 2010 is that it taught me a lot about myself. I've grown up a lot this year. I am happy with the person I am (becoming).
Usually, I'm not one for new year's resolutions. I always forget them after a day or two. I do have a new year's resolution for the blog though- I want to make it more interesting, rather than talking about being cold all the time. Unfortunately, my day-to-day life is rather boring - I sit in an office and read/write all day. But in my free time I'm doing some cool things, so I'll try to write about that. Deal?
2011. It feels weird in my mouth, like every new year does.
26 December 2010
journey home ii OR : can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are shooting stars, i could really use a wish right now, wish right now
Liveish blog: PART TWO
6:00 am wake up! WE MIGHT BE GETTING ON A PLANE TODAY
7:45 am well my flight is still happening, says BAA & Delta.com. SO NERVOUS!
8:15 am my cabdriver is hitting on me. i don't have the emotional capacity for this
8:44 am WELCOME BACK TO HEATHROW HELL, there are people still sleeping here
9:15 am Heathrow terminal 4 why are you complicated? This has been way more difficult to handle than it could have been
9:45 am hello, security // the feeling of being the whitest person in the airport today
10:00 am i don't have a gate until 11:20. This is the face of apprehension re: getting back to the us
10:08 am FLIGHT STATUS CHECK
10:20 am amazing things in the duty-free shop
10:38 am i am sitting at a starbucks drinking a (festive) peppermint mocha, because i am going back to America, and god dammit it's christmas.
11:30 am We still don't have a gate assigned yet. Going to all the duty-free shops and start getting free samples of baileys = coping mechanism
12:05 pm Called to the desk at the gate. Mystified; given a new ticket. But I already have one...
12:40 pm Boarding! OH LOOK I'VE BEEN UPGRADED TO BUSINESS ELITE. Have a glass of champagne, it's complimentary.
1:00 pm TAKE OFF / THIS PLANE IS ACTUALLY GOING SOMEWHERE
2:00 pm The on-flight lunch is a proper UK Christmas dinner- turkey and potatoes and a little thing of cranberry sauce.
2:15 pm While we serve christmas dinner, please turn your attentions to the tvs, where we are now showing How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966, boris karloff)
2:45 pm HAVE MORE WINE it's still complimentary, up here in business elite class
3:30 pm and now for a nap
4:45 pm things to watch: 30 Rock, Parks & Recreation, Big Bang Theory, Inception ...
Sometime between 6:45-7:45pm TIME CHANGE
3:15 pm we are landing! an hour early! HELLO NYC
4:30 pm FAMILY MEMBER ROULETTE, who is meeting me here? The last i heard was "somebody will meet you there"
4:45 pm It's my uncle! off to his house in CT, where I will meet my parents for dinner there, then back home
7:30pm WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S NOT MIDNIGHT
9:30pm home! alive! inform everyone! go to sleep!
I am now back in new england, where a full-on blizzard, featuring upwards of 2+ feet of snow, is hitting us. My dad told me this morning that the equivalent of my flight from London to NYC today was canceled. Christ on a bicycle, I am glad to be home.
6:00 am wake up! WE MIGHT BE GETTING ON A PLANE TODAY
7:45 am well my flight is still happening, says BAA & Delta.com. SO NERVOUS!
8:15 am my cabdriver is hitting on me. i don't have the emotional capacity for this
8:44 am WELCOME BACK TO HEATHROW HELL, there are people still sleeping here
9:15 am Heathrow terminal 4 why are you complicated? This has been way more difficult to handle than it could have been
9:45 am hello, security // the feeling of being the whitest person in the airport today
10:00 am i don't have a gate until 11:20. This is the face of apprehension re: getting back to the us
10:08 am FLIGHT STATUS CHECK
10:20 am amazing things in the duty-free shop
10:38 am i am sitting at a starbucks drinking a (festive) peppermint mocha, because i am going back to America, and god dammit it's christmas.
11:30 am We still don't have a gate assigned yet. Going to all the duty-free shops and start getting free samples of baileys = coping mechanism
12:05 pm Called to the desk at the gate. Mystified; given a new ticket. But I already have one...
12:40 pm Boarding! OH LOOK I'VE BEEN UPGRADED TO BUSINESS ELITE. Have a glass of champagne, it's complimentary.
1:00 pm TAKE OFF / THIS PLANE IS ACTUALLY GOING SOMEWHERE
2:00 pm The on-flight lunch is a proper UK Christmas dinner- turkey and potatoes and a little thing of cranberry sauce.
2:15 pm While we serve christmas dinner, please turn your attentions to the tvs, where we are now showing How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966, boris karloff)
2:45 pm HAVE MORE WINE it's still complimentary, up here in business elite class
3:30 pm and now for a nap
4:45 pm things to watch: 30 Rock, Parks & Recreation, Big Bang Theory, Inception ...
Sometime between 6:45-7:45pm TIME CHANGE
3:15 pm we are landing! an hour early! HELLO NYC
4:30 pm FAMILY MEMBER ROULETTE, who is meeting me here? The last i heard was "somebody will meet you there"
4:45 pm It's my uncle! off to his house in CT, where I will meet my parents for dinner there, then back home
7:30pm WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S NOT MIDNIGHT
9:30pm home! alive! inform everyone! go to sleep!
I am now back in new england, where a full-on blizzard, featuring upwards of 2+ feet of snow, is hitting us. My dad told me this morning that the equivalent of my flight from London to NYC today was canceled. Christ on a bicycle, I am glad to be home.
23 December 2010
alone in kyoto
"This wasn’t a strange place, it was a new one." --Paulo Coehlo
The thing about London is that it feels instantly familiar, like i've been here forever. I realize how blasphemous this is to say, but London feels like America. Maybe it's because I can understand everybody without difficulty (ahem, SCOTLAND), and because it is MASSIVE - though I'm in London it takes about an hour to get into Central London. The trains and the underground feel instantly familiar too- like I could be in Boston or New York or San Francisco. (I wonder if all trains everywhere make everyone feel the same.)
Either way, Windsor's very self sufficient, and I've been living in the UK long enough to recognize stores and stuff, which is good; it's a lot less scary than it could be - I was very nervous about getting stranded in Paris next, to be honest. We've got a Wetherspoon's here, which does cheap food; there's a book store and a couple WH Smiths, a Boots, a H&M, a Marks & Spencers and a Waitrose (which looks EXACTLY like an American supermarket). So maybe I'm in bizzaro America. I've always felt like London was its own planet anyway.
I've been trying to enjoy myself while I'm here; it's an adventure, right? I went in to Central London on Monday to do tourist things in six hours, assuming that I was going to Paris the next day; on Tuesday I met a friend of mine who is a local Londoner for a film and few drinks (it was good to see a familiar face after all of this.) Today I think I might go back in and look around some more.
Luckily I read as about 25-26 rather than 22, which is working in my favor while I'm here; and I do use Scottish words in an American accent, which does throw people off. But So really, all things considered, I think I'm doing okay. In fact I'm very grateful to have not been at Heathrow Hell since Saturday; here I have a bed and a shower and I have all my luggage - I have not been sleeping in a departure lounge under tinfoil.
The thing about London is that it feels instantly familiar, like i've been here forever. I realize how blasphemous this is to say, but London feels like America. Maybe it's because I can understand everybody without difficulty (ahem, SCOTLAND), and because it is MASSIVE - though I'm in London it takes about an hour to get into Central London. The trains and the underground feel instantly familiar too- like I could be in Boston or New York or San Francisco. (I wonder if all trains everywhere make everyone feel the same.)
Either way, Windsor's very self sufficient, and I've been living in the UK long enough to recognize stores and stuff, which is good; it's a lot less scary than it could be - I was very nervous about getting stranded in Paris next, to be honest. We've got a Wetherspoon's here, which does cheap food; there's a book store and a couple WH Smiths, a Boots, a H&M, a Marks & Spencers and a Waitrose (which looks EXACTLY like an American supermarket). So maybe I'm in bizzaro America. I've always felt like London was its own planet anyway.
I've been trying to enjoy myself while I'm here; it's an adventure, right? I went in to Central London on Monday to do tourist things in six hours, assuming that I was going to Paris the next day; on Tuesday I met a friend of mine who is a local Londoner for a film and few drinks (it was good to see a familiar face after all of this.) Today I think I might go back in and look around some more.
Luckily I read as about 25-26 rather than 22, which is working in my favor while I'm here; and I do use Scottish words in an American accent, which does throw people off. But So really, all things considered, I think I'm doing okay. In fact I'm very grateful to have not been at Heathrow Hell since Saturday; here I have a bed and a shower and I have all my luggage - I have not been sleeping in a departure lounge under tinfoil.
21 December 2010
19 December 2010
winging my way home: epic journey part 1
Before I start this story, you should know that I'm a very calm traveler. I love flying, and I am generally unfazed by most things. I've been flying internationally since I was six weeks old, and by myself since I was 16. So the idea of flying back from Glasgow > London > Boston seemed like a non-issue to me.
Basically, I have a method of flying - "don't sleep until you get there" - that usually goes pretty well, especially when your flight leaves at 6:30 in the morning on a Saturday. So I was planning on starting Operation No Sleep Till Boston on Thursday morning at 8:30 in the morning and arrive in Boston at 1 pm on Saturday, and then stay up for a while after that to get back on the right time zone. This usually works beautifully, as it's easy to get coffee on airplanes. AND SO IT BEGINS...
(this was written in real-time as things are happening across my diary, my computer, and one sheet of paper, and will be updated accordingly until we get to part 2)
3:38 am hello glasgow airport! No, i totally don't mind standing around for an hour and a half before my check-in opens. And here I thought I needed to be here 2 hours before my flight leaves for security check-ins, traveling internationally and all of that
4:30 am I don't think people in the UK/Europe travel with computers ever. This country doesn't seem concerned with wifi access under any circumstances - there's never wifi anywhere ever.
5:40 am real things said behind me in the security line: "oh, i need another wee box." Scotland, I am going to miss you.
6:00 am BE AT YOUR GATE NOW! also your flight leaves at 6:30 am but, you know, no rush. Take your time.
9:11 am I have been awake for about 24 hrs now! Well, except for the 20 minutes i fell asleep on the plane from Glasgow to London, but that doesn't count… I'm just saying that if you are a 6:30 am flight you should probably be legally (if not morally!) required to offer free coffee on the flight. It was snowing in London when I arrived - I'm convinced that London is an entirely different planet unto itself, and there's no way that London and Glasgow are part of the same country (but maybe that's because i can understand everyone without difficulty…) My next flight leaves at 10:30 and we don't have a gate yet, so for now I'm just hanging out in heathrow's MEGATERMINAL.
10:25 am my seat companion is another American studying at Edinburgh University. This is going to be a good flight.
11:30 am AND THEN WE WAITED FOR SOMEONE TO DE-ICE US, because we were informed that heathrow had effectively closed, except for planes trying to land and us trying to leave
1:30pm AND THEN THAT FLIGHT WAS CANCELLED. Everybody get off the plane! We'll give you vouchers! Never mind the fact that we've just sat on there on the tarmac for 3 hours, it's almost like we went somewhere!
Somewhere between 2pm and 4pm: It's so close to being like we went somewhere that we get to go through customs AGAIN! awesome! Go get your baggage, you've arrived! (Oh look, my duffel bag is shredded… super. let's get that fixed.) OH HEY GIANT QUEUES HOW ARE YOU
4:00 PM: Dispatches from AA #1: "We're totally going to rebook you starting at 4pm" JK GUYS, we really meant 6 pm
6:00 PM Dispatches from AA #2: "What vouchers are you talking about? No, we don't have those. Well, we've closed for the day, you could try calling this number but you'll be on hold for ages, it'll be great! Or stick around for 5:30 tomorrow morning, we'll be rebooking then
6:15 PM Dispatches from AA #3 "OH WAIT, ALL AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHTS FROM LONDON ARE BOOKED FOREVER jk everyone, there's no going anywhere ever. But if you stick around you might be able to fly as a standby in a week and a half!"
6:16 PM: I JUST WANT TO LEAVE THIS CONTINENT AND GO BACK TO MINE. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK.
(intermittent panicked phone calls home between 3:30pm-9:30 pm)
8pm: Dad & Heather: OK! we've sorted most of this out! You've got yourself a flight going from London > Paris > Boston on the 21st, plenty of time for this to all calm down. You've got a hotel so you don't have to stay in the airport for the next three days. Time to figure out how to get to there!
8:30 PM LET'S CLOSE HEATHROW WHAT A GREAT IDEA NOW THAT THERE ARE NO TRAINS RUNNING EITHER GOOD LUCK YOUNG GRASSHOPPERS
9:30pm how do I get a taxi in this city!? Can i flag it down? does it work asdfghjkl
10:30pm in Windsor, where the queen apparently hangs out. Hi queenie!
11:30pm This is the current state of me & my luggage
11:45 pm Realizing that I am going to have to open my luggage in the morning and figure out what to do with my shredded bag. But at least I have my luggage.
11:46 pm SLEEPING for the first time since 8:30 Thursday morning
10 am the feeling of eating something that is not a candy bar for the first time in 1.5 days
11 am Hoarding little packets of Nutella. Maybe this won't be so bad after all
11:34 am the feeling of putting on a different set of clothes
12:45 pm well, at least I'm near stuff and not in the middle of nowhere like I thought I was. Time to buy a new suitcase...
2:30 pm SOHUNGRY what am i going to eat here without going broke? Oranges. Lots of oranges.
3:30 pm But I mean, I have internet access and british tv, so I think I'll be okay. And if there are trains running I might be able to see some touristy things while I'm here. There are definitely worse places to be stuck in...
4:44 pm I am watching something about the muppets and airports. I don't know what this is but it is both a) relevant and b) hilarious. british tv is so strange.
7:40 pm took myself out for dinner & watched the news. you guys, i'd just like to remind you that all of this airplane fuss/heathrow hell situation is over LESS THAN SIX INCHES OF SNOW
10:03 am I AM ALMOST MISSING BREAKFAST oh shiiiiiiiii-
12:00 pm (Central) London calling! 12 pound all-day, all inclusive rail pass FTW
1:10 pm LONDON YOU ARE MASSIVE, how is it possible that I am still in the same city and just arriving in Central London
1:40 pm oh hai ORIGINAL BEOWULF MANUSCRIPT HOW ARE YOU TODAY. this exhibit is amazing, you guys. Also, this was my #1 priority.
3:30 pm I am halfway through seeing all the touristy things in less than 6 hours. (The last time I was in London it was for 12 hours.) I'm really good at this, but I can't stop in anywhere, really, NO TIME.
4:40pm how is it this hard to find a pub in London? It shouldn't be. A Sherlock Holmes pub on Baker St? Yeah, okay.
6:40 pm Hm, I wonder how the trains are doing- I should go back to Paddington Station. I still have to get home... Oh, look, delays... predictable. This train to OXFORD will get me back...
8:15 pm I'm gearing up for another 2.5 days of transit, better go get some food, thank god Waitrose is open. Candy bars, pita bread, and stolen cereal & nutella packets - that should keep me going for a while
8:45 pm MY FLIGHT TOMORROW FROM LONDON TO PARIS HAS BEEN CANCELLED, but it looks like my flight from paris to boston is still on asdfghjk
9pm can I get a train to Paris? No. Everything's booked forever, because we are all trying to get somewhere through any means possible
9:45 pm OKAY THIRD TIME'S A CHARM RIGHT? at least I don't have to be anywhere for christmas specifically. London > NYC, here I come, on Christmas day!
Basically, I have a method of flying - "don't sleep until you get there" - that usually goes pretty well, especially when your flight leaves at 6:30 in the morning on a Saturday. So I was planning on starting Operation No Sleep Till Boston on Thursday morning at 8:30 in the morning and arrive in Boston at 1 pm on Saturday, and then stay up for a while after that to get back on the right time zone. This usually works beautifully, as it's easy to get coffee on airplanes. AND SO IT BEGINS...
(this was written in real-time as things are happening across my diary, my computer, and one sheet of paper, and will be updated accordingly until we get to part 2)
3:38 am hello glasgow airport! No, i totally don't mind standing around for an hour and a half before my check-in opens. And here I thought I needed to be here 2 hours before my flight leaves for security check-ins, traveling internationally and all of that
4:30 am I don't think people in the UK/Europe travel with computers ever. This country doesn't seem concerned with wifi access under any circumstances - there's never wifi anywhere ever.
5:40 am real things said behind me in the security line: "oh, i need another wee box." Scotland, I am going to miss you.
6:00 am BE AT YOUR GATE NOW! also your flight leaves at 6:30 am but, you know, no rush. Take your time.
9:11 am I have been awake for about 24 hrs now! Well, except for the 20 minutes i fell asleep on the plane from Glasgow to London, but that doesn't count… I'm just saying that if you are a 6:30 am flight you should probably be legally (if not morally!) required to offer free coffee on the flight. It was snowing in London when I arrived - I'm convinced that London is an entirely different planet unto itself, and there's no way that London and Glasgow are part of the same country (but maybe that's because i can understand everyone without difficulty…) My next flight leaves at 10:30 and we don't have a gate yet, so for now I'm just hanging out in heathrow's MEGATERMINAL.
10:25 am my seat companion is another American studying at Edinburgh University. This is going to be a good flight.
11:30 am AND THEN WE WAITED FOR SOMEONE TO DE-ICE US, because we were informed that heathrow had effectively closed, except for planes trying to land and us trying to leave
1:30pm AND THEN THAT FLIGHT WAS CANCELLED. Everybody get off the plane! We'll give you vouchers! Never mind the fact that we've just sat on there on the tarmac for 3 hours, it's almost like we went somewhere!
Somewhere between 2pm and 4pm: It's so close to being like we went somewhere that we get to go through customs AGAIN! awesome! Go get your baggage, you've arrived! (Oh look, my duffel bag is shredded… super. let's get that fixed.) OH HEY GIANT QUEUES HOW ARE YOU
4:00 PM: Dispatches from AA #1: "We're totally going to rebook you starting at 4pm" JK GUYS, we really meant 6 pm
6:00 PM Dispatches from AA #2: "What vouchers are you talking about? No, we don't have those. Well, we've closed for the day, you could try calling this number but you'll be on hold for ages, it'll be great! Or stick around for 5:30 tomorrow morning, we'll be rebooking then
6:15 PM Dispatches from AA #3 "OH WAIT, ALL AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHTS FROM LONDON ARE BOOKED FOREVER jk everyone, there's no going anywhere ever. But if you stick around you might be able to fly as a standby in a week and a half!"
6:16 PM: I JUST WANT TO LEAVE THIS CONTINENT AND GO BACK TO MINE. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK.
(intermittent panicked phone calls home between 3:30pm-9:30 pm)
8pm: Dad & Heather: OK! we've sorted most of this out! You've got yourself a flight going from London > Paris > Boston on the 21st, plenty of time for this to all calm down. You've got a hotel so you don't have to stay in the airport for the next three days. Time to figure out how to get to there!
8:30 PM LET'S CLOSE HEATHROW WHAT A GREAT IDEA NOW THAT THERE ARE NO TRAINS RUNNING EITHER GOOD LUCK YOUNG GRASSHOPPERS
9:30pm how do I get a taxi in this city!? Can i flag it down? does it work asdfghjkl
10:30pm in Windsor, where the queen apparently hangs out. Hi queenie!
11:30pm This is the current state of me & my luggage
11:45 pm Realizing that I am going to have to open my luggage in the morning and figure out what to do with my shredded bag. But at least I have my luggage.
11:46 pm SLEEPING for the first time since 8:30 Thursday morning
10 am the feeling of eating something that is not a candy bar for the first time in 1.5 days
11 am Hoarding little packets of Nutella. Maybe this won't be so bad after all
11:34 am the feeling of putting on a different set of clothes
12:45 pm well, at least I'm near stuff and not in the middle of nowhere like I thought I was. Time to buy a new suitcase...
2:30 pm SOHUNGRY what am i going to eat here without going broke? Oranges. Lots of oranges.
3:30 pm But I mean, I have internet access and british tv, so I think I'll be okay. And if there are trains running I might be able to see some touristy things while I'm here. There are definitely worse places to be stuck in...
4:44 pm I am watching something about the muppets and airports. I don't know what this is but it is both a) relevant and b) hilarious. british tv is so strange.
7:40 pm took myself out for dinner & watched the news. you guys, i'd just like to remind you that all of this airplane fuss/heathrow hell situation is over LESS THAN SIX INCHES OF SNOW
10:03 am I AM ALMOST MISSING BREAKFAST oh shiiiiiiiii-
12:00 pm (Central) London calling! 12 pound all-day, all inclusive rail pass FTW
1:10 pm LONDON YOU ARE MASSIVE, how is it possible that I am still in the same city and just arriving in Central London
1:40 pm oh hai ORIGINAL BEOWULF MANUSCRIPT HOW ARE YOU TODAY. this exhibit is amazing, you guys. Also, this was my #1 priority.
3:30 pm I am halfway through seeing all the touristy things in less than 6 hours. (The last time I was in London it was for 12 hours.) I'm really good at this, but I can't stop in anywhere, really, NO TIME.
4:40pm how is it this hard to find a pub in London? It shouldn't be. A Sherlock Holmes pub on Baker St? Yeah, okay.
6:40 pm Hm, I wonder how the trains are doing- I should go back to Paddington Station. I still have to get home... Oh, look, delays... predictable. This train to OXFORD will get me back...
8:15 pm I'm gearing up for another 2.5 days of transit, better go get some food, thank god Waitrose is open. Candy bars, pita bread, and stolen cereal & nutella packets - that should keep me going for a while
8:45 pm MY FLIGHT TOMORROW FROM LONDON TO PARIS HAS BEEN CANCELLED, but it looks like my flight from paris to boston is still on asdfghjk
9pm can I get a train to Paris? No. Everything's booked forever, because we are all trying to get somewhere through any means possible
9:45 pm OKAY THIRD TIME'S A CHARM RIGHT? at least I don't have to be anywhere for christmas specifically. London > NYC, here I come, on Christmas day!
16 December 2010
i'm coming home again
Can you believe it's almost Christmas? Christmas here is a big, huge deal - they take it really seriously. It's like Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled into one mega-holiday, complete with turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce. (Hmm... where were you a few weeks ago!) Everything about it is very serious and fairly traditional. We even have what I have been told is a German-style Christmas market near my flat. If I ever felt marginalized for being Jewish in the States (read: not celebrating christmas) I would probably be very unhappy here, as 'not celebrating christmas' is not an option. GLASGOW LOVES CHRISTMAS AND YOU DO TOO. Everyone has Christmas parties for every sort of group possible - so far I have attended six parties, no joke - two different department ones (Glasgow Uni's and Strathclyde's) and two for the reading groups I attend (Socioling and Corpus Ling), and two friends' Christmases. It's definitely been a traditional (UK) Christmas, complete with mince pies, which to my surprise do not have meat in them ("mince" also means "ground beef" here) and lots of mulled wine. It has all been very exciting - I've never celebrated Christmas before, and certainly not like this.
But Almost-Christmas means I've been here for a little over three months. I am one-quarter finished with my master's degree, which is a bit daunting! I'm starting to work on a PhD project next... Almost Christmas also means I am coming home for a bit soon. Meanwhile, I apologize for not having written much in here lately other than to complain about being cold all the time -- I've been trying to get a lot of work done so i can take a few weeks off and relax while I'm in the states.
My first flight back leaves at 6:30 AM on Saturday. I think I am going to live-record my travels again (See september for the original ones), so you all have something to look forward to when I am fairly jetlagged. See you all soon!
But Almost-Christmas means I've been here for a little over three months. I am one-quarter finished with my master's degree, which is a bit daunting! I'm starting to work on a PhD project next... Almost Christmas also means I am coming home for a bit soon. Meanwhile, I apologize for not having written much in here lately other than to complain about being cold all the time -- I've been trying to get a lot of work done so i can take a few weeks off and relax while I'm in the states.
My first flight back leaves at 6:30 AM on Saturday. I think I am going to live-record my travels again (See september for the original ones), so you all have something to look forward to when I am fairly jetlagged. See you all soon!
13 December 2010
all swallowed in their coats
Good morning, world! I am getting ready to walk 10 minutes to my office.
POP QUIZ: how many layers am I wearing here?
a. 3
b. 3/4 of a sheep
c. NOT ENOUGH
d. all of the above
(No, I am not going to shut up about being cold.) I feel like I have American Nesting Syndrome, where I try to put on as many layers as possible all the time. You could probably reassemble the sheep all my wool things have come from.
And you guys, this is DECEMBER. It's going to get colder. I have a couple of American friends, one of whom is from Virginia; she's been wearing two (wool) coats already. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO IN FEBRUARY
POP QUIZ: how many layers am I wearing here?
a. 3
b. 3/4 of a sheep
c. NOT ENOUGH
d. all of the above
(No, I am not going to shut up about being cold.) I feel like I have American Nesting Syndrome, where I try to put on as many layers as possible all the time. You could probably reassemble the sheep all my wool things have come from.
And you guys, this is DECEMBER. It's going to get colder. I have a couple of American friends, one of whom is from Virginia; she's been wearing two (wool) coats already. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO IN FEBRUARY
10 December 2010
but we are 78% water, even our pumping hearts
While the rest of the world seems convinced that the world has ended due to last week's 5 inches of snow over six days and yesterday's sudden onslaught of a proper New England-style snowfall for about 3 hours, prompting the university to strongly urge me to "not venture out of university buildings" (verbatim quote) and not one but two snow days in the past few days, I am generally unfazed, and therefore the only one in the office so far this morning. In fact I'm relieved that things are back to normal.
Come have a cup of tea with me, as we're out of coffee, and I have about 6 more cups of tea to drink throughout the day to stay awake anyway.
07 December 2010
And I never love England more than when covered in snow
Strathclyde is on a mega death hill - a fairly steep one. (I don't know who thought that was a good idea.) All of this snow - all six inches of it - is making everyone nervous, so I have a snow day today. I can kind of see why they're worried about people falling and dying on the hills. Glasgow Uni is at least flat.
But I have things to do - I'm trying to get as much done as possible before I go home for three weeks. Also, I refuse to take a snow day for less than a foot of snow. So I'm headed here this morning:
Does this make me a New England Weather Snob? You bet.
But I have things to do - I'm trying to get as much done as possible before I go home for three weeks. Also, I refuse to take a snow day for less than a foot of snow. So I'm headed here this morning:
Does this make me a New England Weather Snob? You bet.
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