You guys are some of the best friends I could've ever made. Considering we've only known each other three short weeks, I feel like I've known you guys for a lifetime. Thank you for making today so, so wonderful. Having been in a bit of a slump all day, tonight's dinner perked my mood and made me realize how lucky I am to know you. Not that I didn't know it before, of course, but it brought that fact to the limelight again. Thank you for simply making this day magnificent. You are beautiful. <3
Your Mae.
PS - there had better be a lot of visiting this summer!
Friday, June 8, 2007
Retrospect.
When the idea of coming to England was finally starting to morph into a reality, I thought that I would find myself missing the United States and all things related. I expected myself to become severely homesick within the first few days. I expected myself to want to come home within the first week. I've found that all of those things have failed to take place.
Listening to people talk about how much they miss the US only made me realize how little I miss it. Now, don't confuse the place with the people. I miss my family and my friends, of course, more than anything. I miss my pets. I miss all of those things that make a house a home. But I don't miss the country.
So many people here, meaning the Britons, have such prejudices against us. And while so many people have gotten insulted and wanted to fight back, I could only sit and nod at what they were saying. Unlike most people, I don't immediately retaliate. I want to know and understand why they believe what they do, just as I would hope they would take the time and energy to understand my beliefs. I don't immediately dismiss them as being ungrateful for past help, or for being arrogant. I believe that not working to understand how another person's mind works is one of the most arrogant things to do in life. It is dismissing a person's opinion as faulty and incorrect and is stating that you only believe yours is right. I cannot condone actions such as those.
There is such a misconception (however accurate it may be) about Americans being arrogant. I have tried my hardest to show that not everyone from the States is rude, impolite, obnoxious, loud, and conceited. I have tried, even when service at a restaurant was horrible, to stay polite. I know that I am in another person's country, one that has many differences from my own. I cannot expect them to change all of their customs and traditions just because they are different from what I am used to. I do not expect an entire country to bend over backwards for me. I am a guest, and though that demands some sort of respect on their part, I am staying in someone else's home. They deserve respect from me for allowing me to stay here for three weeks. One would never be rude to the host or hostess, and now is no different.
So, the basic point of this post was just to say that coming to England has given me an entirely new perspective on so many things. I was truly humbled by the fact that I was in another country. My beliefs and customs were not shared by everyone, and I had to swallow the things that I thought were correct in order to assimilate into another culture. I found a new sense of strength in myself and in the things that I hold dear to my heart. I had my beliefs and morals questioned and pushed, but I have come to know myself better. I have become friends with people who I might not have known or become friends with otherwise. I have conversed and interacted with cultures that were not only my own, but also not British. I have managed to broaden my understanding of culture and respect for all types of it.
And though I am horribly saddened at the idea of leaving this beautiful place tomorrow morning, I can only look back on this experience with a smile. It has been greater than anything I could have ever imagined. Had someone asked me three weeks ago today, I would have told him or her that I expected it to be fun, but that was it. I never would have thought that I would be changed in so many ways from such a short period of time here. But what a pleasant surprise.
Cheers, everyone.
Listening to people talk about how much they miss the US only made me realize how little I miss it. Now, don't confuse the place with the people. I miss my family and my friends, of course, more than anything. I miss my pets. I miss all of those things that make a house a home. But I don't miss the country.
So many people here, meaning the Britons, have such prejudices against us. And while so many people have gotten insulted and wanted to fight back, I could only sit and nod at what they were saying. Unlike most people, I don't immediately retaliate. I want to know and understand why they believe what they do, just as I would hope they would take the time and energy to understand my beliefs. I don't immediately dismiss them as being ungrateful for past help, or for being arrogant. I believe that not working to understand how another person's mind works is one of the most arrogant things to do in life. It is dismissing a person's opinion as faulty and incorrect and is stating that you only believe yours is right. I cannot condone actions such as those.
There is such a misconception (however accurate it may be) about Americans being arrogant. I have tried my hardest to show that not everyone from the States is rude, impolite, obnoxious, loud, and conceited. I have tried, even when service at a restaurant was horrible, to stay polite. I know that I am in another person's country, one that has many differences from my own. I cannot expect them to change all of their customs and traditions just because they are different from what I am used to. I do not expect an entire country to bend over backwards for me. I am a guest, and though that demands some sort of respect on their part, I am staying in someone else's home. They deserve respect from me for allowing me to stay here for three weeks. One would never be rude to the host or hostess, and now is no different.
So, the basic point of this post was just to say that coming to England has given me an entirely new perspective on so many things. I was truly humbled by the fact that I was in another country. My beliefs and customs were not shared by everyone, and I had to swallow the things that I thought were correct in order to assimilate into another culture. I found a new sense of strength in myself and in the things that I hold dear to my heart. I had my beliefs and morals questioned and pushed, but I have come to know myself better. I have become friends with people who I might not have known or become friends with otherwise. I have conversed and interacted with cultures that were not only my own, but also not British. I have managed to broaden my understanding of culture and respect for all types of it.
And though I am horribly saddened at the idea of leaving this beautiful place tomorrow morning, I can only look back on this experience with a smile. It has been greater than anything I could have ever imagined. Had someone asked me three weeks ago today, I would have told him or her that I expected it to be fun, but that was it. I never would have thought that I would be changed in so many ways from such a short period of time here. But what a pleasant surprise.
Cheers, everyone.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Refusals.
I feel like boycotting my departure flight on Saturday. Maybe it's the sad music that I have on right now ("What Hurts the Most," by The Rascal Flatts"), but I don't want to leave. I just .. I don't know. The anxiety that I had pre-London was so intense that I debated backing out of the program. But I got over it and forced myself to come here; I mean, why shouldn't I have? It's been a dream to be here, to see all that I've seen. I've harbored the dream for so long, always thinking that it would never come to fruition. When other people talked about going to Europe, I sighed wistfully and felt like crying. I never thought I would make it here.
But now that I am here .. I don't want to leave. I feel like I've found my niche here in London. I've found a place where I feel like I fit in, completely. Well, almost completely. My American accent has gotten a bit of a bad reaction from some people, but once they get passed the fact that I'm from America, they see me as a person.
As I sit and think to myself, I begin to wonder something. If and/or when I come back to London in the future, will it be as good? Or was my experience made better because of the friends that I found on the first day? Would London be the same with Anna, Callie, Sally, Ali, and Laura? Would it be the same without the Greyhound, Kavanaugh's, Arch Angels, and all of the people we've befriended there? Would it be the same without the inside jokes? Would it be the same without hanging out at the Greyhound way past closing time? I don't know. Honestly. I don't know whether London will be as good the second time 'round. But then I think to myself .. how could it not be? It's LONDON.
Time has gone far faster than I thought possible this past year. Between the end of sophomore year and now the end of my London excursion, I don't know how time goes so fast. But it makes me realize how valuable every little drop of it is. It is so very important to milk every second for what it's worth. I hope I can keep this lesson with me once I'm back in the States.
... If I end up going back to the States, that is. (;
(Just kidding - I'm coming back. I'm just going to put up a fight about it.)
But now that I am here .. I don't want to leave. I feel like I've found my niche here in London. I've found a place where I feel like I fit in, completely. Well, almost completely. My American accent has gotten a bit of a bad reaction from some people, but once they get passed the fact that I'm from America, they see me as a person.
As I sit and think to myself, I begin to wonder something. If and/or when I come back to London in the future, will it be as good? Or was my experience made better because of the friends that I found on the first day? Would London be the same with Anna, Callie, Sally, Ali, and Laura? Would it be the same without the Greyhound, Kavanaugh's, Arch Angels, and all of the people we've befriended there? Would it be the same without the inside jokes? Would it be the same without hanging out at the Greyhound way past closing time? I don't know. Honestly. I don't know whether London will be as good the second time 'round. But then I think to myself .. how could it not be? It's LONDON.
Time has gone far faster than I thought possible this past year. Between the end of sophomore year and now the end of my London excursion, I don't know how time goes so fast. But it makes me realize how valuable every little drop of it is. It is so very important to milk every second for what it's worth. I hope I can keep this lesson with me once I'm back in the States.
... If I end up going back to the States, that is. (;
(Just kidding - I'm coming back. I'm just going to put up a fight about it.)
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
More Photos.
I've started my .. fourth album, I think it is. The links is as follows:
http://providence.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027128&l=e3bd7&id=17604057
Enjoy that.
I'm going to get down to brass tacks now and get my theatrical critiques done. So I'm off to go get to it. More will be updated later, hopefully.
cheers!
http://providence.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027128&l=e3bd7&id=17604057
Enjoy that.
I'm going to get down to brass tacks now and get my theatrical critiques done. So I'm off to go get to it. More will be updated later, hopefully.
cheers!
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Oy.
Sorry about the lack of posting lately. I've been so busy and the Internet has not been one of my friends as of late. I had to hike downstairs to the computer lab in order to type this up. I really don't want to talk about it, so we're not going to.
I think the last thing I wrote was about the greyhound races, yeah? I can't really remember. Umm .. soo .. what's happened since then? I can't even really remember. What day was that? Umm .. hmm. I went to the Globe. That was fun. I've been there twice, and I have to go back for a third time to finish up some souvenir shopping. The exchange rate is still killing me, by the way.
What else have I done .. ooh, we ate at Med Kitchen today on Gloucester. It was delicious. I had a chicken sandwich with bacon (the bacon here, by the way, is sooo weird) today. It was so good. We went to an Italian place last night, and that was also pretty good. I had risotto with chicken and asparagus. Not enough asparagus, though. Everything else was mmm mmm good!
Oh, went to the V&A gift shop twice in the past two days. Once to buy some souvenirs and then once to go back and return them because I realized I got a little to excited .. and didn't really think of the bank account. It was an issue. And they were pretty pointless presents, as well. No need to spend money on something that isn't going to get good use, right?
Well. Yeah. Class tomorrow. The last Monday here, and it's freaking me out! I don't even want to think about, so I'm not going to. That's it for right now. Hopefully the internet will be up and working in a short amount of time (aka tomorrow). I HATE not having internet. It absolutely sucks. AH!
I think Anna and I are off to some local pub to get a drink. She's angry, I'm PMS-ing, and drinks are good.
Cheers!
I think the last thing I wrote was about the greyhound races, yeah? I can't really remember. Umm .. soo .. what's happened since then? I can't even really remember. What day was that? Umm .. hmm. I went to the Globe. That was fun. I've been there twice, and I have to go back for a third time to finish up some souvenir shopping. The exchange rate is still killing me, by the way.
What else have I done .. ooh, we ate at Med Kitchen today on Gloucester. It was delicious. I had a chicken sandwich with bacon (the bacon here, by the way, is sooo weird) today. It was so good. We went to an Italian place last night, and that was also pretty good. I had risotto with chicken and asparagus. Not enough asparagus, though. Everything else was mmm mmm good!
Oh, went to the V&A gift shop twice in the past two days. Once to buy some souvenirs and then once to go back and return them because I realized I got a little to excited .. and didn't really think of the bank account. It was an issue. And they were pretty pointless presents, as well. No need to spend money on something that isn't going to get good use, right?
Well. Yeah. Class tomorrow. The last Monday here, and it's freaking me out! I don't even want to think about, so I'm not going to. That's it for right now. Hopefully the internet will be up and working in a short amount of time (aka tomorrow). I HATE not having internet. It absolutely sucks. AH!
I think Anna and I are off to some local pub to get a drink. She's angry, I'm PMS-ing, and drinks are good.
Cheers!
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