home sweet home

So I’ve been home for several weeks now and the culture shock has subsided. I no longer look at everything and think it’s strange compared to life in London. I do feel quite lonesome for Europe though. It isn’t as much of an emotional feeling as an intellectual one now. I have been contemplating life in America and my life in the time I spent in London and I have to say that the difference is extreme and London consistently comes out on top. I know a lot of that has to do with the fact that my time there was really very idyllic. I did not have to deal with much real life issues so of course my view of it is considerably more favourable (that’s right, I used the British spelling!). Regardless, I do feel that the overall positive feeling I have for England is based on realistic issues. I love how environmentally aware they are, how everyone walks so much, how the portions are so much smaller than those here (omg, food is so giant here!), etc. I like how they view drinking and how the lifestyle I led there was a healthier and more positive one than mine here. I love that every weekend when I wondered what I could do it included: visiting another country, going to a museum, going to a festival, visiting a religious site, seeing historical sites,  viewing a foreign film, going to a nightclub, shopping, etc. Now my options for the weekend are pretty much limited to: shopping.

I don’t know if I’ll get the chance to live in the UK again in my lifetime but I sincerely hope that I do. I would probably appreciate living in the US more if I had to deal with real life issues in another country but I know that living in London with all of the culture and history was the best experience of my life and I’d love to repeat it.

reverse culture shock

There were many things that I did in London after the last post, but it seems silly to recount it all now. I don’t think it would have the same tone as if I were writing it from London. It’s so strange being home. The reverse culture-shock is stronger than I expected. I expected that I would be surprised by the size of things and by the weather and maybe miss London some but overall that would be it. I didn’t realize I would feel more out of place here upon returning than I ever felt in London. I think England as home now rather than here and that is a little sad to me that I feel so displaced.

I can’t describe the feeling. If you’ve read The Golden Compass I imagine it feels a bit like being severed. It goes beyond noticing the size of things or the change in accent. I’m glad to be here and to see my friends and family and to eat my familiar food again but being over here on this part of the world doesn’t feel right anymore. I see other people who studied abroad and I recognize the same feeling.

I guess I’ll get used to it and it won’t feel like a huge part of me is missing any more.  One day the four months I spent in Europe will blur into a few memories and the vividness of life there will be less clanging against the life I lead here. I don’t look forward to that time, even though it will make living here easier.

vodka in the rock

The British really love their Christmas. On Halloween day all of the candy and decorations were removed and replaced with Christmas decorations. Now it’s reaching a fevered pitch and I cannot imagine how it is going to be the week before Christmas. So David came in to see us on Friday. We went to the Absolut Ice Bar at 11:45 pm. It is a bar made entirely out of ice. They give you a really warm cape with gloves and a hood and you go in there and you get a drink made of Absolut Vodka that is served in an ice cube cup. It was cool…ha ha. But really it was fun. The bar is right off of Picadilly Circus and it was mayhem there once midnight hit. The tubes stopped running so the only way we, and thousands of other people, could get home was via taxi. We saw three guys get into a fist fight and a lot of drunk people staggering around before we finally muscled our way into a taxi.

Yesterday we went back to Piccadilly Circus so we could eat at Argyll Arms near the London Palladium and then go to the Apple store. The moment we got out of the tube I thought something was wrong. The streets were blocked off, there were people everywhere. I couldn’t figure out if there was a terrorist threat or a celebrity nearby. But no, it is just that Christmas is just around the corner (apparently). Seriously, there were DJs playing loud Christmas music, people on stilts, huge balloons, people in character suits (like Shrek), people dressed up like elves, etc. It was insane. Because it was the 1st of December and that means that Christmas is practically next week, everyone was out. It was so packed and crazy. Anyway, when we got to the Arms, it too was packed but it was really yummy and a very pretty pub. David owns an iPhone and it too is very pretty and probably the most phenomenal piece of machinery I’ve ever seen. After lunch we went to the Apple store which was big and imposing and, yet again, way too full. We left without buying anything and I had developed a migraine after being around all of the people and all of the chaos. Michael escorted me home where I took some medicine and a nap while the boys went and did what boys do (Guitar Hero 3 specifically I believe).

We all met up again last night and went to Wagamama’s on Leicester Square for dinner before going to see Spamalot. The first half was basically a rehash of The Holy Grail but the second half was quite enjoyable. We had horrid seats but whatever, it’s a West End show. We headed home because we didn’t want to be out in that kind of party environment a second night in a row.

And today I’m not sure what we’re doing…London is rainy and dismal as usual. This time next week I’ll be on a plane heading to Dallas and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I know that I feel quite closed in and claustrophobic now that the Christmas rush has maddened everyone here. Seriously, their eyes loll up into their head and their tongues hang out a bit as they batter you with their massive shopping bags. It’s worse than Mad Cow disease. I’m excited about driving in a car rather than being packed into a tin can to get from place to place. I am looking forward to not spending $20+ for every meal, even cheap ones. I am especially looking forward to sleeping without being woken up by drunkards on the street below me who feel like 4 am is a great time to start a chorus line. Don’t get me wrong, I love London and I’m going to miss it horribly, but I feel like it’s about time to head home.