Being abroad “In Toto”
I didn’t have any idea what this would be like when I started out. Oh sure, I had a few expectations I suppose, involving something along the lines of tea-drinking aristocracies drenched in sophistication and a constant blanket of gray. When I arrived, the grayness was here in abundance, and I was not quite sure what to make of the British people. I was introduced to my little rat hole (all inclusive with bath) and the people I was to share a kitchen with and wondered how in the world I was going to survive the next three months. Hunger was an ever-present bane, and I didn’t even know how to get to the nearest grocery store. The currency was strange and reminded me of something straight out of a board game. I had no mode of private transportation and knew no one who knew anything more about this cold, vague place than I did.
I learned soon enough though. This is a country where people passing on the street look straight ahead as if glancing around might alter their purpose. Traffic is a nightmare, and I'm amazed that fender benders are not more frequent, while others opt for leaving their cars at home in favor of using public transportation. Bus stops appear every twenty feet, emerging above seas of pale-faced, wind blown Brits while trains spin their webs across the miles, stretching their fingers all the way to the various coasts. Churches seem rare, and other buildings crowd the busy streets side by side and never break to show the sky. Houses grow taller rather than wider and driveways are few and far between.
The light begins to fade at four and all the shops lock their doors and flip their signs at “half five.” The accent sounds like poor grammar in which hard Rs are never said and “th” is thrown out for “vah.” Despite all these differences, the people are still just people. They live as best they know how, traipsing to work, picking up their uniformed children from school, buying groceries with that strange currency.
The radio and BBC television are an unending supply of techno-pop permeated stations, and cable TV is a thing of the past. Super fast Internet connections have yet to hop the next boat over, and I have had to wean myself from twenty-four hour access to a PC unit. Getting in touch with friends has been impossible without a “mobile” to which most Americans quickly gained access.
Cities centered around higher education are everywhere, although in some places, university life is wholly different and wholly less stressful, and nightlife appears to be more significant than excelling in education. Oxford and Cambridge are a plethora of old stone churches and gothic university buildings. Cobblestone streets and students on bicycles peep out from the many noisy autos, but despite this, it seems a large portion of the economy in these places revolves around tourism. There are many specific attractions, and there are times when I have heard more American voices then British ones.
Great Britain is home to an interesting history and a unique brand of exclusivity. Although the political system is headed by an elderly woman and a parliament that isn't even based on a written constitution, I began to understand how this place has developed so much pride and why it still struggles to maintain at least an illusion of power and significance. It refuses to be swallowed up in the over bearing pressure of Europe and still holds its own despite it size and association with “the continent.”
Although being here has been an incredible test of will and spirit, I have no regrets. There were times when the cold crawled its way under my skin, and I thought I would never be free of it, but it was then I understood why people here are so withdrawn. With such a deprivation of sunshine, I guess people lack the motivation to smile and utter hello. I have gotten closer to the other Americans and even the ones I do not particularly care for, I have a connection with because this time, WE are the foreigners. We are the strangers here, dipping our toes in this culture, and most of all, into the alcohol. Telling someone I don’t drink always provokes a reaction as if I had said I do not like Coke back home. It is such a way of life here.
I have definitely learned some unforgettable lessons not the least of which is that people are generally ignorant of every culture but their own until they experience a different one. It is amazing how much my eyes have been opened. I can now see and appreciate the differences. The United States of America is not the one and only place in the world, a fact we tend to conveniently forget. However, I am extremely glad to be an American, even more so for having been here. I have gained a new appreciation for my home country, dirty stains and all. I long to see American flags flying above government buildings and hear voices that bear a Southern lilt.
There aren’t really enough words to describe all of the incredible adventures I have had or the importance of the many lessons I have learned. I was introduced to another life when for so long I was ignorant to the fact that different lives existed outside the super power that is my home. I will take away more unforgettable memories than I can count or that my camera was able to capture. Although I am sure stepping back onto American soil will put a smile in my heart, I will always have a drawer in the file cabinet of my mind labeled “My Semester in England,” a drawer that will be visited often and never locked away, but left partly ajar so that all my experiences can drift out and mingle in my life for all the years yet to come.
Northampton, UK
Late March 2001
