This is the furthest I've ever been from home.
Away from my father (who before leaving made me take a picture in front of the American flag so I 'don't forget where I came from'!), older brother and sister, dear friends that have supported me even when I was cranky, my lovely pets Abby (a Wheaton Terrier), two tabby cats Boris and Dude, and virtually everything I know. Oh yes, and my two favorite local barbers who always said hello when I walked in my village, in Williamsville, New York. Now I'm in Birmingham, England. That's a far trip back for a cup of delicious Tim Horton's coffee (for those unfamiliar think along the Costa lines), which I miss terribly!
Is this a gripping enough introduction? Do you want to know more about me and why I'm writing this?
Long story short, my mother, an American, married an English bloke after an Internet romance and moved here in 2006. When I'd finished my Associates' degree, I thought it might be time to take a risk for the second part of my degree. Normally a shy person, I was nervous to go somewhere that when I spoke, everyone would know I wasn't local. After some critical thinking, and staying for a few months to get acquainted with England, I wasn't sure I could remain so removed from my life of 21 years.
I returned home, but, after a day I knew it had been the right choice, to go to school in England. Why? Because I was scared. I thought about how anything worth doing in life would probably cause some anxiety and determined it was the right choice. A lot of money borrowed, and now in my second semester at Birmingham City University, I'm enjoying the benefits of my decision.
I've met loads of people who have made me feel far more welcome than I could have ever predicted. Everyone seemed so eager to make the transition smooth, although several have said," . . . yes we're nice to you, you're American, but we're not nice to each other," which I find hard to believe. As a result of being here, I know people from not only England, but France, Greece, Portugal and Poland. Its like my own United Nations!
My education thus far, has been wonderful including instructors who genuinely love what they do and try to get students engaged at every point. Sometimes I have to laugh at being out somewhere and hearing 'cheeky', 'squidgy', or 'wonky'. It reminds me where I am and how fortunate I feel to be experiencing life in a different culture.
For this semester in On-line Journalism, I'm working on the topic of conservation. Normally, I might consider conservation to be watching Hugh Laurie in the series, House, on the couch as a way of conserving energy in place of exercise. Unfortunately conserving my energy won't be the kind of conservation talk on this blog (or anything about being sluggish!). I'll be reporting on Midlands, UK conservation both here and on a site created for our class. I'll post links to research and findings here as well as any updates our class has. I'll try to make whatever information I post interesting and fun!
This is my first blog and foray into becoming more technology-literate. A teacher I had at the beginning of my university career, in America, said I had no writing potential, so hopefully I've not bored you and my writing has improved! If you've made it this far, enjoy reading what is forthcoming and let me know how I'm doing! Even if what I write sucks, say it! Any feedback is good and will help me improve! More Midlands conservation information to come, amongst other information too!
**After being here awhile and becoming more comfortable, people that know me/meet me can't shut me up! I think I'm used to sounding like a Yankee idiot now-you can't be shy in foreign countries!
**Sadly, the photo in front of the American flag is tucked away in Rough Buff (Buffalo) so I've posted a different one. Surrounding myself with the likes of the NYPD or other men in uniform is one of my favorite activities!!
No comments:
Post a Comment