british children

I have to start with a story. Just a night or two ago I was laying in bed around midnight and could not sleep. We've all been there. The night you finally have the time to sleep and you can't. You lay with your eyes open for a solid amount of time and then try to psychologically convince your body that it's time to sleep. You may close your eyes and try to keep them closed long enough that you fall asleep. Again, this normally doesn't work. So, my mind started wondering. After several uninteresting thoughts I thought, 'Oh jeez, I have a blog to write for Sunday.' What can I write about? You see, there are millions of things I could write about. However, this blog is very unique, in that it is family and friends reading. I know the audience of my writing and therefore tailor my posts accordingly. (This is NEVER acceptable for a normal blog. I learned in class a couple weeks ago that we should focus on writing before imagining the audience) From my thoughts came a story that has quickly become one of my most favorite moments so far.

Each Friday - since most people don't have class - my friends and I travel to town to do two things: 1) Walk through the shopping center to see if there are any new bargains. (Have I mentioned the deals here are unbeatable?) 2) Grocery shop. Right now I'll ignore #2. There's nothing fun about being forced to spend money on groceries. The moment that will stick with me was while I was with my friends Barbara (Argentina) and Tina (Malta) in a woman's clothing store. Wait. Let me back up just a bit. Before we were in the women's store we had gone out to lunch. This is very important because I had the most unsurpassably brilliant latte I've ever had in my life. The sigh of relief that issued from my mouth was so loud that it was mistaken by some to be the early onset of the Siroccan Winds which would often roll through the Schwarzwald with a veng.... You get the picture. This coffee not only was delicious, it had a credible amount of caffeine. Though caffeine doesn't have an effect on some people, it makes me crazy. I get so much energy and all jumpy and I talk a lot more. Now we're back on track. Tina and Barbara (side note: every time I type her name I have to consciously consider the spelling since my brain is programmed to pay respect to Barbra who dismissed the second A in her name) had wanted to check some things out, so I agreed to tag along. I was completely hyped up on the addictive drug, caffeine. I was audibly singing to the radio station playing in the store as well as dancing as if I were in a club. Don't ask me why. Suddenly, from behind a rack of bargained clothing with her mother at a nearby jewelry display came a wee little girl of seven or eight years old. She walks up to me with all the confidence in the world and asks, 'Are you from America?' These quotations can't do justice to how cute it was. Imagine such a little girl with blonde hair and a British accent. I smiled a bit and responded, 'Yes.' The excitement in her eyes kept growing until she finally blurted out, 'I've been to America! I went to Florida when I was a little girl.' I told her that Florida was a very nice state and that I had visited there when I was little as well. I also warned her that all of America is not as picturesque as Florida. She then asked where I lived, but when I told her Ohio it was clear that she was clueless. Before turning to walk away, the wee small child said to me, 'By the way, I like your accent.' It was the most precious (based on the novel Push by Sapphire) thing anybody has ever said to me. I wanted to take the girl with me but I felt that be a little too much. Similar to Maurice Chevalier in Gigi. Get my drift? Well, that was my best story, but I do have a couple more.

Last night I went out with some friends to the International Club's dance party. All the exchange students were invited and the DJ was going to play top hits from each of our countries. We were supposed to submit songs via the Facebook page, which I did not end up doing for one reason only. American top hits are top hits everywhere. The clubs are filled with American music and rarely any music that is different from American pop. Other countries, however, listen not only to American music but also to pop charts from their respective countries. Another point to show how America is viewed as a one-way street. Often we're blamed for pushing our culture on others while rarely accepting others' for consideration. The only option would have been for me to submit Whitney Houston or Beyoncé singing the National Anthem or Céline Dion singing God Bless America. Other than that I was flat out of options. I went to the event, however, and experienced the most awkward situation. My typical group of friends here were all sitting around a table and I thought going to make some new friends would be a great idea. If only I could have warned myself of what was to come I would have never attempted to befriend the Scandinavians. There was a large mass of them who were easily identifiable with their thick, winter clothing and blonde hair. So, I walked over to introduce myself and asked if they would mind if I pulled up a stool. No response. Just stares. Willing to keep trying a bit longer, I pulled up a stool and began conversation as nervously as Mrs. Peacock in Clue. Few of them wanted anything to do with me and after two or three minutes of contrived conversation I stood up, politely excused myself and rejoined my friends. It was such an awkward experience, and while I take caution in making a gross generalization for all Scandinavians, they were very rude people. Later, on the walk back to our hall, my Hungarian friend comforted me by saying they are normally regarded as such. Not only are they from the north where they are always very cold, they are cold people on the inside too. She had said very rarely do they enjoy going outside of their comfort zone and are often considered, frankly, unfriendly. I can't argue with that, especially after my encounter!

In other news, this week I received two emails from Baldwin Wallace that made me step back and realize just how fast time is going by. The first was a graduation application. I mean... didn't I just graduate high school? Can I really be approaching my graduation from undergraduate studies? Should I be looking into Masters programs? Should I be worried about moving to the city? All these questions and more came swooping in at me right once I got the email. For goodness sake, I'm still trying to figure out what summer job I'm going to have. Why bother me about something that won't happen for 14 more months? Is this some sick ploy to remind me that not only do I no longer have the safety net of college in 14 months, but I have to start paying back student loans. BLAHHHH. The second email was about scheduling course work for the Fall 2013 semester. There was good news behind this email. Being that I have senior status when registering for courses and a GPA good enough to book before a good portion of my classmates, I should have no issue getting into the classes I want. Plus, after planning out my coursework, I will have completed all but one of my requirements (to graduate) in the fall semester, which leaves my spring semester free to do whatever I wish. It will be just like Scotland again. Another stress-free semester is just what I love!

Two more things: While I've been laughing at the unfortunately drab weather in America, the karma has come full circle. As I've been typing this post, it has been snowing a ton outside. It's very strange how much there is in such a little amount of time, but I'm sure the rain is close behind ready to melt it all within several minutes. Second, it's so good to know America is on Daylight Savings Time. Now the time difference is only 4 hours instead of 5! If anybody ever wants to Skype, let me know!

Cheers!

Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something.
                                            - Unknown