May Day!

Happy May Day! And happy Springfest all you happy-almost-done-with-class Whitworth folk.

Here in Chester it’s a balmy 13 (Celsius), with a thick cover of clouds. Cheers! But really, I’ve had a lovely week. I was lucky enough to have conversations about the existence of God, Camus, Eurovision, Shakespeare, Othello, immigration, Kafka, my future house, and so many other really interesting and important topics this week. I wrapped up a few classes and went to see Iron Man 2. It's good, just a heads up when it comes out in the U.S. in a few weeks.

Today starts my fifth month in England, and also the 25 day count to coming home for Heather’s graduation. I’ve been thinking a lot the last few days about English culture, what I like, what I’ll miss, and the start of compiling what I’ve learned here into a four sentence summary I will be able to tell relatives and friends in the upcoming months. Of course, I’d love to talk for hours and share my, literally, 10,000 pictures I’ve taken, but that would only be fun for me, and I figure I better save my allotted amount of love and support for when something in my life goes wrong instead of using it all up on a 7 hour slide show and detailed discussion of European life.

I’ve decided to fill the next few weeks with as much Britishness as I possibly can, starting with giving up my sad pitiful coffee flavoured water in exchange for only drinking tea. It makes no sense to drink bad coffee instead of Earl Grey or drinks that smell of elderberry. I am going to try to go to the races. If I can afford it, this will be done in a fantastic hat. I am going to visit the other Flynn family down south. I am going to try to go to Ireland. (I am going to write all my papers). I am going to eat lots and lots of mushy peas.

I know there are certain things I will miss almost immediately. I think the things that were hardest to adjust to will probably be the things that I will miss most actually. I will miss how OCD British people are about everything. It’s not longer annoying, but rather endearing. I will miss the inordinate amount of free time I have here, and the overall slow pace, carefree attitude. I will miss how polite everyone is, and people calling me “Love”. I will miss people getting worried about travel over very small distances. Ugh, and pubs. I love pubs. I wish I could take the George and Dragon home with me. I will miss British children. There’s just something about a 5 year old with a thick accent that melts your heart. I will miss my friends. I love love love being surrounded by people from around the world. It’s a type of diversity that I’m going to have to seek out at home. I will miss being special and standing out. I will miss tea. I will miss the way England smells, (well, sometimes). I will miss the independence. I will miss football and talking about the World Cup. I will miss their humour. I will miss how old everything is. And Castles. And Elizabethan architecture. And Liverpool. I feel like this list could go on for a long time.

Anyway, I have a month to think about these things.