American flags are flying EVERYWHERE! I don't know why I never noticed it before. It must have been like background music that you ignore after a while. But since I've been in silence for the last three months, I now can hear the music! I pull into Walmart. Excitement brings tears to my eyes, and I laugh at myself, It's only Walmart, Alicia. As I spy that huge American flag flying from the top of the building, I think, No, it's not just Walmart. It's better than any store in England! Once inside, I'm reminded how truly HUGE Walmart is. It's [View Full Entry]

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Lunch with Rachel and Aaron Homemade bean soup. How could I resist? Actually, what I couldn't resist was a chance to dine with two of my best friends, Rachel and Aaron. They've been married over four years, now, but I knew them back in college when they were engaged. Rachel is a high school math teacher by day and an amazing singer/actress by night. She's starred in a number of plays in the Nashville area and sings with a local, cover band. Aaron has his own recording studio in the downstairs of their cute home in Brentwood. He's also extremely spiritual [View Full Entry]

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(My TEFL teacher taught me that a very common form of culture shock is when people start to desire things that are only from their own culture/country and everything else seems inferior. That's where I am right now, so please don't be offended. It will pass.) Chattanooga Grocery shopping with my mom was incredible to me, because I'd forgotten how big American stores are. There's so much variety! There's so much space between the isles! And people actually get out of your way when you need to pass! In the UK, it's a small, tight fit, and people won't get out [View Full Entry]

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My flight from London Heathrow was delayed by about three hours, so I missed my connecting flight in Detroit. Now, I'm stuck here, trying to stay calm because I just want to go home! The wind is so freakin' cold, it practically burns my skin. I'm sitting in a huge van, a shuttle that's taking me to a Best Western down the road. The airlines is putting me up in a hotel for the night. To my right is a good-looking college-age guy.... I'd seen him in the airport in London, with his backwards baseball cap, cargo pants, and white t-shirt. [View Full Entry]

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I emailed the airlines last night to see if I could change my ticket so I can fly home sooner. I haven't heard back from them, so I call. No answer. I leave a message on the machine. Slipping my cell phone into my pocket, I take a deep breath, trying to clear my mind. Stay calm, Alicia. Stop stressing about this. It's in God's hands. BUT I HAVE TO GO HOME!! You'll get there. Stop worrying and enjoy the day. I spend the next hours trying to stay focused on the world around me, taking deep breaths, striving to stay [View Full Entry]

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I managed to walk to the grocery store down the road to buy some medicine, and that has helped. Today, I'm feeling much better, but I took the day off anyway just to make sure. I really don't want to be sick when I'm on vacation. I've been cooped up in my bedroom for the last three days. Tomorrow is Friday, the last day of the school term. I've missed three days of work this week, so I'm going to be totally broke. Seriously. Furthermore, I don't know what I was thinking when I booked my plane tickets home. I'll be [View Full Entry]

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I finished reading Barack Obama's book The Audacity of Hope. What an amazing writer! I liked him before, but now...I LOVE him!! The book really opened my eyes to the sheer genius and near-perfection of our constitution. We are such a young nation, and yet America has the oldest constitution in the world. And I never realized how impossible it is to succeed at politics. It's like, someone introduces a bill that will take more guns out of the hands of criminals and put more cops on the street to protect our communities; but the funding for it removes money from [View Full Entry]

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I wake up this morning with a splitting headache. Yesterday, I felt horrible, so I came straight home from school and went right to bed. Slept all through the night, and I still feel awful this morning. I get up and stumble to the bathroom, coughing along the way. I can hardly walk straight. As I lean over the sick to wash my face, I realize that I'm burning up. I slpash cold water on my face and stand there, leaning over the sink, trying to keep the room from spinning. I can't go to work today. But I have to! [View Full Entry]

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I put off my "women's health" appointment for as long as possible, and now...it's time. Really time. In fact, I'm running late. I printed directions from google, but I think they're wrong. There's no way a doctor's office is in this residential area. Luckily, I saved the phone number in my cell phone. No answer. They never answer! When I was trying to schedule the appointment, I think I let it ring for like fifteen minutes before the connection was finally severed. Then I had to re-dial and repeat the process about three times before finally speaking to another human being. [View Full Entry]

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"Wow, you look nice!" Krisztina, my Hungarian roommate says. "You have a date?" I laugh, "Yeah right! No, I'm going to that party our gym is having." (Yes, she's a member, too.) With my hair straightened, my make-up perfect and natural-looking, I feel pretty cute in my black and white dress. Maybe that Scottish guy will be there! It's raining, of course! Great. After I went to all the trouble to straighten my hair, it's going to start curling again! The thing is, after I straighten my hair, it won't curl up nicely again until I wash it. Instead, it'll just [View Full Entry]

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