I haven't forgotten you...

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Earlier in the semester, I mentioned that there might come a time when I have too much work to do any traveling worthy of a blog entry. That time is upon us, and I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated.

Anyway, tomorrow I hop the train for Manchester, a city that is almost twice the population of Newcastle. I've never been, but I'm told their Christmas Market is one of the best in the UK. (I should warn you now that it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow, so the pictures may not be spectacular.) The morning after that, it's a train to London and a plane to Boston, and an even longer Blog haiatus (during which I will probably see many of you).

Last week I visited the Christmas Market in Newcastle, hoping to finish my Christmas shopping there.



Lots of crafts and souvenirs and chestnut stands. Very similar to York, I think, only without the woman inscribing wooden objects in the IPA.

I admit that - as much as I wanted to do all my Christmas shopping in markets - there was one person on my list who, try as I might, I couldn't find anything suitable for. So I did have to step into an actual, year-round store.

But then I saw this:



And despite the odd looks people were giving me, I just had to take a picture.

Slightly more amusing than seeing my home country take up an entire bookcase entitled "Foreign Travel" is the fact that New York City gets a shelf (plus overflow) to itself, but the 6 states just east of it have share books.

Also, I imagine that upstate New York (the Adirondacks, Niagara Falls, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute*) is feeling slighted. Both this year and the last time I studied abroad, I found myself explaining to several people that New York City is NOT the same place as New York state. That Hamilton College in Clinton, NY is about as far from New York City as Newcastle is from London.

Which I guess is a fair trade-off from the number of times I have explained to people at home that England and London are NOT interchangeable terms. So I guess we're even? Anyway, it's this kind of thing that is most fascinating about living abroad: finding out the things we don't understand (or have wrong) about each other. I've certainly had my fair share of those moments. For example, this one, whch doesn't so much count as a US/UK Mix-up of the week, as The Most Idiotic Question I Have Ever Asked Anyone, Ever:

*During Anatomy, mentioning a pneumonic that goes "To Zanzibar By Motor Car, Probably".

Me: So, could you actually do that from here? Drive to Zanzibar, I mean.

Coursemate: ... No.

(The tone of her voice suggested to me that this was a stupid question.)

Me: Wait, Zanzibar is where I think it is right? It's in Africa, right? Oh God, was that a stupid question? It's not in Africa is it?

Coursemate: (still dubious) No, it's in Africa.

Me: Then you could do it, right? In theory. Drive through the Middle East, into Egypt...

Coursemate: No, because we're on an island.

Me: ...

*few seconds later*

Me: #&!%! (MISSING)

Coursemate: *dies laughing*

I still can't believe I said that.

The prevalence of American film over here means that people here understand a lot more about us than we do about them (two of my coursemates, including the person mentioned above, can actually recite the Pledge of Allegiance). It's a bit shaming, really.

An interesting difference I haven't mentioned is the academic year. Many (read: not all) UK schools start much later than American ones, so late that semester one continues after Christmas vacation. Although my classes finished on Friday, all my finals are due at the end of January, and we won't start semester two until after that.

Although typically I can understand each way of doing things, this time I have to say I prefer the US schedule. At Hamilton, this time of year was stressful and exhausting (all-nighters in the library, anyone?), but we got through it, then went home for a much-needed break and celebrated the holiday in peace before starting the next semester in January. This year, my break will be punctuated by 3 essays, 2 case studies, 2 recording projects and the prospect of 2 class tests. It's not the end of the world, but I'm missing the logic here.

That aside, I hope you are all having a great Christmas season and I look forward to seeing (many of) you in the next few weeks!

* A million billion CONGRATULATIONS to Ben for his acceptance at RPI! Well done.

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Comments

[Dad]

Motorcar
As long as you been traveling to the UK (7th grade?) the Chunnel has been in existence, so riding in your car to France and then on to Tanzania is perfectly reasonable

[Julia]

In your defense, it is possible to take a car across the channel on a ferry or a train... so, technically, you could drive all the way, as long as you count standing next to your car on a train driving... Safe travels and have a great break! Say hi to people for me! :-)