just some thoughts

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I'm already thinking about how sad I'm going to be when I have to leave England. Of course it'll be mixed with happiness about going home and seeing people who I love, but I'll still miss it. I'm determined to come back at some point, I am not going to spend the rest of my life inside the borders of the U.S. That being said, I think that I'd also like to do some traveling in the states. It's interesting that so many Americans (myself included) have seen so little of their country and don't travel outside of it either.

I've found myself being annoyed with America. Yes, annoyed. As a whole, we are incredibly ignorant of the global community and see ourselves as the only people who matter. I'm sure that wasn't a particularly insightful statement, but I've just been realizing how true it is. Our health care system baffles me because we are horrified by conditions elsewhere but turn a blind eye to the people who are suffering and dying because they can't afford the medication or medical care that would help them. I found out that here, there is a flat rate for getting prescriptions filled at chemists (pharmacies) no matter how much is prescribed. Another thing that has been bothering me is the lack of widespread recycling in the states. Here, grocery stores like Tesco encourage customers to either purchase canvas totes from the store or bring their own reusable bags to put their items in. They also offer Tesco club card green points if you bring back the plastic bags that they have to reuse on your next trip. Why grocery stores at home don't do this is beyond me. Wouldn't they save money if they didn't have to buy as many plastic bags for their customers?

Ok, ranting aside, I've been having a pretty good weekend. I'm including today in the weekend because I don't have class until tomorrow. Yesterday, Casy and I went on an adventure to the Canada Water tube station and found a shopping center right there. It's basically a little mall, which I was surprised to find in existence here. We needed construction paper to make Valentine's Day cards. So once we got back home, craft time ensued. I've also been going to the gym for the past week or so since I joined, so that's going well. Have to be in shape for my last season of volleyball when I get back (and in shape in general).

British sayings that I ADORE:
"that's mint"-equivalent to us saying "that's great," or "that's sweet"
"quality" or "that's quality"- I think it's pretty similar to the one above
"lovely" or calling people "love"-be prepared for this when I get home. I already used lovely a lot.
"cheers"-instead of saying thank you (sounds much better with a British accent though, so I haven't started saying it much).

How delightful.

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Comments

[Brenda]

You can start using the little sayings as long as you say them with an "American accent" so that I will still be able to understand you.

[Danielle!]

haha i can't wait to hear you speak :]] sorry about the whole dropping off the face of the earth for a little while thing. love youuuu though. i'll try to email you asap much love