Hello from Chicago
land! I’m back in my cosy (I mean
cozy? Ahh, my British is showing) bedroom and I’m finally finished unpacking.
Our flight landed on Monday at around 4:30pm, but I didn’t get out of
customs and baggage claim until almost 6pm.
Thankfully, the snowy weather did not delay our landing. It was definitely a crazy day. I had planned on writing a post on the 9 hour
plane ride, but I couldn’t find my focus and what I did write seemed really insignificant.
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| Home sweet Chicago! |
Anyway, I went back to
work on Wednesday with a nice, long 8 hour shift. Thankfully, it went a lot better than I expected. I didn’t forget anything too important. If
you think working at a coffee shop in a busy shopping mall at Christmas time is
stressful, try working at a coffee shop in a busy shopping mall at Christmas
time after three months in England.
Honestly, I am already missing the chill, easy pace of English
life. I still remember chuckling at a
sign I saw in Canterbury’s Starbucks: “We will make your drink just the way you
like it! Don’t be shy, just tell us!” THIS IS HILARIOUS. Maybe you have to be a barista to understand
just how amazingly funny this sign is, I don’t know. But it really speaks to the difference between
English and American lifestyles. On my second day back to work, I dealt with an
extremely arrogant customer who insisted that I make her drink exactly the way
she wanted it (which was nothing even remotely similar to what we have on the
menu). This woman made such a scene, it
was ridiculous. People, this does not happen
in England. It just doesn’t.
At any rate, I feel
like I’ve been dropped back into the middle of my busy life without even one
second to breathe. Sure, I’m glad to be
home. Seeing family and friends again
has been and continues to be the best part of coming home. It’s hard to face the fact that I won’t see
my English friends for… well, a long time.
But, for the most part, I think I’m getting along pretty well. I think the biggest adjustment will come when
I go back to NCC next year. I have a massive work load next term. A full course load, lessons, work, and other
commitments are going to fill up my schedule.
It will be very different from the relaxed schedule I had at CCCU.
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| Showing off our CCCU jumpers at the pedestrian entrance to campus |
Today marks my first
full week back in the States and today is also the first day I’ve really had
since my arrival to just relax and be at home.
As I mentioned earlier, I went back to work almost immediately after my
arrival. And this past weekend I drove 6
hours south to the southern tip of Illinois to be in a friend’s wedding.
Now I’m finally sitting
here relaxing in my room on this sunny and chilly Monday, still trying to process how I feel about being back in the
States. I haven’t had the luxury of time
to allow me to sort out my reactions to everything. So, let’s get right to it…
The most obvious and
annoying adjustment I’ve had to make has to do with walking, or rather, a lack of walking. For example, I work at the mall. I live three minutes away from the mall. So why do I need to drive there? Why can’t I just walk there? It would only take about fifteen to twenty
minutes to get there on foot. In England
we walked everywhere. And if there was
need to travel very far, we took the train.
But for the most part, we walked around to get where we needed to
go. And now I’m suddenly back in my
hometown, where most stores are five to ten minutes away, and I’m driving to
get to these places. It’s just
weird. And while we’re on the topic of
driving, I need to highlight the absolutely terrifying moment when I first drove
my car after three months of being on the left side of the road. Honestly, I didn’t think that I would have
any problems because I never actually drove a car in England, I was always a
passenger. WRONG. It still feels kinda strange being on the
right side of the road. Also, I was
nearly hit by a car on my way into work last week because I looked to the right
first instead of left when I crossed the road.
Oopps.
Another frustration
that I’m having is the inability to adequately share my experiences with other
people. It’s difficult to explain three
months of experiences to someone in a few sentences. And I often feel like no one is really listening
to my answer when I’m asked “How was London?”
It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s
just how I’ve been feeling. I hate to
simplify something that is such a big part of my life; yet how else can I explain
this to people without taking them out for a coffee and having an hour long
conversation about my experience? It’s
all quite frustrating.
And finally, I am realizing
that many people in my life are extremely biased and closed-minded. The
global perspective that Britain has is so important. I see in some of my family members and
friends a very America-centered mindset and it is so disheartening. It’s hard to relate to these people because
they seem to think that America is the center of the universe. Now, I’m not saying I’m better than these
people. I’m not saying I am the most
globally-aware of everyone in my family.
But I am saying that those brief three months in England helped me to broaden
my perspective of the world.
So far, I have been
keeping in touch with friends from the trip everyday via Facebook and
Viber. I hope this continues so we don’t
lose touch! I miss being with them on a
daily basis. :’(
To end my study abroad
blog, here’s a fun BuzzFeed about the differences between American English and
U.K. English.
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| Georgia and I at Thanksgiving |
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| Teaching our English and Irish friends how to make s'mores! |
Thanks for reading my blog,
everyone! This has been such an awesome
way for me to record my experiences. I don't think I would have made it through the past three months without this blog. I'm a writer at heart, and I absolutely needed to write down my thoughts and feelings in order to function in a new environment. For those who've faithfully read week after week, thank you for doing so! I consider myself extremely blessed to have experienced life in several different countries and to have studied abroad. This was easily the best life decision I've ever made! I will never forget the memories and dear friends I've made over the past three months.
Cheers!
