01 March 2004
I just spent the last hour and half reading this journal. I'd advise you to start at the beginning. Colin is a wonderful writer--I chuckled to myself quite a bit, and that's rare when I'm reading.
I found his website by searching for "An American Girl in London." Yup. Girl.
But why were you searching for that, Christine?
Because, I'm trying to find out what it's like to live in London. After I visited Paris in 2002, I was pretty sure I'd want to go back and live there for a semester. I fell in love with the architecture, the Musee d'Orsay, and how European it all was. I even overlooked the rampant B.O. and strange odors that rose from the street, because I was charmed.
But after visiting Florence, I don't know if I would like to be with non-English speaking people for a whole four months. It's comforting to know in a foreign country that if you get lost, you'll be able to communicate with someone and ask for directions. Plus, those British accents!
I know I ought to trust my initial instincts, which tell me: Paris, Paris, Paris. These are the instincts that remind me of the observations I made when I was last in London, back in 1999. I wrote a travel journal for Laura (we ought to restart that, as a matter of fact), and from what I remember of it, British girls wore too much makeup and dressed trampy, British boys seemed greasy, and no one wore colorful clothes. All this came as a shock to me, as I have grown up with the old BBC shows such as "Keeping Up Appearances" and "Fawlty Towers." In those shows, the men are adorably flustered, while the women manage to be elegant even under dire circumstances.
In addition, the British men we Americans are exposed to seem to be the cream of the crop-- Prince William, Prince Harry, Jude Law. How on earth are ordinary British men supposed to measure up? I don't say this to be mean. Indeed, I could reverse it and say how on earth are ordinary American women supposed to measure up to American beauties like Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner? Impossible expectations result in disappointment, is all I mean.
So, my destination for study abroad is up in the air.
I found his website by searching for "An American Girl in London." Yup. Girl.
But why were you searching for that, Christine?
Because, I'm trying to find out what it's like to live in London. After I visited Paris in 2002, I was pretty sure I'd want to go back and live there for a semester. I fell in love with the architecture, the Musee d'Orsay, and how European it all was. I even overlooked the rampant B.O. and strange odors that rose from the street, because I was charmed.
But after visiting Florence, I don't know if I would like to be with non-English speaking people for a whole four months. It's comforting to know in a foreign country that if you get lost, you'll be able to communicate with someone and ask for directions. Plus, those British accents!
I know I ought to trust my initial instincts, which tell me: Paris, Paris, Paris. These are the instincts that remind me of the observations I made when I was last in London, back in 1999. I wrote a travel journal for Laura (we ought to restart that, as a matter of fact), and from what I remember of it, British girls wore too much makeup and dressed trampy, British boys seemed greasy, and no one wore colorful clothes. All this came as a shock to me, as I have grown up with the old BBC shows such as "Keeping Up Appearances" and "Fawlty Towers." In those shows, the men are adorably flustered, while the women manage to be elegant even under dire circumstances.
In addition, the British men we Americans are exposed to seem to be the cream of the crop-- Prince William, Prince Harry, Jude Law. How on earth are ordinary British men supposed to measure up? I don't say this to be mean. Indeed, I could reverse it and say how on earth are ordinary American women supposed to measure up to American beauties like Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner? Impossible expectations result in disappointment, is all I mean.
So, my destination for study abroad is up in the air.