Saturday, January 12, 2008

On Dropping the Ball and Globehopping...

Hey,
So, I did drop the ball after that last, brief posting on 80s Night in Campinas, Brazil. The problem was that once I found out that I had to leave Brazil 2 WEEKS early, I became a bit depressed, and was too busy trying to finish up my research project, say goodbye to everyone, and being stressed out about my UK visa application. For those of you who do not know, you cannot apply for a UK visa from outside your country of residence, which was why I had to leave Brazil early--to rush back to Kansas, send in my application, supporting documents, and passport to the Consulate in Chicago, and--wait. So the waiting, coupled with some uncertainties about the ever-changing UK visa rules, had me a little stressed out. The good news, was that the visa arrived the day before my flight was scheduled. All's well that ends well, no?
The unplanned 2 weeks of waiting in Lawrence, KS turned out to be fabulous, as I got to spend lots of time seeing people, hanging out, and doing the pre-Christmas thing. I really enjoyed all the parties and other events that I got to attend and help out at. I love Lawrence, and those two weeks reminded me of why--good people, good projects, good ideas, and good parties.
I arrived in London on the 15th of December. I know, it is now the 12th of January, so what exactly did I do for an entire month? Basically, turistiar around London and vicinity with Felicity, my dear, dear friend from Nicaragua, who has recently moved back to England and is trying to (re) start a life here (which, I have to say, is not easy in this country)--we spent many moments together reminiscing and reflecting on what it means to live in a country like Nicaragua, a magical and harsh place, where you feel part of a struggle, at least, but lose something of your identity and (female) dignity in the process; what it means to re-patriate yourself afterwards, after leaving loved ones and relationships behind. I am convinced that we (or at least I) never get over this; it is always present in your life, always there as some unresolveable thing in your soul. So we talked a lot about these things as we visited some great sites in London, like Brick Lane (curry central), Soho, Trafalgar Square, London Bridge, the Tate (complete with crack), and others. I like London--it is a nice place to visit, but I would not want to live there.
I feel incredibly privileged to have had the opportunity to spend a traditional 3-day Christmas with Felicity´s entire family at her aunt´s house in Croydon, a suburb of London. How do I describe it? Let's see: basically, imagine 17 people staying together in one (large) house, eating together, playing group games, and opening presents for three days, and there you basically have it. English Christmas. I was much impressed by the lack of blowups. Really impressed.
Thomas Overly, friend and compañero from Kansas, jetted over from Copenhagen via Germany, and spent New Years with us. I am sooo happy he did! We had a great time, and he really added a different perspective to the pub nights that Felicity and I had already made tradition.
I then moved to Exeter on the 2nd of January, and have been here since then. I am renting a room in a house a little outside of town, but it is a 10-minute train ride. I will talk more about that, as well as post some pictures, later this week.
For now, Happy January!

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