(no subject)
EXCITING NEWS!!! I have a new flatmate!
Maybe it wasn't that exciting, but I like to pretend like stuff happens to me. Anyhow, her name is Lulu, and she's here to study English (and, sorry Vijay, except for having big eyes she's not at all bovine). Is it awful to be incredibly happy that I'm no longer the one in the flat who least understands what's going on? Helping her out makes me feel so competent. Like all of a sudden I'm this all-powerful guiding figure who knows exactly what's going on and is totally integrated into the system - has mastered the system, I would even say. Yay for feeling well adjusted!
Last night was sort of odd, because Lulu and I started making dinner together but halfway through I started feeling really sick and dizzy and had to go lie down. So she ended up making dinner for me, which was nice but made me feel kind of spoiled and guilty. But afterwards, when I was feeling a bit better, she and Ellie and I had a chat, and we heard all about her boyfriend (and saw pictures!). It was interesting - I usually assume that this sort of conversation is how girls get to know eachother (do you have a boyfriend? tell me the story!), but none of the British girls seem to open up like that. It would seem that, to them, being friends is more about common interests. Not that my flatmates necessarily represent all British girls, but... Anyhow, whether or not that generalisation is accurate, the upshot of the evening is that she's a nice person, and I'm definitely coming down with something. Oh, and when I tried to get her to use some of my groceries to make dinner with, because I felt guilty that she was making me dinner with all of her food, she said "no, no, no," and slapped me on the but. I'll just assume that's a cultural thing, no?
(I love sitting in the computer cluster on the upper floor of the library because there's this glass wall and you can spy on the people in the group study area below. One guy is playing GO on his computer, and the boy and the girl sharing a carrell are definitely flirting more than they're working. The girl keeps twisting her hair, and the guy isn't even looking at the notebook. Studying French my eye. Oh - I think the first guy just lost at GO. I can't tell which color he was playing, so maybe he won, but he just stood up and walked off looking slightly annoyed, so I'm assuming he was white. Black had about 2/3 of the stones on the board. And by stones I mean dots.)
So, I had an interesting cultural exploration moment yesterday. Tuesday is Pancake Day here, which as near as I can tell is the British equivalent of the original Mardi Gras (i.e. use up all of the lard in your house before the start of Lent and fasting). This enquiry was somewhat complicated by the fact that none of my British friends know what Lent is, since it's a Christian thing. Even though I would say all of my flatmates are sort of Christian, in that they celebrate Christmas and Easter and some even would cautiously say they believe in a higher being, none would ever go to church. Honestly, I can't say I'm surprised; I'm not sure I want to go to church here. The one Catholic Church I've found is super traditional and kind of intimidating. One way it comes up is in the songs they choose for the mass; I had never sung "Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war," until I got here. It's really old and the lyrics are kind of scary. But I've gotten off on a tangent - I apologize. Back to my enquiry as to the origins of Pancake day. They were further complicated by the fact that when I asked if pancake day was the same day as Mardi Gras, I got the response: "isn't Mardi Gras that big gay parade?" Heh. So I tried to explain, but it didn't really register. Apparently pancake day has moved far beyond any sort of religious origin it might have had, and has become a completely secular holiday, based on the idea that pancakes are fun and they make people happy. Random, but I see the appeal.
Well, for the moment that's all that your local reporter has to say about the weird and wonderful habits of the British in their native environment. Tune in next week to hear; "Pancake Day - what really goes on"; "The Hypnotist Comes to Campus - how offensive does a program have to be for them to warn you about how offensive it is on the ticket?"; and perhaps a special segment on Chinese cooking.
Maybe it wasn't that exciting, but I like to pretend like stuff happens to me. Anyhow, her name is Lulu, and she's here to study English (and, sorry Vijay, except for having big eyes she's not at all bovine). Is it awful to be incredibly happy that I'm no longer the one in the flat who least understands what's going on? Helping her out makes me feel so competent. Like all of a sudden I'm this all-powerful guiding figure who knows exactly what's going on and is totally integrated into the system - has mastered the system, I would even say. Yay for feeling well adjusted!
Last night was sort of odd, because Lulu and I started making dinner together but halfway through I started feeling really sick and dizzy and had to go lie down. So she ended up making dinner for me, which was nice but made me feel kind of spoiled and guilty. But afterwards, when I was feeling a bit better, she and Ellie and I had a chat, and we heard all about her boyfriend (and saw pictures!). It was interesting - I usually assume that this sort of conversation is how girls get to know eachother (do you have a boyfriend? tell me the story!), but none of the British girls seem to open up like that. It would seem that, to them, being friends is more about common interests. Not that my flatmates necessarily represent all British girls, but... Anyhow, whether or not that generalisation is accurate, the upshot of the evening is that she's a nice person, and I'm definitely coming down with something. Oh, and when I tried to get her to use some of my groceries to make dinner with, because I felt guilty that she was making me dinner with all of her food, she said "no, no, no," and slapped me on the but. I'll just assume that's a cultural thing, no?
(I love sitting in the computer cluster on the upper floor of the library because there's this glass wall and you can spy on the people in the group study area below. One guy is playing GO on his computer, and the boy and the girl sharing a carrell are definitely flirting more than they're working. The girl keeps twisting her hair, and the guy isn't even looking at the notebook. Studying French my eye. Oh - I think the first guy just lost at GO. I can't tell which color he was playing, so maybe he won, but he just stood up and walked off looking slightly annoyed, so I'm assuming he was white. Black had about 2/3 of the stones on the board. And by stones I mean dots.)
So, I had an interesting cultural exploration moment yesterday. Tuesday is Pancake Day here, which as near as I can tell is the British equivalent of the original Mardi Gras (i.e. use up all of the lard in your house before the start of Lent and fasting). This enquiry was somewhat complicated by the fact that none of my British friends know what Lent is, since it's a Christian thing. Even though I would say all of my flatmates are sort of Christian, in that they celebrate Christmas and Easter and some even would cautiously say they believe in a higher being, none would ever go to church. Honestly, I can't say I'm surprised; I'm not sure I want to go to church here. The one Catholic Church I've found is super traditional and kind of intimidating. One way it comes up is in the songs they choose for the mass; I had never sung "Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war," until I got here. It's really old and the lyrics are kind of scary. But I've gotten off on a tangent - I apologize. Back to my enquiry as to the origins of Pancake day. They were further complicated by the fact that when I asked if pancake day was the same day as Mardi Gras, I got the response: "isn't Mardi Gras that big gay parade?" Heh. So I tried to explain, but it didn't really register. Apparently pancake day has moved far beyond any sort of religious origin it might have had, and has become a completely secular holiday, based on the idea that pancakes are fun and they make people happy. Random, but I see the appeal.
Well, for the moment that's all that your local reporter has to say about the weird and wonderful habits of the British in their native environment. Tune in next week to hear; "Pancake Day - what really goes on"; "The Hypnotist Comes to Campus - how offensive does a program have to be for them to warn you about how offensive it is on the ticket?"; and perhaps a special segment on Chinese cooking.