The subject of friends and adventure
I wrote this for a scholarship that the British govt is offering to intl students. Hopefully I'll will the £2000 ($3500) top prize.
To Those Who Love and Care About Me:
As you know, I’ve been in the UK for almost 6 months and I would have to say that I am enjoying my time. I have seen some amazing things in my time here, from the lights of Paris to the streets of Copenhagen. I still can’t believe that I am so close to the entirety of Europe. I don’t quite understand why...(well actually, I do)…that the British go to places like Blackpool and Cornwall instead of the south of France or Chamonix for holiday. But, I guess it’s like you never really leave home until you have to. It isn’t too different from people in America, I guess. We have the greatest playground in the world that being the American landscape and its variety of culture and wonder, yet no one really leaves their state. I guess not everyone can be like John Steinbeck Travels with Charley; there always exists the ones that have the hunger and restlessness for travel and those who are tied down and are unable to. I’m definitely glad I’m the prior rather than the latter.
It is with that sense of travel that has presented me a problem. Without the idea of home I have become some what of an on looker in the lives of people I am here with at Uni. I exist as an abnormality that will disappear once it is the end of term. It is those real friends that truly anchor you to where you call ‘home.’ Instead, I have met many people on a superficial basis; where I know their most basic information…like their name, where they came from, and what they are studying. It has definitely been a struggle and I hope that I might be able to find some people to really connect with. It the hopes, dreams and desires that I want to learn about.
As time progresses I hope that my continued membership in the Fell (Hiking) Society and Rock Climbing Society will bear fruition in my desire for a deeper friendship. I know I have only just broken the surface of what possibilities exist and I definitely know I have found my niche of people. They are all wonderful and supportive and it will probably be those people that I come back to visit.
It’s almost Easter holiday as you might know so that means I get a long vacation which should provide a great opportunity for my next adventure. I think I will trek around Europe. I have already been to places like the Peak District, Liverpool, Paris and Copenhagen. There is nothing like walking through the fog to see the crags of Stanage or singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ with 40,000 other Liverpool fans. Those memories will forever be etched into my mind. It is in experiencing those things it has helped me overcome the fear of going to places like Prague. While there still exists the lingering doubt of my survival in a foreign country with a foreign language, I think I will manage. Moreover, in going to Chamonix and the Dolomites it will give me ample time to clear my head as I breathe the air of the Alps. Heck maybe I might even go back to Liverpool to watch another match. What LFC fan would I be if I didn’t use ever opportunity to see and support my team?
Whatever happens, when Easter holiday comes, I know that I’ll be ready and excited. I guess it’s like that saying about coming to the edge of a frontier. The two things that exist are the melancholy for what is behind us and that excitement of coming to a new adventure.
To Those Who Love and Care About Me:
As you know, I’ve been in the UK for almost 6 months and I would have to say that I am enjoying my time. I have seen some amazing things in my time here, from the lights of Paris to the streets of Copenhagen. I still can’t believe that I am so close to the entirety of Europe. I don’t quite understand why...(well actually, I do)…that the British go to places like Blackpool and Cornwall instead of the south of France or Chamonix for holiday. But, I guess it’s like you never really leave home until you have to. It isn’t too different from people in America, I guess. We have the greatest playground in the world that being the American landscape and its variety of culture and wonder, yet no one really leaves their state. I guess not everyone can be like John Steinbeck Travels with Charley; there always exists the ones that have the hunger and restlessness for travel and those who are tied down and are unable to. I’m definitely glad I’m the prior rather than the latter.
It is with that sense of travel that has presented me a problem. Without the idea of home I have become some what of an on looker in the lives of people I am here with at Uni. I exist as an abnormality that will disappear once it is the end of term. It is those real friends that truly anchor you to where you call ‘home.’ Instead, I have met many people on a superficial basis; where I know their most basic information…like their name, where they came from, and what they are studying. It has definitely been a struggle and I hope that I might be able to find some people to really connect with. It the hopes, dreams and desires that I want to learn about.
As time progresses I hope that my continued membership in the Fell (Hiking) Society and Rock Climbing Society will bear fruition in my desire for a deeper friendship. I know I have only just broken the surface of what possibilities exist and I definitely know I have found my niche of people. They are all wonderful and supportive and it will probably be those people that I come back to visit.
It’s almost Easter holiday as you might know so that means I get a long vacation which should provide a great opportunity for my next adventure. I think I will trek around Europe. I have already been to places like the Peak District, Liverpool, Paris and Copenhagen. There is nothing like walking through the fog to see the crags of Stanage or singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ with 40,000 other Liverpool fans. Those memories will forever be etched into my mind. It is in experiencing those things it has helped me overcome the fear of going to places like Prague. While there still exists the lingering doubt of my survival in a foreign country with a foreign language, I think I will manage. Moreover, in going to Chamonix and the Dolomites it will give me ample time to clear my head as I breathe the air of the Alps. Heck maybe I might even go back to Liverpool to watch another match. What LFC fan would I be if I didn’t use ever opportunity to see and support my team?
Whatever happens, when Easter holiday comes, I know that I’ll be ready and excited. I guess it’s like that saying about coming to the edge of a frontier. The two things that exist are the melancholy for what is behind us and that excitement of coming to a new adventure.