Saturday, September 21, 2002

 

Meanwhile, in Twickenham...

Well, I'm here! Actually, I've been here for three days, and the only reason that this entry isn't the one I wrote down in my notebook while waiting for the plane in Chicago is that I conveniently managed to leave that notebook at home before coming down to the internet cafe. Heheh. I suck. Anyhow, I'll bring those entries with me next time so that you can see the crazy emotional rollercoaster that was Coming to England.

My host family is lovely. My landlady's name is Ann Jolliffe, who has a husband, Jay, and two children: Sean, 9, and Julia, 11. Precious! Ann also takes care of neighbor children during the week, Tues.-Thurs. So there's always younguns about, which I enjoy. No cats, sadly, but that's just as well - it's better that I don't form a bond with a sweet kitty and then have to leave it in May (parents - you can assure Ginger there's no one else). The carpet is pink, not in a tacky way but in a quaint English home way. There are framed pictures and delicate little knicknacks everywhere. I live up at the top of the stairs in a startlingly white room - it's very small and the bed is covered in a fluffy white duvet, making it the single most comfortable sleeping experience I've ever encountered. I'm actually considering giving the bed a name, that's how comfortable it is. It even rivals my lovely mattress pad at home! (Don't worry, Mum, I won't stay here on account of a bed.) The windows here don't generally have screens, and they swing out on hinges to let some fresh air in. My room looks straight down onto the street, and as everyone is very out in the open a lot I get to spy. It's not good for me - turns out I'm quite voyeuristic by nature and this just gives me opportunity to exercise it. But it's not my fault! No one ever draws their curtains... Anyhow. I'm allowed to use the phone (although I'm afraid to) and Ann says she'll be doing my laundry for me. Lovely! But again, hard to accept. Ann, while being very friendly, is somewhat reserved at the same time, and isn't tremendously chatty, so it's hard to ask her for things or make sure something she's said I could do is really all right.

St. Mary's is amazingly beautiful. I took a few pictures yesterday of Walpole House itself (a small castle, truly), and I mean to take more during the year to send home. The LRC (library and computer area) is quite user-friendly, and the refectory (cafeteria area - hehehe) is no more confusing than comparable places usually are. We ate there yesterday for lunch - I had pasta in tomato & vegetable sauce, sweet corn, broccoli, and a cup of Sprite. Everything was tasty, but the sauce was sweeter than at home (sort of like the French ketchup - I'm noticing a trend), the corn was tremendously dry, and I was getting a little dehydrated at that point, so thirst was a bit of an issue. I think I'm getting that under control, though.

This morning we were supposed to go on a coach tour of London lasting from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. And yours truly managed to oversleep. I went over to Erin's last night to watch a movie (her family is absolutely adorable - we all think they remind us of the wheelchair couple from Notting Hill), and got home about 12:30. Then I couldn't let myself go to bed till I'd finished unpacking, which, combined with making sure I knew how to use the alarm clock Ann was good enough to give me, took till 2:30. And strangely, as tired as I'd been all day, when I went to bed I couldn't even close my eyes. I stared up into darkness till about 3:00, I think, and then finally drifted off. So naturally when my alarm went off at 7:00 and my body told me it was 1:00, I turned it off and slept till 10:00 without even realizing I'd woken up at all. Sigh. But it at least gave me a chance to brave coming into Twickenham on my own. It's not as though I won't have a chance to see Central London again - I will be here for a year, after all.

Now that I understand the geography a little better, I still can't explain it to you. I don't think there's really anything comparable in the States. But I live in Strawberry Hill, just a ten minute walk from the school, and once one is standing outside the school you turn left to get to Teddington and right to get to Twickenham. I also technically live in Twickenham whereas some students live in Teddington - I guess the closest thing is counties vs. small towns or villages - but Strawberry Hill is more like a neighborhood than a town. So you could basically think of Twickenham being my county, Strawberry Hill being the neighborhood, and Richmond-Upon-Thames being the...city? Oh dear, but that itself is only a part of London. And the "counties" in this case are the size of Parkville. *shakes head* There's just nothing comparable. Anyway, I understand it, and that's the important thing. :)

So anyway...I'll bring back my previous written-down blog entries next time and type them up for you. I hope everyone back home is happy and safe! All of you housing kitties with whom I have bonded (that means my parents and the Robertses and LindZ, I think), please cuddle them for me. Oh, and Leah, cuddle your kitten for me too. I know I haven't actually met her or anything. But still. Oh wait, you're not home at the moment. Oh well... Erm. I'm going to stop writing now before I'm charged an extra £1.50. Love you all immensely!
posted by humanbecoming 8:36 AM

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

 

Are you Virginia Swofford?

You''ll note the innovated use of a subject heading for this blog entry. I'm making progress, I tells ya! I wanted to write a little bit before getting on the plane in a couple of hours, so that I can share the story of my exceptionally strange Monday.

The weirdness started at approximately 8:00 pm when my mother and I arrived at the mall to buy some pants. Because Lord knows, they're barbarians in England and don't have any pants there. Anyway, I had decided to call my father from my mother's cell phone to see what he'd like me to get him for supper on the way home.

The conversation went something like this:

Phone: (ring ring)

Dad: (muffled and sleepy) Hello?

WEIRD UNKNOWN FEMALE VOICE: Hello? Oh, wait, hold on. (muffled conversation with someone not on the phone)

Me: (confused) Dad?

Dad: Yes?

Woman: (still talking to someone)

Me: Um...do you hear the weird crosswire connection we've got going on here?

Dad: (extra confused) What? No...What?

Me: Our wires are crossed. Hold on, I'll call you right back.

Dad: Oh...okay...

Woman: (still talking)

Me: (panicky) (click!) (pause) (redial)

Phone: (ring ring)

Dad: (somewhat frustrated by now) Hello?

This time the woman was gone. I explained to Dad what had happened (he said he hadn't heard her at all) and that I was buying pants. We decided that Mom and I would pick up some Sonic on the way home. Mom and I finished up our shopping (I got some very sexy khakis for $30 and also learned that the Gap has branches in London. Woohoo!) and left for Sonic.

We pulled into America's Favorite Drive-In, ordered our food, complimented our waitress on asking to see my ID (how else was she to know I wasn't a credit card thief?), and went to start the car.

Nothing happened.

"(Expletive omitted)!" said my mother.

She tried a couple more times, but it just wouldn't work. We called my dad to come save us. I called Allyson and Jalie (who were waiting to meet up with us back at the house)_to let them know what was going on and that it would be a while. My mom dialed our home phone number to try to catch my dad again before he left.

Phone conversation as I heard it:

Mom: ...H-hello?...Um, is this (insert my phone number here)? ...It...is?...Well, obviously you're not my husband, which is who I was expecting to answer, so I must have - okay......Really? How bizarre! ...Well - that's really strange because that's my phone number...Yeah, it was my daughter, she was trying to - yes...Well, maybe you should call the phone company about that ...Yes. Well...erm...good luck! (click)

"Well?" I asked, as my dad pulled in next to us. "That was that same woman, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, she says she just moved in there and that her number is indeed (phone number)."

"That's odd!"

And Mom got out of the car to talk to Dad. He gave her car a jump and followed us home, and we'd all but forgotten the strange phone incident until the phone started ringing about 30 seconds after we'd gotten in the door. My dad answered. It was my mother's friend, Carla.

Paraphrase of what Carla had to say as my mother later recounted to me:

"So I dialed your phone number, and this strange voice answered, and I said 'Is Ginny there?' and she said 'Yes, this is Ginny' but it wasn't you, and then she told me there was some weird mix-up with your phone lines, and that she'd just gotten off the phone with you..."

So, yes. Not only does this woman have the my mom's phone number, she also has the same name.

Mom checked in with the phone company, who said that they had no one else on record with her phone number. They came out to the house yesterday to try to fix the situation, but couldn't find anything wrong.

Weird,I keep repeating to myself. Very weird.

One of the other Ginny's friends called yesterday asking for her. Her name is Virginia...Swofford, is what it sounded like he was saying, but I'm guessing it was actually Spofford. Yesterday when the phone company came to try to fix the problem, we all gazed out at the technician and Jalie said, "Are you Virginia Swofford?" A good laugh was had by all.

Anyhow. That was my Monday night and Tuesday morning. Oh, and I also packed some bags or something like that.

I'm off to merry old England! I love you all, and will write as soon as I can once I'm there. Cheers!
posted by humanbecoming 12:00 PM