“Westward the course of empire takes its way”
So Anna, one of my new flatmates (can we be flatmates in a two-story apartment?), was telling me about when she went to the UK to study. It sounds like she had a bad time when she arrived: she was jetlagged and stayed in bed for most of a week; she had an eye infection, so she couldn’t see anything; she had a broken leg, so she couldn’t move around; and (here’s the punchline) she was in Reading.
Yesterday, I went to an orientation meeting for new international students. As well as boring visa and work permit stuff, there was a rather ludicrous session in which we were solemly advised on how to adjust to living in the US. This included a list of ‘values’ shared by ‘majority culture Americans’, and ways in which we might (mis)perceive them (directness might come across as rudeness, egalitarianism as disrespect, etc). Apart from being a bit ridiculous, I think this misunderstands where the difficulty lies in coming to terms with American culture; the problem is not that we don’t have any idea what to expect, but that we have _too much_ of an idea of what to expect, and it’s not always entirely obvious whether we’re responding to things as they are, or as the globally diffused American culture would have us believe they are.
Later, I hung out with some friends of Geo and Abby’s, who are splendid. It turns out bitching about primitivists is an international anarchist sport.
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I see you’ve already adopted American spelling though, Tim. :-) ‘Two story’?
Comment by mark k-p @ 8/26/2005 3:38 am
Actually, I have been trying to adopt American spelling, and I keep forgetting to write ‘labor’ in the notes i’ve been taking on post-fordism. But that one was completely unintentional.
Comment by Tim @ 8/26/2005 7:54 am
Just out of interest, why have you decided to adopt American spelling? Sometimes it may seem simpler but in many words (particular in science) ignoring the etymology of the word means that it is much more difficult to work out the meaning.
Also some words just look silly when spelt in the american way (eg. fiber, hematology)
Comment by Baron @ 8/30/2005 11:53 pm