Potpourri II

HELLO.

How is everyone? I sometimes wish all my friends had blogs, so I could read about the random things you all are doing.

I call this post Potpourri II because there's been no internet at my home for the past week, and I have lots of little things to write about. For example, I went to the Globe again last Thursday to see Henry IV Part II. That seems so long ago, but it wasn't even a week. I am still in awe at how good the Globe players are. I think my favorite part of Part II was John Falstaff's long soliloquy about how much he loves booze. I have never heard a more compelling speech in favor of drinking. And I'm friends with Danny Patten.

So, you know, the next day I went to Sweden. What is that about? Who would have ever thought I'd go to Sweden? Certainly not me. I am still having trouble believing it was real. Here are some things about Sweden:

$$$$ Or I guess I should say SEKSEKSEKSEK. There isn't really a symbol for Swedish kroner. I mention this first, because it was really the only downside to Sweden. I nearly had a heart attack when I looked at my bank account when I got back. Oh well. Surely it's a good sign if I'm broke when I come back home.

English Everyone speaks it. That's not so unusual for large cities in Europe. What I did find astonishing was how hard it was to tell that some of the people speaking English were actually Swedish. Most people under 30 that we talked to spoke with almost no trace of an accent. Not even a British accent — the English speaking Swedes sounded like they were from the States. Or Canada. It was a shock every single time. At first we thought there were just a bunch of Americans working in hostels and bars in Sweden... but no, they just speak English amazingly well.

Everyone is nice. Everyone we talked to is really pleasant and helpful. All our bartenders were super friendly. We walked through an outdoor farmers' market our first day there and whenever we would stop at a stall to puzzle over something, a local shopper would help explain what was being sold. Several times we would be standing on street corners with our map looking lost and people would come up and ask if we needed help. It's not like people in England are mean, but it was really weird to have people consistently go out of their way to be nice. I loved it.

Everything is clean. Seriously. There is absolutely no trash on the streets, not even chewing gum. Stockholm has a really comparatively low population density for European cities. There is very little traffic. I had heard this about Sweden before, but it was bizarre to actually see it.

Everyone is beautiful. I have never seen so many attractive people in one place.

Great bars We went to two bars the night we went out: the first was the Absolut Ice Bar. It is made entirely of ice, with the exception of the ceiling and the floor. It cost an arm and a leg, but was one of the coolest (HAHA) things I've ever seen. The bar is made of ice, as well as the glasses they put your Absolut cocktails in. I still kind of can't believe we actually went there. The second bar was the KGB, which was in our guidebook, and we chose a bit randomly, but was an excellent, excellent decision. It was decorated in all the Communist propaganda and busts of Stalin and Lenin and stuff, so it seemed really weird, but it turned out to be great. In England, there are just two types of bars: pubs, which all close at about 11 and are really just places to gather and drink; and clubs, which if you want to stay out late, is your only option and are mainly for dancing and getting hit on. The KGB was a perfect mix of the two. There was a small dance floor where people were sort of jamming to the Russian music that was playing, but the bar part was also really hoppin and the whole thing was open really late. Our bartender was so nice too, even though she couldn't make me a Sidecar. (That is my new goal for this month: have a Sidecar).

So really, Stockholm is my new favorite place. I never thought I would go there, and now all I want to do is go back.

Unfortunately, I spent a terrifying amount of money, since it is such an expensive city and it was so hard to tell how much things actually cost with the kroner being such a completely foreign currency to me. Whatever. Okay. That's Sweden. Now to change tracks...

Ta daaa! New section.

I decided, since I have now been in England for a month, almost exactly, I should do some self-evaluation. This is the part where I go through that goals list and see how I am doing.

1. 5 new countries — I'm at one of five, with Sweden. In two weekends Carolyn and I are going to Paris, which I've already been to, so that doesn't count (not that I'm not excited of course). But for fall break, I am going to visit Tara in The Netherlands before meeting Carolyn in Prague, where we will stay for a couple of days, then taking a train on to Vienna. So that will bring my total up to 4 new countries. When my parents come to visit, we will be spending a weekend somewhere in Europe, probably either Rome or Dublin, so that will complete my five! Plus right before I leave I think I am going to take a train to Belgium for a weekend to do Christmas shopping. Woo!

2. Out of the way UK destinations — Well, I went to Charleston. That was great, but getting there was a disaster. I am going to try to take a Friday and Saturday in December to go to the Castle Nannau in Whales, and one Tuesday I will call the Associated Press and see if I can visit the television station. We are planning on taking a day trip up to Stratford-upon-Avon some Saturday. I don't think I will make it to Durham, because that is apparently a nine hour train ride, and the only thing I wanted to see there is the cathedral, but when I come back here for grad school, that is something I can do then. So, this goal seems doable for the most part. Really, Charleston was the main one I have wanted to see since freshman year, so I am happy I was able to do that.

3. Don't say mean things — The problem with this one is, while I have not exactly been saying a lot of awful things about people, I have not exactly been making a concerted effort to avoid derogatory talk. This one could use work.

4. Buses — Haven't been to London much, but I am definitely an expert on Kingston buses. They work much the same way in London. I also haven't actually needed to take the bus in London yet, really, as the Tube is so easy. I do plan on going to London quite a bit more, so maybe I will try to navigate that way one of these days.

5. Postcards — I am far exceeding my goal of one per week. That's a cinch.

6. Keep space tidy — Also pretty easy, since I just don't have very much shit. Our family is really nice, and vacuums our floors and cleans our bathroom every couple of weeks. I really appreciate that, since I was worried about having to ask to borrow a vacuum and Windex or whatever.

7. Summer internships — This definitely needs work. I have been writing my resume, and one goal I have for this week is to send off applications to three places.

8. Spend none of my parents' money — For the most part, I have been really really good about this. I had to use their Visa once when the automatic train ticket Kiosk wouldn't take my card, and then I used it once at Gatwick for a coffee. That only amounts to about £10. So while my record isn't perfect, I am still proud of myself.

9. Make more friends — This one is a bit dodgy... I definitely made a friend on the trip to Oxford, but I can't find her on Facebook because I only know her first name and I'm not sure how to spell it. I want to see if she wants to have tea or something, so I have been watching for her in the library and stuff. Also, there are two girls in my econ class who are really really nice and funny. One of them, like me, likes to write down the unintentionally funny things professors say. At some point I am going to try and see if they want to get coffee after class or something. Also I met another American girl in my English class who is study abroad who is really nice. I found out she has Tuesdays off too, so I might see if she wants to take a day trip with me or something. And finally, I signed up to take like a six week, not graded course about British culture, which is for international students, so I hope to be able to meet some people there. So, I feel like this one is slowly but surely coming along. Also, I feel like strengthening the connections I have made with Lea and Carolyn also counts, and anyway having fewer but better friends is my preferred M.O. I feel like this goal is mostly going to be a success.

10. One thing per day I'm afraid of — This is both really easy and really difficult. It must be the nature of doing this kind of thing, but studying abroad is teaching me a lot about myself, and one of those things is that I am pretty much afraid of everything. Like, going to class. Asking a question in the library. Going to the post office. Also things like flying to Sweden and emailing strangers for help on my projects for video journalism. However, all of these things I have done. Today, the thing I was afraid of was going to choir practice at the Catholic church I've been going to, but it turns out it was a really excellent decision. The choir is made up of all these old men and ladies, and they were a riot. I won't be able to sing much with them until November, but I am really glad I decided to join. And that is pretty much what I find, is that when I do things I'm afraid of, I am better off in the end. Even the disaster of a trip to Charleston, I learned a lot and got a great lesson in common sense, and I was scared out of my mind for a long time. And really, how could I ever regret going to Sweden? This is the goal that I feel I have already been most successful with. As I get more comfortable here, it is going to be harder to find things I am afraid of, naturally, but I really don't think it will be too hard. I really am apparently afraid of everything. Going abroad is probably like, the best thing I could have done for myself.

So, on the whole, I feel I have been pretty successful with my goals. The internship thing is really the one I need to get started.

Aaaand last. This one is for Ellen, who asked me to provide the definitions of satire and irony my English prof gave us, so Ellen, here we go. Share with your classes!

Satire


Satire is, as is widely defined both in texts from the 18th Century and now, generally as a kind of writing that seeks out and exposes vice and folly. (This isn't that surprising. The next part is what I found so useful) It consists of 7 elements, all of which may or may not be used in a particular satire, but which are good indicators and tools satirists use.

1. Exaggeration: On a moral level, there is no difference between a small crime and a large crime, so in a satire, something small gets turned into something large, or something large gets turned into something much smaller. That's not the only type of exaggeration, though, obviously. This one is pretty self explanatory. In "A Modest Proposal" (which is what we were talking about that week in class), Swift exaggerates the solution to over-population by suggesting that a good idea would be to eat babies.

2. Parody: Can be a type of exaggeration. To parody is to mimic the most memorable feature or mannerism of someone/something, including a style of writing. In AMP, Swift parodies the language of a sensible suggestion to the government common at the time, which would frequently have a big impact. He particularly parodies their use of statistics and modest language.

3. Irony: Probably the hardest word to define in any English class. There is dramatic/situaitonal irony, in which the audience knows something a character doesn't, or when a character says something without realizing it applies to them. In essays like Swift's, irony is created by setting up a discrepancy between what seems and what is. That's the kicker. A discrepancy between what seems and what is.

4. Bathos: Here's one I'd never heard of. To use bathos is to talke someone on high, or something important or major, and bring it down to the bottom level, creating a descent from the sublime to the ridiculous. Classic example would be a policeman slipping on a banana peel.

5. Incongruity: Similar to irony. The masters of incongruity were Monty Python — coconuts in Arthurian England is just one of tons of examples. An example in AMP is when Swift cites his Native American cannibal friend: it really does not make sense for an Irish clergyman to be talking about eating children with an American Indian.

6. Allusion: Referring to something else, pretty straightforward. In 18th Cent. lit though, sometimes deeply embedded and hard to detect, since they were written for people with the common knowledge of the time.

7. Satiric Norm: Another one I'd never heard of. The satiric norm is the thing that the satirist compares the subject of the satire to. It means a norm of behavior, or something that is usually done or is socially agreed should be done, an ideal mode of behavior. Within a satire, it is not usually stated (by the way, we all know really how a Duke should act isn't to be greedy and cruel), with the famous exception of AMP, toward the end. He even puts it in Italics: He states he can't think of a reason to object to his proposal, and says, "Therefore let no man talk to me of other expedients: Of taxing our absentees at five shillings a pound: Of using neither cloaths, or household furniture, except what is of our own growth and manufacture..." etc. He lists pretty much all the other things he thought Ireland should have been doing to combat its economic woes instead of eating babies.

So. That wraps up this post finally. Stay tuned for a photographic documentary of a day in the life of a Kingston student!

Peace.

C