Home

There is no suitable way to describe the above concept. What a mixed bag of feelings. As I flew over a foggy London this morning, arriving into Heathrow, I could not help but feel a surge of pride at the sight of my city, the confusing, interweaving streets, compared to America's blocks, and the thought of arriving to fog and rain excited me. A proper homecoming, if you will. I love England.

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However, home was a different matter. Not to say I do not love coming home. Not at all. I was looking forward to coming home. But everything happened at once. Mum wanted the laptop, to go on holiday. She was running about sorting things out before the left. I spoke a few harsh words. I managed to forget my PIN for my debit card, so I can't send the money to Jonathan and Destiny. I was tired, having not slept in 24 hours. I was a bit icky, having not washed in the same time. Everything happened, and I didn't like it. I remember thinking that I just want it all to stop. Just so I can be, momentarily, and not be doing.

My last day

I am currently 10 minutes away from leaving this house in which I have resided for a week. It's been fun. There is officially nothing to do around these parts, so it was exciting to see in which ways we would make our own fun. Like yesterday, we spent at least half an hour throwing sycamore leaves - the kind of childish good humour I enjoy.

This said, I am distinctly looking forward to going home, sleeping in my own, uncomfortable bed, and catching up with the football. Sounds quite pleasant to me. Meanwhile, I have the flights to contend with, and airports, and security, and the small matter of lying/not saying anything to customs officials. What fun.

Further Indiana Adventures

Today, I rediscovered the joy of playing with Lego. I mean, I always knew it was enjoyable. But today I actually got the chance to remember the enjoyableness. The scrabbling around for the exact piece you want, the fixing up and breaking down, the frustration of never finding the piece you want when you want it, but twenty minutes later when looking for an entirely different part. This evening we also watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In fact, today has been quite childish, but enjoyably so. There's only so much you can do in the country.

In the country...

I'm currently residing in Indiana, spending time with Briana, and her wonderful family. It's very Mid-West, wooden houses, corn fields, and lots of straight roads. Her family are interesting - always joking and jesting. Hard to tell when they're joking and when not. I think I've got it down, but something'll throw me off soon enough. However, it is great country for taking photos - some of them will be duly uploaded to my deviantart soon enough.

First Impressions

A general round of first impressions:

Passport control have been told to be nicer. Airline attendants find it hard to conceal surprise when asked for a gin and tonic by a twenty year old guy. Entertainment on demand is awesomelike. Florida is hot. Florida also has a hurricane on the way. CNN is funny, as in, 'laugh at the Americans' funny. I need to go clothes shopping. My mother has stolen my laptop. Biscuit is also awesomelike, but less on demand as entertainment. Oh, and I need a shower.

You may, or may not, get a slightly embellished version of that should I get the chance.

For the sake of it

I read an article this week, nay, saw a video - thanks to the BBC's website determination to stop the entirety of the country from reading - about a father who slapped his sixteen year old daughter, who accordingly contacted the police and had him reprimanded. I have mixed thoughts about this situation. His father obviously thought her out of line for whatever she had done, but I think a slap round the face in anger is not the way to go about discipling her. There is a very fine line to tread between hitting a child in anger, and punishing them with a smack. The way that the story was portrayed was interesting, too, as the video did not side with daughter or father, and left the viewer to make up their minds. I was caught out by this, confused as to what my opinion should be, when the news does not tell me. It seems a shame that we have become so reliant on others informing us of our opinion, especially on relatively simple story.

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I have been watching the Olympics via the BBC website, and enjoying it hugely. Despite the fact that Great Britain never seems to do that well, we always believe we have the possibility of doing so. Never before have I become so passionate about table tennis, or even a lady running 10,000 metres. And yet I was watching that race at the same time a friend in Bombay was watching it. The global connection it brings about it amazing, and I cannot wait for the Olympics to arrive here.

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I am heading off for two weeks to America. I have packed light, to enable my suitcase to contain my brother's vastly British shopping list. It does mean that I shall have to purchase clothes when I'm out there. Although initially happy at this, Mervyn King, our esteemed leader of the Bank of England, has just given a gloomy financial outlook for the next few months, and it didn't take long for the pound to stumble, and lead to the frustration of having to work out the conversion rate of 1.75, instead of 2.00. I'm less worried about the money I'm losing, and more concerned about me standing in the middle of a shop trying to figure out the price in pounds.

Additionally, I won't have my laptop with me, so that my mother can use it for DVDs when she is away. Which also means I shall be laptopless when in Edinburgh. I shall have to revert to pen and paper for any amusing thoughts, of which I normally have many when it comes to the Americans. Bless 'em.

Er, what?

A brief quote from Alasdair MacIntyre:

'The bifurcation of the contemporary social world into a realm of the organizational in which ends are taken to be given and are not available for rational scrutiny and a realm of the personal in which judgement and debate about values are central factors, but in which no rational social resolution of issues is available, finds its internalization, its inner representation in the relation of the individual self to the roles and characters of social life'.

Yes, my friends - what?! Even with the context, I'm still bemused. No sentence should be that long, surely?!

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In other news; I have arrived back from camp. I am still recovering. It was a positive experience on the whole, but I am my worst judge, and probably therefore the worst person to talk to about it. However, the leaders I was spending time with were amazing, and I have to give a lot of thanks to God, for the confidence I had and the reception that I got from the kids. If it weren't for Him, I'm not sure that was possible.

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Returned home to find Russia and Georgia at war. I reckon this is going to be over very soon, with either a ceasef fire/truce, or Georgia being annhilated. I sincerely hope it's the first.