(This is me as a Scottish astronaut!!)
Being so far away from my family and friends has definitely made me appricate everyone to a different degree. Not that I take people for granted but I have realized how hard it is not to be able to meet up at the movies, grab a coffee and hang out and relax. It’s a different kind of stress being here; my guard is always on. I am at all times the visitor, in the school and in an English home, the American. I am afraid to make a mistake or relax because I feel judged. In everything that I do stereotypes are underlying the way that people see me. I can’t even count the number of times students and adults have said “well, isn’t this better in America?” I have to reply everytime “it’s not better, it’s different.” It is different. I guess it’s human tendency to compare, no one knows this better than me but I still do not understand it. There is not a better twin, Emily and I are different and there is not a better country. Each are “smashing” in their own right.
So this all started with thinking about Thanksgiving and what I am thankful for and here it goes: I am thankful that you cared enough to read my blog, for my family and friends that make me feel at home even when I am far away
I am thankful for questions that my students ask because they make me laugh:
(can you talk normal? I mean have you ever tried to talk normally? , If you do something bad in the US and there’s a police officier will he shoot you? , Do you carry a gun? , What celebrities are you friends with? , Are you famous?)
along the same lines I am thankful for the funny things my students say without realizing it:
(Miss, it’s all wonkie, my drawing is rubbish!!, Wow, that’s wicked, Do you have a partner that you fancy?)
I am thankful for all the people that have gone out of their way for me since I’ve been in England!