I'm Going to be One of Those Lame People, Aren't I?

Whenever people get back from long trips and people ask them, "So what was it like to spend six months living in Big Exciting Place?", the person being asked tends to stammer for a few second before finally spitting out, "...It was pretty cool. Yeah. Cool." And then everyone stares at them like they're dumb.

That will be me when I return. I am warning you all right now, and perhaps that will cut down on the staring. See, I was one of the starers when the travelers would say stuff like that, but now that I am the traveler, I think I get it.

It's not that I haven't had amazing and life-changing experiences here. You've read this blog; you know I have. But I think that when you're asked what the experience was like as a whole... how do you begin to describe five months (not six, Border Patrol Lady) abroad? The person who asks me may want to know what it was like, but they don't want to hear me recite this entire blog. So I expect that I, too, will be the utterer of an eloquent answer such as, "It was...really good. England is very... English." Of course, that doesn't cover anything, but how does one do that? I feel like I should prepare a binder or flashcards or something, so when people inevitably ask me, "So how was your time abroad?" I can just open up to a table of contents and say, "What would you like to hear about? The time I couldn't find food in Wales? The tour I took through the countryside? How about all the times I was threatened with deportation? I talk about the school system on page one twenty-three, if you're interested."

I think that's actually a big reason why I started this blog, besides the fact that I just enjoy blogging. I wanted to keep people updated on what I was doing here so they could actually hear about the experience, not listen to me stutter untrue rumors like "It rains a lot there. No sun. Grey skies always," when I get back, just because it's the only thing I can think to say and I know it will satisfy the England-y pictures in their minds.

You know, now that I'm thinking about this, I'm considering having some business cards printed up that list the highlights of my trip. It will save us all the brainache of my senseless babbling and there will be no staring. I think this sounds like a plan, don't you?