Currently Reading I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away By Bill Bryson see related

"I'm a Stranger Here Myself"

 I've been back in the UK for a while now, after spending three weeks in the west coast of North America. I have been thinking less now about what it means to be an American abroad as much as what it means to feel like a foreigner in my own land. It's a very strange sensation that feels particularly strong nowadays because I am not originally from the west coast, but my family and closest friends all live there. California geniuinely feels like a different country sometimes. However, it's hard not to be charmed by the California lifestyle, the sunshine and sunsets and friendly citizens. There will always be things about the States that I find bewildering and frustrating (why do we have to choose from 500 kinds of EVERYTHING?) but after this trip in particular I'm struck by how convenient and luxurious American culture can feel.

As Bill Bryson writes after his return to the US after 20 years in Britain, "The many good things about America also took on a bewitching air of novelty. I was as dazzled as any newcomer by the famous ease and convenience of daily life, the giddying abundance of absolutely everything, the boundless friendliness of strangers, the wondrous unfillable vastness of an American basement, the delight of encountering waitresses and other service providers who actually seemed to enjoy their work, and the curiously giddying notion that ice is not a luxury item and that rooms can have more than one electrical socket."

All of these things made my trip 'home' feel like a proper holiday and now back to the reality of cloudy skies, grumpy waiters,booze-hound friends and a place that really does feel like home.

Big-up to the Canadians for hosting me in Vancouver, I loved it and hope to see you all outside of cyberspace again soon.

By the way, Canadian wine is delicious and I swear it's going to be the next big thing.

Some highlights:

Currently Listening Ta Dah! By Scissor Sisters see related

DREAMS DO COME TRUE

90210 IS FINALLY OUT ON DVD!!!

Forget the OC, the original teen dramedy is back - FINALLY!

Wednesday nights were never the same after 9-0 was cancelled. 

For a really good laugh at our favorite Beverly Hills characters, read this

Note to friends: Christmas presents covered for the next ten years.

Currently Reading Freedom in Exile By Lama Dalai see related

SUMMER 2006

This summer flew by, and was definitely one of the most fun summers on record.

Clair's birthday celebrations at Centre Parcs

Martina comes to visit from New York

Tim's surprise party

The Green Man Festival - working the box office and playing (and camping) in the mud for five days of folk music and fun in Wales

Good times!

Currently Reading Pathophysiology for the Health Professions By Barbara E. Gould see related

Who controls your health?

There is a court battle going on in the U.S. right now whereby a 16 year-old teenager is fighting for his right to choose an alternative route to treating his Hodgkin's lymphoma which has returned after chemotherapy treatment was unsuccessful. His parents have been named 'neglectful' by the courts for allowing their son to embrace an alternative route including "a sugar-free organic diet, herbs and visits to a clinic in Mexico." (PS Can't you legally leave school at 16 in the US?)

Is it fair for the U.S. government to be the decision maker in individuals' health choices? Are social services qualified to determine which are the acceptable choices you make for the health of your children? And if you need to pay for medical care, both orthodox and alternative, shouldn't you be able to choose which path you prefer?

Where is social services when parents are giving their children processed food full of known carcinogens such as E-numbers and nitrates? Coca-cola? McDonald's? Sugar?? (I could go on all day. . .) Obviously there is more money to be made in Coca-Cola and additives than herbal medicine or supporting organic farming.

While the government sends a message that it is in charge of Americans' health, the media simultaneously reinforces the message that an individual's behavior is what fundamentally will be the determining factor in avoiding disease and living a long, healthy life.  (Insert Master's dissertation here) 

So what's the deal - are American really 'free' to make their own decisions or not???

Currently Listening Songs of Almodovar By Various Artists - Soundtracks see related

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. . .  (Barcelona 2000 - 2002)

five strangers joined against the evil forces of Catalunya. . . (Dana, Tim, Anthony, Nikolaj, and Jo)

and succeeded in overcoming the many and varied challenges they faced. . . (grumpy Catalans, muggers and resacas)

and now, four years later they returned to celebrate their victory. . . . . . . . .

(PS Our four year anniversary above, we definitely get better looking every year)

To escape the sweltering heat and crowds, for our last two days Tim and I headed out to Castellar to catch up with Candi, Oscar and Joan (the cutest two year old in the world)

I don't know what was more fun - the first time around or the reunion!

Muchas gracias por todo, amigos - see you same time next year??