When the lights go out in Canterbury February 23, 2007

Which they did.

Before continuing, I would like everyone to take a moment of silence to imagine what would happen at your average US university if, all of a sudden, one night ALL of the lights on campus – street lights, dorms, campus apartments, classroom buildings, etc – just went out. Boom. Darkness. Mayhem ensues, yes?

Not here. For reasons still inexplicable, the lights of the University of Kent went out tonight around 6:30 PM. At first, confusing; after a few moments, hilarious. We rounded up a group and wandered around campus, laughing hysterically, and probably the only ones really taking advantage of the extreme oddity of the moment. Everyone else seemed to think nothing was different. The only unfortunate part was that it was a cloudy night (I know, everyone is shocked. Clouds in England!? Oh my!), because the stars would have been amazing.

In retrospect, perhaps it is sad that we were so easily amused. I mean, really, there was nothing special about the night except it was slightly darker than usual. It was more of an excuse to act absurd, laugh a lot (something we take great pride in our ability to do), and to leave all that pesky academics for another, more well-lit time.

In other news, uni life marches on. I went into London last weekend for a day trip Saturday to meet up with Ridhwan, a friend from Greece, and some of his Malaysian friends. The angel that he is, he brought me American goodies (which have actually been enchanting the other international students!), including Reeses, ReesesPieces, really buttery microwave popcorn (which I had to demonstrate), and – of course – plain Cheerios. Not to sound sacrilegious, but I almost like the whole-grain kind better…. (please don’t throw that one back at me).

Last week, I returned to academia, writing 3 essays which will amount to my first marks of the term. I felt much more productive in that week than I have in any week so far. It was actually kind of nice to be back in a pattern that involved the library and books and thinking (again, please do not throw this one back in my face). I liked that it was structured, yet not. Returning to classes this week was harder than I expected (I can just hear you – “Oh no! 2 hours of class a day? How do you manage!?” Sorry….). It will be until mid-March before I have another assignment due. This system is so fabulously odd…

The play has been going very well. I really like the people, the play itself (another Mamet, by the way) is not my favorite, but we are having fun with it. It is set in 1976 Chicago, and I think I have taken on the job not only of an actress, but also a coach — there are many “American-isms” that I never even thought of that I’ve been having to explain (“They made out like bandits” and “it’s a free country” and the song “Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder,” for example) and words that are tricky in and American accent (“Monet,” “institute,” and “she saw it” are three that come to mind). Practices are a living dichotomy of standing out and also fitting in to a great group of people. It’s been a fantastic experience.

I’ll leave you with a few more British-isms for your enjoyment:

1. “You’re taking the piss” –> “You’re kidding,” but something more like cursing; “You’re shitting me” kind of thing. It makes me wonder about the use of slang terms for bodily functions and the prospect of trying to kid someone…
2. “Reckon” –> Used instead of “think” in the context of “Do you think so?” It becomes, “Do you reckon?”
3. “Adverts” – Ads, like on TV or in a magazine
4. “Have a go” at someone – Yell at them in a joking way. “Don’t you have a go at me!”
5. “Bless you!” –> Aww, aren’t you cute? For example, our stage manager to one of the guys in the cast: “Oh, you knit hats? Well bless you!”