so as not to offend...

haha because i feel i often subconsciously portray america in a bad light, this shall be a blog celebrating everything in america that i love :D

- hot dog stands...how handy and a great way for people to make money!
- people who eat outside of icecream stores in large groups
- turning right on a red light...apparently it started a long time ago when people needed to save money on petrol so they wouldn't stop!
- twizzlers and laffy taffy...neither are particularly yummy, but they're cheap and they're sugar - and lafffy taffy makes me lafffff!
- that every second person i speak to has either been on exchange or plans on going
- that everyone i speak to thinks the world of australia and has either been there or has always wanted to
- that people study in starbucks etc
- college towns!
- old school theatres with flashing lights
- interstates that get you across the country much quicker than the pacific highway would...
- bright eyed 'freshmen'
- international students, who feel like my foreign brothers and sisters!
- wireless internet EVERYWHERE
- drive through ATMs
- football mania
- that, contrary to my misinformed earlier perceptions of America, most people love exercising and it's the trend to go running on campus
- cheap stuff like lap tops, sneakers and candy!
- the plaza of the americas (UF)/the diag (UM) where people just chill on the grass in nice weather
- african americans!
- people who talk to strangers on the bus
- friendly bus drivers
- an excellent (in terms of constant and generally on time) bus service in both Gainesville and AA
- FREE buses for students
- ladies night at the rock gym (may it rest in peace...half price is almost as good as free, but not)
- the rock climbing craze
- people who understand the problems in america, can see the positive aspects of other countries and yet don't just diss it all the time, but instead work for a better country
- people who can laugh at america (not because it's dumb, but in the same way we laugh at australia...in general, people who don't take patriotism seriously)
- that there are a billion churches on every street
- that christians (whatever that may mean, but, i pray that we'll hang with in heaven)
- firefox (which i only discovered over here...gotta love many tabs)
- the facebook craze (i don't understand it, but think it's cute)
- quarters. makes so much more sense than 20c coins i think.
- gold one dollar coins - reminds me of home :)
- housemates (this is a shout out to all my homies...spib, daige, liss, nico (often james!), i guess lois counts (!), and the newest addition, leeanne)
- crepes (CRAPS!) at crazy hours
- driving on the wrong side (i feel so naughty)
- that everyone has a lap top (i'm insanely jealous, but so much nicer than people shut up in rooms...kinda doubles up with the wireless thing)
- thanksgiving (i think? because anisia and danny come :)
- halloween (i think? because i'll get to dress up! :D)
- the new york accent, which makes me laugh
- the southern accent, which reminds me of how much of a bloke i sound like also
- 'fall', which hasn't really begun, but everyone's really excited, so i'm jumping on the bandwagon too!
- summer days which aren't sweltering (no thanks to florida, only michigan haha)
- that people wear belts here, not because they look good, but because the world needs less people with their underwear exposed
- that people wear jumpers even though they're daggy, but again, because they're practical
- that art students here don't all have dread locks, suck soy beans and rage against the machine in protests...but are normal, reasonable people with real lives
- that i am yet to meet a theatre student in michigan
- st.paul
- cute schools with gorgeous children
- the opportunity to work in an American school (they have flags in the classrooms and everything! just like in the movies!)
...

i'm not drawing blanks, i'm cutting myself off or i'll go on for quite a while. i hope this has dispelled the myth that i dislike america! (which may not actually exist...perhaps i have perpetuated this lie in my head? sometimes i think i make observations and they come out as dislike...like i'll say 'how funny is it that you guys have cafeterias and gyms!' and people think i'm saying it's bad...or people just go silent so either they have nothing more to add to the conversation or they're offended...i'm not sure? haha there are some thigns that don't translate across cultures...like my observations, or my sense of 'umour! haha...well, the housemates may disagree, but i'm sure it takes some getting used to.)
yes, i will miss america. i hope i will come back here some day, but then i'll miss it again, such is the cycle of life; we miss childhood, we miss our teenage years, we miss dating, we miss being a parent, we miss our spouse, we miss being able to walk, we miss our memories and then we reach heaven and realise we didn't miss anything at all, and that all of these thigns were just tiny glimpses of heaven, which is what we really yearned for all along.
trust me to go back to heaven...a girl this morning interpreted my picture as the weight of everything crushing down on me...true in a sense, but it's all about personal perspective, and as i grow older every day and attempt to understand one letter of the book of life, i am slowly flying upward and out of this life and into an eternal party :) at least that's how i've heard it described. :)
now it's link time.
SONGS TO DOWNLOAD:
*the dress looks nice on you (by sufjan stevens)
*to be alone with you (same dude)
*'til kingdom comes (coldplay)
*fix you (same...see a theme here?)
LYRICS:
*i'm so postmodern (don't know who by) or any of the above
SITES:
*www.bugbitten.com/Ellie (MWAHAHAHAHA)
PLACE TO VISIT:
*me :) come soon! :P
EVENT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO:
*fall break, where i go to NEW YORK! but most of all, anisia and danny coming :) nov 25th
FOOD OF CHOICE:
*sushi with lots of ginger, soy sauce and a wee bit of wasabi
SUBJECT OF CHOICE:
*detroit connections...who can complain about 2 hours driving time in a three hour class, plus working with kids and eating at restaurants?!
SUBJECT TO AVOID:
*drawing I....i shan't complain, i have no homework...but the room is an ice box and the whole lesson could be condensed into 40 mins and you wouldn't miss anything...
DO YOU THINK YOU'RE A LITTLE EXCESSIVE WITH THE CAPS LOCK AND YOU'RE NO LONGER PROVIDING LINKS?:
*yes. peace out.