OK, OK. Americans are very American.

Hello faithful blog-reader(s)!

I think the controversy of my last blog, entitled American myths dispelled, has lost me some of my most avid readers!! I got so many complaints!  It seems that people LIKE stereotypes and get upset when they are demolished, even if it is by robust evidence (what more do you need than me actually sitting in America and commenting on it??!). Anyway, at the risk of losing my integrity, I will now conceed some American stereotypes that are perhaps true...

• On the whole, Americans are more obese than Brits. According to my Canadian-born Epidemiology friend who practially beheaded me after I stated with clearly too much confidence that this was not the case. My research was based on "eyeballing the local population", which I conceed is not the most robust form of research, but one that I am very fond of.
• Americans  L O V E  sugar like nothing else. Proof? It is in EVERYTHING. I have just had my first American hot chocolate and, I'll tell you something for free, I didnt think it was possible to get so much sugar into liquid form. Flip. I confess I like it, though. I am definitely awake and wired and ready for anything (thank you, once again, Dunkin Donuts)!
• America is big (it is true).
• In the South, Americans drive BIG TRUCKS. But I havent seen any, so really I am not saying this with much conviction. I am just trying to keep you all happy.
• Americans celebrate Thanksgiving! This I can verify. I was there and I ate an American born turkey with all the trimmings. It was lovely - I went up to the wilds of New York state near Lake Ontario and watched Thanksgiving TV and visited an American cowboy shop... here is a photo to prove it..



Yes, these are crocodile skin cowboy boots! Sadly, in my current student state,
I couldnt afford the $280 to buy some. My biggest regret so far.

• Christmas in the US of A is a big fat deal! Particularly in their exterior house decorations! Wowzers. Here's an example:

The one on the right is pretty standard - quite conservative really! There are a lot of huge inflatable garden ornaments as well - also at Halloween! Inflatable snowmen and even an inflatable nativity scene were observed (by me) but I sadly do not have any photographic evidence!!

• I had an initially light-hearted discussion with some friends about guns. I laughingly said to them, "I was told you could buy guns in Walmart here! Haha! Imagine!". They answered cooly, "Well, hold your horses there, young lady. You can. Walmart has a hunting section." Ok, fine. Then I said, laughingly, "Would you believe it, when I first came here, I was careful not to walk on people's property on my way into lectures in case I got shot for trespassing! Haha!" They answered in their blunt American way, "Well in some parts of America, they would fire their gun to scare you off their land." OK. So Americans and guns is not a myth. Here's a picture to prove it:



Guns in Walmart!!



• Policemen here do eat donuts. Proof? Here you go:

My local officer

That's it for now! I will obviously be keeping my eyes peeled for any other fantastic stereotypes realised! And will obviously pass it on to you asap for your enjoyment!

To finish with, here's a quick update on me....

I had a lovely time at home for Christmas, but the jet lag was rubbish! I am just about over it after returning to the US on 4th January. So I am just easing back in gently... eating donuts and drinking a lot of coffee while I slowly get my head round my assignments and reading for this upcoming busy semester!!

Hope to be in touch soon once the adventures re-commence!  :o)

American myths dispelled!

Hi!!

Once again, I have battled against the relentless business of life to write. Ahhh. And where have I found the required haven of peace to enable me to do this?

Why, at Dunkin' Donuts of course! Bill Clinton's favourite fast food outlet, so I've been told. The only reason I'm here. Nothing to do with the super-nice and super-cheap coffee and pumpkin muffin (only the equivalent of £2 for both! Hoorah!!)



Yes, this is ACTUALLY the very same Dunkin Donuts I'm in now. Beautiful, isn't it?


So, I think I'm getting really used to America! It feels totally normal. Except sometimes people come out with daft things like "freeway" when they mean motorway, or "check" when they mean tick, or "school" when they mean university. Also, they're all obsessed with pumpkin-flavoured everything at the moment (hence the flavour of my muffin!). But I love it, so that's ok.

Speaking of how America feels normal, here are a few American myths that I would like to dispel:

1. All Americans are morbidly obese - FALSE, they are NO fatter than you or I
2. All Americans drive massive cars the size of houses - FALSE - their cars are NO bigger than yours or mine
3. There are no such thing as footpaths here - FALSE! There are, happily, footpaths all over the place, although they call them "side walks" here, which isn't that crazy when you think long and hard about it
4. All Americans would rather get in their car and drive to the end of their drive to collect their post than walk the 10m to the post box - FALSE - I have never seen any American do that (but I have only been here for 2.5 months)
5. No Americans have heard of any country outside America - FALSE, some of them have
6. Americans DON'T recycle - FALSE, they totally do! WOOHOO! Plastic, paper, cardboard, glass AND metal. Thank goodness for that, otherwise I'd be bringing all my recycling home with me!
7. Americans drink their coffee out of cups the size of our cars - FALSE, their cups are definitely bigger than the ones we used in the 70s, but this is 2011, folks, and we are more like America in our coffee-drinking habits than we realise

My one disclaimer is that Philadelphia is not typically American. I previously thought of America as a big amorphous blob, culturally at least. But I get the impression that every state is quite different. Philly is cramped, with winding roads, small houses and small cars. It doesn't feel British (that would be pushing it) but it does feel vaguely familiar - maybe a bit of a mix of a lot of European styles of cities. Apparently, the "mid-West" wherever that is, has more of the stereotypical Americanness mentioned in the points above.

One of the other unique characteristics of Philly is The Mafia (or The Mob as they're known here). You'll be pleased to know that I don't have any stories about them yet. But even if I did run into them, I'm sure I could charm my way out of any situation with my much-coveted accent  ;op

Here's a quick NEWSFLASH of what I've been up to (if only I could insert a snazzy text-box or something here, but I CAN'T. If any of you are thinking of writing a blog in the future, google wouldn't be my first choice!!) Anyway, back to the NEWSFLASH!

It SNOWED 4 inches here on 29th October, the airports were shut and some parts of Pennsylvania had 13 inches of snow!!!


I went to Kentucky and DID NOT eat fried chicken (GASP!). They didn't actually sell it anywhere...probably because they're sick to death of it. There was a KFC museum in Kentucky that I did NOT go to (see, I told you they were short of history here!). I would have like to, to be honest, but the conference I attended was too packed for such extra-curricular frolics!


I had my first PHILLY CHEESE STEAK ever last week! Here is what it looks like:

Totally unhealthy but super-nice. Mine didn't have the peppers and onions in - so this obviously isn't a compulsory ingredient (at least I hope not, or I've been duped!)

I went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art a few weeks ago to see Rembrandt's faces of Jesus exhibition. Amazing! AND it's the same building that Rocky ran up and down the steps of!

That's probably it for now.. I am, I confess, still spending a lot of time studying. But am still LOVING the course. However, it is so busy that I haven't done a whole lot of exploring yet (as you may be guessing from the content - or lack of it - of my blog!!)

I am going to New York State on Wednesday for my first ever American Thanksgiving, so I will be able to tell you what some of America looks like when staring out into the dark from the "freeway" for 6 hours. Something to look forward to   ;o)

Meet the locals

Hi everyone!

Sorry, these blog postings are far rarer than I'd anticipated! Things have really picked up here in terms of work load...so I'm spending most of my time in the library! I know, I know, you want to see a picture of the library I spend all my time in.. oh, OK.

CCEF is the building on the left and the library is on the right. I didn't want to look completely stupid taking a photo of the relatively ugly library (I'd totally loose my street cred) - so I took a picture of the gate-post (but was hiding in the trees on the other side of the road...my street cred is safe)

 

It is confusing that I told you I was studying at CCEF and this sign actually says Westminster Theological Seminary on it! I am not messing with your minds (this time). No, I just use their library because CCEF doesn't have one (sorry - that story has somewhat of an anticlimax!). Here's an interesting fact to make up for it: the CCEF building is 100 years old (which makes it the oldest building in America - I jest - slightly) and it flooded recently because Philadelphia is really not much above sea level - in fact most of the area (including under the main city) is a SWAMP! How exotic is that? You can really tell - once I stepped onto the grass by the side of the road and I nearly lost my shoe in the swampiness. I would have been sucked under were I not so agile.

You may remember last time I mentioned that I'd made some friends? Well, here are some photos...!

     

Vanessa is to the left (she is GREAT fun) and I am pictured with Cindy on the right. They are both from Philly, but Vanessa's grandmother was Dutch and Cindy's great great grandparents were Thai (but she still very much identifies herself as Thai - as you can tell - I have tried to explain to her that she's technically American, but she's having none of it). It is interesting to observe that most Americans I have met so far do identify themselves strongly to their country of anscestry - the rumours are true!

Obviously, I have other friends, but I can't really take my camera everywhere with me, can I? I will try and get some more for next time though ;o)

Something else that I'm SURE will be interest to you is the local wildlife that I normally see on my way to the library. Here are some photos that I admit I did not take myself...

                                    Brown squirrel                                       Blue-jay 

Raccoon                                                         Chipmunk

That's it from me! I will, I PROMISE, start being more sensible and informative in my next post. It's just hard when I spend so much time with quite serious books.. and Vanessa and Cindy, nice as they are, are quite serious as well, so I need an outlet ;o)

I am going to Kentucky on Wednesday for a 4 day conference. So if you're lucky, I might post a picture of Kentucky fried chicken on here in a week...! Now I know I've got your attention!

Til next time! :oD

What am I doing here???

Hey :o)

Several people have asked what I am actually doing in the US of A (I have been a little out of touch recently!). So I am planning to devote this weeks entry to telling you.

I have taken a year out of Psychiatry training and am studying at CCEF (www.ccef.org) which stand for Christian Counselling and Education Foundation. It is fantastic. I am doing their "certificate programme" which is Level 1, 2 and 3 in Biblical Counselling (I am told that this is equivalent to a Masters, but they aren't a Masters-awarding institution).

This term, I am doing 6 modules, which is very busy work! The modules are:

• The Dynamics of Biblical Change - This is an amazing class looking at how our ignorance of God's character and his design for our lives produces problems e.g. anger at people who wrong us because we think we're perfect (or at least better than those who wrong us) and we feel entitled to be judges of right and wrong - when there is only one person (Jesus) who has the authority or the wisdom to do this. I have to counsel myself in it as well - everyone does, by the way, not just me! It is really challenging, but very good.
• Counselling and Physiology - Looking at the interaction of body and emotional states, also we look at different views of the spirit/soul/body/mind/heart distinctions both in theology and outside (v interesting but quite high brow!), but otherwise this module is very much about psychiatry and the physical health problems produce emotional disorders (e.g. brain tumours, dementia, head injury, etc) and how to deal with them well.
• Counselling Observation x2  - In these sessions, I watch live counselling sessions on a big screen with my 30 classmates - we're observing a one-on-one session and a couples-counselling session - and then everyone in the class discusses what was said in the sessions - it is really amazing to see people choosing to come to a Christian counselling place because of the reputation of CCEF - not neccessarily having a belief in God themselves - and seeing them thinking about God and how the gospel impacts on their wider lives.
• Marriage Counselling - This is probably my favourite class! I really enjoy thinking about emotional problems in the context of relationships (it does apply to friendships and family relationships too - so as you can tell by my family - I needed to take it!! ONLY KIDDING!!!!!!!!!! Haha!)
• Human Personality - I am about to start it in a week! So havent looked at the syllabus yet! But I gather we are looking at various theories about human personality and their capacity to change and appraising these against the Bible.

I have other classes over the winter and spring terms as well, which I will tell you about later.

My other course over the year will be with the famous Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Centre (woohoo!). I will be studying Family Therapy (an adaptation of systemic family therapy for those who are au fait with such things!). It is not a Christian institution - it will be great to train with them while I am continuing at CCEF and see how the two approaches work together! This is a super-expensive course, but my work are kindly funding all of it for me :o)  I love the NHS.

Just a quick personal update... I love it here! It's all going really well and I have found a super-nice group of people to hang out with. I am back to going for drinks after class and talking for hours into the dead of the night. It's so nice to escape the world of work for a short time for this! I went to a "fall meal" last night, which was great - American food is super ;o)  I had corn bread for the first time ever - mmmm. And hot apple spicy cider stuff.

Corn bread

In the wee hours of the morning, I still worry that these Yanks are only being nice to me because of my accent. This novelty may wear off. But I will keep you posted and you can join me in indignant outrage if this happens to be the case. Although, I won a free pampering session for me and some friends because the girl doing a makeup promotion at a gym I visited LOVED my accent, so we became the best of friends :o) I got an email from her today saying I won, but I am sure she fixed it for me. So, anyone who needs a self-esteem boost, come to America (provided you have a British accent) - but don't come to Philly - their aint room for more than one of us.

The Pest Control Shop

Hi!! Since my last post I have had many bizarre, terrible and wonderful experiences. But today I thought I'd tell you about Glenside (which is a little town/suburb outside Philly).

Philly has a train station. Quite normal? Yes, probably. Here is a photo of it:

BUT, this is where the normality STOPS. The first shop you come to on the highstreet, to welcome you to Glenside, is a Pest Control Shop. The window display is UNBELIEVABLE. It looks like it hasn't been changed in 100 years and shows all sorts of creatures caught locally by the pest control man (who is probably over 100 now as they are looking for a replacement, judging by the window advert). The window also displays things devoured by insects, like an early 20th century leather suitcase eaten by termites, old books also devoured by termites and many other wonders.

There are two particular creatures that caught my eye and made me quite nervous. See if you can spot which ones I mean (I won't make it hard for you). And please think "dinner plate size" to get an idea of their expanse.

OK - let's have a look at them a little more closely...

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

I have definitely been on the outlook for slow moving, large orange things. And as a result, i have noticed strange spider webs in the local foiliage, with a disconcertingly large tunnel entrance (sorry no photo availble - I was unwilling to risk my life hanging around outside a potential tarantula's nest taking photos!).

There are, thankfully, other shops on the street. They are all somewhat grimy and old - strange thrift shops and jumbly shops selling stationary covered in dust. There is also a Dunkin' Donuts. And, thankfully, one lovely cafe... phew! The library is old and strange (in a 60s kind of way) and the librarians are overly smiley, which also frightens me. And they charged me $15 to send an international fax today (with a smile). The elderly lady in the Bank of America branch I have joined is nice, but doesnt know much about banking - to the extent that I am wondering if I am on a Truman Show equivalent and she is actually a poorly-cast actress! In fact, if I ever take an unusual detour e.g. to the pharmacy on the highstreet (which is also incredibly decrepid and has "hazard" tape up across the entrance, with people still going in and out) I have a fruitless conversation where the person looks at me blankly and sells me something I didn't want.  Can you see where the Truman Show idea comes from??

Seriously, people seem to really genuinely not know what I'm saying quite often, which I think is a vocabulary thing rather than my accent or because I am generally frightening (which I won't deny).

To give you a run-through of all my activities so far - I have started my lectures (hooray!) - which I will tell you about another time, I have been into Philly itself, I have been to a discussion group with other Christians in mental health which I will do every month, I have joined a book group, I have tried American tea (and wept bitterly at the taste!!), I have since started to cope with American tea and now drink it out of desperation, I have done two grocery shops (which is a story in itself), I've made some friends - I think - you never know though, do you! ;o) I have been shocked at the amount of sugar in everything (even bread, cereal and hummus!) and I made scones to win over my housemates, which worked. There is more. I obviously still continue the normal things like showering, going to the loo, brushing my teeth, etc. but I don't think there are any issues of a cross-cultural interest that need shared. So for the sake of time, I will leave it there, with a few pictures of Philly itself to give you a parting flavour of it.

I will post again in a week :o)

 Thanks for coming! Have a great day!!

  

Air con and American flags

Hi everyone! This is day 3 in Philly! I have so much to say and share, but no time to do it today! So I thought I would just share with you some of the highlights so far..! There are many, though, more will come with time. In summary, America is NOT the same as the UK. Not at all.

Air conditioning in every bedroom! Think it's excessive? Well try living comfortably in 84% and 30oC humidity before you mock! Paper is literally going wrinkley and wet on contact with the air (for those of you who dont know what 84% humidity is all about). It is essentially walking underwater when I go out onto the street! 

It's American-flag central! There are 8 huge flags on my very small street (3 pictured here and one Irish flag). And who are they being so patriotic in front of? The British? That was over in 1776, if I'm not mistaken.

The bottom house is mine! My window is the top right :o)



I whole-heartedly admit this is a rather slow start to my blog, but I am just getting used to it. Things WILL improve and I will start bringing my camera everywhere with me and viewing the world through the eyes of a blogger, which is what I am as of today! Watch this space...!