Ignoring a bus tour of the Highlands, two whisky trips and a long weekend in Crawley, it has been five years since I last took a holiday. (We’ll be charitable and assume that the student lifestyle isn’t “just like being on holiday”. For once, it’s far less stressful.) I decided that, after completing my Masters, I would remedy this. I conducted an impromptu census of my international friends, and discovered that the largest single group is the Americans. (Malta scored an honourable second place: maybe next year!) So I called everyone’s bluff and took them up on their kind invitations to come and visit, and now I’m here. Thanks to Jen, Abby, Garth and Nicole, I’m seeing America in the best way possible. Rent-free.
In seriousness, though, I’m halfway through my stay here, and it has been great to see what real life is like in this country. I’ll blog more later about each part of my trip, but a preliminary investigation reveals that it “centers” around beef-eating, binge-drinking and an abject under-reliance on public transport.
So far, I’ve visited Boston, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Nantucket, Cape Cod, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. (I also visited Arlington, VA and passed through Delaware and Maryland, which totally counts.) Tomorrow I travel (intrepidly, by a combination of bus and commuter rail) to New York City, and next week I move on to Chicago and finally Wisconsin.
It’s been great fun so far, and I must give thanks again to Jen and Abby, who have been the most gracious hosts. There’s another near-fortnight to come, and so I think you’ll understand why I’m verily excited!