Belonging

As I wax nostalgic (yet again XP) I begin to think that this is a blog I should have written a long time ago. Over four years ago, actually.

So, in July of 2005, I found myself taking part in a summer program for eighth and ninth graders called the Oxford Prep Experience. Yes, this program was based in Oxford, United Kingdom (for more information, please refer to www.oxbridgeprograms.com). And the first official day of the program, ironically, happened to be July 4th. Needless to say, that was the first time I ever spent the fourth of July in the country that had the least reason to celebrate it. Or perhaps they had the most reason, if arguing along the lines of "look-at-that-one-trillion-dollar-debt-we-don't-have-to-pay-and-that-horrible-fashion-sense." The latter statement arises from a recent Gallup Poll that deemed the British to be in the top 3 most fashionably dressed tourists, along with the French and Italians. I digress.

Within three days of me being in the program, the directors and teachers were already telling us kids to call our parents and tell them that we were safe. Can you guess what happened? The July 7th bombing of the London Tube (subway system). It didn't seem like much at the time; I was in Oxford, and that happened to be two hours away from London, so I felt a bit indifferent to it. A week later though, on July 14th, my group was in London for our day-trip.

As the bus meandered through the packed city streets, we stopped suddenly. There was no honking from behind - all the cars surrounding us had stopped too. The bus driver turned on the radio solemnly and opened the door. Confused, all the students opened their windows too, wondering what the bus driver was waiting for. Glancing outside, we could see that everyone on the sidewalks and in the cafes, restaurants, and windows were standing still. It was eeriely quiet, as if a virus had swept, undetected, throughout the population, and none of the usual boisterous city noises could give voice to the harried emotions they were to express. A few bird chirps, some quiet engine motors, and perhaps babies crying or children whispering to their parents were all that convinced us we were still in reality.

Suddenly, a voice crackled over the radio and said that the moment of silence observation for the victims of the July 7th bombing was beginning. It was a pleasant surprise to see that even people on the streets, without a radio near them, were observant of the time and the silence that was to be held then. As I sat quietly, my eyes darting around the bus and streets, I felt as if I was a part of the British community. It wasn't just that I was there at the moment and being silent out of respect - it was also that I had been in the country when the bombing happened, and I was in the city during the moment. It's not quite something I could put my finger on. Simply put, I felt more apart of the people and culture, in the midst of London during such a crucial moment, than I could have felt were I still in Oxford at the time.

Later in the day, the moment of silence forgotten, my teacher for my major class (International Relations) decided that we (my class) would visit the bunkers where Winston Churchill had stayed during WWII. I was a bit displeased - I had thought the London trip would be mostly free time, culminating in a play at the Globe Theater, but there was sense and reason in visiting the bunkers then. Upon resurfacing, I was hoping that I could ride the Tube in my free time, but I saw that the stations were closed in the fear of another repeat bombing. There actually had been a threat that day.The last Thursday that I spent in the United Kingdom there was yet another bomb threat.

It was a very surreal sense to be around when the British equivalent of 9/11 happened. Although I feel guilty for admitting it, by being that close and more aware of such events (thanks to my age and my class focus), I felt more affected by 7/7 than I ever did by 9/11.

I can't tell whether it was the summer program or the 7/7 events, but regardless, I think it's a part of the reason why I feel so strongly compelled to return to the United Kingdom for my study abroad, almost more so than I feel like going to Kyoto. But when I do not wax nostalgic, they are about even, with Kyoto as a front-runner since I've never been to Japan.

Pre-Planning

I decided that it was high time that I did this. Since there are so many places where I would like to travel to, so many books that I would like to read, and so many movies that I would like to watch, I need to make comprehensive lists of them all. Of course, I doubt I can remember thing in one go, so this is a list that will be continuously updated.

TRAVEL

U.S.A.
-New York
-Washington D.C.
-Seattle
-Los Angeles
-San Francisco
-Houston
-Austin
-Orlando
-Miami
-New Orleans
-Chicago
-Columbus
-Detroit
-Santa Ana
-San Jose
-San Diego
-Phoenix
-Salt Lake City
-Butte
-Boise
-Portland
-Minneapolis
-St. Paul
-St. Louis
-Tallahassee
-Nashville
-Providence
-New Haven
-Philadelphia
-Boston

Canada:
-Vancouver
-Victoria Island
-Toronto
-Saskatchewan
-Ontario

Europe:
-Oxford
-London
-Cambridge
-Sussex
-Dublin
-Welsh
-Scotland
-Prague
-Florence
-Milan
-Rome
-Venice
-Luxembourg
-Berlin
-Moscow
-St. Petersburg
-Munich
-Vienna
-Paris
-Geneva
-Madrid
-Barcelona
-Oslo
-Stockholm
-Denmark
-Brussels
-Copenhagen (yes, falls in the Denmark category)

Asia:
-Beijing
-Shanghai
-Kyoto
-Osaka
-Tokyo
-Seoul
-Pyongyang (good luck with that one)
-Hanoi
-Saigon
-Phnom Penh
-Angkor Wat
-Burma
-Bali
-Mumbai
-Hong Kong
-Singapore
-Siberia
-Mongolia

Australia / New Zealand:
-Sydney
-Melbourne
-NZ

Middle East:
-Dubai
-Kabul
-Mecca
-Jerusalem
-Bethany

Africa:
-Cairo
-Rwanda
-Cape Town