And We're Back!

My Delta Airlines flight touched down this morning right on schedule, 9:25 a.m. at London Heathrow Airport. I gathered my four bags (yes, four), and boarded a free shuttle from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5 to meet Emma. We took the Tube from the airport to the Liverpool Street train station in London where we had a 1:30 p.m. train to Norwich. We arrived back on the UEA campus around 4 p.m. GMT, which meant I had been traveling for a grand total of roughly 18 hours. I've now been awake for well over 24 hours and feel like a bit of a zombie. Emma and I cooked dinner for ourselves, what we call our leftover special because it usually tastes better left over than it does when we first prepare it. The leftover special is penne pasta with tomato sauce, chicken and mozzarella cheese. It's simple, delicious and filling. 

Since then I've been poking about my room. None of my flatmates have returned yet. I unpacked my clothes and other belongings and reorganized my shelves. I've read a little bit and Skyped with my father and with Cassidy, and will be talking to my mother soon! 

It feels quite bizarre to be back. Emma hit the nail on the head earlier: it feels like break was a dream. It was an unbelievably quick three weeks, but three weeks packed with exactly what I needed. I saw a lot of theater, a couple movies, saw my family, had a wonderful Christmas and celebrated my cousin Lindsay's engagement to her fianceé Will! I also spent a lot of time with Cassidy and managed to see Ali right before I left again. 

My father and I saw the fantastic play Black Watch, about the Scottish army in Iraq. What made the production extraordinary (besides a fantastic performance from all involved), was the use of the space. The stage was long and thin, flanked by audience on each long side of the rectangle. This is a tricky stage to work with for it needs some creative blocking. The show was directed beautifully, and I left the theater without any complaints. A day or two later, my parents and I went to see a show called Taking Over, a one-man show by Danny Hoch about gentrification in New York City. Hoch was born and raised in Queens, so he has seen drastic transitions occur in the city for the past couple decades. He played several different characters, from a black woman seated on her stoop keeping an eye on the neighborhood, to a French real estate mogul. The show was dominated mostly by anger and, not surprisingly, did not offer any solution to the "problem" of gentrification. This can be given to the fact that no, indeed there is no solution to the problem of gentrification, if it can even be called a problem at all. The city has turned a corner with its new buildings of glass and metal and high-end restaurants in historically immigrant and impoverished neighborhoods. There is no going back, there is no stopping what has already been set in motion. So, to me, Hoch's piece, while entertaining and seemingly reflective of many of my mixed emotions towards the new people in my neighborhood and in Williamsburg, may very well have been in vain. It was just ranting. But ranting that gave everyone who would listen insight into what happens to people who are slowly being displaced, and the kinds of people that, for better or for worse, are doing the displacing. 

Phew, ok. I got a little carried away. I also partook in the Hicks/Garlitos/Blount/Swerdlow tradition of going to see A Christmas Carol at McCarter Theater in Princeton. It was great to spend some time with a few cousins and my grandparents. It's a tradition that I love. A Christmas Carol is a joy to watch, and is incredibly moving at times. It's a fantastic family tradition. 

When Cassidy came to New York City, we saw In the Heights, the show that one the 2008 Tony for Best Musical last year. This was my second time seeing it. Cassidy and I did the ticket lottery before the show. We both put our names in a bucket and circled "2 Tickets." There must have been 70 people there. I'm not sure how many tickets they give away, but it's not a lot. However, Cassidy's name was the 4th called, and we got two front row tickets to see a fantastic show for just $25. What more can you ask for?

It was the best winter break I could have asked for, filled with reunions and stories. I saw Amanda for the first time since May, she's been in Freetown, Sierra Leone and is back there again. I saw Barry for the first time since August; he's been in Mexico and will be returning in February to begin his second semester of classes in Xalapa. It was great to see Joanie and Pop-Pop and to catch up with them a bit, and, of course, my parents. I couldn't ask for a better pair of whackos to have raised me. 

Tomorrow Emma and I have a 10:30 a.m. train to Edinburgh. We'll be in Scotland until the 11th of January, when we will return for our second semester of classes which begins on the 12th. It's weird being back in England after such a brief hiatus, but I think it will be a good semester. I'm looking forward to my classes, and have ambitious plans to visit 13 different European cities in the next 5 months or so. 

That's all for now! Happy New Year to everyone, and good luck to anyone about to embark on a new adventure or a new semester! All the best!

-ZMG