Graduation was amazing. Everything was in Latin. We students wore carefully monitored academic robes (with an army of people whose job was to check if our outfits passed the dress code and then fold our hoods appropriately... and btw they don't appreciate it if you giggle while they tug violently at your clothes). We each had to kneel before the Chancellor of the University to receive our degrees "in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" (or at least that's supposedly what they said... anyone know Latin?!). Then we had to stand up, not trip on our ankle-length robes, curtsy, and exit.
No speeches. No music (though my mom may have sung "Pomp and Circumstance" under her breath...). No photography. Just 5 seconds of fame for each of us while the other 60-odd graduates and their guests looked on. Incredible. Unreal. And worth every minute of 10 months of studying.
After a weekend of fun and ceremony, my parents and I returned to Chicago, where I got to catch up with friends, family, the dog, the house, etc. The best reacquaintance with the greatness of American culture was- of course- a camping trip. My best friend Deena and I set off across Illinois in my family's red minivan (an official clunker) for an adventure in nature. The luxury of using up gasoline for a destination-less road trip, as well as the embarrassing amount of cheap wood and newspaper we burned trying to build campfires, was a striking reminder of the excessive and polluting lifestyle we Americans enjoy.
Other American delights that this trip brought me include:
-driving on the right... or, really, driving at all. 10 months' driving hiatus and I can still gun the engine and cut people off like any proud Chicagoan.
-soy "meat" (Delicious, and without the mad-cow worries!)
-cornfields that go without end and are more likely to become ethanol than popcorn (which is, incidentally, Illinois' official snack food! (http://www.illinois.gov/facts/symbolsdesc.cfm#snackfood, courtesy of Deena))
-thunderstorms, and a tent that only leaks in the corners
-the incredible hospitality and friendliness of strangers. Our neighbors at one campsite not only helped us start our fire, but also shared their dinner with us when they saw how pathetic ours was... AND they invited us to eat s'mores and drink Baileys with them! What?! Wonderful. And the next day, while Deena and I were strolling alongside the road heading to a nature trail and an SUV zoomed by and hit a puddle at top speed and splashed water on us just like in the cartoons, the driver stopped, reversed, and apologized! WHAT?! In the UK drivers speed up to drench passersby with puddles.
-open spaces- from fields to tents to car interiors to enormous Porta Potties. Somehow everything takes up more space in America.
-giant superstores like Aldi's and WalMart that echo with space and have every kind of anything you'd ever want (except, of course, healthcare for their employees)
I hope you enjoy the rest of your good ole American summer, complete with gas-guzzling cars, hot BBQs, and ubiquitous air conditioning. I know I will... and feel guilty about it when I leave.
