Chicago - End Of Fulbright Meeting

Re-entry and it's problems was the double-entendre laden subject of last weekends Fulbright meeting in Chicago. We arrived, from various corners of the US, the night of the wedding and spent the night in the hotel bar putting the 'finishing touches' to our end of year presentations. Last time I saw most of the Exchangees was in Seattle back in September and it was fantastic to catch up and compare stories. Just being with a load of British women was such a comfort! The irony, sarcasm and wine flowed freely! We stayed, as usual, in a fantastically posh hotel. Chicago was amazing although I didn't see nearly enough of it. Saturday was presentations and on the night trying a Chicago pizza (rank)! I can't stress enough the joy of being with friends and sharing a frame of reference and fun. Sunday came too soon and we received our certificates and filled in some fantastically interesting tax forms. I was lucky enough to be able to stay on for a n extra night with a couple of other Fulbrighters and we wandered the city and enjoyed cocktails and fantastic Chinese food. Nee How! All the Fulbrighters are bound by sharing such an amazing opportunity and while our personal experiences vary widely, we all agree that we would not change a second of this unbelievable year. We vowed to fight the re-entry worm and meet up back in the UK. I cannot wait!

Royal Wedding

Yes, I got up at 5am for the Royal Wedding. I watched at home for a couple of hours, went to work where I watched the kiss and then had a party with my wonderful class. A few years ago I would have been the first to decry the Royals as a load of upper class, inbred twits but after my year away, I see how valuable they are. Culture, identity, national pride. Things we take completely for granted normally. We Brits like to play things down and are big on the self deprecation. Sometimes we need to see what we have and sing it from the rooftops. A democratic society going back thousands of years. History, majesty and state. We are so lucky to live in Britain and have the opportunities we have. The Royal family are part of our history. I vaguely remember Diana and Charles wedding in '81 with the street parties and commemorative coins, Fergie, Diana's death - they are the background to my life and are intrinsically British. Americans have never been as interested in me and my country as they have in the build up to the wedding. They don't have the bitterness we do to the wealth of the royals. As interesting as Kennedy, Monroe etc were, they are long gone but our royals continue. I remember being at my Grandma's in '81. Being with my Mum in September '97 and, God willing Sian and her children will witness the wedding of Will and Kate's children. They are part of our lives and history.Thousands of miles, and 5 hours, away I cried as the crowds sang Jerusalem and I thought of my Mum watching in Yorkshire, drinking Pimms at the local. I have never felt so proud to be British and to be a part of something historical and a little bit magical. In a world where history nowadays is normally tragic or appalling I think that is very special.