Whoops!

Haven't made an entry in nearly a month. Sorry!

Yes, I'm back from my half-month trip around Britain. It was less glamorous and touristy than most people back home think when they hear "I just got back from my trip to the UK." When you're visiting friends, it doesn't really turn out much different in the end whether they live in Manchester, New Hampshire or Manchester, UK. They're all deeply involved in their day-to-day lives, and the guest gets a sofa bed, futon or fancy guest room where the pre-school sons and daughters may or may not come through the door (always too early) to see if you're up yet!

Let's see - I saw famous attractions in England such as ... (a) the mini-Tesco supermarket, where I picked up a copy of the London Times, a bottle of wine, and some milk for my hosts in Surrey, (b) a mini hardware/plumbing store where I searched (in vain) for a replacement showerhead that I dropped and broke off, (c) a Marks and Spencer department store (supposed to have the best supermarket according to my hostess in Lincoln), (d) a children's party jungle-gym center, where I was dragged to celebrate a 5 year old girl's birthday, (e) a local fish and chips shop in north London, where I bought a take-out dinner for my host family (couldn't eat out with two squirrely youngsters), and plenty of train stations - major and minor, where British Rail traditionally arrives and leaves late. And take-out -- lots of take-out -- to eat at home with my hosts: Chinese, fish-and-chips, pub food, Indian ...

I did manage to fit in some real tourism time when my hosts were kind enough to fit in time away with me:

* a great afternoon walking around Winchester and its famous cathedral (far south of England)
* two half-days on my own in historic York, the "northern capital" of England, on the way from London to Scotland
* a full day in breathtakingly beautiful Edinburgh seeing the castle, of course, and walking the "Miracle Mile" of old-time shops from the castle to the spittin'-new parliament building (opened the weekend after I left Scotland)
* a Sunday afternoon drive through 5 completely different landscapes (all spectacular) in the Borders area of southern Scotland, where my hosts, an Anglican priest from N. Ireland and his Scottish wife live
* an unexpected tour of Titannic artifacts at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry
* a day trip by car around Lincolnshire on the North Sea (east-central England) ending at the original Boston, where, yes, many Pilgrim fathers (mothers and sisters) originated
* a leisurely stroll (ok, the two little boys rode their bikes) around an old English manor and grounds outside of Cambridge on an exceptional sunny day (appreciated doubly by the British)

It was a good balance of train travel, sit-at-home chat time, and tourism thrown in every so often. My friends were mainly all British friends from my 4 years in Cairo 1989-93, whom I had visited last in 1996. Some with kids now lived in "an empty nest"; other formerly single friends now were married and had miraculously sprouted 7-year old children! The odd (and gratifying) discovery was nearly always that the years melted away as we spoke, and we were back in the comfort of an old friendship, sharing private doubts, worries, tragedies and successes.

Since getting back October 13 (I'm not superstitious, don't worry), I've first tried to tidy up any left-over tasks from the UK trip, then get back into my dissertation (a mixed result so far) in time to finish by this December. I'm wavering at the moment between the triage approach to finishing (do the bare minimum just to get done in time) and the quality approach (go out with a bang). If I keep wavering long enough, the choice will probably be made for me - or in spite of me!

JOB UPDATE: My one CV submission to the Foreign Service Institute school of foreign languages (US State Dept.) in Washington was indeed received, but the email I got back makes it sound like there's nothing currently in my area of specialization - language materials development - since their existing language teachers seem to form their own project committees in house on a language-by-language basis. But I haven't given up on a language job with the government. I keep discovering new agencies, most recently the National Capital Language Resource Center (NCLRC), which overseas foreign language teaching in US schools and colleges. Haven't sent a CV yet, but it's on the list.

Stay tuned ...