The Answer to "How's School Going?"

It's fine, thanks!

No, OK. I guess I'll divulge some details. I began my course, officially, yesterday. There are 30 of us in the class, and I got to meet everyone for the first time yesterday. It's incredible, and maybe other counselling students can relate to this, but everyone is so eager to talk about their feelings and so focused on getting to know new people--really know them--that I felt almost instantly comfortable with everybody. It's funny to think that, out of the entire world, the 30 of us came together to study this subject, at this school, at this time. If nothing else, that is something we all have in common. Besides that, we are a diverse group of people. There are a lot of people who are coming to study counselling after working in other areas for many years, and a few young people such as myself, who have been focusing on solely this type of work since their undergraduate schooling.

In any case, I'm not used to this kind of self-directed learning that we're doing, and it seems to be mostly non-academic at this point. Yesterday, we spent hours talking about our expectations and anxieties regarding the course. Today, we sat in small groups and talked about our lives, and then gave each other feedback about our experiences as we listened to one another. I didn't get a chance to talk about my life today--that comes tomorrow. At first, I felt like so much introspection was sort of self-indulgent, but towards the end of the day, when so many people were sharing so much with people who are basically strangers, I recognized that this is actually a lesson about listening and reacting non-judgementally, and served to sort of jumpstart our trust with one another. I feel like I got to know my group really well today and I'm looking forward to taking my turn tomorrow.

One of my classmates is originally from Hong Kong but has lived in the UK for quite some time, and he called me over to sit next to him today. It turns out that he loves America! I mean, he LOVES it. He was telling me all about his American flag collection, and apparently he has eagles and statues of former presidents all over his flat. He told me he loves the American accent (I have an accent now!) and that he wants to live there someday. He then asked me who wrote God Bless America and proceeded to sing as much of it as he remembered. He announced to our small group that he hopes that he and I will become good friends. It's actually really, really nice to meet someone who likes America and Americans--not just tolerates us, but really loves the culture (as it is). I'm totally going to invite him to my Thanksgiving celebration.

Today, on my walk home I ran into one of my other classmates who apparently lives just a few blocks away from where I live now. Since it was raining, he suggested we catch a train, and then he walked me home, and it was very, very nice. I feel like I had a few scenarios in mind of what I wanted to happen at some point while living here, and walking home with my classmates was one of them, so I can tick that one off the list. Maybe that sounds stupid, but I did have a few little things I envisioned happening that would make me feel like I really live here, and that was one of them. I saw the same classmate at the grocery store 15 minutes later, and it was nice to recognize someone out in public. Another silly little thing, yes, but it meant a lot to me. I feel even more at home now.

No more school talk! Last night, Chris and I met up with his friend Ieuan (Yay-un) and his girlfriend, Kirsty, for a few drinks. Kirsty is really sweet and I liked talking to her while Chris and Ieuan talked about work. It turns out that she is going to medical school. Guess how much medical school costs here. No, seriously, guess. It's £3,000 (about $6,000) a year! So many people are absolutely shocked to hear about how much school costs in America. They can't believe that people come out of college so severely in debt.

There have been a few things like that--I mean, things that seem normal and average for us Americans, but that seem absolutely batshit crazy to the people here. Lack of health care is another one of those things. People can't seem to get their minds around the fact that there could be people, least of all children, who can't just see the doctor whenever they're sick. And sure, there are flaws to the system here. People are taxed heavily and they have to wait a long time to get care for non-life-threatening issues. But here's the thing: many people have quite a bit of student loan debt and many people have bills relating to their medical care. If, instead of those bills, you just had about 8-10% less of your paycheck, wouldn't that even out? No, hold on-- wouldn't it be infinitely better? Also, if everyone had access to health care, wouldn't we have to wait for some things too? Kirsty said that when the NHS (the UK's national health care) took over health care in Britain, there was a surge of people who accessed the system, getting teeth cleanings and eye exams and things like that, but then it evened out and now things work pretty well. I have this incredible opportunity to see things from a sort of detached point of view, and it's really interesting. I'm sure I'll write more as things go on, especially after I see an NHS mental health hospital.

Anyway, things are going really well, all things considered. I will say that I'm anxiously following the American news about the financial crisis and the election and all of that. I hope everyone's OK and no one's eating Ramen at every meal (unless you just like Ramen).

I miss you all. Also, one more thing, thanks for the comments! It's so funny to think of anyone taking time out to actually read this. It's awesome. Oh, and Maplegrovemom, is that you, mom? (Kidding--love you!)

Take care!
xoxo