When last we left our gallant and devastatingly handsome hero...
I had just completed both a a two-hour layover in Charles de Gaulle and an epic battle with Doubt (the state of mind, not the play/film, a different journey altogether).
I landed in Birmingham International Airport to a light rain on the tarmac. I walked over to the Border Agency, Landing Card in hand. After a lengthy conversation in line with both a Brazilian and a South Carolinian concerning American v. British accents and how Brazilian women are "most beautiful in world", I finally made it to where I was next in line, only to realize that I had filled out my Landing Card in pencil when they needed it in pen. Furiously grasping for one of the pens tethered to a table near the line, I scrambled to fill out my form properly. With my form a hastily scribbled mess, I can imagine the agent pondering how I managed to actually get into grad school when I could barely write.
After answering a barrage of questions, I collected my bag from the carousel, moving toward customs. The confusing thing being that there was no one in line and no one with bags being checked. As I cautiously moved through the room, I finally asked one of the agents if anyone needed to check my bag. "You have anything to declare?" the agent asked. "...No" I answered. "Then keep movin', you're holdin' everyone up!" he responded. I feel safer already!
Oscar Wilde, when asked by a customs agent in New York, "Have you anything to declare?" once famously responded "I have nothing to declare except my genius!" I later regretted not taking the opportunity to use that famous quote in an act of witty reversal, but I then realized that a bit of smart-assery like that in an airport might not go over as well these days.
After a cab ride with my Dad to the hotel and a lengthy jet-lag recovery period, we set to work picking up all the things I now realized I had forgotten at the local Tesco, including basic grocery items, toiletries, and the odd appliance here or there (Including an electric kettle at 10 pounds; after a week of use, one of my wisest investments to date).
After a couple of days of assistance, my Dad went off to the airport and returned to Pittsburgh <3.
As I mentioned in the previous post, I had a great deal of trouble fighting with my doubts back in the airport. I questioned whether I had made the right decision and if being in Birmingham was the best thing for me. As soon as I started living in the house on Hunters Road and getting to know my housemates, however, I knew that I might just be able to make this work.
And now...the starting line-up for Hunters Road and honorary citizens of Burghingham...
Dan (Kensington, Maryland) (MA Acting in the British Tradition)
Katie (Cheyenne, Wyoming) (MA Acting in the British Tradition)
Chris (Las Vegas, Nevada via Long Beach, California) (MA Acting in the British Tradition)
Daniele (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) (MA Acting)
Von (Washington D.C.) (MA Acting)
Sarah (New York City, New York) (MA Acting in the British Tradition)
Jack (Coventry, West Midlands, United Kingdom) (MA Professional Voice Practice)
Featuring:
Catherine (Santa Monica, California) (MA Acting in the British Traditon)
Amie (Long Beach, California) (MA Acting in the British Tradition)
Dayle (Columbus, Ohio) (MA Professional Voice Practice)
and Olivia (Castlewellan, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom) (MA Professional Voice Practice)
as neighbors and constant visitors...
After getting a chance to know these wonderful people and experience how helpful they've been, I came to realize that we are all in the same boat. We're all away from home, trying to make what we can out of this new chapter in all our lives. We're all susceptible to the same feelings of doubt and we're all willing and able to help each other along the way. I knew at that point that I can make it happen while I'm here.
And now, as I get ready to start my first full week of classes, I know that whatever happens out there, I'll be able to get help and support from all the people back here...
(P.S. That's us on the left.
I was going to include some more pictures and info about the house itself and the neighborhood, but it gets so dark, so early around here that it's going to have to wait for another time.)
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