a month abroad

Well, i've survived a month so far. 8 or more so to go but this one went so fast. I still haven't managed to get more than a platonic peck from anyone, and i don't see any of that activity glimmering in the future, so it looks like I won't get an opportunity to marry someone in order to stay here. Pity. But this level of inactivity does clue me in to a certain curiosity--British men, in general, aren't anything to look at, and British women aren't either. Its almost cute that they're attracted to one another.
Yeah, i'm bitter. I've made a good number of friends and i'm doing fairly well in my classes and i even went to London yesterday and had a dern good time the whole way through...with a boy that i'm interested in that doesn't seem too enthused about me. The last time i had a guy friend who wanted to be close but had no sexual interest in me was...well, high school, but he came around. They all used to.
I guess that makes it official--i've lost my touch.
But its okay--sure my money is worth half its US value and prices of everything are doubled to boot, but if I only buy basic food items at the grocery, stay sober every night, avoid public transit and borrow all my textbooks from the library I should be able to come home only six or seven thousand dollars in debt.
I RESENT UK CURRENCY.
Its cold, its damp, the sun rarely shines and the wind blows in gusts. I understand why colonization was such a big deal three hundred years ago, but now i must wonder why the whole population didn't just leave. Last one out please shut the door.
I miss my roads. People drive on the sidewalk here about as often as they do the streets. Bus drivers are generally talented and safe, but the average driver here is a reckless idiot careening around curves and slamming on brakes at the last possible second. Every moment spent driving is an opportunity to play 'chicken' with any other car. Like the ones that manage to squeeze past you on a one-lane road that is 3/4 covered in poorly parallel-parked cars. I have witnessed the success of more impossible feats on the roads here. Amazing. I miss my car. If the busses fit on the roads here she must too, though how the busses manage I can't imagine. Sure i'd have to learn an entirely new way of thinking while on the road--new signs, new directions, new random chit going on all around--but i feel trapped without her. canterbury is cute and there's a little bit to do, but sometimes you just want to DRIVE. Busses and trains will take you away, but they don't give you that cleansing relief of controlling 1.4 tons of steel and explosive materials. Without my car I am smaller. I am powerless. I hold no clout. But at least i never have to be DD.
I took 3 pictures in london yesterday. All of trafalgar square. I actually went to a good number of places and saw many things that serve to amuse and endear, but I completely forgot that I had my camera. The only reason I remembered it in the Square was because i was surrounded by tourists and a girl came by and asked me if I wouldn't take a picture of her with her friends. I don't know how well the photo turned out--i always aim with my left eye but her viewfinder was on the right. Sometimes that matters. Viewfinders should be in the middle of the camera, like they used to be.
I've reached that state of poverty in which you learn to starve comfortably. One meal of pasta or a sandwich a day is sufficient--anything more is luxury. I bought a bottle of liquor last weekend and its already gone--the last I saw of it it was still half full. My neighbors may not be outright thieves but I hope whoever drank the last of it is ashamed.
London is pretty, but it is completely filthy. After several hours of mild irritation I eventually thought to blow my nose in a lavatory...and was astounded by the quantity of black dirt and soot i managed to remove. I guess you'll get that in any city, but the last time I found crud like that up my nose I'd been sanding rusty pipes for three hours.
I missed a protest today in London--it started out pretty dully last night so I didn't think to get involved with it further, but today it made news as 75,000 people turned out to encourage Americans to vote Bush out of office. It was a big deal after all. Pity my bus left at 10pm last night. I missed the opportunity for adventure, but I'm sure there'll be others. After all, the English are known for being upbeat and exciting, right?