Hard to believe its been nearly a month since my last blog posting. Where has the time gone? I've made it through my first term and am well into the second. Deadlines are fast approaching and I find my level of stress increasing as more work is piled upon me. I've had my first foray into the darkroom and have found a new passion which I fear will eat up what little free time I have. But how can I resist that siren song, that calls me. Besides, every good anthropologist especially a visual one should be able to develop their own film. I mean come on, do I really want to have to go to walmart every time? Granted there is the wonderful world of digital photography and while I am a fan of photoshop and all of its wonderous effects on my pictures, there is something to be said for developing ones own film. The constant wonder of whether or not the picture will come out, was it in focus? Was the aperature at the right setting? What about shutter speed? The anticipation makes me feel like a kid at Christmas. I have the sneaking suspicion that analog photography is going to find its way into my dissertation regardless of how much I love video. I find that it is often the things that I have no talent for (such as video and photography) are the things I often pursue. I know with practice I will get better at both, or atleast I hope I will get better. If not then I pity those that are coerced into seeing my work.
As I sit here in my room sipping on a cup of tea and watching the snow fall I am reminded of home. And while I do love England I am somewhat homesick. I miss spending time with my grandparents, the sound of the television in the background and grandpa snoring while gram shakes her head and grumbles about how the televisions turned on and grandpa is out like a light. I miss my mum and her over protective ways that sometimes drives me to distraction. I miss my aunts, uncles and cousins, nieces and nephews. I even miss my brother. I miss a lot of things about home, but I know when I do finally return to the U.S. I will miss loads of things about England. I've made amazing friends here, I would have never made it this far without them. I sometimes wake up and am in awe that I am actually in England. I've wanted to be here for so long and now that I am the time seems to slip by so quickly. In no time at all it will be time to return to the real world (aka work force). Who knows where I will end up. I hope its someplace as amazing as Canterbury. While there are those that despise this little town, I am inamored of it. I love walking down high street and watching the people, I smile to myself as I see tourists gape in wonder at the cathedral and the town that I call home. It wasn't that long ago I myself stood in their shoes gazing in wonder at the sights of Canterbury and wondering how such a place could exist.
