Ebullient
Sometimes the best thing about living abroad, especially in a city as international as London, is all the other, non-British people I am lucky to interact with at times. It's an added bonus I never expected.
My nice quiet weekend morning breakfast routine was interrupted today by my SCREAMING, JUMPING, YELLING, OHMYGOD OHMYGOD OHMYGOD Cypriot flatmate. I must say, you really haven't watched final round Grand Slam tennis until you've watched it with a Cypriot cheering on a fellow Cypriot from her hometown.
I guess I just don't know what it's like. As far as America goes, our athletic representatives usually do quite well. After all, the richest nation in the world can make it relatively (and I said relatively before you all start jumping down my throat) easy for us, with funding and facilities made of an athlete's dreams. And as for the professional sports, we've quite obviously set it up so that we'd never have to fail against our foreign counterparts.... by never playing them. Seriously, if the World Series of baseball actually included teams from other parts of the world (aside from one measly Canadian team) we'd be put in our sorry ass places. Hell, just add Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, and the USA would never again win a WS.
It goes hand in hand with thinking you're the center of the universe. What Lance Armstrong did was amazing, but most Americans, myself included, didn't have a reaction beyond, "gee, that's nice."
Not that I don't know the horrid heartbreak of losing. My favorite teams (Redskins, Orioles, Capitals, NC State) are collectively awful, and aside from a few moments of glory, generally out-and-out suck. So I was excited for my flatmate, and felt quite bad when the expected took place, and Federer did his thing. Good match though.
My nice quiet weekend morning breakfast routine was interrupted today by my SCREAMING, JUMPING, YELLING, OHMYGOD OHMYGOD OHMYGOD Cypriot flatmate. I must say, you really haven't watched final round Grand Slam tennis until you've watched it with a Cypriot cheering on a fellow Cypriot from her hometown.
I guess I just don't know what it's like. As far as America goes, our athletic representatives usually do quite well. After all, the richest nation in the world can make it relatively (and I said relatively before you all start jumping down my throat) easy for us, with funding and facilities made of an athlete's dreams. And as for the professional sports, we've quite obviously set it up so that we'd never have to fail against our foreign counterparts.... by never playing them. Seriously, if the World Series of baseball actually included teams from other parts of the world (aside from one measly Canadian team) we'd be put in our sorry ass places. Hell, just add Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, and the USA would never again win a WS.
It goes hand in hand with thinking you're the center of the universe. What Lance Armstrong did was amazing, but most Americans, myself included, didn't have a reaction beyond, "gee, that's nice."
Not that I don't know the horrid heartbreak of losing. My favorite teams (Redskins, Orioles, Capitals, NC State) are collectively awful, and aside from a few moments of glory, generally out-and-out suck. So I was excited for my flatmate, and felt quite bad when the expected took place, and Federer did his thing. Good match though.
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Posted by
Alison Strobel Morrow |
5:22 pm, January 29, 2006
I found your blog via Cheryl's (cherylsjournal.com) and have been sitting here reading your archives for half an hour. I love it! It brings back so many memories of my junior year abroad in Glasgow back in '96-'97. I loved living out there. I envy you. :)
-Alison
PS: In response to your entry re: having friends bring back American food for you, I always craved Kraft mac & cheese. I tried a couple different British versions and they were all ghastly. I distinctly remember one brand that tasted the way a horse stable smells...
Posted by
Alison Strobel Morrow |
7:23 pm, January 29, 2006
I also am from the USofA, been living here in the UK for 6 or so years. I liked the blog, and will link yours to mine on my page. Funny ramblings about some of the same things I ran into. I haven't been back to the states since I moved over, and plan on putting up tents here permanently. Check my page out if you get a chance.
Ben
Posted by
Ben |
2:14 am, January 30, 2006
I've tried wracking my brain as to how to seamlessly link this into a comment about your post, but couldn't get much further than "something something... a bunch of losers".
So, anyway, a bunch of us London Bloggers are going for a few drinks a week next Wednesday, and I thought I'd see if you'd like to come. Take a break from that PhD, worry your friends and family by meeting people from the internet!
Drop me an email if you like...
Posted by
Huw |
12:01 pm, January 31, 2006
How about our basketball team's performance in the '04 Olympics? That was swell -- the supposed best of our best getting schooled.
And apparently you haven't heard about the World Baseball Classic -- a World Cup-style tournament taking place in March. It has actual MLB players, and I will laugh if (when?) we don't even make it out of our pool.
Posted by
Chris Cope |
10:48 pm, January 31, 2006
great blog. I can relate to a lot of what you are saying!
Posted by
ExPat in London |
11:42 pm, January 31, 2006
Yeah, Marcos Baghdatis surpised everyone, but that really shouldn't be the case. The 54th best player in the world is not the same thing as being bad. He was the world junior champ in 2004 (the same title Andy Roddick won in 2001.) He's a very good, young (20) player who's getting better all the time. (Irrelevant added bonus: his girlfriend is a total knockout!) Look's like your sissy's on her way to Ireland! We thought we'd visit in August, just before we move . . .)
-- Daddy
Posted by
Anonymous |
5:20 pm, February 06, 2006