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September 7, 2004—Lauren
I love the top bunk! I love it so much that I feel the need to vocalize my satisfaction of this heightened bed to Megan and Lindsey every time I climb the ladder. Finally, after the nth time I commented on my love for the top bunk Lindsey asked me why. Maybe that was her attempt to stop any future I-love-the-top-bunk outbursts but it actually made me stop and ponder the question. Why DID I love it so much? Maybe it's because that is the one thing missing from my childhood or maybe it is because the upper level gives me a sense of superiority. Maybe the possibility of falling off of it if I roll too far over in mid-dream gives me some sick kind of thrill. Or maybe it just gives me comfort; comfort in having a small territory that I can call my own, separate from the rest of the room. Separate from this new street, this new city, and this new country.
Right now, the top bunk is pretty
much the only thing I have reign over. When it comes to everything else I feel as though I'm simply a marionette and London is the hand that operates me. London tells me what time to wake up and what time to go to bed, even though I could stay in bed way longer in the morning and want to get back in 5 hours before the sunsets at night. It tells me to go out on Tuesday night even though it's a school day. The crowded streets make me walk faster and the plethora of British accents makes me talk softer. Heck, even the door of the tube was higher than me on the totem pole when it shut on my hip as I was getting on. If that didn't label me as a "Stupid American" then I'm sure my instinctive loud outburst with a southern twang following the incident surely did.
But then again, London hasn't treated me all that badly. The weather has been great, Goran has been more than accommodating, and everything from fresh fruit markets to pubs to designer clothes to fancy cocktail bars (with live bands on Sunday nights with charming British boys named George) is right at our fingertips. From our explorations so far, it seems as though any tube stop could lead to an exciting new adventure. Let's just say that I'd rather be in the hands of London than in those of Decatur, when the entire city of Soy doesn't even compare to one block of the enchanted London.
Anyway, I'm sure as time passes and I've rid myself of this disease called "culture shock" the tables will turn and I will hopefully feel more control, comfort, and confidence in my being here. But for now, I'll just climb up to my top bunk and enjoy viewing things from a whole new perspective.
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