No direction home ...

To pick up where my last entry left off, the paper that I hastily completed in the morning of the day of its submission subsequently enabled me to skip a week of classes. The purpose of this was to travel to northern England to visit a good mate of mine from Allegheny, currently studying for a semester at Lancaster University. Having cut myself off from the meaningless communicative platforms of facebook and skype for this year abroad (I’m writing letters instead), my visit with my friend from Allegheny has been the closest interaction with anyone from back in the states.

My mate, who, unlike me, had been keeping closely in touch in with ties in the states through the more up to date and technological means, had a lot of news for me. For a first, he informed me of who the newly elected president of my fraternity was (by the way, he isn't even in my fraternity), which was information previous unbeknownst to me. He also informed me of other things going on back at school: who won Greek Sing, who was hooking up with who and more until I said: “hey man, sorry; but, I don’t care ... I’m in England.”

Since August, my phone has been off. If you live in the United States, you do not have my English mobile number (this includes my parents). If you have tried to chat or posted on my wall on facebook, I have not replied (birthdays being the exception). I may have commented on a status or two, but only if I cannot resist. I took myself off of the email lists of groups and clubs I was a member of at Allegheny. I do not skype.

This is not to say that I do not value my friends in the states (they are as close to me as when I left), but rather it is an attempt of mine to filter out the pointless minutia of the technological world in order to fully enjoy my year in England. Before leaving England, many questions regarding how to best stay in touch arose. Just because I can let everyone exactly what I’m doing at every second, would anyone really care to read it? What’s the point of being in England if I am just as accessible to everyone as when I lived on the second floor of the Phi Psi house? Why turn your life into a magazine, when it should be a novel? If I'm living in England, then why choose to technologically exist in America?

As my mate and I caught up on this and that, the conversation invariably reverted back to Allegheny, I grew more angry, being reminded of the annoying and frustrating factions that I very willingly left behind last spring. I said a few things. Things like: “I’m only returning to Allegheny because of its fucked up distribution requirements that make it impossible for me to graduate from Dickinson in four years.” I’m not sure how I feel about that statement now, but I meant it when I said it.

I write about two letters to people each week, not surprisingly some cannot be bothered to reply, but that’s not really the point. The point is the personal nature of writing that facebook and skype lacks. It is impossible to hand write a letter without getting 100 percent of personality and emotions through to the reader. To be honest, I find that simply writing about things I have done makes for a very boring letter, while details of how I am/have been feeling makes for a far more entertaining one. My friends can get all the specific details and epic stories when I return, perhaps over a couple beers at the bar, being that I am now 21!

If my attempts at maintaining my life’s novel format have succeeded (and that if it has taken the form of this blog), then I’d like to dedicate this chapter of it to everyone I’ve left behind and express my gratitude at respecting the communicative bounds I’ve set for myself in England. It’s not always easy, but I feel it is a vital element of my extended residence in the UK. If you’re frustrated by my reclusiveness (as many of you have privately expressed to me) send me a letter, I’ll send you one back ... LW