Hello, everyone, and welcome to day 1 of George's Thanksgiving. I am here to discuss first world problems, feel more productive than I would've having not written about this, and (the only thing of value on this list) actually provide some insight into an exchange student's experience in the US whilst everyone else celebrates the true blue, American holiday, the one and only Thanksgiving. Actually, it's not one and only. Canadians have Thanksgiving as well. But I digress.
I've never really tried do a journal blog before, even though I do journal. I suppose I censor myself more online than I do writing in a journal, but I never feel like I'm presenting any artifice or anything that's not "myself" when I publish stuff online. It's fairly easy when your viewers are largely people you know. Journal blogging is both easier and harder writing about a day than your whole term, because you have less to talk about but more you feel you need to remember.
So it's Wednesday 22nd November, the day before Thanksgiving and the first day of break. Yesterday, most of my day was free anyway, so I felt a bit in do-very-little break mode already. Other than a quick trip to Target, watching the Great British Bake Off-because I'm a basic bitch who needs the simple pleasures-and a small assignment where I struggle not to rant about Tacitus, I didn't feel super productive. Too much free time on my hands, since the first COVID-19 lockdown, has never made me feel productive, even if at some points I have been.
It's not like I don't appreciate the free time, I honestly really needed it because I've been ill and felt overworked doing basic things recently. I'm a nightmare when I'm sick, I pity anyone who has to be around me. I let my room get messy, I abandon all previous plans of eating healthier and basically embrace hedonism, except hedonism without partying. By which I mean, eating crap and bingeing Netflix. All. Day.
I'm mostly over that, which is nice. As we'll see later though, I struggle to not eat junk nowadays. I could claim it's a product of being in America-not that the UK is devoid of junk food-but it's more because I don't do my own grocery shopping.
At least, usually I don't. The dining halls are..fine, but closed during the holidays, meaning I had to plan a bit in advance for meals I can keep in my room without having any eating or cooking space. Salads, pop tarts, and getting a couple free meals from international students' events. I told you, first world problems.
So I have a chill morning, call someone about getting my phone camera fixed (this is sometimes cheaper in the US, BTW) and eventually head to Target to do a couple errands. There's a pot luck today for international students, and even though I didn't have to, I checked the box saying I'd bring something.
A pot luck isn't what a younger me thought it was. I obviously know it's where loads of people bring something to make a meal, but I think a younger more adorable me associated "pot" with like a big pot of soup? So thought it was where you mix shit up in a big pot. (Given the mix of sweet and savory that was actually at the pot luck itself, I'm kind of glad it's not that.)
On the way to Target I find myself taking photos of everything, and A guilty pleasure I have is I like to sing to myself like I'm in my own music video, which works pretty well in autumn with the swirling leaves and everything. Unfortunately, you have to be careful how loudly you shout the lyrics to whatever you're singing and listening to because people come round corners and this causes my social anxiety to ring the alarm bells.
Target is probably evil but it's so hard not to be addicted to. As a Brit I feel like Target is a strange novelty for me. (Yes, I feel guilty about this.) One of the first things I did upon getting to Chapel Hill was shop with my mum in Target for essentials, which felt very American at the time.
I spend a few aimless minutes wondering where on earth the desserts are in the food section of the store are, then settling on bringing some festive looking cookies and some tide pods because laundry is a thing. I also get some Christmas shopping done. Most of you don't know this, but I am a huge Christmas person, so the dopamine boost I perhaps need a little bit (it's so quiet!) is from seeing the Christmas stuff that's around. And yes, I know it's too early.
I decide that I won't have the late lunch I'd planned to and just fill up at the potluck, which in hindsight was a very good idea. I do notice that Raising Cane's, which just opened, has much less of a queue than usual because most people are at home for Thanksgiving. Its opening has been a big thing so I kind of have to go there to at least see what it's about.
Walking by the Daily Tar Heel office (1893 studio) is weird as well. I remember my first read there I was so nervous for, but I'm actually pretty proud of myself for kind of pulling things back when I was so convinced I was doing a bad job.
Right next to it is Epilogue Books, which is kind of one of my comfort spots in Chapel Hill. In all fairness, their hot chocolate could be better, but the novelty of an independent bookstore-cafe which actively promotes smaller and LGBTQ+ authors who also do hot chocolate has really never gotten old to me. I've discovered a bunch of books I never would have just going into Waterstones (LOML) because of the smaller authors promoted.
Also, the Wifi is decent. So I bought a new book and a hot chocolate because I waste my money in this way and convince myself that it's a holiday so I'm allowed small treats, and then I start working because Wifi wasn't working in Morrison (my residence) this morning. That said, I'm now writing this on my laptop in Morrison, so I think it was just a laptop problem.
Anyway. I shouldn't really be bored this Thanksgiving because I have a lot of work to do, and that's aside from blogging. It's nearly finals season, plus I have a presentation due in a week and a few essays due before final exams, so that's neat. Luckily, for most of my classes I'm in pretty good shape to have a chance of getting As for each of them, which will translate to 1sts in the UK, which somehow seems so much better.
Incidentally, they grade things very differently here. I feel that what they're doing is more looking for unnecessary mistakes you make, as if you start the marking process with 100 and then get points taken off as errors are spotted. This means that an A is usually around 93, though it can be higher or lower depending on the class. In UK universities, the threshold is lower, a 70/100 is a 1st. It definitely feels more like they're looking for stuff you've done well and building from there. I will say when I found out the score you needed for an A for most of my classes I thought it would be way harder than getting a 1st, when it's actually about the same level of difficulty.
One of the things I need to do soon is a comparative essay for my English class, and I feel like I should probably decide what I'm comparing before starting an essay. I eventually land on Moonlight (the 2016 movie) and Fun Home (by Alison Bechdel) not because it's super easy to compare them-it's probably easier to compare two written works or two films-but because they're my favourite works we've studied this term, so they're the easiest for me to talk about.
I only work for half an hour but I feel pretty productive having made a decent plan for myself. It's a pretty small essay and for previous breaks I've done pretty much nothing the first day, so I'm glad I have something of a roadmap to go off with this essay.
I get back to my room at Morrison a bit after 4, when the potluck has supposedly already started but given it goes on for 3 hours I assume getting there on the dot would be too early. It eventually transpires I was fine getting there around 4:35, as I did, but I only did this because I underestimated how for away the Global Education Center was. Regardless.
The potluck was fine. It was comfy and I overindulged myself, only briefly chatting to some people who organised the event. I always overindulge myself at a buffet, something about the unlimited quantities of food make me think I need to consume as much as possible. It's not traditional Thanksgiving food, although someone did bring a pumpkin pie which I appreciated. I remember eating curly fries, chicken tenders, salad, some rice and curry, ice cream, some of those cookies I brought, and probably some other stuff. Truly, a wonderful time of year.
For someone who thrives off of connections with other people I'm also surprisingly terrified of starting conversations. In this case, however, I wasn't really terrified, I was just kind of fine with just chatting with some of the organisers and eating my food. People had some board games out, which is a fun enough idea but I'm also just low on social energy right now. I'm not particularly worried, I just know I'm kind of bored. I talk to myself a lot on an average day so nowadays I have fairly consistent narration, though much of it is just reactions to shows I watch or books I read. Ironically given the reductive saying that it's the first sign of madness, talking to myself genuinely keeps me level-headed at times because have you met me? I'm a talker! Well, actually no, with most people I'm afraid of saying too much, because, you know, social anxiety. That said with those closest to me I talk a lot, and there's no one really closer to me than myself.
Finally I've just booked into the upcoming women's and men's basketball games lottery. I only have a certain number of free sports matches left!!
This was so fun to write! I've never written like this before and it felt surprisingly cool to journal for the benefit of others, not just myself. I guess writing therapy really did help, huh. I hope y'all enjoyed! I'll try and do another one tomorrow.
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