A Canadian Friend
Ohhh!!! I made a Canadian friend here in Belfast. Well, let's say I met her and will see her again.
I had decided over the weekend to start taking some courses Queens University. Their Open University has classes in the evenings and I thought it would be a great way to get my brain going again. I relish the idea of just learning something, anything, and I've chosen an literature course as my first.
And, sure enough, there was another girl, probably a couple years younger then me, who, was from Canada! I immediately started asking her a ba-zillion questions, walked part way home with her and almost got her mobile but decided perhaps I'd wait to know her longer than 2 hours before I started stalking her.
We parted ways, saying 'goodbye' and that we'd see each other next week.
I was quite excited to have met someone but walking home, the two sides of my brain starting chatting - kinda like the Seinfeld episode, where his two brains are playing chess? except, my brain was not split into intellect and sex drive, more just adventurer to lazy side.
A side started:
There were 8 other people in the class, mostly from Belfast. One was a highschool teacher, another a retired lady, a couple of foreign student-looking people who were looking to brush up on their english - and perhaps do the same thing I was; meet people.
I could have engaged these people in conversation, found out about their lives, what they thought of Belfast, what kinds of things they would suggest for foreigners, ask them questions about what it's really like living here.
I could have made friends with people FROM here. But why did I suddenly latch on to a Canadian, a person similar to ones I have grown up with? What is the point of living in another country if you're just going to 'stick to your own kind'?
Then L side argued:
It was not just that she was Canadian but also that she was a traveller, new to a city where she didn't know many people. Just like me. She had actually been here longer then me but at the same time, I knew she probably had been through the 'meeting new people' thing before. She somehow could understand that desire to meet people to hang out with.
Not only that, we also had the Canadian connection.
We all know it's a big country. And she's from out East however, there we still had the our red and white in common.
I suppose this whole entry is stating the obvious but being people like to be comfortable, they like to be surrounded by things they know.
Maybe it's because the amount of energy it takes to put yourself in a new situation. It's a nice release to just be with someone who you don't have to try too hard with.
This did not seem to convince Side A:
But then, why did I move away from everything comfortable if I just wanted to be able to have easy conversations with people?
L side of the brain back at you:
To experience new things, to meet new people and yes YES sometimes, to meet someone who has come from the same place so you can have conversations about the new place, get all the things that frustrate you, exhilarite, infuriate you off your chest and go on with the rest of your day 'getting into' the culture, which is what you came here for in the first place.
A side was too tired and confused to continue. Yay for cryptic stream of consciousness.
I'll see Canadiana girl next Tuesday and take it from there. Maybe next week my A side will be in charge.
Ohhh!!! I made a Canadian friend here in Belfast. Well, let's say I met her and will see her again.
I had decided over the weekend to start taking some courses Queens University. Their Open University has classes in the evenings and I thought it would be a great way to get my brain going again. I relish the idea of just learning something, anything, and I've chosen an literature course as my first.
And, sure enough, there was another girl, probably a couple years younger then me, who, was from Canada! I immediately started asking her a ba-zillion questions, walked part way home with her and almost got her mobile but decided perhaps I'd wait to know her longer than 2 hours before I started stalking her.
We parted ways, saying 'goodbye' and that we'd see each other next week.
I was quite excited to have met someone but walking home, the two sides of my brain starting chatting - kinda like the Seinfeld episode, where his two brains are playing chess? except, my brain was not split into intellect and sex drive, more just adventurer to lazy side.
A side started:
There were 8 other people in the class, mostly from Belfast. One was a highschool teacher, another a retired lady, a couple of foreign student-looking people who were looking to brush up on their english - and perhaps do the same thing I was; meet people.
I could have engaged these people in conversation, found out about their lives, what they thought of Belfast, what kinds of things they would suggest for foreigners, ask them questions about what it's really like living here.
I could have made friends with people FROM here. But why did I suddenly latch on to a Canadian, a person similar to ones I have grown up with? What is the point of living in another country if you're just going to 'stick to your own kind'?
Then L side argued:
It was not just that she was Canadian but also that she was a traveller, new to a city where she didn't know many people. Just like me. She had actually been here longer then me but at the same time, I knew she probably had been through the 'meeting new people' thing before. She somehow could understand that desire to meet people to hang out with.
Not only that, we also had the Canadian connection.
We all know it's a big country. And she's from out East however, there we still had the our red and white in common.
I suppose this whole entry is stating the obvious but being people like to be comfortable, they like to be surrounded by things they know.
Maybe it's because the amount of energy it takes to put yourself in a new situation. It's a nice release to just be with someone who you don't have to try too hard with.
This did not seem to convince Side A:
But then, why did I move away from everything comfortable if I just wanted to be able to have easy conversations with people?
L side of the brain back at you:
To experience new things, to meet new people and yes YES sometimes, to meet someone who has come from the same place so you can have conversations about the new place, get all the things that frustrate you, exhilarite, infuriate you off your chest and go on with the rest of your day 'getting into' the culture, which is what you came here for in the first place.
A side was too tired and confused to continue. Yay for cryptic stream of consciousness.
I'll see Canadiana girl next Tuesday and take it from there. Maybe next week my A side will be in charge.
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