*International Misfits*

Two days until we have to be in Stratford-Upon-Avon (and there is a Stratford in London so the whole “upon-Avon” part is important), but the hostel we have been staying at has been booked up for the weekend, so everybody is kinda scattering.

I’m with the largest group that is just going straight to another London hostel. I think the thought for this group is that London is expensive and not that exotic so we’re going to seize this time to get some studying done. Others are going to hostels in Oxford, and some are going to hostels in Greenwich that I know of.

It’s interesting to see the group dynamic change as people figure out this whole “being abroad” thing and gain a little more independence. I thought I would be on my own almost completely; and for the most part, I do tend to work the same way that I would if I were traveling on my own, but there is safety in numbers – and there are times when it just makes sense to stay in a group.

The group is an impressive example of young people. No violent drunks, no ignorant rednecks, minimal whining, and not too much “drama queening.” It didn’t really don on me that I was inflicting 3 months of constant ‘college person interaction’ on myself until we were all on the plane in the Twin Cities. Everyone was so loud and excited that I was almost frightened by spending this much time with these people. Those fears were certainly misplaced.

With only a few exceptions, everybody has been on time for everything, and for a bunch of (mostly) small-town kids (myself included), we have all adapted to the busy hustle-bustle of inner London. I’ve even heard thoughtful comments about what it means to be an American in a foreign land. To come from somewhere so big, where people speak mostly the same language, and that you don’t need any paper work to travel from one state to another, causes Americans to be a kind of like “international misfits.” There are just some skill sets that Europeans have that the average American doesn’t quite learn from his or her natural environment and we all find ourselves paranoid about doing something stupid – which is a good thing.

We can all agree, regardless of our various points of view about other cultures, that we don’t want to be “the ugly Americans” or “stupid tourists.” Everyone in the group seems to realize that we should respect the differences in cultures that we are experiencing (and will experience more so in the following weeks). Most importantly, everyone in the group has worked very hard to not mess up or disrespect any other country and, whether they know it or not, are trying to overcome this idea of being international misfits, an idea that doesn’t apply to people of other countries who are raised with other cultures, languages, money, and phrases so close to them that they grow up with the ability to deal with them.