Tuesday, 2-13-96
12:43 PM London
6:43 AM E-Town
This morning I got 4 letters! I got a long form letter from Dynamite & a valentine from her as well! Her letters continue to be entertaining… I got a sweet valentine from Meg & then a hilarious one from Ron from Southampton & camp this summer! It said, “Please Be My Valentine!…..” (w/ a pic of a weird animal & a kitten on the front) when I opened it said, “or the kitten gets it!” I was laughing so hard when I read it! His message read: “Kathy, I miss your wonderful bubbly personality. Give me a call on XXXXX XXXXXX and we’ll arrange a weekend together!!! ‘Happy Valentine’s Day!’ All my love, A Secret Pal.” How cute is that?! ☺︎ I am excited to talk w/ him soon! How nice to actually get a valentine from a boy…
Lori & I went shopping this morning! I bought a great dress for the Ball for only £30! (It was on sale at “Monson” from over £100…) It is a sorta cocktalish short, sleeveless, satin dress. I am gonna get some long gloves & maybe a scarf?! I’ll be looking very smart! (As Louise from Canoe Club would say) ☺︎ Then, after trying on a million dresses & finally buying the one I did (which I cannot return, so I am rationalizing it the best I can w/ help from Lori… ☺︎), we broke down & went to BK for lunch! It was a stellar morning for the ladies of room 2! … Lots of mail (including more crazy postcards of Kansas from Lori’s friends), shopping, & topped off w/ yummy, greasy, fast-food! I can’t believe I made it over a month w/ out any fast food here… Oh, how tasty my #3 (Whopper Jr. Extra Value Meal) was!
CHEERS! ☺︎
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note from Present Day Kathy: Not sure if I’ve mentioned this in previous entries, but the mail was delivered twice a day when I lived in London. As I have shared, I got homesick at times that semester, so being able to have two chances daily to receive letters was awesome!
Dynamite (my paternal grandma) during this time period was writing regular letters to her children and grandchildren. I don’t recall if they were weekly, monthly, or somewhere in between. However, similar to the annual holiday letters that some people send with, or in lieu of, more traditional cards, she would type one letter and then make copies for/to send to all of us. It was a nice way to keep up with what was going on in her life, as she lived in Columbus, Ohio and we only got to see her a few times a year when we drove out there for a weekend to visit.
These two pictures are actually from a road trip that I took during the fall semester of my junior year in college (1995), to Ohio State with the Atitus/Sachem Leadership Honorary that I was part of at University of Illinois of I for the Illibuck Exchange at the OSU vs. U of I football game. There ended up being an extra ticket available and my Grandma “Mite” Dynamite was able to join us! This was a few months before I left for London. The first pic is Grandma Mite and I with the famed “Illibuck,” one of many that exist, as they fill up after so many years of having the games and scores engraved on them. The second is Dynamite and me sitting in Ohio Stadium at the game! How many 75 year olds do you know that go to college football games with their granddaughters?!
Spoiler Alert: (Not his real name) Ron is the old friend whose death led me revisit my London Semester Journals this summer, as well as moved me to write more again, and eventually start sharing these entries on my blog. I chose to give him the name Ron for a few reasons, one being that I am in the midst of reading the Harry Potter series with Abby and the character Ron Weasley has traits in common with my old friend, including his red hair, kind heart, and an awesome family who makes others feel welcome.
I thought it would be fun and appropriate to name the rest of (not his real name) Ron’s family after Weasleys when I introduce them in later entries, as I felt they became my home away from home in England, during my semester abroad, after I spent Easter weekend staying with them in Southampton.
I still have the dress I bought that day and wore to the Ball. It is/was an awesome find/purchase and I sure have gotten mileage out of it over the past 20+ years!
I also find it amusing and admirable that I tried not to eat much fast food that semester and actually went a whole month there without having any!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reminder: Unless I’ve been given permission to use people’s actual names, in most cases I’ve removed or replaced the names of the real people who were part of my journey/experience there, in effort to protect and respect their identities/privacy in my London Semester Journal entries. I will also not share details that I think and feel are too personal for anyone I interacted with, my loved ones, and me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here’s the back story of My London Semester Journals from 1996, including what prompted me to revisit and decide to share them here in 2018. And here’s a list a list of the entries, which I will update as I share them.
{ 0 comments… add one now }