Jetlag and Homesickness

I miss the Chi-ire. My flight in was uneventful. I drank lots and lots of Champagne and I did the NYT crossword and the one in USA Today. Then I watched two movies and slept. England is damp and ugly...seriously not aesthetically pleasing at all. I am realising how very American I have become...very profound moment to realise that the very American exceptionalism you criticise when in America is what you practise when out.

It's good to see my friend. She has two boys now one is 3 and the other 4mos. Very cute boys but ALOT of work. I don't how (or why) she does it. She and her hubby have been so gracious. Not much to say except "I am getting very sleepy, very sleepy....." Jetlag is a Bastard!

Visa Approved

True Story:

One friday after waiting a week almost to hear from the British Embassy about the status of my visa application I decided to take matters into my own hands. and by this I mean I called on a former higher-up at the embassy to intervene on my behalf. So she sent an email at 9:52am and by 1:12pm my visa application had been approved and I received an email informing me that it would be ready for pick up Monday...HA!

The best moment of the day was telling this story to a co-worker and then breaking into "I've got friends in High places" almost simultaneously...I love that girl!!

Reality Check 1-2-3

So today is November 1st (side note: ex-husband and best friend's bdays, both VERY old now hehehehe) and I am officially in the month of my departure....Happy Happy Joy Joy Happy Happy JOY! And a few amusing and profound things have happened.

1. "The Entry Clearance Officer has assessed that your application is not straightforward and has deferred your case in order to make further enquiries." This is a sentence from the email I received from the British Consulate about my Visa application to spend some few days in the motherland...ooops, given the patriarchal nature of colonialism I guess Great Britain...and who fucking calls themselves Great anyway...is the Fatherland...anyway apparently my plan to visit friends on my way to and from Afrika is not straight forward y'all....Watch this space, I'll keep you posted on that.....But you have a Green Card you say? Uh Huh, that's what I thought but apparently green bomber (Zim passport for those not in the know) trumps green card.....
   
2. This morning I got up and showered....on a Saturday!! Well it's only cuz the owners of the diggs I am playing gypsy in till I leave came back, and well let's just say funky naked time is over. So because it be Saturdee I took a long luxurious shower. Turned the water on to get the temperature just right, so give or take 5mins of water just running with no one under it. Then I used one of my many million face wash creams in an attempt to rid myself of the could-be-adult-acne region round my forehead....man I can't have adult acne, damn it I have awesome skin...why now??? Anyway when I finally got out of the shower 25 mins later, smelling like sunflowers (body wash) and mint julep/apricot (face wash/scrub) it dawned on me that I am going to suffer in Zimbabwe....who the fuck takes 25 minute showers that begin with 5min water warms up...what? do I think the water is going to cramp during my shower, that it needs to stretch? Anyway I think it's time "to act white and get serious" and "have a come to Jesus meeting" with myself because this luxurious I am Paris Hilton's BFF shizz is not gonna fly kwaNemauzhe kwaChivi where I propose to spend my first two weeks in Zimbabwe with my Mbuya vamaGhedhe and my Sekuru vaToni....giving them the time I should've given them when we had the time...regrets
3. I still haven't finished my research proposal.....all I know is that I want to talk to some womenz bout how they be negotiating their national-identity versus what the nation-state has symbolically created for them....WORD!