A Pleasant Break Indeed

 My very first (and very welcomed) Thanksgiving break...


So, after a pretty intense 3 months of studying, exploring and living as an American, it was 

time for thanksgiving break - a week spent with family, christmas movies, football

and copious amounts of food.  Since I don't have a family here, my friend and roommate, 

Cami, was very generous and let me borrow her family for break and took me home to 

Pleasantville, where home cooked food and Christmas movies were in abundance - 

couldn't get much pleasant than that eh?! (Sorry, I have to make the most of the awful 

Pleasant puns).  


Leaving on Friday afternoon we started our trip equipped with laundry (yes, student needs 

translate across the pond) and drove through the cornfields accompanied by oh-so fitting 

country tunes for about 2 hours, until we reached Pleasantville, Iowa.  

On the road

On getting to pleasantville (blink and you've missed it) we made a quick stop at grandma's 

to say hi and avoid the school rush (which doesn't last too long - in Cami's whole year 

throughout school there was around 70 of them).  Grandma Darlene offered us a hug, pop 

and freshly baked cookies as soon as we arrived, which were all warmly welcomed - I'd 

been craving a little bit of homeliness! Darlene is just brilliant - she uses words such as 

'dog-gonned' and 'holy smokes' (two of many fabulously country words).  I wanted to make 

a list so that I wouldn't forget them all, but it wasn't too practical.   

After a snappy journey through the rest of Pleasantville (very swift journey - Cami wasn't 

joking when she warned that the town doesn't even have a stop light) we drove up a dirt 

road to Cami's house.  The house was built just for the Deforests (like a lot of families do 

around here) 12 years ago and is on a big plot of land.  Their house is so welcoming and 

immaculate - a real homely place.  That night we sat down to their big wooden table with 

Shelly and Dave (Cami's parents) and Cami's young niece and nephew with a good ol' 

plate of chicken, mash potatoes and gravy.


Most of my week was spent doing family/girly things, which was quite perfect.  One night 

we went to Cami's old high school for 'Lock in', which is a night when the dance team 

stay ALL NIGHT perfecting their routines for the regional competition.  Unlike some 

dance teachers I've had, who are characters that are on the brink of being made into the 

stepmother in a Grimms' Fairy Tale, Miss T was very welcoming to me, the outta towner.

I got to take in the American high school, and got embarrassingly excited when I saw the 

hallways looked like the set of 'Saved by the Bell'.  

I got to see the last bit of a basketball game too!

The dance team

Cafeteria (not canteen)

On Wednesday, we took a stroll around Pleasantville with Cami's friend who was also 

home for break.  It really showed me how much of a small town it was and how everyone

knows everyone - every time a car/truck/tractor drove past, Cami and her friend 

gave a friendly wave.  It felt like a movie!

The town's church

 After a huge family Thanksgiving meal, complete with the staples (turkey, ham, mashed 

potatoes, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie), Cami and I drove back to Iowa city for

the football game on Friday morning!



The Iowa Hawkeyes game was bloomin' freezing - no, seriously, it was -10c and if it was

socially and legally accepted I would have had a hip flask of something stronger than hot

chocolate (like the kind man at the Warrington Wolves match who passes his hip flask 

around - unfortunately he didn't make an appearance).  I only lasted the 1st quarter - yes, 

you can think I'm a wimp all you like, but I couldn't feel my feet and apparently I'll always 

be a Hawkeye, so I was there in spirit.

Hot chocolate and wooly hats were essential!

Yep, I even have black and gold sneakers now.

Thank you to the DeForests for a great Thanksgiving break - when (not if) I go on a Jack 

Kerouac kind of road trip, it's safe to say I'll be making a stop in Pleasantville!


Hannah x

Election 2012

Election 2012 

(Don't let the title mislead you - no in-depth political analysis will be taking place - however much I wish I could articulate that serious stuff).

After spending the majority of Tuesday tweeting the day away whilst turning our apartment 

into a CNN studio space, I was more than ready to experience an American election.  And 

how lucky I was to be here in Iowa, a swing state, to take in the Democrat/Republican

battle.

So, we all woke up this morning with Obama still as the president and, for most of the

students at least, there was a large exhale of anxiety - people (including me) were 

genuinely worried that the Buzz Lightyear businessman was going to attempt to run 

America Inc.   

After being told explicitly in my International Orientation that any talk of politics was 

strictly in the don't-mention-to-Americans category, I quickly got fed up of the 

more acceptable topic of weather and gathered some thoughts (and sometimes ignorance) 

on Iowa's political stance.  I watched the Hollywood movie/gameshow-esque debate 

nights with intent AND pleasure, as, for once, there were NO COMMERCIALS - getting 

intense, eh America?!  It made for a much more interesting election night.  

From the Americans I have spoken to - mostly students and two random, silver haired men 

(sounds worse than it is - totally innocent situation) - there was an overall eagerness for the 

election to be over.  My excitement could simply not be translated, as the Yanks had been 

enduring the election hype for almost two years!  Nonetheless, Iowa holds a special place 

in President Obama's career and so there was still a couple of butterflies left in the 

belly of Iowa.  

For the most part, the students of the University of Iowa were ready and raring to cast their 

votes, and, with early voting taking place, there has been a rare moment in the past two 

weeks where I haven't been mobbed by encouragement to vote (on the streets of Iowa city, 

phone calls from Obama's little helpers and texts and emails from Barack and Michelle

themselves), I even got a free Snickers (Ok, it was snack size, but who cares?!).  

Yet despite all the efforts on both sides, I was overwhelmingly surprised by the number of

students NOT voting and just plainly uninterested in their right to vote.  This week, as I've 

watched from the sidelines, I have heard truly tragic reasons for not going to a polling 

station - polling stations which, I may add, are situated as conveniently as the Main Library 

on campus.  Now, I'm not going to rant - I promise - about why one should vote (especially

as a woman, ahem suffragettes - I know, very near ranting stage) but I have to show both

sides y'know.  The excuses were all too familiar, including: "I was too busy", "I don't know

enough" and - this is THE worst - "It doesn't really affect me as a person".  

If I could have voted, I would have. With a big tick next to Obama. I couldn't justify Romney 

after giving him numerous appalled looks and words via the TV screen.  I'm truly thankful to 

have experienced an American election this side of the pond - to get a taste of the hype 

state-side.  Having an outsider's view has also made me realise how important it is to take 

an interest in your own country AND other countries' politics; it really does matter and I'm 

left intrigued to what the next four years will bring for America. 

One last thing - GObama!!!

P.S. This probably didn't help Romney.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTCRwi71_ns

Update on American Antics...In Pictures

I thought an update was needed to share my shenanigans from the past few weeks. I've 

taken a lot of pictures, captured a lot of goings on and so here is me sharing through the 

wonder of the digital camera (photographer skills not included).  

P.S. This is going from now and moving backwards in terms of sequence of events!

Road trip to Nashville, Tennessee...

Our white steed which drove us 20 hours there and back. A long drive, but worth it!

The sun set, yet we carried on driving.

A good hearty breakfast in downtown Nashville (complete with 'biscuits and gravy') - true country style.

Broadway - the main street in Nashville.  I wish I could capture the sound with this picture; all day everyday there is live country music coming out of each of these bars.  A city with a small-town feel.

Because we did a family outing to see him last year :).

Because I have a secret love for Taylor Swift. Not so secret anymore, but I have reasons...look at her dress and guitar - she's cool.

Included in our visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame was a performance by a song writer. Value for money or what?! Excellent guitar player and his voice wasn't too bad either :). 

Because me and my dad love a bit of Lyle Lovett and his Stetson.

Johnny Cash's guitar, pretty snazzy.

One of my favourite people in Nashville.  Nyla (imagine this said in a Southern drawl) was our extremely enthusiastic tour guide who idolised Dolly Parton.  Look forward to some pretty poor impressions of her on my return home.  

Our little group just sitting in the studio where Elvis and Dolly Parton among an array of artists who have recorded at Studio B.

Not buying cowboy boots was the hardest task in Nashville.  I fell in love with one pair which I will forever mourn over leaving. On the upside I am very happy that I still have $400 dollars in the bank. 

Incongruous to our setting we had falafel and shisha (hooka as the Americans call it).  A nice break from the intense honky tonk :). 

We went, we saw and we conquered. Well not quite, but it was just like the movie and was, well, an experience to say the least!

Great view of Nashville.

From the waterfront looking back to Nashville.  I loved the old-time look of the buildings!

 

The school spirit has arrived - I LOVE FOOTBALL (and kind of understand it!)

Being a football player is THE coolest thing ever. Even I want to be one.

I also love the band (and their hats). 

We went to the windy city - why not?!

One of my favourite attractions in Chicago. Known as The Bean, but actually called 'Cloud Gate'.  Gives a great reflection of Chicago and is in the atmospheric 'Millennium Park'

Inside/underneath the Cloud Gate

There were SO many wedding parties around here.  This was the most erm...extravagant dresses. Big Fat Gypsy Wedding anyone?

The historic baseball stadium at night

The 'L' - our form of transport for the weekend.

And we had to experience the city bars...

Living the true Chicago life, we rented a house!

The bus journey back was a success! This is compared to the bus journey there, which I won't get into BUT over booking is a silly, silly concept that the Americans have not-so-cleverly come up with.

Hannah x