Busy, busy

God this is just turning into a journal, isn't it.

Three classes and two tutorials today, all really good. Mostly Marx in IR, randomness (non-determinism) of subatomic particles in philosophy, lusting after your parents like a good Freudian in psychology. So that's that.

Afterward I went with my academic dad to "Question Time Europe", a debate with five guys from various parties in either the Brittish or European Parliment talking about Brittish-interest topics in Europe ranging from the Euro to Turkey to the new European "constitutional" document (can't remember the name), to the effects of Scottish independence. Brittish politicians are more vicious, funnier, just as old and about as slimy with a pinch of added pomp. But very educational, I feel the full weight of my america-centric worldview's ignorance when I have to do a mental check of a map to remember where a country is, or learn a new fact (Turkey is occupying Cyprus? What? Since when? Where, exactly, is Cyprus again?). I hope to continue to go to things like this and have some clue in hell as to what is going on in the world.

After that I went and had tea and biscuts (read--candy bars) with my academic dad and we talked about the debate, the world's current political/military standing, and a lot of military history. He's a fourth year modern history major with an emphasis on World War military, and my god he can talk about them forever. So, at this point, I'm feeling very in- and out-of-class educated.

One thing that was true in the US and is giving me an edge here are my efforts through this last year to learn about Islam and the bits I've picked up about Asia, as well as Latin America tidbits. Although Europe seems to be very general knowledge for everyone here, beyond it is almost as much of a mystery as anything outside the US is for people in the US. Someone in my IR tutorial suggested "a secular government" as a solution for conflict in Iraq, and I just buried my head in my hands.

Now that I'm elsewhere I'm listening to a series of Berkeley lectures on iTunes U about American History since the Civil War, which so far I'm finding really interesting. I realize that with all the conceptual stuff in IR and Philosophy I'm missing some of the clear (or muddled) narrative history can provide, though I think I can get that out of the lecture theatre easily here. I'd also like to visit some of the churches here, since there are about 5, and there all about 200 years old at least, and I walk across one's front yard to get to meals every day anyways. I figure if I've been to a mosque once, I should go to a church for a regular service once. Fair treatment.

I've got my first rehearsal tommorow night and I honestly don't know what I'm gonna have the actors do. Ah, well.