Swimming with dolphins! Kansas City, and the return to London

I know it's been ages since I've written, but I have a valid excuse - I haven't had internet access in my flat since I returned from Christmas break b/c one of my lovely flatmates decided to change our service to this awful company where nothing is easy and it takes a customer service call that you have to pay for to get connected to the wireless router. Brilliant. Anyway, I know I haven't been keeping my New Year's resolution to write every week but let's just start calling it my February resolution. I have so much to write since it's been so long, so this will have to come in installments. First - before I returned to London:

My mom's Christmas present to my Dad was to have the whole family go swimming with dolphins at the Indianapolis zoo! Well, we didn't actually get to swim, but we did loads of other cool things. We wore wetsuits, but we were inside in the dolphins' 80F tanks anyway so it wasn't a big deal. Wetsuit was good to hide my pasty skin though. Anyway, first we got into the tank about waist deep and two of the eight dolphins at this zoo came up to us and the trainers showed us things on the dolphins like their ears (tiny, tiny pinpricks on the sides of their head!), this weird film over their eyes that keeps the salt water from drying them out, their belly buttons, how you tell a male from a female, etc. At this point we also got to touch them - we held their flippers (like we were dancing with them), rubbed their belly, gave them a hug, and took a photo with the dolphin kissing us on the cheek (this was only hard copy from the zoo employee, so unfortunately I can't post it). We also did this thing where we put our hand on the dolphin's rostrum (this is the technical term for their 'beak'), and the dolphin kicked it's tail so we could feel how powerful they were. One of these two was pregnant, due in 1-2 months, so she had a very big belly! It was so cute but I wished that we had come when the baby had already been born. The other one of these two did a very cool trick (they call them "behaviors") where he leaped straight into the air, twisted, then dove back in.

Next we went to another tank where we played with two of the male dolphins and they did all kinds of tricks, and we got to give them one of the signals to do a trick. They did flips, "walked" on their tail in the water, back dives, and did a breach - where they jump out of the water and land on their side to make a huge splash. My trick was the breach. Then we gave them a fish after they performed each trick. The last thing that they did was a trick where we stretch our arm over the water and the dolphin comes up and touches your hand with his flipper, kind of like a handshake. The whole experience was so amazing!! The dolphins were so friendly and adorable, and they seemed like dogs in the way that they really seemed to enjoy being around humans and doing things to please us. I love how they always seem to be smiling at you too. It made me want to quit my job and become a dolphin trainer. :) We couldn't take photos since we were in the water, but there was one guy who was there with his gf but was just observing, so he took loads of photos and told us that he would email them. Maybe eventually I'll get to post some.

The Indianapolis zoo was really amazing other than the dolphins as well, we went a few hours early to just walk around and see the other animals. They had a tank where you could pet sharks (small ones of course), the penguin exhibit was set up so that you walked through the middle and could see them swimming underneath a glass floor, and we got to see the sea lions being fed. They did a few tricks as well and were barking (they were so loud!). They had three walrus there and they were incredible! The largest was 2,600 pounds - massive! They were all such hams - especially the youngest, coming up to the viewing window and interacting with us, and he would come above the water and make noises like he was talking to us. I had no idea they were such social creatures! We also saw the polar bear swimming, which I had never seen one swim before - it was like he was doing his morning laps - so cute! The desert exhibit was also very well put together (and nice to be warm after how cold it was outside) - loads of cool lizards and snakes.

Ok, so you can tell that I'm kind of into animals, but it was so fun! My grandma came with us in my brother Matt's place (the one who lives in Phoenix and couldn't make it home), and she loved it too, it was so fun to have her there.

I made it from Ohio to Kansas City with only a minor delay and a short sprint to the connecting flight in Milwaukee (I was the last one on the plane, but this was very mild compared to my journey to Ohio), and arrived just past midnight on the 31st. I stayed with my friend Myers who was so nice to come and pick me up, and on the way home I asked him what we were doing that night. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Now? It's already past midnight!" I told him that it was still early - in London on a proper night out I would stay out until at least 4 am. He responded with a shake of his head and told me that he couldn't roll with me. So we went back to his place and went to sleep, where I got an entire bedroom and bathroom to myself since his roommate was out of town (sweet!). The next morning we awoke and watched football (the real, American kind) in the morning since the bowl games had started, and I can't tell you how content my soul was to sit on a couch and watch football. Living in London and being a fan of American sports, there is an ever-present level of disappointment and emptiness in not being able to watch the sports that you love, or even have a conversation about them with a knowledgeable counterpart. Ah well, I know I should get into the sports here and I have been watching some football (ahem, soccer) games on TV as well, but I don't think there will ever be the level of passion that I have for American sports. I mean, these things take a lifetime of cultivation, you know? Most of you know how much I love the Buckeyes, and I like to think that my mom was breeding me to be an Ohio State fan from the womb (which she was, of course). Kansas came later in life, but I love my Jayhawks no less passionately...but I digress. I spent NYE day at Carmax getting an estimate on my car and being sorely disappointed with just how steep the market has plunged (again, if anyone is looking for a 4runner, it's going for cheap now). The good news was that I did have a car to drive around while I was there and it was so great - I really love that car and I missed it! This is embarrassing to admit but I gave it a little hug when I climbed behind the wheel.

For NYE night I went with Myers, our friend Young and his wife Ashley (one of the best couples ever), and their two friends to dinner at this lovely restaurant near KUMed called Thomas. It was delicious and from there we went to a house party, since bars are always over crowded, over expensive, and overly lame in general on NYE. Knowing the group of people who were said to be in attendance at this party I had initially thought it was going to be pretty fun, but when we got there I quickly realized that it was entirely made up of married or engaged couples except Myers and I. There were even several prego girls there to liven things up. Myers and I decided just before midnight to wander upstairs (from the basement, where the party was happening) to escape the awkwardness of all the making out, so I spent the first seconds of 2009 sitting alone in a Kansas City living room eating miniature Reese's from a little glass dish. Reese's is my fav though so I really can't complain there. The rest of the KC trip was a blast though - had lunch with three GT girls, then met them and Greg out that night for drinks on the plaza, got to see H2 for a bit one evening, had dinner with Rach, Ang, and Jax, and also spent some time with Kelly. I know I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to, but you'll have that with a short trip.

The trip back to London was uneventful and (gasp!) on time!! I didn't manage to sleep a wink though, so I was jet lagged for a good three days. The guy that I'm seeing (he hates that I call him The Boy but I think it sounds weird to call him The Man - not b/c he's not a man but b/c it sounds like I'm congratulating him every time I type it, like 'oh, he's The Man!' Anyway, I think I'll call him MJ for now), met me at my place just after I arrived, which was nice b/c Dasha was still in the States on a Christmas trip and Andrea was at his sister's. It was really good to be back in London but I felt so empty leaving home again, I really miss everyone! Especially my family. And I was so looking forward to using Skype to talk to them with my new computer, but of course when I got home there was no internet, as aforementioned. Grrr...

Right, well it's nearly 1am here and I must sleep to not be a total zombie at work tomorrow. I'll write more about my January tomorrow, but I'll leave you with some more interesting words and phrases that have been part of my continual learning process of British culture.

gubbins = the word you use when you don't know what it's called, like "thingamabob", but it must be technical in nature, as in a TV gubbins or computer gubbins. Still waiting to use this one as I'm not entirely sure of the context yet.

chavvy = white trash (the adjective). A chav is white trash the noun.

OTT = over the top. E.g. "Wow, that's so OTT." Maybe we use this abbreviation in the States as well, but not where I've lived.

Sixth Form = high school. Kind of, it's the last two years of school before uni (university), when you're 17-18. Most people here, in classic English pronunciation fashion, mash these two words together and pronounce it "sicthform" (think of the "th" as very lispy and barely discernible).

University = college. Close enough, but I'm pretty sure they use the word college to talk about either sixth form or the training you get once you decide on a profession after uni (like an apprenticeship), so I try to stick to the word university when I speak of my experiences in college.

They pronounce the letter Z as "zed". No idea why.

Tea, other than the oh-so-popular beverage, can also be used as a synonym for dinner. As in, "I had pasta for tea."

Jumper = sweater

Till = cash register

There are many levels of giving thanks - "ta" is used when you're only marginally appreciative, like when someone moves out of your way or does something that they're expected to do, and is generally used with someone that you don't know (like a cashier or bus driver). "Cheers" is used as a very common replacement for thanks. Every English person I've met probably says cheers 50+ times a day, but not to say goodbye as most Americans misinterpret. They do say it when they are leaving or getting off the phone, but it's always to mean thank you and not goodbye. Then of course there is "thanks" and "thank you", which seem to be a bit more formal.

Right, must sleep. Love you all!

xoxo,
Heather