h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As I was thinking over my evening, I thought of this place. Because I was at my friends' apartment, and one of my friends is from England, and we got to talking about our favorite BBC program(me)s. We enthused about Simon Amstell and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, but I'm a much bigger fan of QI than he is. We lamented that you can't get much of the iPlayer content in the US. We discussed how Stephen Fry is taking over Humphrey Lyttleton's (sp?) role in the new series of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. My friend seemed genuinely delighted that there was someone in this country with whom he could talk about things like that.

But, you know, there's no better way to learn a language than cultural immersion. I was an Anglophile when I came to h2g2, but in the same way that a lot of Americans are--I'd had an exposure to Monty Python and that was about it (well, granted, I was 14 at the time; I had been on one two-week family vacation to the UK, and it's not as if I'd had much other opportunity to absorb British culture). When you live among people, you learn to speak their language, you learn their cultural benchmarks, and you learn to talk about what they're talking about. Folks on h2g2 talked about British politics, so I started reading the Guardian, and even calling it the Grauniad. They talked about certain celebrities and broadcasters, so I listened to Radio 4 and caught what BBC and ITV program(me)s I could on YouTube. Essentially, spending a lot of time on h2g2 is not too different from the conversational experience of studying abroad in the UK (well, I haven't done that, but I'm guessing). You have a lot of conversations with people who have a very different set of cultural standards to yours, but you figure things out, and you start being able to use them too. Then you bring them back to your home country, and people think you're really weird--I'm still traumatized by the time in my grade 9 history class when everyone made fun of me for talking about the Cuban Miss-aisle Crisis (the Americans say Miss-ull).

Now I live in the real world, more or less, so I largely function in American idioms, since I live here--though I've played translator many times when Americans don't know what a British or Irish or Australian or South African or South Asian or European/Middle-Eastern, British-schooled or even Canadian person is talking about. But this first year of university, in many ways, has been as much about revisiting old aspects of my life and my interests as much as it has been about discovering new things. I think my friends here--like the friend I was talking about Buzzcocks and QI with--are a lot closer to how I've always been, basically just a nerdy Anglophile. I suppressed that part of me in high school, because people just didn't get it, but it's okay to do that now because I can have conversations about British television shows with my RL friends. I've not just been listening to Radio 4 again, I've been coming back to the nerdy folk music I was into in 9th grade or so, and the books I used to read over and over again, and all sorts of other things. I remember how delighted it was when someone on this site--I think it was Edward?--told me I must be the youngest Radio 4 listener, and how delighted I was. I don't think that's true anymore, if it ever was; I'm certainly a bit older now. But it makes me happy to think I've come full circle.

I'm going to apply for a study-abroad program(me) at Oxford for the spring of my third year. It's a very competitive program(me)--only a maximum of five students from the history department get placed each year--and even if I get in, I'm not entirely sure I want to go. There are good reasons to stay in the States to do with other aspects of my degree course and things I want to do while I'm at university. But if I do get into the program(me), and I do come across the pond, well, at least I'll have a little less culture shock. And I promise I'll make it to an h2g2 Meet.

Apologies for this ramble--it's late, and I've had a little --you can do that at university, you know, even when the drinking age is slightly higher than mine. But I like this, as a forum for reflection; I'm so non-anonymous now on the Internet that it's refreshing to be able to say things to a virtual space full of pseudonyms whom I've always known as pseudonyms, and who I still feel as if I know as well as anyone on my Facebook friends list. I still don't know whether I'm going to dive back into hootoo life--I haven't the time to even think about writing entries!--but I think this is as good a way as any to start dipping my toe back in.

Hey Emily,

My anglophilia extends just so far as appreciating h2g2 and always mentally supporting the Jay Treaty when I read about revolutionary America , but I think I know what you're talking about. Somewhere in The Salmon of Doubt, Douglas Adams himself once said that every country is like a person. I'm paraphrasing, but he thought Canada was like a middle-aged woman. America, I think he said, was a teenager of some kind. It's funny, maybe you, a teenager yourself, have out-matured America.

By the way, I found a neat trick to get around the iPlayer territorial restrictions when I needed to listen to something once. Perhaps a BBC website isn't the best place to discuss that but I'd be happy to instruct you if you want to cheat the system a bit.

Sounds like you're well.

I am very well, actually, and thanks for the reply.

Email me about the iPlayer thing? I'm echomromeo at gmail.

I should say, the funny thing is I've also grown more interested in America in this intervening time. My degree is going to be in history and American studies, and I want to do modern American cultural history. I'm fascinated by the way this country works, by why things here are the way they are. I want to understand subcultures, movements, shifting dynamics in popular culture and in social norms. And maybe appreciating the differences between my native culture and what I almost think of as my adopted culture is part of that.

I agree, emr, having another vantage point to study your culture from is very useful. I'm fairly sure I can't see some of mine because it's so ingrained.

Oxford is a tough, but fantastic place to study, from all accounts. Quite a lot is the last vestiges of a lost culture though; few other Universities have a collegiate system, and even fewer of them have the rituals that Oxford students go through. I think I would have loved it had I had the brains and the strength of will to get through it.

I'm glad you hear that you're enjoying yourself though.

I applied to Oxford. Did an entrance exam and an interview, but didn't get in. I really like the city though.

I've been posting on a few US messageboards and blogs, and the experience can be very interesting, especially when the discussion gets onto politics.

h2g2 has ever been my home on the net.

TRiG.

Damn!

emr...I was going to e-mail you to tell you that an R4 programme about Pete Seeger (to celebrate his 90th birthday) would be on iPlayer. But I forgot.

I saw it! ... and then I forgot to listen to it, cause it was all in the middle of my writing my final papers. I did watch some great video on YouTube of the 90th birthday concert, though. Highly recommended.

Oh good. I didn't catch it myself (so much Radio 4! So few hours in the day!) - but when I heard it was on I immediately thought of you.

I love the story of him taking an axe to Dylan's power cable at the Newport Folk Festival.


btw...here's the *best* R4 programme - available as a podcast:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/

There's some amazing stuff on it! And all archived.

Yep, I really like In Our Time--though I haven't been listening to it as much recently. Maybe I should start again.

I think I'm going to write an Entry now. Or think about writing one, anyway.

Nothing to add to the conversation, just wanted to say nice to see you back again

I can't believe Melvyn Bragg is almost 70! But I can hardly remember a time when he wasn't doing something as a broadcaster or writer so I suppose he must be. Or thereabouts.

Oh look - I added something to the conversation!

That's not sarcastic. I swear. I, for one, welcome your contribution.

EMR, if you wanted to write an entry on Radio 4 by any chance, there's one I put in the Flea Market that needs a bit of work - shouldn't take too much.

Book recommendation. folks:

'The Maid of Buttermere' by Melvyn Bragg. An excellent book!

I bought my copy in Leningrad (as was) during the first few weeks of Gorbachev. It was displayed prominently.

I've not been so keen on his other books - but that one's rather marvellous. Even more so, once you get to know the places he talks about in the Lake District.

TV show and book recomendation
The Books By James Herriot and the Corresponding TV show "All creatures great and small"

The Anglophilia entry is on the FP today.

I wondered are there Anglophobs?

In America? Absolutely. There are plenty of Americans who are terrified of any country that isn't America.

And America isn't even a country!