Home again. I write this after two days of recovery –
frenetic grocery shopping and laundry, mounds of laundry. Sleep – nine hours at
a stretch. And a great deal of contemplation.
We OLLI travelers left Britain around 1:00 p.m. BST Friday
and arrived in Tallahassee at around 10:30 p.m. EDT that same day. This is what
Mike and I term a four-movie flight. It seems less stressful because there is
no great pressure to sleep, as there is on the flight from America, which
consumes the night-time hours. So four movies it was, and great ones, too, but
that’s a different blog. (Note: “The Big Short” is pretty scary and depressing,
but also funny.)
All went smoothly, we arrived in our very own house around
11:15 p.m. or so (nearing 24 hours of wakefulness), greeted our human son and
our fur baby, unpacked the bare minimum (toothbrush), and collapsed.
Now, after a bit of a reboot, I’m in contemplative mode.
The two previous OLLI at FSU Study Abroad trips that we
made, to Florence and Barcelona, were dazzling. We were immersed in the
experience of European art, culture, and history. We didn’t speak the language,
yet managed to survive and thrive. “Dazzling” is just about the best word I can
come up with. And we loved it.
This trip was different. It dazzled, yes – who wouldn’t be
enthralled at the Tower of London, the Old Vic, and Stonehenge? But it also
wormed its way into my consciousness in quite a different way. Perhaps it’s
because there was no language barrier (or maybe a tiny one – my accent was
pretty amusing to more than one Brit). But I really think it’s the history.
There is such a sense of connection between Britain and America, such an
awe-inspiring feeling to visit places that are basically the foundation of many
of our American institutions.
We loved the bustle of London, the efficiency of tube
travel, the 24-hour diner right next door to the FSU Study Centre where we
could get breakfast at 9:00 p.m. after a very long excursion day, the ease with
which we became oriented in a city in which many notable venues are very far
apart. Being able to read signs and maps was a bonus. And the people – so very
friendly and helpful and patient with us old folks – so charming!
But Cambridge – ah, Cambridge. The whole city is soaked in
the concept of the life of the mind. Intellectual curiosity is a given – no one
would dream of NOT being interested in just about everything there is to learn
and know. Television exists, but only peripherally. Families were loving the
fine weather, picnics were everywhere, students on bicycles were the biggest
traffic hazard. For me, it felt like a different kind of home.
As I stood in my backyard this morning with my sweet dog, I
felt a breeze, heard an owl, and contemplated the sun slanting through my
neighbor’s trees. North Florida is a different microclimate, of course, and the
flora are decidedly different. But the peace is very similar. I continue to
dream that we are still in that little dorm room just across the way from
Corpus Christi College of the University of Cambridge and that we must get up
and get to class.
This trip was different. We treasure the experience and are
truly grateful to OLLI at FSU staff and the FSU Study Centre in London and the
lifelong learning program at Corpus Christi College for working so hard to
provide the opportunity. Believe me when I say this is absolutely the best way
to spend one’s third thirty!
