Green Commute

Yeah, I guess you could say my daily commute to work by public transportation is 'good' for the environment, but that's not what I mean by green. One of my favorite things to do on the train ride home from Manchester, about 10 minutes or so from reaching my station stop, is to put down whatever I'm reading, whether it's a book, this week's issue of Time or M.E.N., one of Manchester's daily rags. With conscious intention, I then look up at the window and let all the luscious landscape greenery fill up my eyes and touch my heart. From sheep grazing fields, to horse farms, to cricket pitches, the landscape of the area is rich and beautiful and provides the perfect ending to an otherwise ordinary workday.

Got Talent?

Last night on TV's Britain's Got Talent, there was a terrific performance by a urban teen dance troupe from Birmingham which really wowed the audience. But they absolutely went crazy when Simon Cowell paid the dancers the ultimate compliment. He said their choreography was "as good as anything coming out of America", and that America was the benchmark for hip-hop dance. No ignominy for us, for the moment.

I've touched upon this topic in an earlier post, and have seen it over and over again since moving here... the U.S. is, and can continue to be, the world's hub for creativity and experimentation. No need for world-wide military dominance; America's creative and intellectual output can be a well received positive influence, reaching everywhere.

Americans Abroad

While this isn't a political blog and I have no intention of musing daily about political issues, I did feel good about attending a Democrats Abroad gathering in Manchester the other week. Dems Abroad is the "official Democratic Party organization for some six million American citizens who live outside the United States". This gathering, which they call a "Speakeasy", is really just a chance for the handful of Americans living in the Manchester area to come together and talk politics or just wax nostalgic about home. I dragged Andrew and his son, who's currently studying poly-sci in college, along with me so this added a cool dual-national dimension. It makes for more interesting conversation plus I just love to mix it up! As for the election, I'm excited for the changes coming and look forward to voting in November by absentee ballot from the UK!