"Invigilator" and other thoughts
I started another blog, Artist Access to Art Journal, to document the progress I'm making with my mini-residency and I've been posting a lot to that blog lately, but its time to return to this one. Every once in a while, I google to see if either of my blogs comes up at all. So far, I haven't found either of them. However, yesterday, I found another blog called Gone Away about emigrating in the other direction from the UK to the US. The URL is www.britblog.com/directory/interest/emigration.html . Or at least that address will get you there. That blog also includes fiction. I haven't read the whole blog, but I think it would be interesting to anyone who reads mine.
I picked up a brochure yesterday about a poetry contest and was thinking about writing one about emigration to counter the attitude toward immigrants that I see so much. I think folks just don't realize what it requires to successfully manage to do it. I just wrote a new CV and I put the three international moves of an entire household I have done as significant management and organization experience.
The poem would start out:
Immigrant.
Try the word on.
But first.....
followed by a few lines on how suddenly you wear different sizes in everything! And some of them have different names. I still haven't figured out at which point a knit top becomes a "jumper". What do Brit's call a sleeveless dress designed to be worn over a blouse? You might need a whole different wardrobe. My working wardrobe has always been jeans and long-sleeved T-shirts. As a low-paid office worker here, I need to wear "smart casual" wear. Never mind that I'm not really sure what that means. I've figured out that most people here could put together a basic office wardrobe from the elements of their school uniforms. As I've said before, it's a very boring wardrobe we're talking about. Suits. Ugh! Conservative lines and dark colors. This is especially grating for me because I adore this year's gypsy styles, color and glitz and fluttering lines everywhere! I have almost no money for clothes, so it's a real frustration for it to be necessary for me to spend that little bit, which so far has added up to about £30, on boring stuff. What has that bought me so far? Two slightly less boring than "normal" skirts and a pair of black non-jeans. A robe to wear now that the mornings have become cool, and so that I can quickly change into it before dinner so as to preserve my tiny working wardrobe. And a trenchcoat-style raincoat. Thank god for charity shops. My only comfort is that next year perhaps the gypsy clothes will be in the charity shops. I won't care if they are out by then. By then I'll really be a practising self-supporting artist (and slightly excentric tutor perhaps) and be able to wear what I want. And the heels! Why do all the office women wear heels! Boring heels. I WILL NOT wear both boring and uncomfortable shoes! It's my Birky's for me, and socks over my hated tights to preserve them, because I've always resented having to buy stockings in any form.
If I can get all worked up about that, imagine what the following sections of the poem will be like. What I want to say is that the slightest things in life cannot be assumed. Your assumptions are so often turning out to be wrong in this new culture, even this one that speaks my language, that you end up allowing extra research time for almost everything. Anything new you set your mind to do starts with: But first....
And now for "invigilator". I LOVE that word! I saw it in the internal vacancies list of the school where I am presently doing data entry. (A moment to Grrrrrr about still doing data entry when I could easily teach the chemistry or math or textile classes if they would just accept my credentials! A waste, I say! A waste!) Apparently it means examination proctor, which I did as a part of my role as a professor for medical student, but we Americans don't go around documenting and getting credential certificates for every single thing we've ever done, so I can't prove it. When I think of it as being an "invigilator", I see myself wandering the room carrying a huge ostrich feather with which I tickle any student who dares to look away from his or her own paper. That or something more sexual and kinky.
And for now, that's what I say.
I picked up a brochure yesterday about a poetry contest and was thinking about writing one about emigration to counter the attitude toward immigrants that I see so much. I think folks just don't realize what it requires to successfully manage to do it. I just wrote a new CV and I put the three international moves of an entire household I have done as significant management and organization experience.
The poem would start out:
Immigrant.
Try the word on.
But first.....
followed by a few lines on how suddenly you wear different sizes in everything! And some of them have different names. I still haven't figured out at which point a knit top becomes a "jumper". What do Brit's call a sleeveless dress designed to be worn over a blouse? You might need a whole different wardrobe. My working wardrobe has always been jeans and long-sleeved T-shirts. As a low-paid office worker here, I need to wear "smart casual" wear. Never mind that I'm not really sure what that means. I've figured out that most people here could put together a basic office wardrobe from the elements of their school uniforms. As I've said before, it's a very boring wardrobe we're talking about. Suits. Ugh! Conservative lines and dark colors. This is especially grating for me because I adore this year's gypsy styles, color and glitz and fluttering lines everywhere! I have almost no money for clothes, so it's a real frustration for it to be necessary for me to spend that little bit, which so far has added up to about £30, on boring stuff. What has that bought me so far? Two slightly less boring than "normal" skirts and a pair of black non-jeans. A robe to wear now that the mornings have become cool, and so that I can quickly change into it before dinner so as to preserve my tiny working wardrobe. And a trenchcoat-style raincoat. Thank god for charity shops. My only comfort is that next year perhaps the gypsy clothes will be in the charity shops. I won't care if they are out by then. By then I'll really be a practising self-supporting artist (and slightly excentric tutor perhaps) and be able to wear what I want. And the heels! Why do all the office women wear heels! Boring heels. I WILL NOT wear both boring and uncomfortable shoes! It's my Birky's for me, and socks over my hated tights to preserve them, because I've always resented having to buy stockings in any form.
If I can get all worked up about that, imagine what the following sections of the poem will be like. What I want to say is that the slightest things in life cannot be assumed. Your assumptions are so often turning out to be wrong in this new culture, even this one that speaks my language, that you end up allowing extra research time for almost everything. Anything new you set your mind to do starts with: But first....
And now for "invigilator". I LOVE that word! I saw it in the internal vacancies list of the school where I am presently doing data entry. (A moment to Grrrrrr about still doing data entry when I could easily teach the chemistry or math or textile classes if they would just accept my credentials! A waste, I say! A waste!) Apparently it means examination proctor, which I did as a part of my role as a professor for medical student, but we Americans don't go around documenting and getting credential certificates for every single thing we've ever done, so I can't prove it. When I think of it as being an "invigilator", I see myself wandering the room carrying a huge ostrich feather with which I tickle any student who dares to look away from his or her own paper. That or something more sexual and kinky.
And for now, that's what I say.
posted by ISAY | 11:59 PM
3 Comments:
My Texan wife, Kathy, hated the dull, boring British styles. My advice: wear what you like and let them follow you, rather than the other way around. American women always look smarter (more stylish) than the Brits and it'll help to make you stand out - make them sit up and take notice!
The actual URL for my blog is http://www.madtv.me.uk/goneaway.aspx . I posted this morning but think I'll add a bit to point at your blog and mention things like reciprocity and so on. It's fascinating to watch you finding out the same things that Kathy railed on about at me a few years ago! ;)
Oh, and about the search engines: join BlogExplosion (http://www.blogexplosion.com), and use their "Ping My Blog" system - it lets all the search engines know when you've posted and they'll come and have a mosey round. You might also want to use BlogExplosion to increase visibility amongst other bloggers. It's the best traffic exchange and will give you plenty of hits. I'll let you read all about it at their site but, if you want anything explained, just give me a shout. :)
Well, I can't say that I've ever been known as a style icon in any way. I did wear one of my hand-painted fabric outfits to work one day. I heard the comment "Donna's - um, er - vivid today."
You'll have to give me time to work out how to add links and such to my blogs. Thanks for posting it yourself. Good to know I'm not alone in the things that grate on me.
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