Hair New Era

'In America only the successful writer is important, in France all writers are important, in England no writer is important, and in Australia you have to explain what a writer is.'
Geoffrey Cottrell

Guess where I’m going this month in order to (eventually) become a writer?
Good old England. (But apparently it could be worse.)

I have no idea how much time I’ll actually have to work on my blog this year. The amount of stuff I have to read and write for my modules does scare me a bit. Maybe working on all those essays and portfolios will result in me wanting to do anything but write in my spare time? If I’ll have any spare time.
Or maybe I’ll have too much of it. There seems to be a lot less lectures and seminars than I had in Tartu. And there’s the infamous ‘Warwick bubble’ thing. Living on a campus pretty much in the middle of the countryside has to put certain limits on your social life.
Oh well, actually I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s not like I’ll be the only person living on campus. And it’s not like I’m not used to juggling a heavy workload while managing to find time to have a laugh. In secondary school there were a fair share of days with several tests plus an essay and/or presentation deadline. A month. At times a week. No probs really.
And I’m fairly certain that I’ll be wanting to scribble down some things. Not on the subject of fashion, but on my life. On the things that surprise and amuse me, on what Britain and Brits really look and act like. On my struggles to blend in and adopt an accent that isn’t too posh or too regional. On my struggles to not be lumped in with the Eastern European crowd. On my struggles to survive in the UK as a person who doesn’t enjoy a pinta lager or a cuppa tea.
So I decided that there’s no point in fighting the inevitable. I’d rather consciously transform the focus of this blog than have it gradually turn into something completely different than what the readers might expect.
There might be some posts on fashion and style. I’m quite sure there will be. But there will also be posts on my life (you know, me either bragging or whining, depending on how I’ll actually get on there). Bad news: there will almost certainly be no DIY posts. I just can’t fit haberdashery stuff in my luggage.
The blog will remain in English. Why limit the readers? (The numbers will no doubt drop nonetheless, because ‘Estonian Girl in England’ is the kind of topic which isn’t universally fascinating nor is it that original. Not a gap in the market, believe me.)

So that’s cleared. People with no interest in my personal life: you can leave now. Thanks for coming. Get to the Home button safely.
Others: (Wow, really? Why?) Here are some of my thoughts before going.

What I’m looking forward to:
The taking the piss attitude. I’ve been doing it for years, but I sometimes wonder if my friends secretly hate me for my constant mean jokes. In Britain it’s the most natural thing. If you like someone, you make fun of them. Makes sense to me.

What I’m not looking forward to:
The buying the round thing. I get that it strengthens camaraderie but it’s hardly fair, is it? Economically speaking. I’m the poor foreign student who’s already having trouble fitting many nights out in my budget. Why am I expected to pay for other people’s drinks when I personally can’t afford to get drunk on fancy cocktails that others might well be choosing? And it’s not like anyone’s keeping count on the money spent or even the rounds bought. It’s a strange custom. Why couldn’t everyone just order their own drinks?

What my expectations are when it comes to other students:
I’m 21 which is 2-3 years older than most freshers. It does make me slightly nervous, because I might not have that much in common with them. What are young Brits actually like?
I’m hoping for The History Boys, because, well, I’m a dreamer. In reality I know that the vast majority of schoolboys are not like that at all. In reality it’ll most likely be a mix of Skins and The Inbetweeners. Not that I dislike those series! I find the former really original and the latter hysterical, but I have a feeling that I would feel like a teacher in those situations (read: old).

Oh well, I'll be finding that out soon enough. Leaving the country on the 28th.

Pictures from weheartit.com