P.S.

I realize now that this whole experience is much shorter than it first seemed. We're two weeks in, and only six more to go! I discovered this when booking a weekend trip to Dublin for the second week in July, then marking it on my calendar--to find that the second week in July is only a little more than two weeks away! Crazy...its really, really flying by. I still haven't settled into a real "routine" yet, probably because I haven't started working yet, but I hope that will come. Personal revelation No. 7: I thrive on stability.

I got my "cultural stipend" from EUSA today by taking all my receipts to the office. "Oooh wow you've been busy!" they said, and I guess I have. It just seems like a normal vacation so far, but we really were squeezing the most out of every day, taking care of our touristy sightseeing before work starts. By the way, going out to get my cultural stipend was the only really productive thing I did all day. Aside from running early in the morning and going to class at night, I spent the day working on school stuff and generally bumming around--it felt wonderful, I'm not going to lie. :) Tomorrow will be much more productive--I need to research some things for work, which will FINALLY start on Thursday! I'm a little apprehensive after hearing the stories my fellow UT housemates have from their first couple of days....one of my friends met Jude Law at her job today (!!!), while another spent the day taking out trash and doing dishes. :( No telling....

A little more about Westminster; I don't feel like I did it justice just by saying it was beautiful and old, though it's pretty much the epitome of both. Tons of "famous" people are buried there: from Chaucer and Tennyson to Haydn to Newton and Darwin (oh the irony...), and of course royalty dating back to 1066. woah. There are also ornate memorials to soooo many more people, huge names like Shakespeare and lots that I can't remember right now because its bedtime. Goodnight!

Too much fun

Rainy and cold, yet beautiful and exciting.

That's yesterday spent at Stonehenge and Bath, both exceedingly old with lots of stories to tell. Shu found a nice cheap day trip, so several of us EUSA kids piled onto an Anderson Tours bus early in the morning for a two-hour ride to Stonehenge, followed by 1 more hour to Bath and 2 back home. Stonehenge was....Stonehenge. Impressive, but I kind of wish it had been less crowded and freezing. In general, though, an interesting place to visit at least once, to learn its history and the legend surrounding it.

Bath, I loved. The weather had cleared up a bit--still cold but not raining--and the Roman Baths were fascinating. The town itself was somewhat touristy--to be expected I guess--full of shops, big-name and small. I spent most of my time in the Baths listening to an informative if patronizing audio tour, then waiting around just to catch a guided tour of the baths themselves. The site consisted of three remarkably well preserved bath houses: the main bath and two sets of changing and steam rooms flanking it. What really amazed me was that you can just walk around on this original Roman pavement looking at baths full of steaming mineral water just as it appeared over 2000 years ago. Their stone and lead plumbing still works just as it did then, and the new museum building is actually supported by Roman columns that originally held up a roof that has since collapsed. I even had a drink of the spring water, famous for its 23 minerals. It tasted like Yellowstone smelled--full of sulfur, etc. An acquired taste for sure, but altogether not terrible. I'd definitely have drunk it if I were Roman. :)

On Saturday we spent the day touring the Tower of London, also full of history and other old things. I really recommend the "beefeater" tour--guided by a yeoman warder, a "tour guide" who is also a part of the royal military. I don't know the specifics, but I know these guys have seen action. Same with the ones in the big fluffy hats....they're way more intimidating up close, by the way. :)

Starting today, I have three days off from work....or rather, I don't officially start work until Thursday when my supervisors/coworkers in the publications department return from holiday. So, this afternoon I took a guided tour of Westminster like I've been meaning too, which was VERY worth the 15 pounds. Benjamin the Verger tour guide was very spunky and incredibly knowledgeable--definitely one of the best tours I've been on all trip. The steep entrance fee goes to a church anyway, so how can you complain, really. :)

That tour took much longer than I expected (again, totally worth it!), so I barely had time to eat dinner (and no time for school work...whoops) before leaving for the Savoy Theatre to see Fiddler on the Roof. Yet another gem of London theatre--the Tevye was amazing, and I'd forgotten what a great story this was. Another great evening out.

So tomorrow....school work. No other plans, I promise! :)

Theatre Week, cont.

Oh my gosh its been waaay too long since I saw some live drama. I had never read or seen Othello, but tonight's performance of it in the Globe was absolutely enchanting. I do consider myself a bit of a theatre buff, but I just can't describe the feeling of standing front row--literally shoulder level with the actors' feet, when they weren't running around the audience near the stage--watching some of the best talent I've ever seen perform authentic Shakespeare in the bard's own venue. It started at 7:30 and didn't end until 10:50, and I was a "groundling" (read: I paid 5 quid for a ticket and queued early to get front row!) so that means standing the entire time. Honestly, though, I didn't care that it was cold, barely minded the rain and couldn't tell my feet hurt until the end. I loved being that close to all the action--supposedly in comedies they interact with the audience....we're going back!!--it was so easy to observe the emotion on stage, and it was all genuine. Simply enchanting.

Yesterday was full of the arts as well. A couple of the girls and I stopped by one of the stages of the Music Day festival that was happening all around the area. We caught some blues at the Natural History Museum before getting on the Tube to Leicester Square to see Ocean's 13 at the famous (and gigantic) Empire Theatre. Seriously, I didn't know they showed movies in venues this big. The Empire only has 3 screens, and our movie was showing in Empire 1....with 1330 seats!! Considering there were only about 50 people inside, it was quite an experience--plus a great movie. :)

Class is keeping me busy, but not near as much as it could be. So far I've found International Business to be really interesting; our midterm is only two weeks away which is very, very strange considering we've only been here one. But our prof is great and says it'll be nothing to worry about and we'll be completely prepared. Today's lecture topic was ethics in international business, great for me because I know about the philosophical ethical theories from my Plan II classes, some business principles from my business foundations classes, and I'm working for the business ethics corp so it was basically perfect! With an interesting topic plus a mocha latte, I was good to go for the whole block of time :) Personal revelation No. 6: caffeine is good. always.

I've been running in the park a couple times, its so beautiful. About a mile walk there and back plus a good jog in between is a great motivation to get up early in the morning. This morning it rained on me and I didn't even mind--just refreshing. My roommate Shu and I seem very similar when it comes to a lot of our habits--eating, working out, cleanliness, sense of humor--so we're getting along really great; seeing the way some other people are living I feel like its really a blessing :) I got a card from Ali today and it really made me smile, hearing about familiar things at home is comforting in a strange kind of way, like there's no stress in trying to understand things that are happening like there is inherent with being here. If you're reading this bear I'm sending something back you just wait! ;)

Some friends and I spent the afternoon at Kensington Gardens "playing" some Frisbee before going to the Globe to see Othello tonight. A couple things that amaze me about the parks:

• They're huge!! Even in a city this size and this crowded, there's still room for plenty of royal gardens, etc. The green spaces are kept very clean and seem to be a haven for all types, from business-folk after work to homeless bums (only a few) :)
• The dogs are very well-behaved. Maybe I've only grown up around farm dogs, but where I come from dogs live in a yard or on a carefully controlled leash....otherwise they'll take a bite out of something that shouldn't be eaten, or you'll never see them again. But here, there are all types of dogs just running across the park--you can't even identify owners, they're just frolicking around. So strange.
  
• Children are doing the same thing. Today while we were playing Frisbee a little toddler "ran" up to us, made a few noises, and ran away....presumably back to his parents, I couldn't even tell! Like I said, maybe I'm not used to it, but that sort of thing just scares me.
  
• It's impossible to plan what to wear when you're going outside. The weather here just switches from cold to hot to raining to sunny to cloudy--even more extreme than in TX!--so you just have to suck it up, wear layers, take an umbrella, and go outside :)

Tomorrow we're going to visit the Tower of London, take a few tours and get the history of the area. Also more grocery shopping in store--we're really becoming pros at cooking out of our room!--and maybe another musical in the evening. Then Sunday a group of us is going to visit Stonehenge and Bath, complete with entrance to the Roman Baths and a tour of the city, plus bus both ways. It wasn't that pricy, plus we have a 100 quid cultural stipend to spend anyway. Considering how much of our tourist activities have been on the fly lately, it'll be a refreshing switch to just get on a bus and have someone lead me around, I think. :)

What, no class??

Ahhhhh class was canceled yesterday! I shouldn't have been this excited....but it means much more free time. Plans for the afternoon included yet another shopping trip during which I scoured the sale racks only to pick up some very trendy yet very cheap items of clothing, visiting the National Gallery and Trafalgar Square. Then we headed over to Shakespeare's Globe to try for tickets to the night's performance of Othello (700 standing tickets--in the front--are released for every performance), but it was sold out so we bought some for Friday and ate gelato instead. On a whim we decided to ride the London Eye, which was worth the money because we got on right before sunset so the massive London skyline was beautiful from all angles.

Personal revelation No. 5: I am usually a compulsive planner, but for some reason the fact that all my plans for visiting things, etc. on this trip are pretty much constantly dynamic is strangely OK with me. I don't know why this is, but I like it. :)

Heard from a rubbish truck (lorrie?) backing up down the street this morning on my way to run in Kensington Gardens. In addition to the normal obnoxious beeping, this thing had a loudspeaker blaring:

"Please stand clear, this vehicle is reversing. Please stand clear, this vehicle is reversing."

I was like, wow....that's intense. That's one thing--they really make sure you know what's going on around you here, especially where transportation is involved. I guess they expect everyone to be completely befuddled, especially on the tube.

"Mind the gap. This train is now departing. Mind the doors, ladies and gentlemen. There is another train just three minutes behind this one. There has been a passenger alarm set off at the next station, so we'll just sit here for a bit, should be moving right along in a few minutes. Please move to the center of the cars, using all available space. The next stop is ______. Change here for the District and Circle Lines. Alight here for (insert any remotely touristy spot). There has been a delay on the northbound Piccadilly Line, due to a train being taken out of service. Mind the very large gap between the train and the platform. Thank you."

Plus, the street literally tells you which way to look for passing vehicles, which I think is either helpful or sad depending on whether its meant for tourists or residents, respectively. Something else that's rather telling: if there's any type of delay--even as insignificant as 3 minutes or so--they feel the need to apologize profusely, coming over the loudspeakers to explain exactly what happened where and when, as if you can understand what's being said over the loudspeakers anyway. This could be due to the fact that everyone's in such a hurry here, and they know those crazy businesspeople will be ticked if they have to wait one more millisecond without an explanation.

Today should be relaxing....I just woke up (it's 10:30--the Cultures class hates us Business kids for not having to be anywhere till 2!) and have no plans for the morning or evening, assuming our prof actually decides to come to class on yet another sunny day. Supposedly the British can't stand to stay inside working when the weather's actually nice (about half the time since we've been here but usually less often), so they "throw a sickie" and everyone's OK with it. They do get an inordinate amount of vacation time--starting with at least 4 weeks a year, not including sick days--so I guess you might as well use your days when its worth it! Anyway, my plan to have no plans will undoubtedly change; there's always something unexpectedly exciting to do or see here.

Sunshine Returns

I spent yesterday afternoon at the British Museum, which featured the Rosetta Stone and all kinds of objects that should make this museum way more famous than it is. Maybe it really is and I'd just never heard of it, but it was amazing nontheless. The oldest thing I saw was some Chinese Jade from 5000 BC (!!!!), and all the ancient exhibits--from Rome to Greece to Assyria to the Americas and everything in between--were utterly enthralling, especially to a history buff like myself.



Later that night I saw Chicago (the musical) at the Cambridge Theater near Leicester Square. A friend and I bought third row tickets an hour before the show for only 20 quid (pounds)!! It's a lot at home, but here that's a really good price--musical tickets can go for up to 60. Hint: always tell the box office you want student tickets. That's how we got such a good deal; some of my friends paid in the 40s for tickets to different shows the same night. I can't believe how good our seats were...the actors were, like, sweating on me we were so close, but the theatre wasn't that huge so we weren't really craning our necks for a good view. It was a really nice evening--add in the pastry I had beforehand, and we've got near perfection. :) I'd been missing those guys (European pastries, that is) since France in 2004!

After class and a great lunch of leftover pasta and salad, a group went to the Victoria and Albert Museum near where we live in South Kensington. It was an absolutely beautiful day out until it started raining, but we were in class then so it didn't really matter.





Work starts for me next Thursday because my supervisors are out of town for awhile--for everybody else its on Monday so I feel privileged. Now I've had all my classes so I can evaluate....the International Business class is interesting enough but hard to sit through at 9 a.m.--OK though because it changes to 2 p.m. starting tomorrow. It includes lots of good info though, and I don't think it should be too hard. The British Workplace course is going to be great--some people think its boring but I love it so far, its with a different lecturer so it should keep my attention well. It looks like it'll really shed some light on all the cultural differences between Britain and the US--what they are and what they mean in the bigger picture. I'm excited, except for the fact that it meets every Tuesday from 6-9....right after work, leaving me no time to do anything. We'll see how that works out. :)

I had planned on trying to go hear Tony Blair at his last PMQ tomorrow morning, but a friend just told me we can watch the feed live online....meaning we don't have to get up at 5 a.m. to catch the 5:15 first train to Westminster to sit outside Parliament for 4 hours (probably in the rain) until they open the doors and wait 3 more hours inside to see him speak. Yeah, you're right....that was a crazy idea anyway :)

That means tonight is made for a good night's sleep....finally, and maybe a nice run in the morning followed by another museum? We'll see. :)

The Life

On Saturday our group's Blue Badge tour of London ended at Trafalgar Square, conveniently next door to the Texas Embassy, a cantina with surprisingly good Tex-Mex considering our latitude. It was good to play tourist for awhile and see the sights; our guide Liz had lots of interesting information to offer, especially about several pieces of architecture which were particularly interesting: even the "normal-looking" tall brick buildings (I call them rowhouses, its the easiest thing to compare them to) are sometimes hundreds of years old with much of their original parts still intact. The famous buildings--like Westminster Abbey--are reeeeally old and took so long to build you can see the changes in architectural era from one piece of the building to the next. Personal revelation No. 4: I love exploring old things, especially when they have a great story to tell. History buff. :)


I went back to Westminster Abbey on Sunday morning for church, where the archbishop of Cape Town served me communion. I felt a bit special, not going to lie...the atmosphere was amazing and ethereal and romantic and huge all at the same time. I was surprised that the service wasn't very crowded at all, but they say we're not into the peak tourist season yet.

The oldest part of the church is from the 12th century: the middle part of the cross-shaped cathedral, where the two arms come together. This is where the altar and choir were situated, with the congregation out on the two short side parts and waaay down the long part. There were lots of separate sections, strange to me who's used to sitting in a smallish church with one aisle down the middle and no other way to get anywhere. The choir was basically in a box in the upper part of the long aisle (toward the middle but not as central as the altar), so when they sang we couldn't see them, only hear this music floating up over stone walls and around the stained glass, like seriously from heaven or something. To top that off, the organ is in the ceiling between some columns and behind stone decoration stuff so it just plays....neither choir nor organ are huge, just the right size and so beautiful in that setting. It was really an experience, I definitely recommend it.


Later in the afternoon a group visited a Cuban Festival in south London, mostly because it was free and sounded interesting. It reminded me a lot of the Folklife Festival or even the County Fair, with lots of food and knick-knack booths plus several stages with music. The dancers were AMAZING--they made me really jealous. :) The reggaeton and some other Latin music reminded me even more of home, and some friends and I might hit up a Latin club for free lessons while we're here.


Classes started today...I have to admit I was almost too tired to make it through the four-hour block of international business. I definitely need to start getting more sleep, but it seems like there's always something fun to do somewhere and I don't want to miss out. Our professor seems interesting enough, he's funny and only kept us three hours today....plus one him. :) Should be a great class.


Just FYI, one of the best ideas ever is buying & sharing food among roommates/floormates, etc. Everything is sooo expensive here (mostly the dollar's fault), but several of us can eat rather well spending about 10-12 quid a week at a grocery store and cooking our own food. Facilities limit what we can actually prepare, but we're still doing rather well for ourselves. Food hints:

• Tuna is one of the most amazing/easy to prepare foods ever
• Bread goes bad faster than you think
• Eggs are cheap
• Cheese is not
• When you have no idea what any of the brands are--or what quality they stand for--it doesn't matter which one you buy. i.e., store brand rocks here. And everywhere.

I think the rest of the week involves a cheap student ticket to a theater show in the West End, some museums, and Tony Blair's last PMQ (public questioning as prime minister....should be veeery interesting) at Parliament. I don't start work until next Thursday (we're supposed to start on Monday), so that means I'll have some awesome free time to spend in the park, etc. on my own....haven't had that much alone time recently so it should be great. The office may send me a couple stories to work on by email in the meantime, which is OK too.

Interview day

So yesterday morning about about 6 a.m. there was a car accident right outside my window and the horn of the car that got hit wouldn't quit--from my bed I could hear the car being towed away! That isn't what woke me up, though...the sun rises here at a little before 4:45 and doesn't set till almost 9:30, making the days reeeeally long--a good thing, since there's lots to do. :)

My confirmation interview yesterday morning was interesting and exciting. I showed up in a suit because I didn't know any better, and my new co-workers had a good laugh at my expense when the man that met me said, "...and as you can see, we don't really wear suits here." Thanks for telling me. :) But luckily they're all very personable people--young and easy to laugh right along with. The company itself looks like a good time. It's smaller and more low-key than I expected, but I'll be able to get lots of good experience and it looks like they'll let me take initiative on writing projects, plus they're really looking for my input as far as editorial decisions and design, which is exciting! I'll probably focus on the website, which is great, plus they've got an issue coming out in September that I'll probably get to write for.

So far we've had lots of free time, so I've been shopping a bit. Personal revelation No. 3: I love pointless shopping, but don't have the money to do it. Other than that guilty pleasure, there's been time for exploring, learning my way around, finding close/cheap grocery stores and restaurants, going out with friends, etc. Most things are within walking distance and those that aren't are just an easy tube ride away.

Something else I enjoy is trying to blend in with the British crowd, rather than stand out as a tourist or lost American, especially when going out to eat or to work. Obviously I'm an American tourist when taking 496034 pictures of Big Ben and Parliament. :) I've found that as long as I look like I know where I'm going and don't talk, I'm usually not too conspicuous.

HEB-ish

So today I found Sainsbury's, the grocery store that will save my life, for many reasons:

1. It's a little more than a 10-minute walk away, which is nice and easy (as long as its not raining), yet enough to keep me from looking like a beluga whale when I get home.
2. I have to cross two streets, which is good practice for not getting hit by a car/bus/truck coming from the *wrong* way. Wrong, left, right, I don't know....but I need the practice. :)
3. It has everything I need--first in line was dish soap and paper towels, but it will serve me well in the months to come at reasonable prices (as far as pounds are concerned...). So yay!
4. It's less crowded and not full of organic food I can't pronounce and affluent people on their way home from work. This keeps me from being run over by the rich barrelling down the aisles while I meander just looking for gherkins (read: pickles...and the reason I couldn't find them at the first grocery store I tried) to put in my tuna. Also I blend in better amongst the crowd. :)

Not to complain, but my arms and shoulders are a bit sore from lugging over 100 pounds of luggage around....especially up 3 flights of stairs to my flat. No lifts....just stairs. At least I'm not on the 5th floor. :)

So tomorrow's Friday, and thus begins the weekend. My interview is at 11:00 a.m., so I plan to get up early to eat a good (Wheetabix!) breakfast, prepare, and give myself plenty of time to ride the tube efficiently. On Saturday I think a group is going to try to score some half-price tickets to a musical at TKTS, a discount kiosk that sells cheap day-of tickets in Leicester Square. We'll see what show we can pick up, take a scheduled guided tour with our EUSA group, do something cool in the afternoon and catch the show in the evening, dressed to the nines. What a life. :)

The Basics

Wow....I'm here! It's been a long day(s?), but well worth the trip. I also realized that I left out some key details from my first post, so I'll start with those and work up to now.

First of all, if anyone reading this is a student thinking of studying abroad and you have random questions you just want answered, don't hesitate to shoot me an email (click on my profile). I would love to offer any advice that I can, and right now with my own experience fresh on my mind is the best time to do that.

Second of all, to the same audience and others who may not know just what this "experience" is, I am working in London at an unpaid internship to gain experience in my chosen field: journalism. The program I applied with, EUSA, took my interests and abilities into account through interviews and essays and matched me with a position at a company overseas. I could have chosen to do anything--from music to fashion to finance to social work--they work with all majors and fields. Once accepted into the program I was guaranteed an internship placement, and once I accepted a placement I felt comfortable with the next step was actually making it happen, which is where we start today. The rest of this week will be filled with orientation, a final interview with my company and settling into the "flat" that will be my home for the next two months. After that, classes start (I'm taking International Business, but others are offered) and then its off to the races.

As for travel, I left San Antonio at 1:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon, and arrived in London at shortly after 9:00 a.m. this morning. I am too tired to figure out exactly what that means in terms of time change, but ya'll are smart people--its a long trip. Now, I pride myself on my ability to sleep anywhere (years of practice on a band bus good for something!), but I don't think I slept more than an hour on that flight...and that's pushing it. 1) the man behind me kept kicking on my seat purposefully, which was awful; and 2) I was too nervous about getting through customs, having all my bags and paperwork when I landed, etc. Turns out everything went fine, all the people I ran into were helpful: knowledgeable cab drivers offered help loading and unloading tons of luggage, polite counter clerks offered discounts on train tickets, and to top it all off airplane seatmates offered a rousing game of Go-Fish. :) So the trip itself was long, but very good.

Now, I type from my bed, because my flat has no desk. Not that I expected it to, and not that I can complain. I'm living in one of the poshest parts of London, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea--next to a Ferrari dealership and home to the biggest crowd of well-dressed people I've ever seen. It's a little unsettling, knowing that eventually I'll have to at least try to not look like a tourist anymore.....ahhh.

My friends and I just came from the grocery store, where I bought yogurt, orange juice, tuna, Ritz crackers, and......(drumroll) Wheetabix!!! Alison is excited for me, I can tell. :) Also, honey to put on them in my cereal every morning...it's a pantry's start, at least! If you have not heard of this British breakfast phenomenon, you need to go get yourself a box of these wafer-like things and try them out. Pretty dang good, if I do say so myself. :)

So that's all for tonight, as the girls are getting together to make pasta for our first meal here in London--I expect it to be great, as all things on this trip have been so far and many more will be.

Tomorrow....

So I leave tomorrow--I figure now's as good a time as any to start this whole writing about stuff thing. :)

I'm all packed (whew-an adventure in itself!), and now am just working on getting lots of documents into the correct carry-on so they're ready when and where I need them. Passport, Pounds Sterling, immigration letters, copies of important cards, etc......and I still don't know which bag to put under the seat and which to put on top. :)

Other than that, my two suitcases (one massive and one small) are ready to be checked and sent through the system with a wish and a prayer that they'll actually show up on the other side. Last time I flew overseas the airline was very courteous (and generous!) about missing/damaged luggage....but I'd rather just not deal with that at all, eh? Just in case, I've got normal and work clothes spread between the two checked bags and my carry-on, so no matter what I'll still have a couple of outfits. Personal revelation No. 1: I'm a compulsive planner, especially about those "What if?" scenarios. :)


As far as this blog and what you can expect:

• At the very least, a diary of daily happenings. No telling how interesting this will be, but I'll work on it. Comments are always appreciated. :)
• Hopefully, several subsequent personal revelations (as per the above) to help you and I both learn a bit more about the girl who's actually embarking on this live/study/work abroad adventure. This may or may not take the place of my personal journal for awhile, so it should be intriguing in at least some respects. :) Personal revelation No. 2: I insert too many smiley faces into all my e-text. Sorry--my bad for attempting to convey the emotion of the moment (which this ":)" usually does!)
• Not much, um, "academic" writing. I do plenty of that anyway, and as long as this is fun for you to read (perhaps?) it'll be fun for me to write. Also, eliminating substantial "editing" means you get more substantial material than I would normally write after thinking about it too much. :)
• Sarcasm. If you know me, read these entries as I would say them and it'll make more sense. This blog is a story--my story--and as such clever(-ish) remarks are part of the package. Thanks.
• Quotes. Often, I find that other people say things much more eloquently than my words can express, so I'll include those in here. I think this will be especially useful since people will be speaking a "different" language and I'll probably find their remarks entertaining. For example, I still remember a McDonald's trash can sign from the last time I was in London telling customers to

  "Please put your rubbish in a bin."

  How polite.

To end, I'll invoke the last bullet point and quote a line from one of my favorite books that pretty much sums up how I feel right now, leaving tomorrow to finally start something that's been just a dream and a plan for so long. It's real now, and honestly a little scary. But words are my sanctuary when things get scary; their tangibility on the page is comforting and I don't really know why...in any case, my Bible + my journal is where I go to work things out. Independent of those essentials, this is one of the most comforting quotes I know and I find it especially relevant right now, when the adventure isn't always rational and my overly-rational analysis of it would only yeild irrational fear. Here it is, emphasis my own:

"...It wasn't rational to think of driving cattle over eighty waterless miles, but he had learned in his years of tracking Indians that things which seemed impossible often weren't. They only became so if one thought about them too much so that fear took over. The thing to do was go."
~ Captain W.F. Call, Lonesome Dove (Larry McMurtry)

Happy reading. JW, signing off from the USA.