Dropped into an American movie...

This week, I had 2 experiences that made me feel as if I was dropped into an American movie. Literally.

The first one was a basketball game we went to see. Cincinnati bearcats UC against another college Marquette. It was a great experience - the game was sold out, UC won, the atmosphere was amazing!

But remember those American movies about life at their universities (colleges)? Well, turns out that it's all real: we saw cheerleaders and the dance team, as well as the marching band. And of course I knew it all existed, I just didn't really realize it really did. That may not make sense but that's how I felt. I guess in my mind it was all part of a distant American world of which I would never be a part. And suddenly I was sitting there, watching the cheerleaders being thrown up in the air and the marching band playing their tunes. I loved to observe, but at the same time I was so grateful that I didn't go to an American college. I can just imagine the stress it would take to try out for the dance team and then not make it for example. Because don't be mistaken, all of those cheerleaders and dancers looked as perfect as the girls in the movies. The top of the top I guess! I'm pretty sure I would have been part of the nerdie book club :p

The second -more serious- experience this week was the tornado alarm. This, again, is something we all know can happen in the States. Who hasn't seen "Twister" after all? But when you move to Cincinnati, no one tells you that there may be tornados there. So imagine my surprise when on Friday people started talking about tornados in Cincinnati... Around 4pm an e-mail was sent from work saying that we'd better go home. Turns out I just left with some colleagues to have a drink in a closeby pub. I asked them if we'd better go home but they were very calm and said that we were very safe in the pub because it is a concrete building. It seemed to make sense that that was safer than walking (or even driving) home. So I believed them and stayed there until the danger was over. After about an hour, a bright sun came out and the danger was over. It seemed almost stupid to have worried about it. Until I saw the damage the tornado had made and the lives it had taken.

It's fair to say I'd never thought I'd live somewhere where tornados aren't that weird...

But to all those who are worried about me: be sure that I'll always go to the safest place possible (even when that turns out to be the local pub ;))