tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14184878.post2544124332194723184..comments2023-10-15T10:29:12.991+01:00Comments on Karyn's erratic learning journey: How do you define "average"?The upsychohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06345558899662051670noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14184878.post-36192859050571682882008-02-06T20:16:00.000+00:002008-02-06T20:16:00.000+00:00Rhea: Glad we agree, and pleased to meet you!Harol...Rhea: Glad we agree, and pleased to meet you!<BR/><BR/>Harold: You don't know the half of it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14184878.post-767323286605135312008-02-06T19:08:00.000+00:002008-02-06T19:08:00.000+00:00I think your list of what makes one 'average' work...I think your list of what makes one 'average' works for me. 'Average' is a descriptor, not a negative. By the way, I collect middle-aged folks' blogs. I am going to link to you!Rheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18073724825234532540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14184878.post-54586715755950870352008-02-06T17:39:00.000+00:002008-02-06T17:39:00.000+00:00So, you're an above average noisemaker, eh ;-)So, you're an above average noisemaker, eh ;-)Harold Jarchehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11462304722726586155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14184878.post-9817614768344413002008-02-06T16:03:00.000+00:002008-02-06T16:03:00.000+00:00Christy: Good questions!Question 1: No, I don't pa...Christy: Good questions!<BR/><BR/>Question 1: No, I don't particularly <B>want</B> to be be average - it's just what I am. <BR/><BR/>Question 2 No I certainly don't want to be an average "UK woman" at all! In comparison to what I am accustomed to, this is rather joyless society, on the whole. For example, there is a strange ethos in the UK, where it is deemed necessary to speak of your children as if they are an annoyance, and to long for the day when they leave home. I can't subscribe to that. My husband and I can think of nothing better than to spend a day with our boys. Our weekend squash games are far more than just the opporunity to get some exercise - and witness <A HREF="http://karynromeis.blogspot.com/2008/02/value-of-life.html" REL="nofollow">my husband's first thought</A> when he was delayed yesterday morning.<BR/><BR/>I also have trouble with the alone-ness of the UK lifestyle. People do things alone that South Africans would naturally do with a friend (go shopping, take the kids to the beach, redecorate the house). In South Africa, people are much more hospitable, because no-one ever carries the burden of hospitality alone. Traditionally, if you are invited to someone's home for dinner, your job is to take the dessert. If it's a barbecue, you take everything your family will need and then everyone shares. Also, people are happy to be invited over at the last minute for soup and rolls, whereas a dinner inivitation in the UK is definitely more in the "fatted calf" league and planned weeks in advance. So, because it's a much greater burden, you can't do it as often.<BR/><BR/>Question 3 Hmm. I guess I'm at peace with person I am for the most part. I could wish I had more capactiy for serenity and profundity, but I am genetically predisposed more to the clanging cymbol end of the spectrum, and am resigned to that. I guess I am stubbornly trying to cling to the me that I am because I don't want to conform to the British norm, but that has its costs!<BR/><BR/>Question 4 Actually, I would describe that woman as average, too - but average within a different context.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14184878.post-71047635785929177712008-02-06T15:34:00.000+00:002008-02-06T15:34:00.000+00:00Is average what you want to be? Do you want to be ...Is average what you want to be? Do you want to be just another average UK woman? Or do you want to be someone else? In a previous post, you said you missed being the woman you were when you first left South Africa. If you were to describe that woman, what word would you use?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com