Hello again, if you're still reading this and haven't wandered off because of a lack of new content. I could lie and say I've been very very busy, but I'll defect to the truth and say that; a: I've been doing some writing for a project that has been left to stew for a bit, b: I'm experiencing a distinct lack of ideas, c: Bugger all has happened to inspire me (thus causing b), and d: I just came back from visiting Switzerland for a week. This all adds up to the reason why there has been no activity from me for over a month.
So yes, my brain is being drilled to bits between the hours of 7 am and 4:30 pm. This process will be continuing for about 2 weeks (or until I get utterly frustrated and destroy the builders causing the noise with their own electric drills). Of course, destroying or in anyway maiming them would be both foolish, unethical and potentially illegal- they are in fact building my new bedroom. I could go off on one about how excited I am about having a new bedroom with the surface area of a small church, but I won't bore you with the details.
Moving on swiftly, my trip to Switzerland was, despite being a school organised trip designed to be educational and a veritable feast of germanic culture, very fun and relaxing, if anything. I always feel at home in german-speaking countries, perhaps because of my family's connection with such places, but also because I feel that there is a degree of cultural pride and identity that just doesn't exist in the UK or even in Holland. True, in past decades such pride has been associated with the less understanding and peaceful end of right wing politics, but coming from a country where displaying the union flag anywhere around or on your person unless it's world cup season gets you labelled a member of the BNP, I find any cultural identity or tradition a very positive thing. It is starting to seem as if a lot of British culture is being eroded, maybe some aspects for the better, but certainly some aspects for the worse. I'm in no way against multiculturalism in any way, but it sometimes seems as if certain groups are imprinting themselves more on the UK than others, and I find it a shame that the UK is not trying to preserve at least some aspects of itself. Germany has a huge immigrant population, and yet Karnival still goes on every year without hesitation, as does the Oktoberfest (though I suspect that has more to do with tourism than tradition). It's certainly true that a lot of celebrations are more to do with religion that anything else, but you don't have to be religious to enjoy them. If that were the case, I'd have no Christmas presents :( Even if your own particular religion is not involved in a tradition, there is no reason to damn it. Unfortunately, that has been happening a lot, not just recently but throughout time, and because of the current "politically correct" attitude adopted by many politicans, it is happening easily. I don't think it's especially fair.
I am not a conservative, by the way. I don't agree in any of their principles or beliefs about the human psyche. I simply think that preserving some old traditions in a culture is a good thing. If every country got rid of every single one of their cultual quirks tomorrow, the world would be more boring than it is right now. If every gold decorated house in Germany was white-washed and every countryside maypole was torn down, think how dull the world would be.
I've run out of stuff to add, so please enjoy this picture of the fire safety instructions in my hostel room in Switzerland:
