Mornings at the K family are somewhat chaotic. The chaos has its routes in one thing, one person: me. There are no stresses when getting ready in the morning (like I don't have brothers or sisters to fight against for the bathroom, or obnoxious parents who ask me a gazillion "how are you doing this morning, sunshine" questions), except for the stresses I put upon myself. The snooze button ranks number one on the list of stresses. There is not a single morning that goes by that I don't press the button at least once. I think my average is about 3 times. This morning was no different.
Running late, as usual, I hurried through breakfast. Traces of my cereal still remain on the counter; I feel bad for always leaving such a mess, as if I were some kind of 5 year old not yet capable of eating in a civilized fashion. As I walked out the door, I grabbed by ten ton load of books, bags, purse, the kitchen sink. My mom was just lecturing me about how I should really think about loading all my crap the night before; perhaps her idea wasn't that bad of a suggestion.
Finally, I hoped into my car. I have a tendency to automatically divert my attention to the clock on my dashboard the instant I turn the key in the ignition. YES! It was only 6:49. That was a one minute improvement from yesterday's 6:50 departure. (I must add a few meaning numbers; refraining to do so would be like hording some admittance. Like for one, my first class starts at 7:00; I live at least 12 to 13 minutes from school. And secondly, back in the fall, I would leave my house around 6:35...funny how times change, haha.)
So I was off to a good start. I pealed out of my drive way, cranked up my Life music, and started my daily a.m. drive. All was going well. A minor set back came as I neared a pulled over car and a police officer at the side of the road. That somewhat congested the traffic; perhaps just a minor stroke if the road were analogous to a clogged artery. But after I got through the area, I was "on the road again." (I love that song, my the way; it's a classic in my book.) But then....
As I turned off the main road and turned onto a side street short cut, something I never thought would happen in the 21 century happened. I got stuck waiting behind a horse!!!
Yes, a horse! Cars were at a standstill up and down the road. My friend and I (she was in the car behind me) sat laughing. The poor horse was hanging out in the road, then on the curb, then in the grass, then back in the road. Its moves were sporadic, swift, and enough to keep drivers worried to lift off the brake pedal. The horse was simply unpredictable. I must say, though, it was a gorgeous horse. It's owners were frantically trying to regain control of the horse. From the looks of it, they weren't making much progress at all. I felt bad for them. It was one of those times when you want to laugh, but inside you know not everyone involved was as light heartedly amused as you.
In a weird way, it relieved the pressures of arriving to school on time. How often do you get to use such a legitimate excuse as "I was stuck in traffic behind a horse!" Needless to say, this was the best, most memorable ride to school. (And also the first time that the "shortcut" proved to be not so short. But I didn't mind. Not one bit.)
So why am I blogging about this? I could say it was a near physical collision, aka Car meets Horse BAM! Fortunately, that didn't happen. But it represents a different, more deep sort of collision. Often times I talk about cultures as if they were just different amongst countries. But cultural differences are present within countries, as well. The horse reminded me of that.
I'd like to call this metaphorical collision "Country meets City." I live on the outskirts of town. In other words, I pass cornfields on my way home. So the fact that I encountered a horse isn't too out-there. (It's one of those "possible, but not probable" events.) Back to the metaphor. The horse represents the culture of the country. And me in my car, that was totally the city. This lends me to wonder if this "Country meets City" collision is something experience my a few. Like am I unique? In some ways, I'd like to think so. A great majority of the population either live in complete "country" world, while the rest live in complete "city" world.
It's weird. But I think the horse has made me more appreciative of my Midwest residency. To me, it's the best of both worlds.
Running late, as usual, I hurried through breakfast. Traces of my cereal still remain on the counter; I feel bad for always leaving such a mess, as if I were some kind of 5 year old not yet capable of eating in a civilized fashion. As I walked out the door, I grabbed by ten ton load of books, bags, purse, the kitchen sink. My mom was just lecturing me about how I should really think about loading all my crap the night before; perhaps her idea wasn't that bad of a suggestion.
Finally, I hoped into my car. I have a tendency to automatically divert my attention to the clock on my dashboard the instant I turn the key in the ignition. YES! It was only 6:49. That was a one minute improvement from yesterday's 6:50 departure. (I must add a few meaning numbers; refraining to do so would be like hording some admittance. Like for one, my first class starts at 7:00; I live at least 12 to 13 minutes from school. And secondly, back in the fall, I would leave my house around 6:35...funny how times change, haha.)
So I was off to a good start. I pealed out of my drive way, cranked up my Life music, and started my daily a.m. drive. All was going well. A minor set back came as I neared a pulled over car and a police officer at the side of the road. That somewhat congested the traffic; perhaps just a minor stroke if the road were analogous to a clogged artery. But after I got through the area, I was "on the road again." (I love that song, my the way; it's a classic in my book.) But then....
As I turned off the main road and turned onto a side street short cut, something I never thought would happen in the 21 century happened. I got stuck waiting behind a horse!!!
Yes, a horse! Cars were at a standstill up and down the road. My friend and I (she was in the car behind me) sat laughing. The poor horse was hanging out in the road, then on the curb, then in the grass, then back in the road. Its moves were sporadic, swift, and enough to keep drivers worried to lift off the brake pedal. The horse was simply unpredictable. I must say, though, it was a gorgeous horse. It's owners were frantically trying to regain control of the horse. From the looks of it, they weren't making much progress at all. I felt bad for them. It was one of those times when you want to laugh, but inside you know not everyone involved was as light heartedly amused as you.
In a weird way, it relieved the pressures of arriving to school on time. How often do you get to use such a legitimate excuse as "I was stuck in traffic behind a horse!" Needless to say, this was the best, most memorable ride to school. (And also the first time that the "shortcut" proved to be not so short. But I didn't mind. Not one bit.)
So why am I blogging about this? I could say it was a near physical collision, aka Car meets Horse BAM! Fortunately, that didn't happen. But it represents a different, more deep sort of collision. Often times I talk about cultures as if they were just different amongst countries. But cultural differences are present within countries, as well. The horse reminded me of that.
I'd like to call this metaphorical collision "Country meets City." I live on the outskirts of town. In other words, I pass cornfields on my way home. So the fact that I encountered a horse isn't too out-there. (It's one of those "possible, but not probable" events.) Back to the metaphor. The horse represents the culture of the country. And me in my car, that was totally the city. This lends me to wonder if this "Country meets City" collision is something experience my a few. Like am I unique? In some ways, I'd like to think so. A great majority of the population either live in complete "country" world, while the rest live in complete "city" world.
It's weird. But I think the horse has made me more appreciative of my Midwest residency. To me, it's the best of both worlds.
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