First Post--at Hatter's Hostel in Birmingham

By arriving in London this morning, taking the tube to Euston train station, the train to Birmingham, and my somewhat shaky feet to my hostel I have officially completed the first leg of my journey today. It seems amazing that only 24 hours previous to the time I was finding my way to the University of Birmingham Main Library this afternoon, I had been taking my History of the South final in 301 Fayerweather in Columbia University in the city of New York… but that’s another story, a serial that is currently (and fortunately) between installments right now.

Meanwhile, here I am in the UK, part of a story that feels much more as if I am making it up as I go along. I am here, ostensibly, to complete primary source research for my senior thesis, a project that has been changing in my hands like the old man of the sea since I started trying to plan it months ago. I am still not sure what I will find, or if the idea of it that I have in my head bears even the closest relation either to the reality of the things I will (may?) find, or to the product that I will create with them. That is one reason I called this blog “imaginary research”—I hope that the work I do here will bring some of the aspects of this project out of my head and into the real world.

I also mean that the idea of doing nothing but research on this trip is equally a figment of fantasy. I plan to spend some quality time hanging out here.

So far, I seem to be making progress in both the research and the fun departments. As mentioned above, I did make it to the University of Birmingham this afternoon, got my reader’s card, and got set up in a properly dusty corner of the library with a box of hand-written letters, circa 1822—so far so good. Unfortunately, I hadn’t anticipated how difficult it is to decipher early-19^th century handwriting. I feel like I need a forensics expert! It’s going to take me longer than I thought to go through the letters, but it’s pretty cool. I feel like a detective, in a very detail-obsessive way. I think it will be a long day at the library tomorrow.

As far as the fun goes; mostly I’m enjoying the overt English-ness of everything—regional accents overheard on the train, signs that suggest two countries separated by the same language (“way out,” “kindly do not stand forward of this line”), pubs that serve chips and warm beer, rolling green fields with the occasional horse to be glimpsed out my train window. I’m also enjoying the more unexpected parts. Birmingham seems a pretty nice city, even if it does not have the same kind of attractions as London. Although the city center where the train station is located is a mass of chain stores that seem to be the bastard progeny of Ross and Forever 21, once you get out of there it is much more town-y feeling. It is also a city with a lot of immigrants. I keep hearing Hindi spoken as I walk around, which really puts in perspective the paper I wrote about UK immigrants this past semester.

The only two things which could stand to improve are the weather, which is damp, and my mental alertness, which is suffering from a week of finals and moving plus an overnight plane ride. It’s amazing how the dumbness starts to take over after I reach certain levels of sleep deprivation. I actually gave a train conductor my credit card receipt instead of a ticket, tried to board the train in the kitchen car, and locked my key in my hostel room in three separate incidents today.

I will sleep well tonight!