I’m one to enjoy dancing. Matt does to, though he only has one dance. But Matt does it a lot. That’s because nearly-extinct Stride gum paid him to go around the world dancing after he randomly had a friend friend record him dancing in Hanoi and post it on the internet, becoming somewhat of a legend. Or, as he says on his site, he’s “that guy who dances on the internet. No, not that guy. The other one. No, not him either. I’ll send you the link. It’s funny.”

For some reason, this video made me cry. I think it was because you get to see people having fun from all over the world (except the DMZ in Korea, where it’s just Matt having fun). It’s a small world, and it’s good to rememberevery now and then that we’re all not so very different.

(Interesting trivia: can you find the goat on the motorcycle in the first frame?)

On this continent at least. For the time being. Naomi, after much thought over the past few months, has decided to turn down the full scholarship from Columbia. And the full scholarship from Stanford. And the the one from Oxford. And has instead decided to take up a full funded PhD position in the Classics department at UC Berkeley! As my supervisor said, “she’s too smart for you, Sam.” While she’s planning on moving out there in August, I will likely be staying on in Oxford until I have my final viva (oral exam) for my DPhil. . . probably around Christmas. If anyone knows of good postdocs in the Bay Area focusing on international affairs and technology, do let me know!

I will miss Oxford, but I am looking forward to getting out for a while. As I have mentioned before, Oxford is the longest I have lived anywhere, and I gladly call this city of dreaming spires ‘home’. Intellectually and culturally, this environment fits like a well-made leather driving glove for a TR4. I’ve never had a place that I would like to come back to like Oxford. Minnesota certainly endeared itself to me during my years there, and of course the 2- and 3-year stints in Hawai’i were quite enjoyable as well (though the first one is a little hazy, as we left when I was 5). I have always wanted to get back to Washington State, the place of my birth, as from all accounts I would love it there too. But Oxford holds a very special place.

So. America. Bring it on.