Going Stateside

I've been wanting to go and see people in America for a long time and parts of America would be nice to visit in general. With that in mind I'm in the process of getting a replacement British passport so I can get the ESTA in case I need it if the supposed border control people decide to be disrespectful of everyone's human right to travel between countries and enter and leave any country. I'll be presenting my world passport first though of course, since I'm a world citizen. I don't really feel like going to Orlando Florida, so I also managed to find an equally cheap flight from London to Chicago return. Purely because they like to see a return date, I'm officially going for a couple of weeks. I'll probably stay for longer than that though, since I'll spend a few days in Chicago then get the bus to wherever else I feel like going. I think Nashville would be an interesting place to visit, but also thinking to go to Texas since it's a bit further south and warmer there apparently. Not sure specifically what I want to do yet, but I heard Austin Texas is good for vegan options when eating out. I don't know how good it is for zero waste stores or similar, but if I go there I'll find out. I have friends in North Carolina and Missouri I also want to see, so that will be great if I visit them. The weather by all accounts is vastly different in different parts of the USA than the UK. Sometimes the UK does get flooding, but that's only because they don't build properly so drains get blocked or because pipes are not buried very far under the ground, they often freeze and then burst. Also in the UK when it is even forecast for snow, the whole country panics, but in parts of America apparently they get on with it up to a pointt. I tend to acclimatize pretty quickly to cold weather or hot weather, it's more the dreary mistiness I find hard to deal with and the constant changes places like England and Wales go through. Speaking of winter weather, the snow in Finland is actually warm and quite pleasant. They don't put sand on the ground there until it's already been snowing.

Christmas Markets and Fairs

I don't celebrate christmas, but sometimes I like going to different christmas fairs and markets and seeing what everyone else has been doing. I tend to avoid the shops at this time of year unless I need to buy something, because they get so busy with people and shopping trolleys that barely anyone can move. To me everything seems to be all about the days leading up to christmas, but I find this pointless because it's only one day on which people now spend hundreds of pounds. I did go to a christmas fair a couple of weekends ago though. This one was near where I'm staying in Doncaster. There were also a few plants for sale as there is a garden on the premises. I bought a jade crystal in a metal thing on a keyring. I normally don't like to put crystals in the same pocket as keys, so it'll be interesting to see how that goes. I also got an ornament of a lighthouse and a couple of boats with the ocean below it. The lady selling them buys a bunch of colored glass and cuts it and moulds it, then fires it into the appropriate shapes. I love the ocean and people have travelled in boats long long before aeroplanes were even thought of. There were also some pens for sale at another stall. Those are refillable pens, which is useful because they're less wasteful. Apparently they don't run out for quite some time either. The other stall I liked was one selling little knit santa hats with chocolate things inside them. There's a crhistmas craft and gift market at Cusworth Hall this weekend. I don't know if I feel like going yet, but hope the people selling there do well.