January 18, 1996
London, England
Hello, everyone!
My yearly write-up is a little late this year due to my trip back to London, where I am researching my master’s thesis about British homelessness for six months. It’s cold and cloudy outside, and when I look out the window right now I can see tiny brick rowhouses, very green grass, and fog in the distance — typical weather!
It’s great to be back in England. After spending two weeks with a Scottish couple, Joyce and Hugh, I found a room to rent in the house of an English woman, Jenny, and her young daughter, Katherine, in northern London. During the week I research at the British Library and I am busy with my church, All Soul’s. On Saturday mornings a group of us from the church heads out to Waterloo Bridge, where we give the homeless breakfast. I’ve met plenty of people through the International Fellowship, where I have also met a few American women my age.
Next month, I begin my volunteer work at The Big Issue, a London magazine about homelessness. I’ve been researching the magazine for the past three years. Now I will work there as an editorial volunteer.
But now for the news of 1995! The year was full of activity and surprises. My older sister, Tonya, and her husband, Dennis, saw their youngest child, Shawna, start school. My father babied his new car and tried to adjust to my newest announcement that I was leaving not only for Britain, but also for Western Australia (yes, far beyond the Outback) in January 1997. My mother continued decorating her new house in the Ohio countryside.
For myself, a needed respite from Columbia (where my university is) took me to New York City in January, when I visited my friend Paul. We spent hours walking along the New Englandish-type homes in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Several times I visited Manhattan and saw the Good Housekeeping offices where I worked two years ago.
The month of May brought the biggest surprise. Several students who attended my journalism school as Rotary Scholars told me about a new scholarship program for graduate students. The program is called the Rotary Academic-Year Ambassadorial Scholarship, which allows students to attend one year of graduate school in another country.
Through pure curiosity, I contacted the local Rotary Club and learned that the deadline was in a week! It was nothing but a whim, but I obtained an application and spent a solid week writing essays. I sent in my application and attended the lengthy interviews in early June.
It was an intimidating moment when I entered a room filled with judges! They asked me questions about my career, reasons for going abroad. The judges were very supportive despite the pressure on us.
As my application was being processed, I finished my courses. By June, I was a reporter for a local Columbia newspaper, The Missourian. I loved every minute of it. My editor, Mike Land, gave me the freedom to do the stories I wanted to do: stories about single fathers, church events, political activists, personal profiles, and the homeless. Everyday I found new stories and ideas.
In June, I learned the results of the Rotary scholarship. I was assigned to Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia, where I would enroll in the cultural studies program. Initially I was surprised because my heart was set on the University of Birmingham in England, but I had little time to contemplate after the new semester started. I was thrown into preparing my thesis proposal, as well as securing housing in London and a British work permit.
Outside of my studies I was a teaching assistant for Dr. Betty Winfield, a professor at my school. Out of the larger lecture class, I held a weekly discussion session in which I lectured to 19 juniors and seniors about journalism history. I loved every minute of teaching and this experience opened up a whole new career possibility for me.
I hope that you have a safe and healthy new year. I’ve included my new address below. Please stay in touch and I would love very much to hear from old friends again.
c/o Teresa Heinz
41 Priors Croft Road
London E17 5NJ
England
(0181) 527 4899
Phone 011-44-181-527 4899 from the U.S.
When you write, please include your e-mail address if you have one. Write me on e-mail at: T.Heiz@ic.ac.uk
You can reach me at the above address until the end of June 1996. Beginning in July, contact me at my permanent address: 13223 Cleveland Road, Creston, OH 44217 USA. Telepho ne (216) 435-4541
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