Tomorrow we fly off to the United States (depending on the ash cloud!) to spend two weeks with our friends Ron and Lisa Fess. Though blogging may well be sporadic while we’re away, it will not disappear altogether. I have been fascinated by the US since my school days when I studied Geography for A level and that country was part of the curriculum. The other country outside the UK that was part of the study was India and I got to visit the sub-continent some six years ago.

So what do I expect of America and its people? I have to be honest and say spending time with Ron and Lisa was a great surprise. They did not fit the stereotype I had in my mind of the ‘typical American’ and we loved being with them. The friendship that has grown since then – even though it’s mostly email based – is testimony to shared values and outlook. But will I be surprised again by what I see of the small corner of the country we’re visiting?

There are a number of things about the US that mystify me: the gun culture; fundamentalism; mega churches; the political popularity of Sarah Palin; entrenched Christendom; polarisation over Obama; the culture war … well, I could go on. This, after all, is what we hear of most in the UK. I’m quite sure there are many different shades of ‘America’ – and I look forward to seeing some of it. I’m quite sure, too, that just as the Fess family cut across my preconceptions we will meet many others who will do the same. But I also want to try and understand some of the things I don’t get from the above list.

A tall order for only two weeks? Maybe. I’ll let you know how I get on.