U.S. actions observed through British eyes
Terra Thomas was ready to begin an adventure of a lifetime.
The Baylor School graduate was flying to London on the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2001, to spend her junior year of college at University of Leeds in England. But the events of the day put her journey on hold.
Miss Thomas, 21, now a senior at University of South Carolina, said her family initially thought the attacks were isolated to New York.
“We were numb when we realized what was happening,” she said. “But I was ready to leave. I was afraid to fly, but not enough that I wouldn’t.”
Six days later, Miss Thomas flew out of Atlanta for what she called an “uneventful” trip to London. It was her arrival at Leeds that caught her off guard.
“The students weren’t friendly,” she said. “They didn’t think President Bush was making the right choices. They didn’t think America should act with aggression. They also protested Tony Blair’s support of Bush. They called him Bush’s ‘lapdog.’ ”
She said the students at Leeds were, however, sympathetic to the loss of lives.
Miss Thomas said the students felt Americans “should talk about the problem instead of going to war. I told them that those people (the terrorists) don’t talk. My country was doing what was necessary. Most eventually came around to supporting us.”
But she did take precautions while abroad because she was American, she said.
Miss Thomas was told by her counselors at Leeds to be especially discreet in public.
“When we traveled to other countries, especially Italy, I was told to be careful and to speak quietly so nobody would recognize my accent,” she said.
She said she was told not to wear clothes with American logos. “I told her not to identify herself as an American while
traveling to Europe or by wearing American-identifiable clothing,” said her dad, Bill Thomas. “She was often mistaken for a Canadian or Scottish, so I guess she hid her identity OK.”
Miss Thomas said she feared for her family here during the anthrax mailings.
“I called my family a lot (then) just to make sure they were OK,” she said. “My dad told me he was glad I was in another country during that time.”
Mr. Thomas said he felt his daughter was safer there. “This was an attack on America — not Europe,” he said.
Miss Thomas said living in another country during a time of uncertainty here was a “growing up” experience for her.
“More than anything, it taught me to re-evaluate my thinking,’’ she said. “Having grown up in my own safe world in Chattanooga and always being so focused on myself and my goals, it made me realize there’s a big world out there, and there’s more to life.
“We all need to use our resources to make a difference in all our lives, not just our own.”