Flat Emily

You may have noticed something peculiar in select pictures I have posted on Facebook over the past month. A paper cutout of a brown-haired girl in a purple and black dress continues to make guest appearances. This girl is Flat Emily, the two-dimensional version of my roommate and one of my best friends back in Madison.

Both Colleen (the third roommate in our house) and I are abroad for the semester, leaving Emily in Madison while we are in Ecuador and Spain, respectively. I wanted to take the real Emily with me in my suitcase, but there were some health concerns about breathing, etc. on the flight over. So, I made a Flat Emily to bring to Europe with me in order to be able to document for the real Emily all of the places I would have taken her to see and the things we would have done together. 

If you have never heard of the children’s book Flat Stanley, the gist of the story is that Stanley, a young boy, becomes flat one night when his bulletin board falls and crushes him in his bed. Stanley is then able to go visit his friend who had moved to California because his parents can mail him, thus being able to afford the transport that would have been too expensive by plane. When I was in second grade, each of us in Mrs. Cari's class made a Flat Me to send to whomever we liked. The recipient then sent back photos of the Flat Me in action along with the original Flat Me. (If you were lucky, you got a beanie baby or other gifts, too. There were a lot of popular grandmas after this project.) This whole process served as the inspiration for Flat Emily.

So far, Flat Emily has hung out with me in the city, visited Roman ruins at Itálica just outside of Sevilla, and spent the weekend in Jerez de la Frontera with Annie and me. She is a bit wrinkled at this point from constantly being folded to fit into my messenger bag, but she is still intact. Each time I transport Flat Emily somewhere new to take pictures, I inevitably get some strange looks when I pull her out of my bag. Most people think it is adorable, though, and I am more than willing to endure some stares to document Flat Emily’s adventures. This weekend she will be traveling to Cádiz on the coast with the rest of the business study abroad students. She will be quite well-traveled by the time my semester here ends.

Flat Emily and me in front of la Catedral in Sevilla

Flat Emily enjoying lunch on the Plaza Arenal in Jerez de la Frontera