Tuesday, July 6, 2010

I heard a pigeon cooing like an owl today.

I don't think I can fully put into words how great it was so sleep last night. While taking a few moments of being peoplesick and homesick I fell into the deepest sleep. Today I had the best scramble eggs I've ever had (other than yours mum!) and the chef was so friendly. It's really hit or miss here, some people are friendly and want to help you as much as possible, rude and don't want to have a lengthy conversation with you, and some just plain out flirt with you. You never know what you're going to get really! What I can say though are the road signs here are so intolerably awesome and I want to steal them, minus the fact that there's no possible way I could get them back into the states, damn! They're so simple and hilarious because they totally reflect the British culture. I've also never seen so many traffic circles in my life. A lot routes the bus took have the same setup: traffic circle, go any direction, go into a small town where the barriers are rails (sometimes with flowers), nice apartments, pubs/shops, pond with ducks (who look different than our ducks in the states and just hang out on shore sleeping), then back to the traffic circle.

One of the craziest things I saw was when we first started out on our bus to Cambridge. We were driving on the freeway and I look to my right (when we were on the left) and I see the other lanes on the other side of the road and behind that is an open field/hill with massive cows! It was an interesting mix of animal and technology. I saw a lot of wonderful countrysides and fields, it was so hard to stay awake.

Jess and I bought mixed drinks yesterday at this cute place called The Slug and the Lettuce, I felt quite like an adult girl! It was really cool being able to just relax and not get CARDED. A lot of people are into the drinking scene and going out but I want to do more exploring with architecture and culture.

What else can I say about England?
The first thing a lot of people say is, "alright?"

We had duck for dinner last night, which I gave a try! To say the least, duck is not my favorite choice of dinner. I was gaging on the small piece I took. Then I thought about how many people in my family would love it. Wish I could've mailed it to you all! Oh! We also had rum ice cream with raisons. I immediately thought of you, Rach, because we had that nasty fruit pudding ice cream one time.

It stays light basically ALL night! I went to bed at 11 p.m. and it was so bright out still (picture to come). The nights here are perfect. Perfect temperature, perfect amount of people, perfect picture-taking time. Perfect!

A lot of people ride bikes in Cambridge, mostly with baskets in the front.

We're forbidden to go on the grass at out college because they use it for special events (such as our first banquet on Friday) and one other time.

John Caius created 3 entrance gates at the college which, like the grass, are only used for certain ceremonies.

The grocery store is always a hotness of people are chaos.

I've seen only a handful of people are purple or pink in their hair.

The vending machines are kick ass because I don't recognize any of the food products. Though, I will tell you that the bottles here are a lot taller and thinner. The cars and even trucks are a lot boxier and smaller.

I start classes today! Shakespeare and Empire, Detection, and Narrative. Whoo! After I get out of class at 4 I'm going shopping!

Our courtyards at the college are absolutely beautiful, I'll be sure to post pictures soon! I unfortunately don't get wireless in my room so it's the school computers for now.

Cheers! :)

7 comments:

  1. First off, Wow. Never stop your English rants.
    Second I bet that rum ice cream was better then what we had! But then again maybe not, you are in England.
    Third I bet the dinner duck you had was one of the previous lazy ducks you saw earlier!
    Fourth, have you found the Room of Requirement yet?!

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  2. God, you would spit out duck, Ham? I don't know where we got you from. My Skype name is bittersweettart. "Call" me.

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  3. Mmmmm, duck.

    I really love picturing you hanging out in a pub called the Slug and the Lettuce!

    (and ps, not to load you up with so much candy you get arrested by immigration, but I would not say no to winegums, Yorkie with raisin and bisquit, or any other Brit sweet.)

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  4. This is awesome Ham your blog is so fun to read!!
    Poor Duckys yuck! We had these raisony/milk shakes in Spain prob similar to the ice cream you are talkinga about....Yes keep exploring and keep us updated!! Cant wait for pics

    miss you <3

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  5. ahhh! i'm so massively jealous! i hope you're having a wonderful time and that you frequent the buttery. i'm sure you'll be invited to high table soon! fun fun!

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  6. I was at high table the other night! It was kinda great to feel like part of a privileged court. I wish you were here with me so we could explore together!

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  7. ROBOT COWS?!?! I can't believe I missed those!! Do me a favor? Tip one and see what it does! I'm interested to see if the same basic, utter cow-tipping principles apply.

    Also, 'Alright?' is definitely confusing. Ahah everyone asked 'y'alright?' all the time at camp. I think it's a European thing..translating to 'what's up'? It was funny though because Clarke gets flustered when people ask him if he's alright all the time.

    Anyways, mind the gap and keep up your awesome travels and quests out there. :) Miss ya, Bones.

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