Exhausted.

I'm not sure i'll ever get used to this time zone.

Today. Yesterday.

Mostly everyone went on the Hop On-Hop Off bus in Cambridge to get the tour of the city. It was very interesting to learn about the colleges, the importance of religion during the making of cathedrals/churches, and the slow presence of women in the colleges. Cambridge is a pretty damn small city actually, but extremely walkable.

There are so many bloody tourists today. I'm glad our group doesn't stick out as bad as tourists that have the same florescent-colored clothing and sequined shirts of the English flag because we look so damn good compared to real tourists, haha. I love the old architecture in Cambridge and how it's ultimately stayed the same over the years. It's so different being in an old culture that doesn't change and there's something really wonderful with the preservation of physical history.

I believe today we have a scavenger hunt around 1:30 and then later tonight we get to go punting! I heard it's hard to do and people usually end up on the wrong side of the river. Punting is a huge things here since the river runs behind all the colleges. That'll be fun if that happens! I plan on walking around town though and taking pictures since I haven't done that just yet. I might even explore alone, pop in my headphones, take my camera, and just go! I'm going to start a picture collection of road signs.

We had out opening banquet last night and got to eat in the fancy dining room in Gonville and Caius. It was incredible. A lot of the artwork was based off of Greek mythologies. We even got candle lighting and when dinner was done the wax had melted all over the polished table and only the wicks were left. The banquet began on the lawn, which is a huge deal because we're not allowed on the grass on campus. We're not allowed on the grass and we can't go through the gates (one being the Gate of Honor). These things are really for the English students that attend Gonville and Caius during the school year. So, to say the least, it was a huge deal going on the grass, even though the drunks have already done it at night secretly.

We got to try sherry, which was absolutely disgusting in my opinion. My teacher said that she didn't like it either and that it was more for prop. I couldn't agree more. The aftertaste was like a mixture of yeast and raisons. Everyone got dressed up and looked smashing while being classy and drinking sherry, water, or bubbly wine. Then the man who was serving us drinks rang the bell and said that dinner was served. This is what happens almost every night for dinner (minus saturday and friday because they don't serve us dinner) where a server will come down and tell us dinner is ready. We then go up two flights of stairs from the Buttery, which is like a pub inside campus, into the dining hall, which looks like Hogwarts. There are portraits all over the walls, one being Stephen Hawking, who attended Cambridge, and there's a high table up front. Every student has the chance to sit at the high table to get to know the professors and be that classy and that person. It's a hell of a lot different than just sitting at the tables below; manners really matter here.

Anywho! So we went into this gorgeous dining hall last night for our banquet and between each course someone would read a passage aloud from those who attended Cambridge long ago or just wrote about the college itself. It was really wonderful. I took pictures of some of the courses for Rach because this was by far the best meal we've had because I could actually eat everything! I can't wait to be able to post pictures for you all to see where we're at because it's absolutely incredible. After dinner everyone parted ways and the people who love going out drinking went out, ect, ect. I went on a walk with a bunch of chill people because we felt the need for a brisk walk in our classy attire. The nights here are not like the U.S. They kind of do as they please. One minute it's perfect, not too hot, not too cold, and then it'll be chilly as hell, then again it is at around 2 a.m.

As we were walking we ran into 3 British guys that were looking at nice suits in a window. We all quickly got into a conversation starting with the suits and then about cultures, restaurants, pubs, ect. One guys was pretty drunk and we was going on about how much he loved England and how the English founded America. Perhaps this is a direct quote: "It's in the name. GREAT Britain." He wasn't a snob about it and more hilarious, which was refreshing. He also didn't pin us in a corner for being American and being abroad, which is also refreshing. It's really fun talking to locals here though, some of them are bloody hilarious and friendly! Drinking, of course, is one of the major ways you meet people, er, it's the "easier" way.

So after encountering some locals we ventured onward and walked around the colleges, parallel to the river, and back to Gonville and Caius. After that we tried to look for a laid back pub, which is impossible on the weekends, then proceeded to locate an open liquor store, which was also a fail. Stores close around 5 or 6 here actually, which can be a pain in the ass. If you're even in need of food late into the early hours then you must go to The Trailer of Life, which is the equivalent to Kurts at UNH, except way better. They have chips (fries), cheesy chips (fries), quesadillas, burgers of all kinda, hot dogs, ect, ect. You should know that chips are fries and crisps are chips, like potato chips. Also if you get nicked, that means that you've been arrested. But to say the least, The Trailer of Life is the hot spot for those who are drunk, under the influence of any drug, or just damn hungry late at night. I'm pretty sure this one guy was on some sort of hallucinogen drug while riding a bike; he was pretty damn out of it.

So, after dinner, as I was saying, I hung out with some people and we played pool in the recreation room under the Buttery and just talked and hung out. It was actually one of the greatest times because it wasn't too out of control and just chill. You definitely need those nights here to keep your sanity at times, and it's also nice to get to know more people better. I met a new friend from Ohio and we were all comparing the differences in NH and Ohio. We also chatted a lot about music, which we could all relate on quite nicely even though most of us liked different shiz.

A lot of people are set on going to Quins tonight for the karaoke because they have it every saturday. I'm not sure what my plans will be though. I might go and see Macbeth a few towns away, orrr try and find ghosts again, which was an epic fail last time.

I'm really loving Cambridge. It was a culture shock at first, and it still is in a lot of ways. I'm beginning to love the smell of the air, the cobblestones, the constant talk from the punting guys, how Sainsbury (the most popular shopping market) is constantly in a state of chaos, how the construction down below my window wakes me up at 5 or 6 a.m. almost every morning, how almost every British song at the Slug and The Lettuce is a song and artist I know...the list could go on! I'm meeting some incredible people here though. I do miss home at times. Being here has made me see that the U.S. is more home to me than anything, even though I haven't felt that for a while.

One things very cool about Cambridge is that even though it's a completely tourist spot there aren't any tourist-aimed shops. There are no shops that have just T-shirts and shot glasses and postcards. Everything is spread out here. There aren't any notebooks in the bookstores where one can buy their college books. I don't even know where to find shot glasses! Maybe the airport? The H&M here is epic, it's two floors. The first one is classy and more expensive, then the second one has men's clothes and women's clothing on sale. There's some great fashion here. A lot of women ride their bikes wearing skirts and dresses and flats, oh so classy! Bikes are a huge things here though and since it's the summer and there's a lot of construction cars can't come through some streets that are blocked off.

My body and mind are definitely still in U.S. time. I feel at times that there are fewer hours here in the day, or the days seem shorter in general. It's difficult to go to bed early and wake up early. It's really hard to believe that one week has gone by, bollocks! I need to make it over to Ireland soon, that's my number one destination with traveling thus far. Next weekend we're all going to London to see The Winter's Tale at the Globe and we get the option of staying there the rest of the weekend to explore, which HELL YEAH. I'm definitely going to explore London with those who stay behind. I'm really looking forward to going to Scotland though! That trip is going to be so much fun.

Well, I feel that's enough for right now. What shall I leave you with? Hm..the Cambridge Press is right across the street from the college. How more badass can you get?

Cheers!