Whirlwind Europe here we come!

I am currently in Interlaken, Switzerland in the middle of beautiful mountains and lakes, cows and chataeus. It's so scenic and just how I imagined Switzerland to be. On Thursday I met up with Alissa in Geneva; she was coming from Nice, France since she had been traveling while I took my exams. While in Geneva we saw (in addition to hundreds of banks and clock stores!) the UN and the Red Cross Museum, both of which were very interesting to tour. We explored the cathedral there and went to the impressive archeology musuem underneath. We played lifesize chess and made ourselves dizzy on seesaws and sit and spins in the park. We also managed to rent bikes and take a boat cruise of Lake Geneva for free. Since the Euro Cup 2008 is being held in Geneva right now, there were "football" fans from all over the world decked out in the colors of their home team so it was fun to share in the spirit of all the festivities. The city has even suspended a giant soccer ball above their famous fountain in the middle of the lake. So after two nights there, we headed to Interlaken in the central part of the country where we had to swap from our incredibly basic French vocabulary to an almost unpronouncable set of German words.
Tomorrow we head on to Munich. Here's the rest of our itinerary with basically 2 nights in each place:
*Munich, Germany (with day trips to Dachau and Fussen)
*Salzburg, Austria
*Vienna, Austria
*Prague, Czech Republic
*Berlin, Germany
*Amsterdam, The Netherlands (with a day trip to The Hague)
*Then back to England for all of 6 hours before I return HOME on June 23rd.

Finished!

I can't believe the semester is over! I came back from Italy last Thursday (Italy needs a dozen blog posts of its own because it was amazing!) and then had an exam on Friday and another on Monday. Now I'm finished! I'm not so sure how the exams went as I didn't really know how to prepare for them and so spent far more time traveling than studying, but they are OVER! It's such a relief to be done with school, but so sad to know I'm leaving. It has been a great semester and I really love England and all of the wonderful people I've met here. Despite not being crazy about my courses, I've learned so much, mostly outside class, about everything- history, politics, culture, traditions and just people and life in general. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to live here in Norwich because I feel like I was really able to experience and enjoy England in a way you can't when you are simply visiting on vacation. It was great seeing so much of the country as well as just taking part in the day to day things like grocery shopping and riding the double decker buses to and from town. I am definitely going to miss it here.

Tuesday was my birthday and it was a wonderful day. I went out for breakfast in the morning with some friends and finally had a "traditional English breakfast" because I knew I had to do it before I left. It was complete with eggs, toast, baked beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, sausage, bacon, and of course tea. And since it was my birthday, my friends insisted that i top it off with chocolate cake : ) Throughout the day I received so many birthday greetings and cards from people both here and at home. I even has the pleasant surprise of getting several phone calls from family and friends back home whose voices I haven't heard since I left in January. In addition to the more mundane like laundry and packing, I met up with friends through out the day and that night had a barbecue by the lake which was a lot of fun. I even learned (well, was taught) how to play cricket. Later that night we went to a cowboy and indian themed party that the university was hosting and I was obligated to keep my "birthday girl" hat on in addition to the cowgirl hat. It was a great day and thank you to all of you who made it special.
Now I am preparing to leave on the second half of my Europe adventure...

Oxford

After arriving back in Norwich at 1:00 am after the Stonehenge tour, I headed out 24 hours later for a "day trip" to Oxford. My friend Silvia was determined to go before we left England and it was a place I had been interested to visit, so realizing how little time we had left we decided, what the heck, lets just do it. We caught the National Express coach from Norwich at 1:50 am and after changing buses at Stansted airport (a place where I have passed far too many hours in the middle of the night) we arrived in London where we had to catch another coach. We were in Oxford before 8:00 am and it was so strange seeing the city as quiet and empty as it was. We were able to see aspects most tourists wouldn't though, such as the Oxford crew teams practicing on the river and the punters preparing their boats for the day. It was fun wandering the city and watching it slowly come to life. We visited the botanical gardens there and several museums. We went to the famous Christ Church College where John Locke, Lewis Carroll and so many others have graduated from, but is now so frequently visited since the Harry Potter movies were filmed there. Though we were limited to specific areas, it was pretty walking through the courtyard, the cathedral, and the dining hall. Too bad the dining commons at UMass do not even slightly resemble those at Oxford with their long, fancily set tables, stained glass windows, and massive portraits of past deans, graduates, and benefactors. We also walked through some of the other campus like Trinity College and Magdelen College. It was fun just wandering around in and out of stores and past renowned sights like the Bodleian Library which holds a copy of every book ever published in the UK, the unusually shaped Sheldonian Theatre, and the knockoff Venice style Bridge of Sighs. Exhausted, we left around 7:00 and arrived back in Norwich at midnight. Although we spent just as much time traveling as we did exploring Oxford, it was a fun day and I'm glad I was able to go before leaving England.

Big old rocks

The tour that a friend and I did last week was great! It was the same company we saw Scotland with and was an excellent way to visit major sites that we wanted to see but may not have had an opportunity to, as well as to see other things that were really interesting that we wouldn't have known about otherwise. 18 of us boarded the big yellow bus in London at the crack of dawn and headed to our first stop: Stonehenge. It was amazing seeing something so old and so famous that I had only read about and seen pictures of. Though it was roped off, we were still able to walk around the monument and with the admission, we were given an audioguide which provided interesting information on the arrangement of the stones and speculations on how and why they were laid. Our next stop was Devon, where we did a short walk up the "tor" (aka hill) and had a nice view of the surrounding area. We spent that night in Cornwall in Newquay, which is said to be the surfing capital of England. It was neat a town and our hostel was right by the water.

(I started this post forever ago but never finished it and now I'm in ITALY with a million more things I could write about so I'll quickly sum up the rest of the tour.)
We spent all of the next day in Cornwall, the south western part of England, stopping at various places along the way including St. Ive's- a quaint seaside town where we walked around and stocked up on the famous Cornish pasties, a light house with Caribbean-like views of the ocean, Sennen Cove from which we walked to Land's End- the most westerly point in England, Minack Theatre- an amazing outdoor stone theater built into a cliff overlooking the water, as well as other stops (including my first official cream tea- a delicious English specialty consisting of a pot of tea, a fresh scone, jam, and mounds of clotted cream). The third day we went to Tintagel-- where the ruins of what was supposedly King Arthur's castle remain, Glastonbury--a hippie town that also made Arthur claims and had an abbey and another fun hill to climb, Cheddar Gorge-- where cheddar cheese originated, and ended in Bath where we spent the night. We were free to do as we pleased until 12:00 the next day, so friends and I spent time just wandering around and gazing at all of the Georgian architecture and gardens and other things we came across. Of course we also went to the Roman Baths and it was so interesting to see what remains from when they were built 2000 years ago and how the area has changed. That was our final day of the tour so on our way back to London, we made several stops including Avebury- a giant though not as well preserved version of Stonehenge, and Lacock, an old fashioned village that hasn't really changed since the 16th century. It was a great trip!

Classes are finished! It is a relief to have all of the course work in and only have to deal with exams now. Last weekend I participated in a program called HOST that is organized for International students to do a home stay with an English family. I had signed up for it in January, but unfortunately wasn't placed until now. However, it was fun to get off campus and stay in a house. I was placed with an nice older single woman and her two dogs which were like her children. We went on several walks, including one with the Rambler's Association that she is a part of, visited a National Trust estate, went swimming, played a few games, and ate lots of food. It was an interesting change of pace from university life.

The week was primarily dedicated to finishing up my massive history project, but some friends and I managed to squeeze in a day trip to the Norfolk broads--a series of lakes and streams. We didn't do the typical thing and hire a boat, but we did rent bikes and wander all around which was fun. It was so pretty seeing all of the flowers in bloom and the little lambs out in the field. However, despite the appearance of Spring and in typical English style, the weather decided to change and we were caught in a hail storm and then were soaked in the rain. Fish and chips helped warm us up though and make a nice ending to our day.

On Saturday night we went to the circus as it came to UEA as part of the two week long Norfolk Festival. It was weird and unlike anything I've seen before, but it was good. Basically it was standing room only inside of this big silver tent where we were continuously herded from one side to to another as the position of the act changed. You'd be watching the tightrope walker and all of a sudden you'd have to move because a trapeze artist would be dangling above your head.

Now I'm off on a four day tour to Stonehenge, Bath, and Cornwall with the same company that we saw Scotland with. I'm excited! (except for the fact that I have to leave at 1:50 am on a 4 hour bus ride to London...)

back to work...

So it's back to the grind here at UEA, but I can't really complain seeing as though I only have two more classes before the semester is up; then it's a month long period of exams... I don't know why they spread it out so much here, but I hope to do lots of traveling during it and squeeze in studying where possible. It's terrible that I've been so unmotivated with school this semester, both because I don't really like my classes and because it feels like a 5 month vacation here! I do still have a fair amount of work to get in by next week, but after that it's just studying. I say "just" as if my exams aren't worth 50% of my entire grade... Oh well. I'm thoroughly disenchanted with the world of academia in general and over the past few weeks I have decided that I'm not ready to go straight on to do post-grad work and my Masters after next year. What I'll do, I haven't decided yet, but I'd love to teach abroad (teaching English as a second language, or working in a school in a developing country, or teaching at a missionary school, etc), join the Peace Corps, apply for Teach for America, or do something similar for a year or two in "the real world" before going back to school. I have too many other decisions to make right now though so that one is going to have to wait awhile.

That all being said, I'm not failing out of university or anything, though one might think I was considering that I got a 67 on the essay I just got back. However, while this would be pretty close to failing back home, the marking is quite different here. Failing is a 35 and a 67 is considered "upper second class honors" and is equivalent to an A- back home. So don't worry, I will at least pass this semester and secure myself a place at UMass for my senior year.

I'm gong away this weekend as part of the HOST program where you apply to stay with a British family for the weekend. I'll post an update on how it goes when I get back. As for pictures, they're coming. Good news= I received the cable from Hong Kong; Bad news= despite its description, it's not compatible with my computer...

Back at UEA after the Isle of Wight

So Easter Break is officially over and now it's back to work... As much as I loved traveling and was dreading coming back to UEA, it's actually been really nice to be back. It's great seeing everyone again and catching up. It's also strangely nice to just have more of a regular schedule again. However, I still want to travel everywhere at every spare moment (which causes a problem when I have so much work that I need to get done in the next couple of weeks)!

The Isle of Wight was really nice. It was pretty walking along the ocean and exploring some of the quaint little villages on the island (which is about 23 miles x 13 miles). Rachel and I bought bus rover tickets and so were able to go all over and see things like the castle, different shops, an old military battery, unique rock formations called "The Needles," a monument to Tennyson, and more. I also just really enjoyed relaxing and visiting with Rachel's grandmother. It was so nice to eat delicious homecooked food around a normal table, sleep in a real bed, chill out on a couch, and just do all of those little things you start to miss after living in a dorm away from home for awhile.

As for pictures, I never did find my cord (though I just ordered a new one on good ol' Ebay), but I was able to back up my memory card on to a CD and so I will try to put up a sampling of photos from my travels. I just wish there was some way of labeling them.



By the way, this is what England looks like:

Scotland

Scotland was great and hopefully I'll be able to write more about it later. After arriving in London from Spain at midnight and having a feeling of deja vu as I tried to sleep in the same coach station my mom, Sarah, and I were stuck in, I managed to get a coach from the airport to the Tube station and catch a subway to the train station just in time to board my 6:00 am train to Edinburgh. Once in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, I met up with friends from UEA and we settled into our hostel before going off to explore the Castle, a cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote, and the Royal Mile- a street filled with shops with Parliament and the palace at the end. Our tour began the next morning at 8:30 am when we met up at the Haggis Tour office and boarded the bright yellow bus. (Haggis by the way is a traditional Scottish delicacy-- a scrumptious combination of oats, onions, suet, and the lungs, heart, and liver of a sheep, all boiled together in a sheep's stomach.) It was a 3 day/2 night tour and a great way to see a vast area of the country. We definitely learned a lot about Scottish history and saw the way that things we may think of as typical Scotland, like kilts, Celtic motifs, plaid, etc is so ingrained in the culture. We toured castles and visited various monuments. We went all the way up to Skye and had so many scenic views of the snow-capped mountains, the lochs, and the sea. It was interesting getting to know everyone on the bus too as they had come from all over. Unfortunately, though we had our eyes wide open the whole time, there were no Nessie sightings...

I've been back in Norwich for two days and tomorrow I am off again for more travelling! I'm liking this lifestyle : ) I am spending the weekend with a friend whose grandmother lives on the Isle of Wight, and island in southern England. I'm excited!

Espana!

NoOoOoOooooo!! Now I'm back to my own computer and have a good internet connection where I can upload pictures, but I can't find my USB cord! If it turns up, I will upload pictures immediately, but I have scoured this tiny dorm room and I have a dreadful sneaking suspicion it's in Spain...

Anyways, Spain was great! I flew into Malaga, a coast city in Andalucia- a region of southern Spain. I spent a night in a funky little hostel there and met people from all over. It was fun exploring the city and embarrassing seeing how little Spanish I remembered from high school. I managed to get by though with basic conversational words and a whole lot of nodding, smiling, and saying "si, si." This worked fine until people asked me a question that I didn't understand and that couldn't be answered with a simple yes or no. Thankfully most everyone was patience wit my ignorance and many spoke English anyways.

After settling into the hostel, I climbed the hill up to the Castillo de Gibraltaro- the fortress built to protect the palace below. The view of the city from up there was beautiful and it was fun wandering around the various walls of the fortress. From here I went to the beach. It was quite a change after freezing in England's rainy cloudy weather for the past week to be sitting in the sand, barefoot, and eating ice cream. I didn't go swimming but I felt I had to at least put my feet in as it was the Mediterranean. That night I had foretaste of a delicious week to come as the hostel prepared a paella and sangria dinner for us. In the morning, I explored more of the city, including the cathedral, the Picasso Museum, and Picasso's childhood home. Later that day i boarded a bus for Granada where I met up with my friend Alissa who is studying there. However, in classic Lauren style, I forgot my jacket, scarf, and fleece (all things I no longer needed in Spain) on the bus and it drove away before I noticed. Thankfully Alissa's Spanish is a whole lot better than mine and after talking to many different people, I was able to get them back.

Granada is a beautiful city. As the last Muslim stronghold in Spain, the architecture is an interesting mix of Moorish and traditional Spanish styles. This seen most in the Alhambra, a fortress-complex made up of a series of palaces, defenses, and gardens nestled up on the hill overlooking Granada. The arches and intricate carvings and tile work within them was so impressive, especially as you could see the city through them. (I wish I could show pictures because words don't do any justice!) Though this is the most famous site in Granada, I also enjoyed seeing the cathedral, strolling through the Alaibicin- an old Moorish neighborhood that is a maze of narrow winding streets built into the hill. Alissa was able to take me around to see places and do things that the average tourist wouldn't have done, like climb the ancient city wall and explore various parks and plazas. It was great visiting her and seeing all of the places she has talked about. Over the weekend she and I and another one of her friends travelled to Cordoba and Sevilla. These were also very pretty cities with a lot of history and things to see. In Cordoba, we went to the Mezquita, a mosque that was built in the 700s and converted into a cathedral in 1236. Again the architecture and detail was stunning, especially the rows of red and white arches that supported the whole interior. In Cordoba we also went to the Alcazar, another fortress-palace with beautiful gardens and ancient Arab baths. It was here that Columbus came to ask permission of King Ferdinand and Isabella to go to the New World. Sevilla was another great city and I wish we had more time to explore it. We went to the cathedral there and went up the winding ramp to the top of the bell tower where we could look out on all of the city. Like the other cities, Sevilla also had a beautiful palace which we spent quite awhile in. Spain was great and the week flew by. Before I knew it I was saying goodbye to Alissa and heading to my next destination: Scotland.

(I was able to get this one photo {me in Granada with the Alhambra in the background} on here because it was on Facebook. I just hope I find my cord soon!)

ugh... pictures won´t post from this old computer

A Whirlwind tour of England and Beyond!

Hello all!
This is going to have to be a short post, but I am hoping to put up a few pictrues. It was great seeing my mom and sister last week when they came to England to visit. It was a busy trip, full of sightseeing and adventure (inclduing missing scheduled buses and having to sleep in the station, crowding into a tiny dorm room, getting seasick on ferries, navigating our way in a foreign country where we didn´t speak the language, and other similar excitement). Overall though it was a lot of fun! We started in Norwich where I gave them a tour of UEA and the city inlcuding the castle and cathedral there. The next day, before heading into London, we went to Sherringham, a quaint seaside town, for a couple of hours. In London we stayed with a friend of my mother´s who she hadn´t seen in over 20 years, so it was neat to meet and catch up with her family. We hit up all of the main sites in London: Big Ben, Parliment, The National Gallery, Tower of London, the London Eye, a ferry ride down the Thames, Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard, and also just spent some time wandering the city. We definitely crammed a lot into those two days before heading on to Paris for just one night to do the same. It was a long ride there as we took an overnight coach, which went on the ferry, and had all kinds of delays, but we made it and hit the ground running. We went to Arc de Triumph, the Louvre, walked along the Seine, and ascended the Eiffel Tower late at night for a great view of the city. The next morning we climbed up up to the Sacre Coeur church and explored the artisan area up there before catching a train to Le Havre where we took a ferry to Portsmouth, England. In England, we were greeted by and spent the weekend with friends of ours from church back home who are orginally from Engalnd. It was nice to be a bit more relaxed and spend Easter with them. Of course we did manage to squeeze in some sightseeing as we wandered around Westminister checking out the cathedral, a castle, King Arthur´s Round Table, a museum, and the gardens, and the next day having our first National Trust experience. It was a great trip and wonderful to see my family. On Tuesday they flew back home and I headed for Spain where I am now, but that will have to wait until later! (So much for a short post...)

Easter Break!

If I would just write shorter posts, then I would be able to write so many more! Sorry they are all so lengthy. Even in my essays here I have the hardest time keeping to word limits. At least back home it's usually a page requirement...so you can always shrink the font, extend the margins, etc...

Anyways, Easter Break is here which means we have 4 weeks off (to dedicate wholly to our studies of course)! With all of my travel plans, I don't know if any books will even be opened. Tomorrow my mother and sister arrive and I'm going to meet them at Heathrow. I'll show them around Norwich for a few days, then we'll head back to London to see as many of the main sights we can in just a day or two. Next it's on to Paris for a night where we'll again rush around as tourists, but this time unable to speak the language. After that we'll end back in the UK in Southampton area with some family friends. Once my mom and Sarah fly home, I'm off to Spain for a week to visit a friend who's studying in Granada and to also do some travelling in Malaga and Sevilla. From here I fly back to London and take a train directly to Edinburgh where I'm meeting other friends for a 3 day Scotland tour. Then I'll have a few days to recoup in Norwich before taking off to the Isle of Wight for the last part of the break. I'm really excited for everything, but I think I'm going to need another vacation to recover from this one! : )

I don't know what kind of internet access I'll have, but please feel free to keep emailing me and I'll post pictures if I can!

Snowdonia

Last weekend I went on another Fell Club trip, this time to Snowdonia in Wales. The group that went this time varied from the Lake District, so it was fun to meet some new people as well as visit a new country. Overall it was a great trip, but had you asked me on Saturday afternoon, I probably would have given a completely different response…

Day 1:
After loading up the mini-buses and signing all necessary papers, we waved farewell to UEA and embarked on our long journey to Wales. At least the trip was complete with the inevitable stop at a chip shop, and plenty of cakes (anything sweet and bread-like is called cake here), biscuits (basically hard cookies that come in millions of varieties and are usually eaten with tea), and flapjacks (delicious creations made out of oatmeal, sugar, butter, and whatever else you choose to throw in). I think we got lost on the way there because we didn’t arrive at Caseg Fraith, the hut we were staying at until nearly 2:00 am. The beds were a wonderful sight, despite the fact that it was just two long rows of mattresses laid out on the floor.

Day 2:
After not enough sleep, we woke up to the pleasant sound of pouring rain being blown against the glass on the windows. At least there was lots of porridge and tea to put us in better spirits and prepare us for the adventures of the day. We went through the usual routine of packing lunches, gathering gear, and dividing into 3 different hiking trips and by then, thankfully the rain has subsided slightly. My group began at Pen-Y-Pass with the intentions of ascending a few peaks and walking along a ridge until we reached Capel Curig, a town on the opposite side. When we started out, it was only raining a little bit, but the paths had turned into streams and my feet were soaked through within 20 minutes, despite my heavy boots and multiple socks. The further up we got, the windier it became and by the time we had reached 500 meters (which is only about 1500 feet) we seriously had to sit down to keep from blowing over. For awhile I thought I was going to have my life long dream of being able to fly actually come true. It was obvious things were only going to get worse if we tried to go up any farther, so our walk leader made the wise decision to head down into the valley. We basically made our own trail but in the UK, there aren’t the trees everywhere like back home, so you can see where you are going. We used the map to orient ourselves as then began to follow this never ending stone wall. By this time it was absolutely pouring and the wind was just driving the rain. We had to cross several streams and march through bogs, but at this point we didn’t even bother trying to keep dry; it was far too late for that. If it’s possible I don’t think I’ve ever been wetter, not in the shower, not swimming, not anywhere, in my life. Just as we thought it couldn’t get worse, it some how managed to rain even harder and then turn to hail which, with the wind, made for a painful combination. The stone wall wasn’t getting us anywhere quickly, so we found our way to the road and followed it for another 2 miles or so until we made it to Capel Curing where we saw the glorious sight of the pub where we were meeting everyone else. We must have been a sight in ourselves though, dripping wet, clutching our hot tea, and huddled around the little fire. Later it was so nice to get back to our hut and change into dry clothes, eat a delicious dinner, and just sit around playing cards and enjoying warm drinks.

Day 3:
Sunday was also predicted to be horrendous, but fortunately the bad weather held out! Yet the day was not adventure free. We hopped into the minibuses ready for another hike, but it wouldn’t start. After many phone calls to the university and the insurance company, we found out that they would send another bus for us to drive as well as a tow truck. Since they were coming from Norwich, we knew it was going to be a long wait so we split into groups, changed our paths and did hikes from the hut. My group went up and over a series of peaks along a horseshoe that looped back to the hut. It was really pretty and it was quite clear so the views were good. We had only had a small burst of hail and strong winds, but aside from that, the weather was surprisingly great! There was snow on top of one of the peaks we did and it was funny to see how excited some of the people became when they saw it. I told them to go to New England. The hike ended up being great as it was nice views, a good pace, and a fun group. Back at the hut we hung around waiting for our relief bus, only to have the insurance man arrive, stick the key in the ignition, and have the bus start with no problem! It was embarrassing, but we were glad to be on our way. It was just in time too because as we were pulling away, it began to sleet/snow/hail or something nasty, but we escaped it. Despite Saturday’s weather, it was a good trip and I’d love to go back to Wales to explore other parts.

P.S. Although, I didn’t get to hear much Welsh this weekend, I say it written all over. How do you pronounce words like hwylfawr (goodbye) or diolch yn fawr iawn (thank you very much) ?!

Time sure does fly when you're having fun!

AAAHHHH!!! Where is the time going?! I have been here for 9 1/2 weeks!!! I can't believe how long it's been since I last made a post and so sorry if you have been looking! There is so much I could write that I don't know where to start! It's usually the weekends I write about because that's when I tend to travel, but all sorts of other things happen here too. Hmmm... I guess I'll start with last weekend in Wales and see how far I get.

Shaking it up in England

I guess I survived an earthquake last night; however, had I not heard and read about it this morning, I probably wouldn't have had any recollection of it. I do remember though, at about 1:00 am, just as I was falling asleep and so only semi-consciousness, thinking that UEA was being bombed. Up here on the top floor, I definitely felt the tremor and was confused by what was happening, but I wasn't aware or startled enough to fully wake up. It was not until this morning, when I heard the news, that I remembered the night before and saw the connection between my crazy dreams and reality. With a magnitude of 5.2, it was the biggest earthquake to hit England in nearly 25 years. Though it was powerful, thankfully there was only one serious injury when a chimney fell into a Lincolnshire home. It was definitely the excitement of all the media today.

P.S. I was so excited when I saw someone with a Red Sox sweatshirt today and he was English! Everyone here seems to despise baseball in general, but he (after spending a year in Rhode Island) became a fan. I am going to miss all of the games this spring! RedSox.com here I come!

London

I’ve been in this country for 8 weeks (which I can’t believe!!) so I guess it was about time I visited the capital. I spent this past Saturday in London on a trip organized by the Dean of students for us internationals. They organized cheap transportation and a themed walking tour of the city for us, for which I chose, feeling obligated as an English major, the Shakespeare and Dickens’ one. Our guide (who was the epitome of what I’d imagine a British tour guide talking about literature to be like—see picture) provided interesting information and told engaging stories. We walked around some of the less explored parts of the city, and while we didn’t really see much that I would have associated with these authors (such as the Globe Theatre!) she did point out and provide some history on places like Bartholomew’s Hospital, a pub both Shakespeare and Dickens’ used to frequent, the old meat market, and more. After the tour, we were free to wander about on our own for the next four hours before we had to meet back at the bus. Alison and I ended up doing a lot of wandering and not so much doing or seeing, but it was still fun. We made our way across the city and meandered along the Thames for awhile just looking around and enjoying the street performers. Then we went into the Tate Modern, which, in addition to the art on the wall, just didn’t have the feeling of a conventional museum as it seemed more like a chaotic warehouse or something. It may have just been the overwhelming mobs of people that made it feel that way, but it definitely contributed to the overall atmosphere of modernism. Between it being so crowded and us being so hungry, we didn’t stay long, but ventured to Borough market where we bought lunch and other delicious goodies. From here we headed back to St. Paul’s Cathedral, where we had begun our adventure and were expected to meet with everyone again. We had hoped to climb the 500 some odd stairs to the top, but they had stopped allowing people up after 4:00. However, we were able to look around the ground level and catch the beginning of the evensong service before boarding the bus back to Norwich. Although we didn’t see nearly as much as hoped, I’m glad I was able to see all o f the main tourist sites when I was there for two days in 2004. I’m looking forward to going back and seeing even more when my mother and sister come to visit and when I go back to meet up with friends. Overall though, it ended up being a good, yet exhausting day. As much as I like London, I’m glad I didn’t go to school there as it was nice to come back “home” to the less chaotic city of Norwich.

Ceilidh

Last night some friends and I decided to do something "English" and so participated in a traditional ceilidh (or barn dance). It was held in town at some men's club with tacky wallpaper and drooping Christmas lights, with a giant silver disco ball looking oddly out of place. It was interesting... but fun. They hold these dances monthly, so there were all sorts of people there: locals young and old, students, experienced dancers and those with two left feet, and people who live for this kind of thing and so travel quite a distance to come. There was a live band and a caller who led all sorts of dances in different square, circle, and line formations. The night continued with lots of swinging, promenades, skipping, and sweaty palmed partners. About half way through, a folk dance group put on a brief dance performance for us. Though we were a bit uncertain of what we were getting ourselves into and had no dancing experience of this sort, it turned out to be a fun night. It was definitely quite British!

The Lovely Lake District

I spent this past weekend on an amazing trip to the Lake District in Cumbria with the Fell Club. Though we left an hour late because one of the mini-buses was missing (how does one lose a bus?!) and then had to travel over six hours (thankfully with a fish and chips break!), we arrived at the hut just after midnight. We had the hut all to ourselves, and though it was freezing cold, it was quite nice with its kitchen, large eating area, a sitting soon with a tiny fire places, and 5-6 bedrooms with bunks upstairs. We were all exhausted and crashed straightaway that first night and were greeted early the next morning with a cup of tea.


After some porridge and lunch packing, the four walks, grouped by intensity, were announced by the trip leaders and we set off for the fells--a.k.a. mountains. As soon as I stepped out o the hut I was amazed by the mountains that just sprung out o the ground as it had been far too dark to see anything the night before. It was definitely different here from flat Norwich and the other parts parts of England I have seen. The hike I opted for started in Ambleside and made a 17K (~11 mi) trek around a horseshoe, so we ascended and then basically walked along the ridge changing elevation just slightly when we went up and over the various peaks. It was amazing! The views were beautiful and we couldn't have asked for better weather as it was sunny and dry. It was cold in the morning and there was a frost, which made everything really pretty, but as the day went on and we started hiking, it was grew quite warm. Since we were following the horseshoes, it was neat because we could see across the gap where we were going and later, where we had been. Being able to see so far and so clearly the whole walk, rather than being enclosed by trees, was something that you would never get in New England. The whole walk just seemed so British! Instead of the bison and bears I grew accustomed to in Yellowstone, the wildlife here consisted of sheep. They were everywhere! Unfortunately their hot pink spray painted wool, used to identify them, took away from the otherwise perfectly pastoral setting. Along the trail, we followed miles of old stone wall used to keep in the sheep. It was amazing how far they all ran and how well they have remained intact. I can't even imagine building all of that!


After about 6-7 hours on the trail, we arrived back in the quaint town and found a pub to wait in for the other group before heading back to the hut to make and devour a delicious dinner. Following dinner, ridiculous games ensued like musical chairs, twisted versions of twister, a game where you link arms and try to get other people to knock over the bucket in the center, and other madness. Finally, after several varieties of cake to celebrate a fellow fell member's birthday (they are all about their cakes here--cakes are seldom chocolate or vanilla, but rather they are banana, sticky date, fruit, walnut, etc) and story time, we all went to sleep in order to get some rest before heading out again. In the morning, we all felt the muscle sores and blisters, but were excited to get out one last time. This time the group I went with did a walk in another part of the Lake District called Buttermere. It wasn't as long as Saturday's walk (maybe only 8-9K) but parts of it were quite steep. Aside from a rough start, where we got slightly lost, both in the mini-bus on our way and in the fields meandering alongside the sheep once we started walking, it turned out to be another great hike. We past a waterfall, the tallest in the area, and walked in a valley along a river before ascending Red Pike where we had lunch and marvelled at the view of the other mountains and the little town we had started in so far below.


There is so much more I could say to describe the trip and the pictures I have don't do it full justice, but overall it was just a great weekend. I'm so glad I was able to see another part of England, especially one as pretty as the Lake District!

Korfball Madness

Wow, time is passing so quickly! I can’t believe it’s already Week 5 of the semester and that Pancake Day was a full week ago!

This past Saturday, UEA hosted its annual Korfball tournament... There were sixteen teams in all—some local and some from other universities. It went from 9-4:30 with two games being played at once in two different courts, so there was always some game to watch or to play in. Since they were only 14 minute games, things stayed interesting and everyone had a lot of playing time. It was fun, but the results were not so pretty. UEA made four teams out of all of its players, the first being the best players. Sadly, team 4 came in absolute last, team 3 came in surprisingly before team 2 in 8th place, team two came in 10th, and the first team came in 6th. After a close final game between Cambridge University and a local team—the Norwich Knights, the Knights came away from the tournament with a trophy. The rest of us were perfectly content with our consolation prize of candies. I played about 5 games total for both team 3 and 4, as well as the Kent University team as they were lacking players. We held our own on some of the games, but others were absolute slaughter. It didn’t help any that the beginning of the tournament was rigged to make sure the best teams made it to the final rounds and so our discombobulated team of beginners had the joy of facing some of the top teams in the league. Oh, well, it was fun though. I feel like I learned the game much better from playing and watching so much and it was great getting to hang out with the rest of the team and get to know them better.

That night, after the tournament, we had a Disney-themed social for the Korfball team. There were so many creative characters and costumes there! There were definitely some notable ones there like Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast and the Genie from Aladdin, all painted in blue. You also could have filmed Peter Pan all over again as its entire cast graced us with their presence. On top of these characters, I saw Cruella DeVille, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, quite a few Alice in Wonderlands, several Woody and Jessies from Toy Story II, Robin Hood, Ursula, Lilo, the hunter who shot Bambi’s mom : ( , Cinderella in rags, Dory from Finding Nemo, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, and so many more. Then of course there were several Minnie’s and Mickey’s, who I, out of lack of ideas and materials, was also part of. It was fun to see everyone all dressed up and even funnier to see the rest of campus’ reaction when we all flooded, fully costumed, into the LCR for the weekly Saturday night party!

Happy Pancake Day!

Today, while all of you back in the U.S. celebrate Mardi Gras and wait for the results of "Super Tuesday," everyone in the UK is celebrating Pancake Day. Though this delicious holiday is more properly called “Shrove Tuesday” and is observed as a day of penance day before Lent begins, it has become associated with pancakes as people, wanting to use up their rich ingredients like eggs, milk, and sugar before the season of fasting, began to mix them all together to create pancakes and other indulgent foods. Now Pancake Day is eagerly awaited and celebrated by many. First off, everyone has to make and eat pancakes on this day. However, pancakes here are not the fluffy breakfast delicacies we might enjoy back home, but instead are much thinner and crepe like. Depending on your preferences, they can be prepared standard (with lemon and sugar), savory, or with other sweet toppings like syrup, fruit, and ice cream. Not only do people eat pancakes on this day, but they also play with them. Across the country there are different games and contests going on, such as pancake races and the “Pancake Greaze” (which I am not totally sure what it’s all about other than making a gigantic pancake and throwing it into the air). People are also tuned into big football (soccer) games that air on this day.

It was quite exciting to partake in a new holiday. One of the eateries on campus was serving pancakes all day so some friends and I were sure to hit that up and later, several of my flatmates made more pancakes. Unfortunately there were no pancake races taking places in Norwich. I think I’ll have to bring this holiday back home because unless you are in New Orleans, there is nothing exciting about Mardi Gras and besides, what’s wrong with an excuse to eat lots of pancakes?

FIRE! FIRE!! FIRE!!!

So it's not as dramatic as it sounds, but we did have our first fire drill tonight. I was just about to get ready for bed when a horrible screeching sound came screaming out of my ceiling. At first I jumped in shock, but then I was confused. I’m glad it wasn’t a real fire because, by the time I found some shoes, put on some warm layers, and figured out where we were supposed to be going, I probably would have been trapped in flames. The funny thing is that just a few hours before the alarm went off, I was wondering if they did fire drills here. I guess they do. I’m just glad it wasn’t the middle of the night. However, by the time all was said and done, it became the wee hours of the morning as most of our flat reconvened in the hallway once we came back in, talked for awhile, and then the guys proceeded to make and eat random food, like fried bread, boiled chicken, poached salmon, sausage, and cottage cheese… So much for going to bed early again tonight! Oh, well. The nice thing about fire drills is that it forces everyone to come out of their rooms and so caused flat socializing which is a rare occurrence here. Now I think I’ll go to sleep considering I have lecture in a few hours.

A Walk on the Beach

This afternoon one of the families at the church I've been attending invited all of the international students and any other students who were interested to their home for lunch. It was so nice to meet and talk with other people, be inside a HOUSE, and eat delicious home-cooked food. I can't believe how much they made! It was fun because they had all sorts of typical British food like Shepherd's Pie (after the fact I realized it was probably authentic-a.k.a. lamb, not beef), chicken, salmon, stew, vegetables, roast meats with potatoes and carrots, and so much more. Then there were the desserts- custard, crumbles, spongecake with jam, biscuits, tea, etc. I really appreciated being invited over and it was wonderful getting to know some of the others in the church.

Yesterday, I went on a trip to the coast with the Fell Club (another random society I managed to become a part of). Basically they do different hiking and walking trips and I figured it would be a great way to see more of England in a manner that most tourists aren't usually able to. We took the train out to Sherringham, a quaint coastal town, and then just started walking. It was really pretty! The coast was different from what I'm used to at home. First of all, it was totally flat. There was green country and ocean side by side. Our path began along the tops of the dunes and then went closer to the water along "shingles" or pebbles, which composed the majority of the beach. Later we walked in more of the countryside and saw horses, sheep, ducks, and swans. Our last stretch was along boardwalks in sort of a marshy land that I believe was some sort of conservation area. We ended our trek in Cley at the West Cottage Cafe, a little tea house attached to a couple's home, where we warmed up with tea and scones. It was a fun trek and I hope to go to the Lake District with Fell when they head up there in a couple of weekends.