Please don't play in the Roman baths

Bath was neat. Very pretty, gorgeous weather (I think England is skipping winter this year), good buns (Sally Lunn's buns that is, famous worldwide).

Last night, near 1 AM, when I was trying to finish a paper (2 deadlines in 1 day = utter cruelty), everything started to quake, but nothing fell down. Introducing . . . my first earthquake. It drew all the Americans out of their rooms and into the hall (Lea: England doesn't get earthquakes!) but all the Brits were sleeping. It wasn't really that exciting. Not even a spilled glass of water. Pretty lame for a natural disaster.

Cheers.

toostie roll

Do you like the new title/photo? Tootsie has the adorable/annoying habit of taking over any open suitcases as her own. It may be that she just thinks she's the stuff, and top dog, and can do whatever she wants (which is pretty true - just consider the rules about socks at our house, and if you don't' know, well, come over, take off a sock, and try to find it later - it'll be with the dog), but I always like to think she's asking to come with. Or begging me not to go. Or asking me to leave her some socks.

She looks a little crazy in that photo, but there's no solution to "reflective eye", just red eye. iPhoto, you fail me.

Its currently 2 AM here. I'm going to Bath tomorrow with the Mom (she's in town, didn't you know? she's so jetset), but I had to get some work done first, which required some caffeine, which means now I'm not tired. So I thought I'd get my daily dose of vanity and type about myself for a bit. So here I am.

3 weeks left of term. Do I have anything planned come March 15? Nope. I better get on that . . . wish me luck. mucho misses.

transporting the culture

The weather is gorgeous here - 50s, sunny, you would think that its a Missouri spring. I'm not sure how long it will last, but I'm keeping my window curtains open 24/7 so I don't miss an ounce of sunlight. I thought my plants would appreciate it, but they are all still dying. I must be suffocating them with love, or water, or something.

Last week saw a failed Superbowl party (near midnight + broken tvs = quick loss of interest) and my first Pancake Day (the English celebrate the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday with their own inventive pancakes, which are crispy and served with lemon juice and sugar -- yum!).

I also tried to wow the English with my bowling skills at a Griffens (read: Homerton Sports Clubs) social. However, I turned out to be about average, which was a tad embarrassing considering the massive amount of trash talking I did (not quite). They were amazed, however, when I told that that I took a bowling class for college credit. That stuff doesn't fly at Cambridge, apparently. Too much dedication to the books going on here.

Speaking (typing?) of academics - I'm LOVING my Austen supervision. Jane is a bit more tricky than I originally expected and she's so much more pleasant to read than the stuffy modernists. My mind is in a bit of an odd place these days - switching from TS Eliot's nihilism and Austen's romance - its a shocking literary cocktail. And I'm considering senior honors projects - can you imagine the glory if I could combine my two majors into one essay? I'm thinking of the function of criticism - Brecht's idea that literature should jumpstart social change, and its effects, or what not. Hm. Might be a bit of a sell to the PoliSci, it will require some more thought.

My time here is almost half over, which is weird to think about. I miss Jewell terribly, but I think, when the time comes to leave Cambridgeshire, my heart will break a little. My cold cold heart may be warming to the English these days, I think it just might be.

new and old observations

You know you are in Cambridge when . . .


some of your professors are pretentious enough to dress in all black, all the time

the others still look more fashionable than you

girls don't own jeans, just jean skirts and lots of tights, no matter the weather

more so, they dress nice for everything, but don't brush their hair

people are chastised for cycling home drunk

the average number of sexual partners per college is national news (Homerton is in the
lead, btw, with an average of 7 per person, which is why the test scores are so low, apparently)

no one wears sweatpants anywhere outside of their room (not even to get laundry!)

technology is not embraced - hand written notes are the norm, and clicky typing is a well hated evil

new term, new activities

I'm no longer a rower. I'm a quitter.
But a well rested one at that. :D

Other than sleeping later, not much new to report. I took John out to dinner last night at a Chipolte wanna be called Manna Mexico (2 for 1 burritos = cheap date)! For being so far from the southern border, it wasn't that bad.

AND last week at badminton, I was one point away from winning my first game. Not bad, ay?

Here's a photo of my desk, looking more cheery these days (although the daffodils are dying! I think I better stick to catci and ferns)



So, all in all, its been a good week.

One and a half kleenex boxes later - I'm feeling much better. Thanks for the good vibes (and care packages will STILL be accepted!).

Nothing too exciting to report - back to the reading and the writing, and the obsessive drinking of the Diet Coke and the Buttery's blueberry muffins (which are almost as good at Jewell's blueberry scones).

The crew lists for rowing came out last week, and I didn't make either of the crews - but no worries. I wasn't surprised or disappointed. Rowing is a lot of fun, but I'd rather it be an occasional hobby than a full-time activity - which is what it is becoming for the crews (lots more races this term = lots more training). I'm still on the fence about how involved I'll be - right now I'm still training with them (I need my beach body for Greece, you know), but I'm only a sub for the outings - which is fine except that I'll still have to pay the $50 in subs to stay involved, which seems quite pricey considering the amount of time I will actually be in those expensive boats . . . hm. I have a few weeks to decide, so we'll see.

Anna and I went to a debate at the Union last night - This House believes that Britain should keep American close, but Europe closer. It brought up a lot of interesting points about the sovereignty of nations, and England's differing views on the EU. As a member of the EU, Britain is semi governed by an international body and bound by its laws - which was seen as a good thing by some (Europe is the new frontier!) and a bad thing by others (undemocratic! tyranny!). And of course, it wouldn't be a international policy debate without some anti Americanism - apparently the USA lacks the same values as the English - as in we still have the death penalty - and two states can still kill a criminal by firing squad! Oh please - just because its legal, doesn't mean its in practice - it was a completely misleading shot (haha i love puns . . . ). It was interesting, all the same. In my own opinion - I'd keep America closer - the UK is a good mid point between the US and Europe, and we all know that their egos are too large to completely submit to the being "just another member of Europe". Plus - we may be an ocean away, but we smell better than the French.

much love.

sneeze

I've caught a miserable cold.
Your sympathy and care packages would be much appreciated.

I also bought three new plants - two begonias and a daffodil. The cactus survived winter break.

much love.