So it has been ages since I updated here. It's in between spring and summer terms here, and in the ensuing holiday I have been to Switzerland, Rome, various places around York, and the Cotswolds. I've seen my parents - my dad and Michelle in Rome, my mom here in the UK. It's been good.
I left for Switzerland March 18th - a little more than a month ago. I spent the first night in Basel, then was on the train in the morning for Lucerne. I spent two nights in Lucerne, then headed for Grindelwald, where I spent one night. My last two nights I spent in Interlaken, and then I was on the train for Rome.
Lucerne was wonderful - my favourite place on the trip. The city was beautiful, very old and interesting and set on a lake and river of a rather surprisingly blue colour (I kept expecting to see sea turtles, because the colour reminded me of Hawai'i). The scenery was nice, when it wasn't snowing or cloudy (though the snow was also nice).
My first night there I took a walk in the evening and suddenly all the church bells in the city were ringing, off in the distance - it was one of the most beautiful moments of the trip.
It took a bit of adjustment at first, but I really enjoyed travelling on my own, having adventures and seeing things on my own terms, at my own pace... I like travelling with other people, too, it lets you be social, but it was nice to get away on my own, and, in a way, to prove to myself that I could do it - even in a country where I didn't speak the language. (I was very thankful that French is one of the official languages of Switzerland, especially when it came time to cook for myself, because the food generally wasn't labelled in English, and I'm useless when it comes to German.)
Grindelwald was pretty nice - and very pretty! When I got there it was dumping snow, which was nice enough, but sort of disappointing, because I'd gone there specifically to see the Alps, and maybe do some walking. The walk to and from the hostel ended up being enough for me, though - it was up the hill from town, and what a hill it was. Especially in the snow.
In the morning I woke up and was greeted by a window full of Alp - absolutely stunning. I sprang out of bed (wrapped in my duvet - it was cold!) and sat by the window, just looking at the snow-laden landscape and the mountains across the valley.
I spent the morning just wandering the town - but it was over-nice for me, really. A resort town, and full of skiers, because it was that season. I'd like to go back in the summer, sometime, and walk there - there's glaciers within a fairly short day hike of the town.
That afternoon I headed back down the valley to Interlaken, my final destination in Switzerland.
The town wasn't that great, really. I'm not sure what crowd it caters to, but I was pretty bored. I spent a lot of time wandering in and out of tourist shops (same in Grindelwald, really) and looking at the scenery (not as impressive as Lucerne or Grindelwald, but still deliciously Alpine), and feeling cold. It didn't snow quite as much as in Grindelwald, but the wind was really cold.
Also, Interlaken has the very dubious honour of being the only place outside the US where I have ever seen a Hooters restaurant. It was right next door to the grand 19th century hotel, just for contrast.
The hostels across Switzerland were really good. My first night in Lucerne I had a four-person dorm to myself, which was pretty sweet, but otherwise I was sharing rooms. The only place that was really a problem was in Interlaken, where there were 5 other people in my room and it could be a bit distracting when I was trying to sleep. All the hostels were well cared-for and comfortable (the beds always had duvets!). Other than in Grindelwald the hostels had kitchens, so I cooked for myself the whole trip, which was nice.
From Switzerland it was on to an interminable train ride and then, finally, Rome. My arrival was anticlimactic - it was raining and chilly and dark out and I got lost on the way to the hotel, which was only about three blocks from the train station - but it all worked out, and I settled into a very nice room - with high ceilings, huge windows facing the street, and a chandelier - in an 1870s hotel near the opera. My dad and Michelle arrived the next morning (the 25th), and stayed through the 31st. We did all the big stuff - Forum, Colosseum, Vatican... walked a lot, saw a lot of opulence and a lot of nice art, both Roman and Renaissance / Baroque. We also ate. And ate and ate.
And I might update more on that later, but for now... this is a long entry, I'm hungry, and I should really get back to revising for my exam next week.
Pictures from Switzerland and Rome are up, but not captioned, here.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
Pictures From London
Happy Leap Day, and Talk of London
London last weekend was really good.
The two other times I was there I reserved my judgement, knowing that I had not been there long enough to really know if I liked it or not, but it's now official - I like London. It's short (a big advantage, in my opinion - the towering buildings of some cities make me very uncomfortable), it's pretty, it's full of history and cool things. And really good museums.
I was lucky on this trip, because my study abroad program paid for both dinners, one brunch, and my lodging - as well as my train ticket. Considering how expensive London is, that was very good.
On Friday the highlight (after an afternoon spent riding in the entrance / between-cars vestibule of the train) was definitely going to see The Shockwaves NME Awards Tour at the Carling Academy down in Brixton (in south London). Tom and I went, along with another American named Cambria who has just returned to York for another term after having been here last year.
We missed the first band, The Ting Tings, but we got there right before Does it Offend You, Yeah? started. They won my awards for Best Punctuation, and Most Direct Song of the Night ("Let's Make Out," of which the main lyrics are, yes, "let's make out!").
After DiOY,Y? Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong came on. They were the band I was most excited about hearing. They're brand new - no album out or anything. But their songs are already getting a decent amount of play, and their lead singer is Joe Van Moyland / Joe Beaumont / Joe Lean, an actor I like. They were my favourite of the night - so terribly British, clever and angular (music and looks), with Joe Lean doing his awkward pointy dancing... it was great. They weren't perfect, some of their songs were lackluster, but it was generally a really good showing. The crowd wasn't so enthused, but that's their loss. To stick with this award theme - they win My Favourite, Best Dancing, and Best Banter.
The headliners of the night were The Cribs, who were, in Tom's words, "decent." I was surprised how many of their songs I knew - they've crept into my consciousness without me being fully aware of it. The highlight of their set was definitely the fact that Johnny Marr, guitarist of The Smiths and indie god, came out and played the last few songs with them, including a Smiths cover. That was terribly exciting. They win... Most Direct Single Lyric ("I'd rather cut off my own arms then see you go out with him"), Best Guest, and Most Shoes I've Ever Seen Thrown at One Stage.
I really enjoyed the music, and just being at a British indie gig - something I've wanted to do for years. And I liked how well put on the show was - no too-large gaps between sets, and it was all over by 11pm - plenty of time to catch the Tube back to the hotel.
On Saturday I went to Sir John Soane's Museum with Tom. I've been wanting to go there for ages, and it lived up to every expectation. The place is jammed full of the extensive collections of one of the great Classical Revival architects, and it has hardly been changed since he died - meaning it really gives a feel for an early 19th century home, and for the ways in which collectors used to address and present their collections. And, of course, it's just terribly eccentric, all these odd pieces of house stuck together, with tons of windows and mirrors and sky lights, strange little objects everywhere, no labels on anything, a random skeleton staring out at you from a box in a room in the basement. I loved it, and spent absolute ages there.
After that, I had a ramble in Hyde Park before meeting some of the other American York girls for lunch and a spot of shopping in an overwhelmingly crowded and cheap clothing store. I picked up a new top and a wonderfully sparkly, star-covered necklace.
That night the study abroad program had a river cruise dinner and dance for us. It was great - the food was good and I loved seeing the city at night from the water. We went all the way down to Greenwich and the Thames Barrier - which I was terribly excited to see, though no one else really cared. I've wanted to see it for years. We also saw the tallest building in the UK, at Canary Wharf, an odd business development that really looks like someone build a mid-size American city (maybe a slightly scaled-down Charlotte) on the banks of the Thames. You completely forget it's London.
In Greenwich we saw the terribly ugly Millennium Dome / O2, but, more importantly, we saw the remarkably strong green laser that is projected from the Royal Observatory to mark the exact line of the Prime Meridian - which is pretty freaking cool, if you ask me. tom got some good shots of it, you can see one here.
Sunday we had a very good all-you-can-eat brunch, then Tom and I set off for the National Portrait Gallery. It was quite cool - they own a lot of very famous paintings, especially in their Tudor galleries - almost every famous portrait from that era hangs in maybe two galleries at the museum. And you can also trace some of the evolution of artistic style through only that one type of painting, so it's interesting for my art historical brain.
To finish up our weekend, Tom and I did a bit of music shopping, and I picked up Bishi and Leafcutter John, two artists I've been wanting albums by, so that was good.
On the train back we actually got seats, so that was really nice. Tom took some really cool pictures on the ride, featuring reflections and long exposures -you can see them here. Meanwhile, I listen to Leafcutter John and read a book I finally bought on an impulse after wanting to read it for a while - The Book Thief. I'm so glad I picked it up, it's stunningly good. Markus Zusak's turns of phrase are brilliant.
Since London I've really just been relaxing. I've been sick, so it's good to get some rest.
The two other times I was there I reserved my judgement, knowing that I had not been there long enough to really know if I liked it or not, but it's now official - I like London. It's short (a big advantage, in my opinion - the towering buildings of some cities make me very uncomfortable), it's pretty, it's full of history and cool things. And really good museums.
I was lucky on this trip, because my study abroad program paid for both dinners, one brunch, and my lodging - as well as my train ticket. Considering how expensive London is, that was very good.
On Friday the highlight (after an afternoon spent riding in the entrance / between-cars vestibule of the train) was definitely going to see The Shockwaves NME Awards Tour at the Carling Academy down in Brixton (in south London). Tom and I went, along with another American named Cambria who has just returned to York for another term after having been here last year.
We missed the first band, The Ting Tings, but we got there right before Does it Offend You, Yeah? started. They won my awards for Best Punctuation, and Most Direct Song of the Night ("Let's Make Out," of which the main lyrics are, yes, "let's make out!").
After DiOY,Y? Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong came on. They were the band I was most excited about hearing. They're brand new - no album out or anything. But their songs are already getting a decent amount of play, and their lead singer is Joe Van Moyland / Joe Beaumont / Joe Lean, an actor I like. They were my favourite of the night - so terribly British, clever and angular (music and looks), with Joe Lean doing his awkward pointy dancing... it was great. They weren't perfect, some of their songs were lackluster, but it was generally a really good showing. The crowd wasn't so enthused, but that's their loss. To stick with this award theme - they win My Favourite, Best Dancing, and Best Banter.
The headliners of the night were The Cribs, who were, in Tom's words, "decent." I was surprised how many of their songs I knew - they've crept into my consciousness without me being fully aware of it. The highlight of their set was definitely the fact that Johnny Marr, guitarist of The Smiths and indie god, came out and played the last few songs with them, including a Smiths cover. That was terribly exciting. They win... Most Direct Single Lyric ("I'd rather cut off my own arms then see you go out with him"), Best Guest, and Most Shoes I've Ever Seen Thrown at One Stage.
I really enjoyed the music, and just being at a British indie gig - something I've wanted to do for years. And I liked how well put on the show was - no too-large gaps between sets, and it was all over by 11pm - plenty of time to catch the Tube back to the hotel.
On Saturday I went to Sir John Soane's Museum with Tom. I've been wanting to go there for ages, and it lived up to every expectation. The place is jammed full of the extensive collections of one of the great Classical Revival architects, and it has hardly been changed since he died - meaning it really gives a feel for an early 19th century home, and for the ways in which collectors used to address and present their collections. And, of course, it's just terribly eccentric, all these odd pieces of house stuck together, with tons of windows and mirrors and sky lights, strange little objects everywhere, no labels on anything, a random skeleton staring out at you from a box in a room in the basement. I loved it, and spent absolute ages there.
After that, I had a ramble in Hyde Park before meeting some of the other American York girls for lunch and a spot of shopping in an overwhelmingly crowded and cheap clothing store. I picked up a new top and a wonderfully sparkly, star-covered necklace.
That night the study abroad program had a river cruise dinner and dance for us. It was great - the food was good and I loved seeing the city at night from the water. We went all the way down to Greenwich and the Thames Barrier - which I was terribly excited to see, though no one else really cared. I've wanted to see it for years. We also saw the tallest building in the UK, at Canary Wharf, an odd business development that really looks like someone build a mid-size American city (maybe a slightly scaled-down Charlotte) on the banks of the Thames. You completely forget it's London.
In Greenwich we saw the terribly ugly Millennium Dome / O2, but, more importantly, we saw the remarkably strong green laser that is projected from the Royal Observatory to mark the exact line of the Prime Meridian - which is pretty freaking cool, if you ask me. tom got some good shots of it, you can see one here.
Sunday we had a very good all-you-can-eat brunch, then Tom and I set off for the National Portrait Gallery. It was quite cool - they own a lot of very famous paintings, especially in their Tudor galleries - almost every famous portrait from that era hangs in maybe two galleries at the museum. And you can also trace some of the evolution of artistic style through only that one type of painting, so it's interesting for my art historical brain.
To finish up our weekend, Tom and I did a bit of music shopping, and I picked up Bishi and Leafcutter John, two artists I've been wanting albums by, so that was good.
On the train back we actually got seats, so that was really nice. Tom took some really cool pictures on the ride, featuring reflections and long exposures -you can see them here. Meanwhile, I listen to Leafcutter John and read a book I finally bought on an impulse after wanting to read it for a while - The Book Thief. I'm so glad I picked it up, it's stunningly good. Markus Zusak's turns of phrase are brilliant.
Since London I've really just been relaxing. I've been sick, so it's good to get some rest.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Two Weeks... Oops
So, brief highlights post of the last two weeks.
The walk two Sundays ago was quite nice. We started at the top of Sutton Bank, a very steep drop-off from the hills that makes up most of the North Yorkshire Moors. We then walked down by the Kilburn White Horse, a chalk horse on the hillside, while small planes pulling gliders took off above us. Then there was trees, mud, some really pretty horses, and a lot of walking through fields and young forests. There was a stunning patch of snowdrops and a really pretty little lake with a sandy bottom that had ripples in it - it looked like an underwater zen garden.
We had lunch at a pub in Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe, which apparently (according to Wikipedia) is the longest place name of anywhere in England. whilst waiting for out food I was messing with my camera, and I pressed what was apparently a very incorrect button, and lost all my photos. Oops. Luckily, on our walk back we did a good bit of backtracking, so I managed to re-take some of my photos (see my web album).
The next big event was the Jorvik Viking Festival - a week-long celebration of York's Viking ad Anglo-Saxon heritage. It was great. And I have more to say about it, but I also really, really want to go eat breakfast and get ready to leave for London for the weekend - so for now, check out the photos in the above-linked album.
The walk two Sundays ago was quite nice. We started at the top of Sutton Bank, a very steep drop-off from the hills that makes up most of the North Yorkshire Moors. We then walked down by the Kilburn White Horse, a chalk horse on the hillside, while small planes pulling gliders took off above us. Then there was trees, mud, some really pretty horses, and a lot of walking through fields and young forests. There was a stunning patch of snowdrops and a really pretty little lake with a sandy bottom that had ripples in it - it looked like an underwater zen garden.
We had lunch at a pub in Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe, which apparently (according to Wikipedia) is the longest place name of anywhere in England. whilst waiting for out food I was messing with my camera, and I pressed what was apparently a very incorrect button, and lost all my photos. Oops. Luckily, on our walk back we did a good bit of backtracking, so I managed to re-take some of my photos (see my web album).
The next big event was the Jorvik Viking Festival - a week-long celebration of York's Viking ad Anglo-Saxon heritage. It was great. And I have more to say about it, but I also really, really want to go eat breakfast and get ready to leave for London for the weekend - so for now, check out the photos in the above-linked album.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Still Catching Up
I'm still behind on updates!
This past week I finished my first British essay, then spent my whole Sunday out on the moors, getting cold and damp and so, so muddy and having a wonderful time of it. York's Outdoor Society leads hikes (simply called walks here) every Sunday to beautiful hiking places in the area - of which there are quite a few, as we're just south of North Yorkshire Moors National Park and not that far from Yorkshire Dales National Park.
This hike was at Goathland in the North Yorkshire Moors - a stunningly pretty place, all told, with big moors on top of the hills and green valleys below, beautiful forests, a raging river, old stone buildings and bridges, lots and lots of mud, and sheep wandering everywhere; everything the English countryside is meant to be, really.
And, this being England, if you take the medium walk (one short walk in the morning, one in the afternoon - maybe 6 miles all told), you spend a long lunch break in a pub in the nearest village, eating hearty food and "puddings" (dessert), drinking tea or lager, and sitting as close as possible to the radiator in hopes of drying off a bit before you set off again.
You can, of course, see many photos of this adventure here.
Other than that, it has been a fairly chill week. Last night Tom and I went to Evensong at the Minster, which was really nice. I think I'm going to be going a lot, actually. It's close, it's pretty music, it's in a ridiculously, overwhelmingly beautiful place, and it's free. All good things.
Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday, aka Mardi Gras - which is mostly known as Pancake Day here. Some Americans might recognize the concept - we used to have Shrove Tuesday pancake dinners at church when I was a kid. These pancakes were quite different, more like what Americans would call crepes. A few Brits invited some of we Americans to come have made-from-scratch pancakes in a dorm kitchen, so Tom and Anna and Becky and I filled up on so much jam and Nutella and chocolate and syrup and... well, there were pancakes in there somewhere, too. That was nice.
Tonight is a huge pub-crawl type event in town (one of the big annual social events at York), Sunday I'm going for another walk, and next week is the Jorvik Viking Festival, so I've got a full calender lined up. Should be great!
Also : Spring is coming, to a certain extent. There are snowdrops and crocuses (including some of a stunning light purple colour that looks like it is glowing) popping up all over campus, and I saw forsythia in bloom in someone's garden. It's odd, that, what with it being February, but I guess it never really gets that cold here - although we did see snow on the walk last weekend, leftovers from a big storm they had earlier that week.
This past week I finished my first British essay, then spent my whole Sunday out on the moors, getting cold and damp and so, so muddy and having a wonderful time of it. York's Outdoor Society leads hikes (simply called walks here) every Sunday to beautiful hiking places in the area - of which there are quite a few, as we're just south of North Yorkshire Moors National Park and not that far from Yorkshire Dales National Park.
This hike was at Goathland in the North Yorkshire Moors - a stunningly pretty place, all told, with big moors on top of the hills and green valleys below, beautiful forests, a raging river, old stone buildings and bridges, lots and lots of mud, and sheep wandering everywhere; everything the English countryside is meant to be, really.
And, this being England, if you take the medium walk (one short walk in the morning, one in the afternoon - maybe 6 miles all told), you spend a long lunch break in a pub in the nearest village, eating hearty food and "puddings" (dessert), drinking tea or lager, and sitting as close as possible to the radiator in hopes of drying off a bit before you set off again.
You can, of course, see many photos of this adventure here.
Other than that, it has been a fairly chill week. Last night Tom and I went to Evensong at the Minster, which was really nice. I think I'm going to be going a lot, actually. It's close, it's pretty music, it's in a ridiculously, overwhelmingly beautiful place, and it's free. All good things.
Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday, aka Mardi Gras - which is mostly known as Pancake Day here. Some Americans might recognize the concept - we used to have Shrove Tuesday pancake dinners at church when I was a kid. These pancakes were quite different, more like what Americans would call crepes. A few Brits invited some of we Americans to come have made-from-scratch pancakes in a dorm kitchen, so Tom and Anna and Becky and I filled up on so much jam and Nutella and chocolate and syrup and... well, there were pancakes in there somewhere, too. That was nice.
Tonight is a huge pub-crawl type event in town (one of the big annual social events at York), Sunday I'm going for another walk, and next week is the Jorvik Viking Festival, so I've got a full calender lined up. Should be great!
Also : Spring is coming, to a certain extent. There are snowdrops and crocuses (including some of a stunning light purple colour that looks like it is glowing) popping up all over campus, and I saw forsythia in bloom in someone's garden. It's odd, that, what with it being February, but I guess it never really gets that cold here - although we did see snow on the walk last weekend, leftovers from a big storm they had earlier that week.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Far too much to write about
I've just finished the first draft of my first York essay... which isn't for a grade, which is both different, and relieving.
It has obviously been far too long since I've updated here. I was away last weekend, so... it just didn't happen. And I have far too much to write about, so I can't do it now. I need to go to bed then get up early and finish my essay.
But last night I did make a list of things I mean to write about, so consider this both a mini-update and a teaser until I get a chance to do a real one... or several of them.
- Going into York every day but one last week, and twice on one day (and you wonder why I didn't blog!). Open mic, the most amazing moon, pub-going, trying to club.
- Betty's Tea Room, and what made me say "This is the best thing I've ever put in my mouth!"
- Family visit last weekend! Art! Family! Food food food! The Anglican church! The fanciest pub... ever!
- York Minster. Upstairs, downstairs, all over.
- Bird activity: duck mating, swans.
I took 160 pictures in the Minster, but a lot of those were duplicates. I've just uploaded about 85 of them to my Picasa. The space is remarkably beautiful - the pictures are worth a look, I hope.
I've also upload photos of fish, my endless Doctor Who dorkiness, a nicely-placed rainbow, and my host family. Hooray!
It has obviously been far too long since I've updated here. I was away last weekend, so... it just didn't happen. And I have far too much to write about, so I can't do it now. I need to go to bed then get up early and finish my essay.
But last night I did make a list of things I mean to write about, so consider this both a mini-update and a teaser until I get a chance to do a real one... or several of them.
- Going into York every day but one last week, and twice on one day (and you wonder why I didn't blog!). Open mic, the most amazing moon, pub-going, trying to club.
- Betty's Tea Room, and what made me say "This is the best thing I've ever put in my mouth!"
- Family visit last weekend! Art! Family! Food food food! The Anglican church! The fanciest pub... ever!
- York Minster. Upstairs, downstairs, all over.
- Bird activity: duck mating, swans.
I took 160 pictures in the Minster, but a lot of those were duplicates. I've just uploaded about 85 of them to my Picasa. The space is remarkably beautiful - the pictures are worth a look, I hope.
I've also upload photos of fish, my endless Doctor Who dorkiness, a nicely-placed rainbow, and my host family. Hooray!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Gosh, has it really been a week?
I've been a bad little blogger.
This week was good. Quite long. I had my first classes - one session on Monday, one on Wednesday. Yes, that's right - I'm only in class four hours a week, and my weekend is 4 days long. It's... interesting. A bit of a change. But it means that I actually have time to get all my reading done, as well as having a life and goofing off a great deal - which is completely exceptional for me.
So what were the highlights of my week, you ask?
Well, class has been quite good. It is seminar-style, meaning we all talk, instead of just listening to a lecture. It is therefore relatively familiar to me, and I've already been speaking in class a great deal, and feeling like I have pretty much got a handle on what is going on. I am already learning a lot - the material (about London and York in the 18th and 19th centuries - the structure and architecture of the cities, the way they were depicted, etc.) is very engaging and is unlike anything I've studied before.
The other highlight of the week was probably training at the radio station. It only took an hour (as compared to WESU's many hours over several weeks), but exposed me to a great deal of new concepts. URY (University Radio York) has less of a broadcast range than WESU, and is pretty much a student station, but it has a great pedigree, as it is the oldest legal independent (non-BBC) radio station in the UK. They have some amazing technology - they use a good deal more computer technology than WESU, including a program which enables you to set up a show from your home computer, drawing both from the URY digital music collection and your own - and then broadcast said playlist from the URY studio without, say, burning a CD. Your uploaded music from home is just there, in the computer, ready for you. And that, my friends... is magic. I can't think of any other way to describe it. And I always like things that add to the magical world of radio broadcasting...
This week I also: cooked a good deal (including my first time ever cooking tofu) and participated in my college pub's pub quiz with some of my American friends (we managed not to come in last place!). I'm sure I did other things, but I can't much remember now.
Oh! I bought a big Doctor Who poster! That was exciting - AND remarkably cheap. Even considering the exchange rate, posters cost about half as much here as they do in the US. The Doctor cost me £2!
This weekend was also quite fun. On Saturday morning I got a message from my friend Patrick (PhD student from the Netherlands; I've mentioned him before) asking if I wanted to go to the aquarium in Hull - which I did, of course. Hull is... downriver from here, and despite travelling there yesterday, I have no idea how far away it was. Patrick, as a post-grad, is allowed to have a car, so he drove - and it was worth the trip just for the views along the road. Little villages, huge expanses of fields with Yorkshire-type heights in the distance; sheep... it was nice. And slightly surreal, as I've not gotten used to the UK roads yet; left-hand driving and roundabouts... and to make matters more confusing, I was riding in a European/US-style car, with the passenger on the right.
The aquarium (The Deep) was nice - their fish collection, so to speak, wasn't especially expansive, but the exhibits were informative (and entertaining), and it was fun to walk around with Patrick and look at fish and watch all the little kids run around being so excited... and, yes, of course, I was pretty excited, too. I love fish!
On the way back we went to a bigger supermarket than my usual ones, and I managed to find canned beans, which was good - every other place I've been to had only baked beans and chickpeas in cans; all other beans are dried, which can be a pain, since you have to soak them overnight, which therefore requires you to plan quite far in advance for meals - which I never do.
I have been meeting more people in my dorm block, which is nice. It's sort of funny, though, because a lot of them are about 2 years younger than me - at times it feels like being back in my freshman dorm at Wesleyan, which is not necessarily a bad thing - it can be very social, and entertaining.
I think that is all I have to say, for now... Other than that my overhead light in my room is broken, making a bit of a strobe-light effect when I turn it on... so I'm living a rather dim life right now, illuminated only by my desk lamp. Eventually I'll ask someone about getting this fixed...
This week was good. Quite long. I had my first classes - one session on Monday, one on Wednesday. Yes, that's right - I'm only in class four hours a week, and my weekend is 4 days long. It's... interesting. A bit of a change. But it means that I actually have time to get all my reading done, as well as having a life and goofing off a great deal - which is completely exceptional for me.
So what were the highlights of my week, you ask?
Well, class has been quite good. It is seminar-style, meaning we all talk, instead of just listening to a lecture. It is therefore relatively familiar to me, and I've already been speaking in class a great deal, and feeling like I have pretty much got a handle on what is going on. I am already learning a lot - the material (about London and York in the 18th and 19th centuries - the structure and architecture of the cities, the way they were depicted, etc.) is very engaging and is unlike anything I've studied before.
The other highlight of the week was probably training at the radio station. It only took an hour (as compared to WESU's many hours over several weeks), but exposed me to a great deal of new concepts. URY (University Radio York) has less of a broadcast range than WESU, and is pretty much a student station, but it has a great pedigree, as it is the oldest legal independent (non-BBC) radio station in the UK. They have some amazing technology - they use a good deal more computer technology than WESU, including a program which enables you to set up a show from your home computer, drawing both from the URY digital music collection and your own - and then broadcast said playlist from the URY studio without, say, burning a CD. Your uploaded music from home is just there, in the computer, ready for you. And that, my friends... is magic. I can't think of any other way to describe it. And I always like things that add to the magical world of radio broadcasting...
This week I also: cooked a good deal (including my first time ever cooking tofu) and participated in my college pub's pub quiz with some of my American friends (we managed not to come in last place!). I'm sure I did other things, but I can't much remember now.
Oh! I bought a big Doctor Who poster! That was exciting - AND remarkably cheap. Even considering the exchange rate, posters cost about half as much here as they do in the US. The Doctor cost me £2!
This weekend was also quite fun. On Saturday morning I got a message from my friend Patrick (PhD student from the Netherlands; I've mentioned him before) asking if I wanted to go to the aquarium in Hull - which I did, of course. Hull is... downriver from here, and despite travelling there yesterday, I have no idea how far away it was. Patrick, as a post-grad, is allowed to have a car, so he drove - and it was worth the trip just for the views along the road. Little villages, huge expanses of fields with Yorkshire-type heights in the distance; sheep... it was nice. And slightly surreal, as I've not gotten used to the UK roads yet; left-hand driving and roundabouts... and to make matters more confusing, I was riding in a European/US-style car, with the passenger on the right.
The aquarium (The Deep) was nice - their fish collection, so to speak, wasn't especially expansive, but the exhibits were informative (and entertaining), and it was fun to walk around with Patrick and look at fish and watch all the little kids run around being so excited... and, yes, of course, I was pretty excited, too. I love fish!
On the way back we went to a bigger supermarket than my usual ones, and I managed to find canned beans, which was good - every other place I've been to had only baked beans and chickpeas in cans; all other beans are dried, which can be a pain, since you have to soak them overnight, which therefore requires you to plan quite far in advance for meals - which I never do.
I have been meeting more people in my dorm block, which is nice. It's sort of funny, though, because a lot of them are about 2 years younger than me - at times it feels like being back in my freshman dorm at Wesleyan, which is not necessarily a bad thing - it can be very social, and entertaining.
I think that is all I have to say, for now... Other than that my overhead light in my room is broken, making a bit of a strobe-light effect when I turn it on... so I'm living a rather dim life right now, illuminated only by my desk lamp. Eventually I'll ask someone about getting this fixed...
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