Monday, October 29 – From tourist to local

Since Caitlin and Catherine had lectures (which they both ended up skipping) and meetings today, I was on my own for much of the day. Actually, it was a great opportunity to walk around and get in touch with Cambridge. After a very late night (unintentional), I got moving around 9 am. Did some sink laundry, ate some b-fast, filled my water and was off. It seems that I brought the Colorado blue skies with me because this morning was beautiful. I spent the day walking leisurely around Cambridge, strolling through King’s College, and sitting on benches in the various greens. I actually sat on a bench on Jesus Green for over 40 minutes just spacing out. Nice. I witnessed the people “punting” down the River Cam. Today was also a day of many funny signs and graffiti signs.

I met Catherine (who is suffering from Tonsilitis) and Caitlin for lunch. We ate Cornish Pasty’s (glorified hot pockets) then went into the market where we bought some fresh figs (ripe enough to eat like a pear) and fresh strawberries. Caitlin took me into King’s College chapel briefly, then I walked her to her meeting on the other side of town near the University Library. I walked back, used the internet in a coffee shop, and took a short nap to make sure I wouldn’t fall asleep during the Evensong service in King’s College Chapel. The vault inside the chapel is absolutely stunning, and the service was very beautiful, albeit a bit weird for a Jew. I knelt out of respect and enjoyed the beautiful choir.

After the service, we all met up for a… cough, cough…interesting dinner in the dining hall. I walked back with Shane to his place to pick up my forgotten umbrella. He and I visited Carlos’ place so that Shane could get some real food. Unfortunately, Carlos isn’t around lately, and things have taken a real turn for the worse. It took 10 minutes for Shane to get his Falafel, the dude didn’t know what Tzatziki sauce is, and he didn’t know what dates are called. Shane and I had a nice cup of Darjeeling at his place afterwards. Hopefully I’ll be getting to bed much earlier tonight. If I’m gonna get any sleep on Wednesday night with our 3 am wake-up call on Thursday, I had better get on a different schedule.

Oh…and I finally had a student ask me for directions. Apparently, the iPod, backpack, and killer British look did him in.

The Good and The Bad

Before I get started on the day’s adventures, I’d like to take a brief moment to talk about England. Great Britain is a land of stark contrasts. I can’t claim to be an expert on the entire country, but I can mention some things I’ve noticed in Cambridge. There are many good things and many bad things. Here is a brief list:

The good: Almost everyone rides a bicycle everywhere. The place is overflowing with them. Women ride bikes through traffic in skirts and high heels.

The bad: The bikes themselves are absolutely pathetic. I’m not talking trek commuters here. Those are like freakin’ Bentleys in this place. I’m talking Pacific cycles and no name crapboxes. Now I know where all the shitty parts made in China go…here. You’d think that if you were gonna have a bike instead of a car that you would invest in something comfortable, reliable, and worthwhile, but obviously not. Those who don’t have glorified Wally World wonders have 50 pound behemoths with motorcycle stands and iron baskets. Oh…and nobody here apparently has a pump because everyone rides around at tire pressures that can easily be achieved by mouth.

The good: Buses and public transportation are plentiful and well-used.

The bad: The entire system is very inefficient. Things that should take mere moments take forever because nobody is worried about losing their job. The only reason the system stays clean is because the British don’t litter. Also, the bus drivers are psycho. I swear that at least 3 cyclists went under our bus on the way to Cambridge, and nobody even flinched.

The good: Bathrooms are plentiful, clean, and well signed. Also, there are no euphemisms for the can. The signs say “Toilets,” instead of restroom or powder room or “go in this room to get rid of your sinful waste.”

The bad: British toilets use approximately 150 gallons of water per flush. Rather than come up with a toilet that produces an efficient drain vortex, the British dump as much water into the bowl at once to disrupt any kind of potential flow.

The good: The British value each other’s sanity, fun, and social time. The system here is designed to allow students flexibility to take advantage of each other’s company. Teatime is a must. Parties are a must. Workweeks are short, and people party on weeknights. During the Catholic service I attended today (see day’s description), the preacher prayed that those with anxiety about their work would find serenity.

The bad: Drunk people are scary at night, and the British drink too much.

The good: The British drive small, efficient, and cool cars.

The bad: Many of them drive like they are trying to kill every pedestrian and cyclist in sight. The streets are so narrow that two tiny cars can’t pass each other in opposite directions, and the British view this as a good thing because it “calms” traffic. In fact, they actually artificially narrow the streets in certain areas to produce this claimed effect (see sign picture from today's adventures).

The good: Most British people are very nice and sound very smart because of their accent. Also, I’m of the opinion that the British are, in fact, more attractive than Americans.

The bad: It is super trippy to walk down the street and hear everyone speaking with a British accent. 10 year old boys sound like old men. Fully grown women sound like little girls. It’s pure madness.

And one last bad: Most sinks have a separate hot and cold tap. How the hell does that work? You either scald or freeze your hands. Can they be serious about you filling an entire sink to wash your hands? Is that really sanitary if everyone else is doing it too?

Sunday, October 28 – Cambridge

After the late dinner last night and working on the blog, we went to bed far too late at 1 am. I took an ambien again and was out like a light. The next thing I know, I woke up at 11:10 am with Caitlin sitting at her computer. Damn! We were supposed to meet Catherine for an 11:45 brunch in the hall, but we arrived to find it closed. WTF? Then a small woman walked out and said, “I don’t suppose you remembered to set your clocks back last night.” So the rumor is true: daylight savings ends earlier in the UK than it does in the US (well, at least since last year). We went and wasted time in the graduate common room until we could go to brunch where I had the soggiest eggs I’d ever eaten. After brunch we ran into Paul Rogers, who seemed slightly distant, as well as Shane. Shane invited us to a dinner in the evening at his house, but we would have to go pick up some ingredients at the grocery.

So, from brunch we headed over to Sainsbury’s, the grocery store. On the way we saw a busker singing with accompaniment from his two dogs. It was adorable. The grocery was both packed and magical. All sorts of delicious looking foods I’d never seen before. I bought Catherine a small basil plant and Caitlin some random items. I bought myself some European yogurt…finally…and some other items. Catherine took me to the market to find some produce, which, as it turns out, wasn’t there today. Still, the market was very cool, and I bought a delicious cinnamon pastry.

We rushed back from the market for Caitlin to change for her first intramural basketball game at 2 pm. She plays on the team for “Jesus College.” Perhaps few things are funnier than yelling, “Go Jesus!” in a public place. Her team won the game handily, and her captain took quite a liking to me. While Caitlin was showering, I had tea and snacks with Catherine in her room. It was quite lovely.

Then…I began my search for internet. I was so tired of posting my blog entries in word, and, based on their emails, half of my family thought I might be dead. I have access to my email on Catherine and Caitlins’ computers, but I can’t get my own on the network here. I went to McDonald’s and a waffle joint in search of working internet, but was foiled both times. I came home defeated.

We left for Shane’s place in the rain. Once we got there, I found I could get on the wireless. While Caitlin, Catherine, Shane, Maggie, and Marcus (the valedictorian from the previous year at Williams) made dinner, I finally posted my previous blog entries. We had a wonderful dinner of salad and pasta. There was excellent conversation, and a good time was had by all. During dessert, Catherine’s friend Tom showed up and joined us. After I did my fair share of the dishes, Tom and I talked bikes.

Then! Caitlin and I had to book it to her basketball practice at 10pm. That’s right…I went and practiced basketball with a bunch of girls. Of course I was terrible, but it was still good exercise, and I really did have a good time.

So, that was my first full day in Cambridge. Things appear much more normal here during the days. People are out and about in a very normal, cute European sort of way. I feel bad that Caitlin and Catherine have been getting so little work done, but their grades don’t mean anything anyways. They both have classes and lectures tomorrow, so who knows what it will bring.

The Whirlwind London

Last night I was so tired, I wasn’t even tired anymore. I took an ambien and fell right to sleep. I woke up around 1:30 in the morning and struggled to sleep until I took another ambien. Next thing I know, Caitlin is telling me it is time to get up. After our 7:30 wake up call, I took a quick shower and got dressed. Caitlin and I met Catherine and Maggie at the dining hall for an English breakfast, which essentially means loads of protein and gross vegetables. Still, I found plenty to eat. After that we walked to the train station about 15 minutes away. The rails are currently under construction, so we had to take a bus from the train station to the actual train. This turned a normally 50 minute ride to London into about an hour and a half. Still, we came right into King’s Cross Station in the north part of London.

We went straight from the station to the British Museum to check out their treasures. My favorites had to be the Gutenberg bible, which was in color, and Leonardo DaVinci’s notes. Pretty sweet. We headed from there to the British Museum where we did a quick tour. The inside is absolutely striking, but I guess I have a fetish for the whole buildings inside another huge building thing. Beaker had his picture taken with the Rosetta stone, we checked out the pieces of the Parthenon that were jacked from Greece, and the Lindow man, a poor fellow who met a gruesome death (probably by the Druids) and was then preserved in a peat moss bog.

And so began the search for lunch, which took us through Covet Garden and eventually to a chain British sandwich place similar to Le Bon Pain. We took our sandwiches and soup to Trafalger square and ate with the pigeons and people. Though the day began with blue skies, it began to get blustery and spit in Trafalger. After we finished lunch, we saw some gentleman advertising free hugs. We got Beaker a free hug and all partook ourselves. With lunch and hugs how could we not be rejuvenated? Beaker also had his picture taken with some Bobbies.

We walked down Whitehall street to see Downing Street where the prime minister lives. We also saw Big Ben and parliament. Of course I had my picture taken next to Big Ben. Maggie had to meet someone, so she left us at this point. From there we walked over to Westminster Abbey, running into the most well organized pro-life parade I’ve ever seen, complete with Police escorts. After Westminster Abbey, we began the best part of our London experience…the parks. We walked through St. James park, where a squirrel took food directly from an old man’s hand, to Buckingham palace. Though it is clearly fall here, the trees still have much of their foliage, and it remains mostly green. There are many, many species of birds in the parks. Think of the parks as super, super nice versions of Central Park. There were guards on duty (of course) at Buckingham palace, they weren’t in full regalia today. Still, we did see one of them do his funny march back and forth. From there we walked through Green Park to Hyde Park, both of which were extremely beautiful.

Perhaps the highlight of the day, though I was remarking on sweet cars all day, was the impound lot at Hyde Park. Apparently, the tow trucks in London actually reach over with a crane and simply pick up vehicles by all four wheels. So, we stuck around to witness a car go airborne for its drop off in the lot.

We took the tube to the spin’n’span business district and St. Paul’s, where there was a huge “queue” for a concert. The search for tea and scones led us across the Millennium bridge, where we saw the tower bridge, to the Tate Modern. There, we had a lovely, sit-down snack of black tea, scones with clotted cream and preserves, and a plum fool. The scones were amazing, especially with the clotted cream and preserves. The plum fool, a gelatin desert with a foamy substance on top tasted strangely familiar, but came away not recommendable. We checked out some cool exhibits in the Tate and decided to end our outing in London. So, we walked back to the tube and raced back to King’s Cross where we had to run to make our train back to Cambridge (bus ride included).

We got back to Cambridge at about 9:30 and went back to Cloisters (the dorm) to rest for a minute before dinner. For dinner we went to Gardenia a small, stand-up-only Greek place. We also stopped at McDonald’s for ice cream afterwards. Now would be a good time to stress again just how strange Cambridge is. It is clearly a college town with way more than its fair share of drunk people. It also, apparently, is not a very safe town either. Last week two people were stabbed right in downtown. The British take their drinking very seriously, so it especially shows in a college town. There are people constantly out and about, but almost everything is closed at night. The British probably take their drinking very seriously because they take their socializing very seriously. I get the impression that learning to socialize is just as important as studying at Cambridge. There are so many clubs that my head is spinning. There is a Harvard Fellowship that make a student a social director for a year. It is absolutely crazy. No night of the week is sacred, and yet I’m sitting in a full library at nearly midnight on a Saturday. I don’t get it.

Things with Caitlin and Catherine are great so far. They have been so generous and wonderful as tour guides and friends. I’m still a little uneasy about the rest of the trip, but I’m sure that everything will work out. I apologize for the insane detail of this entry, but if I don’t write it down, I won’t remember it. Hope all is well with everyone reading this.