Student Life.

Here's the thing. I suck at taking pictures in Cambridge. In the four weeks I've been here, I've taken less photos than I did in two days in southern France. I just feel so legit walking down the street feeling like a Cambridge student...and taking a camera out would instantly brand me as a tourist and I would be swarmed by people wanting me to sign up for their punting tour. It's a pride issue. But pretty soon, trust me, I'll be swallowing my pride, and taking some darn pictures. So help me if I get back to the States without as many pictures from Cambridge as my little heart desires. I will once again take up the honored badge of tourist sometime...soon.

Anyways, here's a couple highlights from the past three weeks...just living the good student life.

1) Harry Potter. Midnight showing.  Did you know, I missed class the next morning? I was so upset. I couldn't believe that I hadn't woken up to my alarm. Everything turned out okay though. And the night...it was epic.  I <3 England.

With the fearsome Bellatrix.

2) Running. I've been getting back into running regularly. And it feels great. I ran around 7-8 miles last week sometime...I was exhausted, but it was a good exhausted. I'm still not very fast though. Bummer. Hopefully I improve! Cambridge is a great place to run. There's this route I take...it follows the River Cam for the most part and takes me through the not-so-touristy part of town...and then the country. Little houseboats on the river. Big, open fields. Trees. Horses. Cows. Literally, there are cows grazing ten feet from where I run--no fences. Just a dog. I just watch out for cow patties and run and they just mind their own business. It just takes my breath away sometimes--how beautiful it all is.

Part of the path I run on..
still before the country-ish part.

3) Shakespeare Festival. Cambridge has a Shakespeare Festival every summer! They usually have three or four plays going on every night for about two months. What an awesome opportunity, no? I just saw A Midsummer's Night Dream tonight (FANTASTIC, btw), and I saw Antony and Cleopatra last week. I'll be watching A Winter's Tale probably tomorrow--and I will probably continue seeing plays all the way up until I leave. I'm LOVING this chance to get my fill of the wonderfulness that is Shakespeare. This + my Reading Shakespeare class = awesome.

Set of A Midsummer's Night Dream.
At Saint John's College Gardens.
Simple, no?

4) Studying. Yes, I have been studying. And paper-writing. And reading. And researching. And studying some more. I mean, I stayed up until 5:00 in the morning last night writing a paper for my Shakespeare class. You know what's the best thing? That paper doesn't even count towards my final grade. Hardly any of the work you do (even midterms) counts toward your final grade. Your final grade is mostly based on your final exam and your final essay. Intimidating. Anyways, I've never before worked so hard on a paper that isn't even going to be graded. With so much studying, I've been getting creative with my study spots. I study in my room, in Pembroke library, in  Kings library, and in the Snug (pub right next to my house). I must say, the Snug is probably my favorite, although I'm usually the most productive at Kings.

In the midst of researching for my Gothic Architecture
final essay in the Kings Library.

Reading Shakespeare in The Snug.

For some weird reason, I've been writing all of my
notes in cursive. Strange, huh. 

5) Punting. Yes, I've been punting. Not with the tourist-y groups--at Kings. Using Kings College's own punts. Chris (my favorite PA) taught us how to do it. And not to boast or anything, but...I did pretty darn good. Didn't hit a single punt, tree, bridge, or bank. It's pretty tiring work, but so. much. fun.

Sitting in the punt!

Being a hard-core punter.

6) Formal. I've been to two formals so far. Basically, it's just a very fancy dinner where everybody dresses up, socializes, and enjoys a good meal. Before every formal, there's always drinks on the lawn--and this is the one time that we dare set foot on the sacred turf (usually, nobody but the fellows can set foot on the lawn). The BYU students drink juice. Just about everybody else drinks wine. Fun stuff. I enjoy formals.

Katelyn and I with our drinks. It had rained earlier in the day, so
instead of having drinks on the lawn, we had it inside.

Picture 1: Me with Cate--we're both from BYU and in the same architecture class.
Picture 2: Formal Hall at Pembroke. The Dining Hall is being redone
so we had Formal in a big white tent.

We all found each other the very first day, and
we've been best of friends since then.
Sean and I are both from BYU,
Katelyn is from Hope College,
and Brendan is from Harvard.
Such great people to hang out with.

7) Katelyn's birthday. Katelyn turned 21, and so of course, we had to have a party. We all met up at The Snug for dinner, and then went to Jordan and Katie's place for cake and ice cream. We had all signed a poster and a card, and all of us contributed towards her gift. Memorable night.

P.S. I made the cake, and I have never been so proud of something in my life. I was so afraid that it wouldn't turn out (I had to bake it in some microwave looking oven contraption), but it turned out delicious. Although honestly, I don't know how a cake with raspberries, homemade butter cream chocolate frosting, nutella filling, and chocolate shavings could taste bad. Okay, I'm done talking about my great achievement in the kitchen now. Thanks for letting me have my moment.

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes...

Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomon'.
where me and my true love were ever wont to gae
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomon'.

O ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak the low road,
An' I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and me true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomon'.
---------------------------------------------------


Such a good song. Give it a listen sometime. Somehow, it always makes me nostalgic. I'm not sure why...it's not like I listened to it all the time as a kid. Anyways, I love it. 


I left off last time in Scotland with the Ceilidgh. Scottish reels have a totally different feel than the haunting tunes of songs such as Loch Lomand, but they're fun, nonetheless. Actually, the Ceilidgh was brilliant. And if you really think about the idea of 300 college kids trying to spin a good reel who have no idea what they're doing...it's actually really brilliant. It was ridiculous, but so much fun. I got spun around until I was so dizzy I could barely walk straight and plus, I broke my sandals. If there's one thing I can say for BYU guys, it's that they can dance partner dances (thank you stake dances, efy, and youth conference). Better than most of the other guys, at least.

brooke and i right before the ceilidgh.
aka, pre-sweatiness.

The ceilidgh was done around midnight, I believe. We had decided we were going to hike Arthur's seat again, just to see the sunrise. Sunrise comes early in Scotland this time of year...like 4:40am early.


We sat around in front of the building for a while, just trying to decide what we were going to do. Being young folk, we knew there wasn't a point to going to bed...so we all decided to explore Edinburgh by night. We stopped by a fish & chips place and a kebab place because some of us were hungry...and we needed a way to kill time anyways. Sidenote: I LOVED kebabs in Spain. The one I had here was disgusting though. The lamb tasted way different...and I didn't like it. The boys did though!


We walked the royal mile. Stopped outside the Scottish parliament. Read Scottish poetry off of a wall. Talked to total inebriation in the form of two English gentlemen. Had a good time.

in front of good ol' Adam Smith (his feet anyways).
group of us + two drunk English guys.

The streets were almost empty except for us. We owned the place. It was cool--to see Edinburgh without all the tourists. Eventually, we headed back towards Arthur's seat. It took us a while to figure out how to get on a path that would take us to the top. The temperature while we were climbing was perfect. 


We finally got to the top, and realized that we had about an hour to wait until sunrise. It was windy up there. And once we sat down, we started to get cold. We got real close real fast. It was a huddle-fest, for real. We were sitting in the middle of a cloud. It was so foggy that we couldn't see anything except for the rocks that we were sitting on. 

el grupo.

We stayed there until sunrise. It was too cloudy to see the actual sunrise (thank you, Scotland), but we could see the fog gradually begin to lift, and pretty soon, we could see the rolling hills, the city, and then finally, the sea. It was still cool, believe me. It was tricky getting back down. For one thing, we were all so tired. And for another thing, everything was damp, and the rocks were quite slick. 


We all made it safely back to our lodgings, where Becca, Nick, Rob, and I decided to stay up until breakfast time at eight. That way we could eat, and then crawl into bed and die. We made it, even though everybody who passed us probably thought we looked like quite the pathetic foursome. 


I ate. And then I slept. And slept. And slept. I woke up around noon and met up with Becca. We were supposed to meet up with Rob and Nick as well, but somehow, we missed them. 


And here I guess is where Day 3 in Scotland really commences. 


Day 3:


Becca and I literally ate our way through Edinburgh this day. Every time it rained (and it rained quite a lot), we would escape into a cafe. And the experience was fantastic. 


As we left our lodgings, we decided to go back to the royal mile, wanting to see it in daylight. We were starving again, so we stopped in a little pastry shop to buy an apple-raspberry tart. 


The royal mile was completely different in daylight. We stopped in a few little shops...and then we found what we really wanted to find. The Elephant House.  


Where J.K. Rowling used to sit, look out at the Edinburgh castle, and write Harry Potter. Harry Potter, guys. Harry Potter.

elephant house.
elephant chair.
fitting.

I ordered a delicious hazelnut hot chocolate and a slice of mango cake. Becca ordered lemon tea and some other dessert. We sat there in the Elephant House for the longest time and just talked. It was so nice. I love the atmosphere of the pubs and cafes here! 


Matt and Brett came in when we were finishing up. Becca and I wanted to get some real food for lunch though, so we decided to go to a pub just down the street (Becca had been there the day before and the food had been fantastic) while Matt and Brett enjoyed the Elephant House. The pub was amazing. I don't remember what it was called...but I remember we made it just in time before it began to POUR. I had butternut squash soup and cheese bread--and both were simply heavenly. SO full of flavor and honest-to-goodness heartiness. 


Afterward, we met up with a bunch of people and we all went to Chocolate Soup for dessert. By this time I was absolutely stuffed. But you can't leave Edinburgh without trying Chocolate Soup...so I shared a chocolate smoothie/drink with Becca and Brooke. Glad we shared. I don't think I could have handled that much chocolate on my own--it was incredibly rich.

Chocolate Soup!
Notice my glasses...my eyes were so bloodshot
that I didn't feel like wearing contacts that day.

After Chocolate Soup, we did some walking and saw some more of the cool things in Edinburgh.

Scott Memorial--commemorating Sir Walter Scott. 

Edinburgh is beautiful.

Edinburgh Castle.

Picture 1: In front of the Edinburgh castle...
Picture 2-4: the royal mile.

We finished off the night with a ghost tour. We learned all about the morbid history of Edinburgh (and trust me, it was morbid). We also learned exactly how glad we are that we didn't live back then. We visited a couple of the "haunted" locations in Edinburgh. It was more history/disturbing stories than jump-out-at-you-and-make-you-pee-your-pants, but they got me good a couple times. Brooke and I were clinging to each other like no other. 

ghost tour! so sick.
becca, me, matt, guide, brett, brooke, katelyn, and dude whose
name i don't remember.

Day 4:


And pretty soon, it was Day 4, and it was time for our weekend Scottish adventure to end. We got back on the bus. Like usual, I tried to fall asleep...and this time I was very successful. I managed to sleep until we reached our lunch stop. This time, we had our two hour lunch break in Richmond, a cute little English town. 


We bought pasties, sandwiches, and chocolate muffins in a little shop. Then we went to the Richmond castle. It was constructed in 1071and has a 12th century keep. We had a picnic on the grass and then just ran around the ruins. T'was grand.

finishing up with lunch on the grass.

it was so bright we couldn't open our eyes.
overall, a very flattering picture, i would say. ha. 

Richmond castle and Richmond town.

pictures inside Richmond castle.

After our two hours of fun was done...we all got back on the bus and headed back for Cambridge. First week + fun weekend in Scotland was done. And that is when real Cambridge started to kick in. And I actually had to study and read and write and study some more. But hey, guess, I'm here for to learn, right?

Of Wet and of Wildness

The title for this blogpost came from the side of a wall that we saw in Edinburgh (I believe it was next to the Scottish parliament, but it was around 2:30 in the morning, so I'm not absolutely sure). This wall was full of bits and pieces of different poems. And one of them just happened to fit Scotland exactly. It's by Gerard Manley Hopkins, a famous Victorian poet.

What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wilderness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.

Our weekend trip to Scotland was full of hiking in some of the most beautiful country I have ever set foot in. I've also never seen rain pour down quite so hard or quite so many times in the space of three days. Scotland was a love affair, kind of an enchanted memory--and I'd love to go back someday.

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Day 1:


We spent most of the day on the bus. You'd THINK there would be a nice highway to get to Edinburgh...there's not. We were on narrow, curvy, make-you-sick kinds of roads for a good part of the way. I tried to sleep as much as possible, so I wouldn't throw up. Good stuff.


On the way, we made a quick pitstop in Yorkshire to see Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal. Fountains Abbey is a monastery that thirteen monks founded in 1132. It was one of the richest monasteries in all of Europe. All that is left are ruins, but they're still fascinating. The Studley Royal is an AMAZING water garden that lies behind the Abbey. They were built in the 1700s. Also, as we were walking back to the bus, we stumbled across a little parish church--St Mary's Church. It was so beautiful. I'm really learning to appreciate all these little Gothic churches, thanks to my architecture class. Also, there's just something so blessedly simple about them compared to the grand, more impersonal cathedrals.

At first we thought "monks?!? in the abbey? how perfect!"
then we realized they were tourists.
like us.
but dressed up.

some more of Fountains Abbey.

the water gardens. and a view of St. Mary's Church.

Saint Mary's Church again. Charming place.

We had two hours to explore before we had to get back on the bus. Fast forward time...and pretty soon we were at the England/Scotland border. We were able to get off the bus once more and take some pictures. The scenery was breathtaking.

scotland ftw.

beautiful scenery...and brett being a ladies man.

We finally arrived in Edinburgh at around 9:30. We dumped our stuff in our rooms and then rushed to the cafeteria to eat dinner like nobody's business--we were so hungry. After dinner, we decided to hike Arthur's Seat. It offers a spectacular view of the city. And plus, the hike itself is a feast for the eyes.

group of amigos--right before the hike.

1. on top of Arthur's seat.
2 &3. beautiful scenery
4. brooke and me.

As we were sitting on top of this mountain,
we felt it deserved something epic. So
Brett gave a stirring rendition of Jabberwocky, which
then prompted a whole slew of poetry reciting.

we just sat in this spot for a while while we talked
and enjoyed the spectacular view.

By the time we got home, it was pretty late...and we knew the next day would be busy. So we called it good for the night and went straight to sleep. 

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Day 2:

I woke up as late as I possibly could (at the shocking hour of 8:00) and went to breakfast without even bothering to shower. Why? Well, I was going to go hiking in the Trossachs. AKA the mini-highlands of Scotland. AKA it would be muddy, rainy, and absolutely beautiful. 

It was a hike of four seasons. It would pour. Then sunshine. You would be hot. Then cold. Wet. Then dry. It was incredible. It probably rained four or five separate times, and after each time, the sun would come out. Furthermore, we were not hiking on a real trail. We walked through mini-rivers, fields of mud, and low underbrush and weeds. By the end, we were disgusting. Our shoes were probably the most disgusting of all. However, it was a hike of such incredible scenery. My breath was taken away so many times. Beautiful lakes and rivers. Such intense green as I have never seen before. Little wildflowers. Wild blueberries (which I ate, claro). Trickling waterfalls. Huge rocks. 

the trossachs mostly.
and jenny and i pretending to be something or other.

hiking is always infinitely more fun
when you're with great people...
and i was.
it was fun.

We got back to our accommodations around 5:30. I took a very very long, hot shower. And I tried to clean my shoes...unsuccessfully (I eventually ended up having to throw them in the washer). Then we were off to the Ceilidgh!

And if you didn't know, a Ceilidgh is a Scottish dance party.

Or as our Cambridge director said to us in an email...

"Ceilidgh! Oh .My .God. You are going to love this. It is the Haggis of dancing…"

It is. I'm ashamed to say that I was a scaredy-cat and never tried Haggis (I prepared myself for the thought of eating sheep innards, but the smell threw me for a loop. Couldn't do it.), but I'm pretty sure that Ceilidgh is about as Scottish as it gets.

And that's where I'll leave off for tonight, as it is getting rather late and I'm getting quite tired.  I'll get to the rest of Scotland soon. :)

Place of Residency...

Here are my colleges. 

1) one of the inner courtyards at Pembroke College.
2) King's College, as seen from across the Cam.

Technically, you're supposed to belong to just one, but I'm claiming both. I eat at Pembroke (and it's beautiful--lots of gardens), but Kings is just something else. It's got an incredible late Gothic chapel and it's right on the Cam. Mhmm. So pretty. I would probably have a stronger loyalty to a particular college if I actually lived inside one of them...but I don't...so I like both.

I live in the equivalent of "off-campus housing." It's owned by Pembroke college, but it's not within the college. It's a bit far--I walk about 25 minutes to get to class at the Union Society Building and about 10-15 minutes to get to Pembroke. I actually enjoy the walk though...unless I'm running late for class. The building is very old, but it suits me just fine.

the outside of "home."

Honestly, I was expecting a box. Or a closet, if I was lucky. I mean, you can't expect too much if you've purposely picked the cheapest housing available. So obviously, I was thrilled to find that I have my own room--a room that is twice the size of the room I'll be sharing with Haley this upcoming fall. The only bummer is that I don't have a sink in my room... but at least the bathroom is literally only four feet away from my door, so I can't complain too much.

my room.

I put up all my postcards and other souvenir artwork on the wall/fireplace mantel. It's cozy. And I keep it pretty clean....although the fact that there's a bedder probably helps a lot.

The bedder comes about every other day to empty my trash and make my bed. She (or he--it's been different people sometimes) also vacuums my floor and changes my sheets/towel once a week. I feel a little spoiled.

In short, it's a very nice place...and I enjoy coming home to it. :)

mischief managed

well, it's finished.

and it was epic.

i didn't dress up, which was pretty sad. but some of my friends did, and they looked great.

hermione and two muggles.
aka me, brooke, and becca.

hermione, bellatrix, luna, and mrs. weasley.
aka good company.

right after the movie.
unbelievable.

i guess my childhood is officially over now.

harry. ron. hermione. dumbledore. voldemort. mrs. weasley. snape. bellatrix. fred&george. tonks. lupin. dobby. luna. neville. &everybody else, good and bad.

i'll miss you.

serious.

good thing the books are pretty much immortal.

:)

lovin' on cambridge.

It's late at night, and really, I should be reading Henry IV right now.

Well, guess that can wait for a couple minutes. 

I just wanted to spill a couple things about Cambridge. I haven't been blogging too much about it--that's mostly because I don't have time. 

That's one thing about Cambridge. I feel like I'm always short on time. But you know, I don't mind so much now. There will always be too much to do here, too much to see. And maybe that's why Cambridge is so timeless.

My professors are brilliant and I'm really enjoying my classes. I feel like I'm regaining my love for learning, even though I never study nearly as much as I should. I'm taking two classes right now--Gothic Architecture and Reading Shakespeare. I love how much "do" there is in these classes. In my seminars for Gothic Architecture, we go to chapels all over Cambridge and he tells us to analyze them. And we do. That's the incredible thing--we're analyzing Gothic architecture. I didn't know a THING about architecture before, and I'm doing what? It's amazing! And I've always liked Shakespeare, but Cambridge is making me LOVE it. Really love it. We read a new play for every single class (hence having to finish another entire play tonight), but I'm enjoying it. Like, I really do not begrudge staying up till two tonight to finish Henry IV. Strange, huh. Yeah, I begrudge the sleep I lose, but while I'm reading, I'm enjoying myself.

The professors do a lot to make the classes really great. But even more than that, it's the people. I've met so many incredible people. Very very smart people and they just take the class to a whole new level with insightful comments and thoughts. And the program assistants? They're Cambridge students that are helping out with this PKP program, and they're some of the most friendly, helpful, funny people I've ever met.

I love the conversations I have here...where else do you discuss international politics, feminism, the U.S. economic system, early American literature, and educational systems/frameworks all in one day? With students my age, no less? It's like a big 'ol nerdfest and it's fantastic.

And my group of friends...I could go on and on about these people. We have the best times all the time and hence, the studying never gets done until very late at night. Like tonight...we all went to a plenary lecture on national defense (which was fascinating), and then went to Sainsbury's and got two liters of ice cream. We went back to Jenny's room and all sat in a big circle on the floor and ate ice cream, planned future Europe trips, tried to decide on how to dress up for Harry Potter tomorrow, and just talked for ages. Such great people.

And the gushing could go on and on, but in short, I love Cambridge.

Oh, and the other great thing about England--no bugs. They have no screens in the windows for this reason...and the other day, when our PA saw a bug, she thought it was so strange she took a picture of it. Boo-yah. 

p.s. HARRY POTTER MIDNIGHT SHOWING TOMORROW!!!!!! :) :) :)

london with the bro.

My second day in London was spectacular for a couple reasons, but mostly because JON WAS THERE.


While I was waiting for Jon, Katelyn went back to Piccadilly Circus to see if we could get tickets for Wicked or the Lion King (we couldn't). Jon arrived, and we had to wait for Katelyn to get back, and so we just hung out in the pub and talked for about an hour and a half. It. was. SO. great. Oh, wow, I can't even tell you how good it was.


Katelyn got back, and we left on many an adventure.


Our first stop was Saint Paul's Cathedral. We couldn't go inside because it was closed for some reason...but we definitely enjoyed ourselves.

For one thing, the exterior of the building is fantastic and
enjoyable to look at.

Secondly, I found a very sparkly piano in the garden by the
 cathedral and PLAYED it.
Hard to top that kind of an experience.
So fun.

Saint Paul's from another angle.

We ate lunch at EAT, due to a recommendation by a BYU friend who'd studied in London. I had the best vegetable dumpling soup ever. It was SO delicious, SO fresh. I mean, the bean sprouts were so fresh, they were crunchy. Yummmm.

Then we walked to the Millennium Bridge, aka THE Harry Potter bridge. We walked across it. I believe it would have been much more exciting, albeit a bit more dangerous, if it was falling apart due to Voldemort's minions of evil. Nonetheless, it was still cool.

Proof!!!

As we were walking away from the bridge, of course, we saw a cheery red telephone booth, and being tourists, of course, we needed pictures.

We then decided to hit up Westminster Abbey/Big Ben/Houses of Parliament. I don't have too much to say about all these buildings. All of them were very impressive, although we couldn't enter any of them. Bummer. We just sat on the lawn for a while in front of Westminster Abbey and rested. Boy, I can't even tell you how good these rests feel. It's indescribable.

Our next stop was the iconic Tower Bridge. We walked across it, and like the Millennium Bridge, it did not fall down. We were okay with that. I also go to see the Tower of London as we were walking to the bridge. THE Tower of London. I just eat this history stuff up. It was kind of hard to believe that so many people lost their heads there, especially with so many tourists (like me) milling around.

After the bridge, we split up...mostly so that Jon could figure out how he was going to get to the airport on time. Katelyn and I went to Oxford Street and did some shopping. I didn't buy anything (good me), but it sure was fun to look. We went back to the hostel eventually and met up with Jon again for dinner.


We went to a Thai restaurant and it was incredible.

delish. not even kidding.

We returned to the hostel so that I could charge Jon's phone. We went to Mcdonalds to eat Mcflurries while we waited for it to charge. I lent him my laptop. I also gave him twenty pounds to ensure he would get to the airport on time. Good sister, aye?


He repaid me by forgetting to give me my contact solution, medicine, lotion, and camera. I was not a happy camper, but no worries, I had forgiven him by the next day.


That next day marks the day I myself departed from London to go to Cambridge. And here is where my two and a half weeks of vacation ended and my two months of Cambridge-ness began.