Busy Bee

Oh hello! I didn't even see you there...

Well many happenings in the last few days... where to start, where to start. Last week was nice and busy. I went out on a couple of occasions. Thursday night I went to the bar to meet up for the weekly Couch Surfing meeting. I was really early and as a result had no idea where the group was. I sat by myself for a solid 20 minutes (two and a half pints in beer time) until my new friends Tomas and Alan asked me to join them. :) So I made new friends there who I ended up meeting up with again this weekend. Friday I had every intention of going out but when it's 50 degrees F, and raining, and you'd have to walk 40 minutes across town... you start to think "naw... I'll stay in tonight..." :)

I spent all day Saturday in the library and went out Saturday night. Sunday I went to London to the Notting Hill Carnival. It's the second largest street carnival in the world! Awesome. I got some fun pictures from the day, but they don't exactly describe the feeling of being there. Cajun cooking smells in the air and the strongest bass beats... I swear the whole day my chest was vibrating from the music. It was really a blast. That night we went to my new friend T.C.'s aunt's house for a house party. It was so much fun! Just a big family eating and drinking and dancing. I love that.

We almost didn't make the train back to Cambridge, but we caught one and had another party on the train with new friends.
Monday (a holiday here in England) I did boring things, like laundry and cleaning. In the afternoon I met up with my friend Simon (who's leaving for Vietnam... Have fun!!) to see The Secret in Their Eyes. What a great movie!! (Warning: It contains pretty graphic rape scenes and full frontal male nudity...) It was surprisingly funny and touching though... and completely in Spanish. In case you're wondering, no my Spanish isn't all of a sudden fluent, there were subtitles... :)

I worked hard all day today and tonight I'm heading to Pub Quiz! I hope they don't have too many English trivia, as I will be far behind if that's the case... but either way it's a few drinks with good friends!

Up coming plans: This weekend I'm taking gliding lessons! (look it up... awesome...) I'm also hoping to climb to the top of Beachy Head (as I realized I only have FOUR weekends left!! Ahh!!) Also, I will be shopping for my Oktoberfest costume and beginning the Cambridge Gallon Challenge. Good times ahead.






Jo and T.C.

Nothing too profound this week...

I can't believe tomorrow is already August 20th! It's been nearly two months since I've been home and it feels like the days are quickly passing. I am making such good friends here in Cambridge and having a blast every day :) There is truly something to be said for traveling alone. It forces you to approach strangers, and make conversation with everyone you meet. It's one of my favorite things about traveling! Also the Cambridge community is so diverse! All of my friends are from a different neck of the woods but we all have such amazing things in common... most importantly our humor, which can never be sacrificed. Although I've been having a great time with new friends I had a fun-filled crazy week of shenanigans with two of my old friends!! (No Tasha... I don't mean "old") Tasha and Jif came to visit me a week ago and every day was an adventure.


At the Eagle!

We went to the oldest pub in Cambridge, where DNA was first discussed (and some say "announced." Went punting on the River Cam (where Tasha accidentally lost her room key...) We had a classic full English breakfast and a whole lot of tea. On our second night I introduced them to my CS pals and we all went to Darwin College's bar. This bar had the odd atmosphere of a fraternity house, as well as a gentlemen's club (not the strip kind)... very interesting... The next day we spent all day in London, going to Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. All the classics. We went out again that night. The next day we had another full day of exploring Cambridge and that night we hit the town dressed to kill. Sunday we needed a bit more rest than usual but we still had a great day, shopping and lounging in the park. Monday our intentions were to head to Brighton, but one wrong train choice and a person may end up in Sevenoaks. I don't know what's in Sevenoaks but it wasn't the plan. So we went pub hopping in London instead!! :)


Hey... this isn't Brighton...


One of the nicer pictures of us on the town...

These are summaries of the weeks events of course, but all I can say is I've had some great time with some great people. Work is going great. School work is chugging along. The weather is still rainy. I'm still having a ball. :)

Life is good.

Hello all!
Sorry for the long break between posts... I've settled into Cambridge nicely and have developed, what could be described as love for the city. The temperature is great, a nice brisk fall feeling in the air, and it really is nice to walk everywhere. I am constantly told by friends I should get a bike, but I figure I've got time to kill! There's no need a person can't simply walk unless they're late for a very important date. One negative to this place is the rain... I like a good rainy day, don't get me wrong, but every single day is a bit much... It's been better now, but it's so sneaky! For example, I left my place to go to a BBQ at a new friend's house and it was beautiful, upper 70s and sunny. The walk was supposed to take an hour, and sure enough, 30 minutes in the weather turned. Clouds rolled in from somewhere and it started raining. It was classic English rain... kind of drizzly, spitty type rain, but then it turned into rain showers kind of rain... It was then that I realized I'd left my umbrella at home... something a TRUE Brit would never do. I have a lot to learn.

Work is going fantastically well. Kettle's Yard is such an inspiring museum, and the vision of the founder is so innovative. Jim Ede founded it and he believed in art as a way of life. He was the first curator at the Tate Modern and he was good friends with many contemporary artists of the time. He collected works, mostly of friends and decided he wanted to show them to students, so he bought property in Cambridge, filled it with his art, and opened his home to the public every afternoon. You can still go into his home, sit on the furniture, read the books and look at all the amazing art works he has displayed. I could go on, but if you're interested he has published a few books, one is called "A Way of Life" and it's particularly about Kettle's Yard. A great man he was.

I was also able to meet Margaret Greeves last week, who is a lovely woman and used to be Assistant to the Director at the Fitzwilliam Museum. She has since retired but she was kind enough to show me around and even let me sit in on a meeting concerning the design of one of their upcoming shows!! These brainstorming sessions are always so fascinating to me. It was a great experience.

So all, not too much to report, work=good, new friends=good, life=good... and two great friends are coming to visit this week!! Once they are here I'll be sure to do some classic tourist activities, and I will try to be more punctual with the posts. :)

Now... Pictures!!

This is the view towards Wolfson College. Try to imagine it without that van...


This is the slightly more impressive view of one of the other colleges... all the classics are grand like this.


This is the grocery store I shop at. There is something really very enjoyable about going to the grocery store everyday... I love it.