Start of Easter Break means many travels!

Almost as soon as I returned from Pembrokeshire, it was time to head out for Easter Break.  I had 4 weeks to do whatever, and I intended not to waste it.
I traveled up to Cambridge, where my good friend and fellow counselor from summer camp was studying.  He is called Ed.  We had some great times back at summer camp, including a time when we played a game with Dobby (Harry Potter) against Smeagol (Lord of the Rings).  I hadn't seen him in more than a year, so it was great to catch up with him and swap stories from school and camp.
We went around Cambridge looking at all the architecture and history.  Cambridge recently celebrated its 800th anniversary.  And that is just the university! It is wild!  We saw cavernous cathedrals, vaulting citadels, cobbled streets, and Ed's housemates (who were very lovely indeed).  Ed is in his 3rd year at school, and being at Cambridge, means he has a lot of work to do.  Because of this, we spent time in the library revising and writing for summer term.

Ed on the boat

One of the days, we got Mr. Sam Dunn to come down to Cambridge. Sam also worked at camp, and has done so for the past 4 years.  It was a miniature reunion! Sam only lives about an hour away from Ed, up in Wisbech.  When he came down, the weather was very nice, sunshine and all!  We then decided it would be a good day to hit the town and walk around.  We also thought we should go punting.

Me getting attacked by a tree

Sam giving it a go.

Punting is, in essence, what you see people in Venice do in the movies.  You know, the guy on the long skinny boat using the pole to push it around?  Yeah, so we decided to rent one ourselves, meaning we would have to steer and drive it.  Ed went first, as he had actually punted before and did a very good job doing so.  The view from the river was very nice, and it was ever so relaxing!  Next it was my turn to try this crazy method of propulsion.  I ambled up to the platform and started sticking the pole in the water.  It turns out it isn't as easy as it looks.  I took us on a zig-zaggy pattern through the river, and hardly managed to stay going in a constant direction for more than a minute.  Nevertheless, we powered through the difficulties and continued onward.  After me, it was Sam's turn.  I figured he'd be a natural, seeing how he was the boating director at camp last summer.  Well.  You know what they say about "assume."  He ended up having a lot of the same problems I had, but I still think he was better.  On the way back to the landing, some other people accidentally rammed us while I was punting, and I was devastatingly close to falling into the murky water.

Hockey

Once this had finished, we ate a giant lunch (complete with dessert) and Ed headed to the library to work.  Sam and I decided to walk around, and lo and behold!  We run into Daisy, one of my good friends from Royal Holloway!  It was surreal.  So we went out for a walk and a bit of food with Daisy, catching up and hanging out.  Soon, she had to go to work, and we went back to Ed's for the night.

The next day, I headed to Wisbech with Sam to see his hometown.  Wisbech is a fairly small town, the type where everyone seems to know everyone else.  Sam lives on a farm of sorts, with many chickens and a few horses.  His dad is a mechanic dealing primarily in farm equipment.
Sam said he was going to take me to the local club, called Mendi's, later that night.  We met up with his friends at a local pub before heading out.  They were all really good guys, and most of them knew Sam through cricket and hockey.  (Grass hockey in the US).  Before long, we were feeling good, and ventured to the club.  It was a fun little place, but the energy was high!  Once we left, Sam and I ended up walking back to his house, which turned out to be a good 5 miles away or something, so it took us a fair chunk of time to get back.
The next day I got to see my first ever hockey game!  Sam's sister Georgie was playing in the Championship round, and they were undefeated all season.  It is very similar to ice hockey, but of course there was no checking, and only the goalie had pads.  The girls took the title, and we went to their clubhouse to celebrate.  When I say "celebrate" it really meant that the girls got to celebrate while the boys put together a cricket bowling cage, which is essentially the same thing as a batting/pitcher cage used in baseball.  There were no instructions, and very limited tools.  Thankfully, there were plenty of us men around, and with a little bit of elbow grease, the lot of us got the thing up in something like 4 hours.  It was then that we were allowed to celebrate.  We had a few drinks in the clubhouse before heading out to get some currey.  It was here that the highlight of Wisbech came into fruition.

Sam's House

Sitting next to us were 6 women who were all related and in their middle-ages.  They were getting a bit tipsy and having a good time.  Sitting across from me was Dom, one of the guys I was now friends with.  Every once in a while, we would hear this high-pitched wail, somewhere between a banshee scream and a creaky gate opening.  Dom an I made eye contact, and in that eye contact I could tell we were both thinking the same thing, "what is that sound and where is it coming from?"  After a few more of these, I pinned down that it sounded like.  It sounds like the baby velociraptor that Allen Grant holds in Jurassic Park.  When I told the rest of the table my discovery, we burst into hysterics, but of course we had to be polite and hold in the laughter.  In our recon, we determined that she was in fact, laughing.  The sound was her laugh.  Before long, the other table realized we found it funny, and started laughing even more.  We got to talking with them and bantering about her insane laugh.    Soon, it seemed like the whole restaurant was in on it.  It was unbelievably hilarious, and a good way to close my time in Wishbech.

Pembrokeshire (That is in Wales)

ROAD TRIP

In late March, the Geology Department went on a 6 day field trip to Pembrokeshire, which is on the coast of Wales.  In Wales, they speak English and Welsh, which is a language that uses a lot of consonants.  There was one boy on the trip called Josh who was Welsh, and he proved to be our friendly go-to guy on all things about Wales.  We had to provide our own transportation to the field, so I rode up in a car with Gosia, Laura, Camilla, and Grace.  We had a great time driving out, as the weather was most favorable.  After a solid day of travel, we finally arrived and found our chalets--which we much nicer than anticipated. After a bit of introduction, we called it a day and hit the sack.
The next day wasn't the best of weather, as it was raining.  We had also had a 20 minute walk to the bus along a muddy trail, some people even ended up falling and slipping into the mud.  I almost took a spill myself, but managed to dive into some bushes at the last moment and thus avoid a catastrophe for my camera.  Even though the weather wasn't the greatest, we still managed to have a good time in the field.

Tidal Cave

Luckily, the rest of the weeks weather proved to be absolutely smashing. We toured all around the coast, and saw loads of cool formations--from faults and folds to coal veins and fossils. 
Because we were in chalets, we had to cater ourselves, which meant packing lunches and cooking dinner. You'd be surprised how hungry a day in the field can make you.
One of the most bizarre things that happened in Wales happened on the coast in the middle of the week.  Whilst in the field, we heard booms in the distance.  We were then told that the Ministry of Defense had land nearby, and they were having a 5 day war game using live ammunition.  They were using tanks, artillery, and small arms fire.  Apparently in preparation for a ground invasion of Libya.  I tried getting video of it so you could hear the booms, but the wind was too strong and it drowned out the sounds of the battle.  They also told us not to stray too far, as there was no clearly defined boundary between us and the MoD.

Castle

The weather was so nice that I decided to try swimming in the real ocean!  The other guys decided to come with me and we swam around.  They all got out because they said it was chilly, but once you swim in Minnesota lakes soon after the ice breaks, not much else can seem terribly cold. 
On the last day even more of us got into the water at the beach, and we had a blast in the sun.  On the way back to the car we started finding loads of dogfish,  One of them was massive!
Also, at the end of the trip, the supervisors gave out prizes, including one for most entertaining, which I somehow won.  The prize was a chocolate egg and a bottle of wine. 

Sunset

Needless to say, it was an absolute blast, but it also signified the end of the my geology here in England, and it will be the last time I will be with the rest of my geology class.  *Tear*

Group Photo

Me and Geology

Cliffs

Water time!

Jamie with the sharks!

A Disgrace To Bloggers Everywhere

It's been a whole sodding month since I've written on the blog.  Talk about pathetic!  I would take some time to try and blame it on some excuses, but the fact that I had a run-in with four unicorns that needed grooming and have had a Demon called Tritus take refuge inside my mind and body for the last month, but I don't want to go into all that.

Last I left you, it was the 8th of March, meaning you have not heard of my 21st birthday shenanigans and tomfoolery.

21

Pong

So, as you know, in America, the drinking age is 21.  Here, the drinking age is 18.  Therefor, I had already been fairly accustomed to drinking in legal establishments for some time now. I also didn't expect much to come out of turning 21 in England.  However, most of the people said that I would still have a good night, and indeed I did.

The plan was to go to the Students Union, as the theme for the night was Disney. So of course everyone was wearing costumes.  I found a cheap outfit at the local thrift store.  It was a 7-9 year old fairy costume.  I thought I could fit into it, and so I bought it and ended up going as Tinkerbell from Peter Pan.  It was going to be a good night.  Some friends came over to our flat, also dressed up as characters such as a Alice In Wonderland, a Lost Boy from Peter Pan, Woody from Toy Story, and the Mad Hatter.  I introduced them to 'Beer Pong' and American Red Party Cups, which they don't get over here.  

After some successful pre-drinks, we made our way to the Student's Union.  Unfortunately, on the way there, while trying to jump over these anti-vehicle posts known as bollards, I managed to rip the tights I was wearing as Tinkerbell.

But that wasn't going to stop me.

No Sirree!

Soon I was getting complements aplenty on my costume, and had plenty of people getting me drinks.  

All in all it was an awesome night, and I woke up the next morning feeling wonderful!

I promise there is much more to follow!

Smoking

Smoking laws here in the UK are similar to those in Minnesota and the majority of America.  Which is that it is now not legal to smoke inside pubs, bars, restaurants, etc.  On the whole, more people do smoke over here, and this tends to be cigarettes.  Chewing tobacco is something I haven't even seen whilst being here.  Now, on English tobacco products, they are blatantly covered with messages such as "smoking kills" or pictures of diseased lungs.  Mostly this is meant as a deterrent. Not only that, but they are much more expensive over here, with a pack of 20 costing around £6 or about $10.  Because of this, I have noticed that almost all student roll their own cigarettes.  They have their pack of tobacco, rolling papers, and then filters.  Watching them, it is almost like an art.  People I have talked to have said it is borderline therapeutic.  Just an interesting observance.

I'm still alive

Yes, yes.  I know.  Things have been a bit slow recently on the blog.  That is simply because things off the blog here in real life have been hectic!
There has been a lot going on on campus lately, mostly due to coursework and drama rehearsals.  In fact, this Wednesday the 2nd of March marks the opening date for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.  The play which I am involved with.  It is going to be a fun show, and is done in promenade, meaning the audience is technically free to move anywhere they please.
On top of that, I have had a large amount of playwriting, directing, and rehearsing to do for other people. I am in no way complaining, I am merely saying that I have to budget my time more wisely, and this usually ends up with very little time to dedicate to the blog.

In the mail today, I received a package from home containing Valentine's Day.  You see, at the Spaulding family household, we have a Valentine's Day tradition.  On Valentine's morning, or the day closest to the 14th, my mom gets up in the morning and makes breakfast.  Only, it is Valentine's Day themed!  For instance, we have pink milk, pink eggs, red strawberries, etc.  All the food is a Valentine's Day color.  Then, the dining table has a themed drape and is set with candy hearts and kisses, etc.  We also each get a little gift.  In the mail today, I got a packet of sweets, heart napkins and plate, and a plush stuffed heart bear.  Just a way to keep home away from home.

What else have I been up to?

For one,  I decided to take a picture of the "Trolley Graveyard" that I had mentioned in a previous post.  This is essentially where everyone on campus dumps the shopping carts once they've unloaded their groceries.  The photo I took is pretty well stocked, but not the biggest pile I've ever seen here.

The 56

Also, for my dad and any other gear heads out there, I spotted this beauty in downtown Egham.  I wish the owner was around so I could have had a chat, as this Desoto is licensed in the US and has plate and stickers to back that up.  It was a beautiful vehicle, and made me miss my father's project car, which is a 1956 Chevy Bel-Air Wagon.

All for now, more to follow.

Corn Dogs

So in my new flat, we had gotten to talking about our respective cultures one fine evening.  While have this conversation, it came to light that corn dogs are absent from the British arsenal of culinary dishes.  It is hard to explain the context of corn dogs to one who is not familiar.  Mostly, you can buy corn dogs at sporting events and at fairs and carnivals.  The most challenging of all is to explain what a State Fair is to someone who has no previous knowledge. 

brianorndorf.com

I usually asking the person who I am explaining the fair to imagine a self-contained town of sorts.  This town is 320 acres, over one square kilometer.  The Minnesota State Fair is a time when residents of the state and region come to the fair to be entertained, exhibit their best livestock, show off their abilities in a variety of fields including art and cooking, learn about new products and services, and enjoy many different types of food—often on a stick. It typically runs for twelve days, running from late August into early September with the last day being Labor Day.  The average attendance is just under 1.8 million, and Minnesota has the biggest state fair in terms of daily attendance.
The fair has many permanent buildings on site, and even a few permanent midway rides--such as the Giant Slide, Space Needle, and Gondola.

Lydia, Andy, Me, and Luke

So you have this city, and it is only used in its entirety for 2 weeks out of the year.  To be fair, it is rented out to smaller events such as auto shows and appliance clear outs, but it is never as full as it is in those two weeks.
While at the State Fair, you can be guaranteed to get just about every cuisine imaginable, from fancy Italian to savvy Somalian. But when it comes to foods on a stick or foods that are deep-fried, nothing does it better.  You can get deep-fried candy bars, deep-fried corn, deep-fried Oreos, even deep-fried ice cream!
Then of course there is this corn dog which I had mentioned earlier.  Because no-one had been able to indulge themselves with this creation, I decided I would cook my own corn dogs for them.  I looked online for a recipe, and after picking up a few supplies, I was ready to give it a shot. 

I used chopsticks in the corn dogs, and fried them up to look as similar to the corn dogs from home.  Once I had made 4, I presented them to my flatmates.  It goes without saying that they fell in love with them, and since we had some batter left, we decided to fry some other foods.  Among the creations were tangerines, celery, chocolate, french fries, and bananas.  The fruit and chocolate one turned out very nicely, while the celery wasn't too popular. 
Next on the agenda is to try to make some proper Midwestern Cheese Curds!