Happy New Year!

I spent Christmas in Nice. The weather was fantastic--warm and usually sunny. I watched a lot of random french TV. Now I'm in Bologna, Italy, which is much colder, but still lovely. I rounded the corner today, and ran smack dab into a church I had seen last summer while watching the Travel Channel. It was unreal. We also went to Cinque Terre. I know I'm the English major and everything, but I just don't have the words to describe it. I'm running out of internet time, so I'll have more stories later. Happy New Year!!

Feliz Navidad

I suppose I am in France now, but still. Merry Christmas! I'm currently in Nice, just sort of hanging out. We did go to a church service last night, whichi was one of the most surreal events of my life. We sat by the sea this afternoon. It's been interesting so far, but I really do miss home and friends and family, especially today.

Anyway, this keyboard is really annoying me, so I'm signing off now. Merry Christmas to you all!

¡Hola!

Hey, folks, currently in Spain--Granada. Fantastic time so far. I can read a lot more Spanish than I thought I could. It´s 6AM, though, and I haven´t yet been to bed. Stories to come later--don´t worry, I´m writing everything down. I´m really tired right now. Ah, ¡bienvenido a España! Love you all!

Adios!

I'm leaving shortly for London, to fly out to Madrid tomorrow morning. I don't know how often I'll be around the Internet for updates, so I want to wish you all a merry Christmas. Enjoy the shortest night of the year (and longer days after that!) and have a happy New Year!

So Many Birthdays!

Yesterday was my flatmate Kim's birthday, and it'll be Beth's over the break, so we had a big party in the kitchen last night. It was interesting, because I live with some weird people, who know other weird people, so it was like a giant gathering of all the weird UEA first-years and some random exchange students. It was a good time, even though I was tired and hadn't eaten well that day and consequently felt too ill to actually eat any of the food there (entirely sweet stuff. Turned my stomach). It was exciting, because I actually came out of my room and Sue actually came out of her room. So yay. Everything settled down by 9:30, though, because a bunch of people went into town to go the the Waterfront and everyone else just sort of disappeared into other people's rooms. Although someone vacuumed the hall at like 11:00. I also got made fun of for just drinking water out of my water bottle, which confused people: 1. that I was drinking water and 2. because of my nalgene. So I had to explain the concept, and why mine says things like "Coming Out Day" and "Viva La Raza." (It's from the Diversity Celebrations Committee.) So...yeah. Good times. I did not go to the Waterfront, though, because I didn't really like it that much when I went last (it was okay, but I just really don't like clubs at all. I don't dance, so what's the point?) and I was tired and sick. And kind of annoyed with people by that point. So I stayed in and crocheted and watched stand-up on You-Tube. Such is my fascinating life.

Oh, and all the food that's left is still out in the kitchen, exactly where it was last night. Way to clean up after yourselves, guys. (Actually, we're lucky to have Kim, because she's a clean freak. I hate to think what our kitchen would be like if she didn't like to clean...)

December Lurking

It's December now. Did you know that? I only just realized what that means. I'm four months into my trip. I've got one week left of this term (which means that I'm snowed under by papers and poems, but no actual snow). It's kind of hard for me to reconcile the 50 degree weather, rain, and conspicuous lack of snow with the Christmas season, but there it is. My friends who are abroad this semester will soon be heading home. In under a week, I leave for my big journey (which is almost more frightening than exciting at this point!). Then it will be 2008. I will only have 5 months left. I will turn 21. I will be a senior. I will have to apply for graduate programs in something or other, or I will have to find a job (NOOOOO!). I DID NOT AGREE TO THIS, PEOPLE! When did this happen?

Happy Birthday, Wes!

Happy 18th, kid.

Adventures with Allie (Part the Fourth, I think)

Allie came down to visit this weekend. We had a good time. We walked around the lake on campus, watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail, saw the Cathedral and the Castle (and a mustard shop that Allie's guidebook said we should go see, but it was kind of crap), baked cookies, ate a lot of really unhealthy food, and talked a lot. It was fun. Also, we spent a lot of time wandering aimlessly around Norwich, which is really about all there is to do here. It's a really cute and pretty little city, so it's fun. All the Christmas decorations are up now, and so there are lights everywhere and Christmas markets and allegedly, there are reindeer outside one of the department stores, but we got there too late to be able to see them. Also, there's an ice rink outside the Forum. Oh, and when we were at the castle, we got to make Christmas decorations with all the little kids. Because we're cool like that.

I'm really mad right now, though, because apparently my memory card wasn't in all the way or something, and so my pictures of the city wall and Pull's Ferry and the oldest bridge in Norwich are all on my camera's original disk. I do not know where the cords are (back in Greenleaf, somewhere, I hope), so I have no way to get them on to my computer. So that's annoying.

Pictures

Pictures from Glasgow, Dumfries, Ruthwell, Carlisle, Housesteads, and Hexham are up. You should be thankful, too--I haven't had dinner yet because of all the work I've been doing, just for you. Enjoy!

Italy, Poetry, Etc.

Hmm, it's not been as long since my last post as I thought. Anyway, life's been quiet around here. I think it's just waiting to leap at me from behind a bush or something, because soon I will have more essays and coursework due. Oh joy!

I got my Creative Writing coursework back on Monday. My instructor said my "writerly appraisal" was good. So pretty much everything she said about not having to write an analysis was entirely moot, because I wrote an analysis anyway. I just stuck a little bit in at the end saying why I liked the poem and how I appreciated the language or something dumb like that. For my poems, she said mine were "tight and considered" and show "good understanding of key elements of the genre", but I needed to "take more risks" and use more imagery. I got a 65, which is apparently pretty good. The rubric says this means my work is "good/proficient", "stylistically fluent", has "maturity and some individuality", and "good control and invention in the use of language." Unfortunately, everything I've written in the past few weeks has been utter garbage, including the poem I submitted for workshop on Monday. My classmates (kindly) did not rip me to shreds or tell me to burn everything I've ever written, and I lived through it. It was a poem with potential, that collapses under it's own weight because some of the writing is weak. Anyway.

I am finally registered with the campus medical center (or centre, if you prefer). I had to go in this morning to meet with one of the nurses and answer some questions and let them take my height and weight and blood pressure. So that's done.

Monday night, after class, I went over to Catie's flat, ostensibly to discuss our plans for Italy. We didn't do much of that. I ended up sitting in her kitchen for a while, watching her flatmates play I Spy while we waited for our food to be delivered. It was...interesting, to say the least. Which I will do, because I am not being marked on my use of imagery or artful language in this post. Anyway, we've changed some of the specifics for when we're in Southern France. We're only going to spend one night in Marseille and spend three nights in Nice instead. As for Italy, after New Year's Eve in Bologna, Catie and I are going to split up for a few days. She's going to go down to Florence to meet her family, and eventually head down to Rome. I'm going to go to Venice, then Ravenna, and meet Catie back in Rome. It means I won't get to see Florence, but I've been dreaming of going to Venice for a long time, and I'm not going to pass it up just because Catie's sister has already been there and didn't really like it. I'm really excited to go off on my own, too. I mean, yeah, I'm scared out of my wits, but I'm terribly excited.

So that's been my life for the past few days. Not incredibly exciting, but there you go. I'm off to play with Flickr and read more at Journeywoman. I'll have pictures from Glasgow, Ruthwell, Carlisle, Housesteads, and Hexham up shortly--I'll be sure to let you know when I'm done!

Photos!

Edinburgh/Roslin pictures are up!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thankgiving, everyone! I celebrated by spending 5 hours in class and going to the library.

Yesterday, though, Catie and I made a big dinner for her flatmates. They all enjoyed it, and we had a good time. It was, in fact, a really good dinner, which surprised me. I was just waiting for the entire plan to collapse. It also means I got to have leftovers for dinner! Yay for not having to cook for the next few days or so!

I have also rediscovered Beowulf. I picked it up in the library this evening and started to read it again (fifth time, I believe). I haven't enjoyed reading this much in months! Seriously, you all should read it. But read the Seamus Heaney translation. It's incredibly engaging. I read 25 pages in an hour, and it's only 100 pages long. You ought to read it. I'm also planning on going to see the new movie this weekend, so I'll let you know what I think of it. I've heard from a lot of people who know way more about Beowulf than I do that it completely and utterly sucks, though, so my hopes aren't high. Anyway, the poem is excellent, and easy to read.

Saturday, 10 Nov and Sunday, 11 Nov: York and Home!

Saturday, we got up and went to a few craft fairs in York, and then tried again to go to the Minster. It was closed again, at least until 1:00. So we went back to the Yorkshire Gardens and wandered around the abbey for a bit, and then walked on the medieval walls of the city before checking out the market and getting some lunch. Then, we went to York Minster. It was really impressive. It was absolutely huge (it is the largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe), but there were a lot of people there. Usually, when I'm in a cathedral, I wander around awestruck, trying to imagine what it was like to build the thing, or what it would be like to genuinely worship there. The thing is, this requires quiet, and the Minster was not quiet. It was lovely, though, and we got to go down into the undercroft and see the remains/foundations of the Roman fortress and the Norman cathedral that still stand. Also, we got to see the treasury, which houses silver from churches all over Yorkshire, and the crypt, which has the tomb of St. William, Yorkshire's patron saint.

Saturday evening, we had dinner in the hostel again, and were just going to sit in the kitchen and read and write quietly until going to bed early. However, we met some more of the guys who work at the hostel--two guys from Australia and one from South Africa. They were interesting, to say the least. They were actually all pretty openly racist, which was shocking to me. I'm used to the cloaked American racism. Also, until they started drinking, they were kind of negative about England. But one of the Australians showed us pictures from when he was in France and Italy, and they told us about their countries and their times in England, and made fun of us for being American (of course), so it was okay.

Sunday we had planned on getting up early to catch a 9:00 train from York to Peterborough, and we did, except it was REALLY hard to get up that early. You see, a bunch of French travellers checked into the hostel Saturday night, and spent from about 2-5AM running into our room, turning on all the lights, shouting at each other, turning off the lights, and slamming the door. Even after we told them to quiet down, they still talked really loudly, only then they included multiple "shushs". It was really obnoxious. And one English guy started in on us when I said we had to get up early to catch the train. I don't know why it made him so mad. Anyway, up until that point, our experiences with hostels had all been very good. I still like them. They're cheap and you tend to meet a lot of people.

Anyway, we did get up early for the train, and caught it, and once we were in Peterborough, we had to catch a bus to Bury St. Edmunds, then a train to Stowmarket, and then another train to Norwich. It was really long and complicated and we didn't get home until 3:30. Apparently, there was a train derailed between Peterborough and Ely, right on our way home, so we had to go around. Oh well. We made it back safe and sound.

Oh, and pictures aren't working again, and it's late and I'm tired, so you'll just have to wait until I stop being lazy and put them up on Flickr. Sorry!

Friday, 9 Nov: York

Friday, we wanted to go see York Minster, but it was closed for a graduation, so instead, we went to the Yorkshire Museum and Gardens. There used to be an abbey there, but it was destroyed, and now there's a museum about the history of York. We got to see stuff from the Romans, Anglo-Saxons (yay!), Vikings, and Normans. So that was exciting. There was also an exhibit about the icthyosaurs and whatnot that have been discovered nearby. That was also cool, but I always find those prehistoric sea-creatures really scary-looking. After that, we went to St. Olave's Church, which was nearby, to take pictures. They're big fans of St. Olaf in York. I don't know why. He wasn't the nicest guy. Anyway, so we were good and obedient Oles and took pictures of the church. Then we went to the Fairfax House. This is allegedly one of the finest Georgian (mid 18th century) houses in England. You would have really enjoyed it, Mom. The tour guide explained the family history (the Viscount Fairfax had two wives and 8 children die of smallpox, leaving him with one daughter who never married) and the furniture and building. It was really interesting, especially the kitchen--apparently, you can eat the feet of pigeons, but I personally think that's one of the most disgusting things I've ever heard. Then we had dinner at the hostel, and we met a guy working there from New Zealand who had been working in Scotland for a trail riding barn in the Highlands. After that, we went out to meet Catie's flatmate Tim, who lives outside of York. We meet a couple of other guys that night, one from near Leeds, I think, and one from Cardiff in Wales, and they took us to some pubs they liked. We actually met them because I was talking about being from Green Bay and football and stuff, and one of them happened to like American football. So that was interesting.

Thursday, 8 Nov: Durham and York

Thursday morning, we got up and took a train back up to Durham to go see Durham Cathedral. This was really important to me, because not only is there a shrine to St. Cuthbert, but the historian Bede is buried there, as well. Almost everything we know about the early centuries of the Anglo-Saxons in England comes from Bede. He founded the study of English history as we know it. Furthermore, I've spent the past 6-7 weeks thinking about, reading about, talking about, and writing about Bede, so I figured I ought to go see his tomb. It was amazing. It was really cool to encounter history like that. We also wandered around the town of Durham, which was really nice. We walked down by the river Wear. It wasn't too cold (yet), the sun was out, and the leaves were all turned, and we watched the swans on the river. After that, we went back to York, wandered the city for a while and stopped at the tourist information center, made dinner in the hostel, and then went out to some pubs. There is totally a store there that sells swords, including replica weapons from the Lord of the Rings films! Actually, they had one from the Silmarillion, too. Naturally, this was incredibly exciting to me and I stood in the store drooling for a while, I think. They weren't as heavy as I thought they would be, though. Catie wanted to buy a mace. Anyway, that night I had made plans to meet an internet friend of mine, whom I had met on a Lord of the Rings forum a few years back. He was in York with his history class on the Vikings. So that was a lot of fun.

Blogger's not been working well for me the past few days, so I don't know if this is actually going to post. And if you had checked earlier today, only to see a title and some tags, but no text, that's why. I did have a post there, but Blogger didn't post it.

Wednesday, 7 Nov: Haltwhistle, Housesteads, Hexham, and Our Adventures in Newcastle

60 posts!

I'm still procrastinating, so here's another entry from my Reading Week trip.

On Wednesday, we got up and had a full English breakfast, which was wonderful. Then we caught the bus out to a little town called Haltwhistle and took another bus out to Housesteads, which has an old Roman fort (Vercovicium) on Hadrian's Wall. So that was pretty cool. It was bright and sunny out, as well, and there were, of course, a bunch of sheep around. Then we went back to Haltwhistle and caught the train to another town called Hexham. There, we went to see an old abbey founded by St. Wilfred. It was really cool. After having dinner, we went to a Choral Evensong service there. Most of the people in attendance were really surprised that anyone under the age of 40 was even there, so a bunch of people came up to talk to us. It was really nice. But I've got to say, the Church of England says the Apostle's Creed and the Lord's Prayer funny. The words are all changed, which really confused me. I really enjoyed going to the service, though, because services are so much cooler in cathedrals. Also, it was really nice to meet people who aren't students, because when all the people you interact with regularly are students, you sort of forget that real life exists.

Then we got on the train to Newcastle. At this time, Catie told me that she didn't actually know where in Newcastle our inn was. It was about 9:00 at night, and I really didn't want to wander the streets that late at night. So she called around Newcastle, trying to find directions. No one had ever heard of this place before. So we decided to go directly on to York, as we hadn't planned on touring Newcastle anyway. We bought our tickets and sat waiting for the train. Then, Catie gets a call from the inn. Where were we? Since the cancellation fee was less than our tickets, Catie cancelled (and she's picking that up. It's her fault, so I'm not going to pay. In the future, I'm going to make sure we're more prepared than that). So we went straight on to York--fortunately, our hostel there had rooms open a day early, so we got to York around 12:00-1:00 in the morning. So that was fun.

You can see I have graced you with another picture of sheep. I absolutely love seeing sheep all over these old ruins. I think it's fantastic. Life goes on, I guess.

In other news, I take really crappy pictures indoors. My hands shake a lot and my camera doesn't like low light. So half of my pictures really ought to be tossed, but I'm not going to get rid of them.

Tuesday, 6 Nov: Dumfries, Ruthwell, and Carlisle

Sorry about not posting yesterday, either. I have no good excuse except, Look! Medieval Webcomic!

Tuesday, we got up and took the train to Dumfries. Again, the scenery was simply stunning. When we got to Dumfries, we wandered the streets for a really long time, trying to find either the tourist information center or the proper bus stop to take us out to Ruthwell. We did find the bus stop, and hopped on at the last minute for a 40 minute ride out into the middle of nowhere. Seriously, the bus stop was next to a farm house and a few cow pastures. It was ridiculous! Enchanting, but ridiculous. Anyway, we walked down the road to Ruthwell Church, which houses the Ruthwell Cross. The Ruthwell Cross is an Anglo-Saxon preaching cross with fragments of the poem "The Dream of the Rood" carved on it. "The Dream of the Rood" is a fantastic Old English poem portraying Jesus as some sort of warrior king who leaps up onto the cross to be crucified and shows the nails in his hands and feet as arrows. It shows us a lot about Anglo-Saxon culture and how Christianity is easily manipulated to convert as many people as possible. Anyway, Catie and I had read this poem in English 221, so we just had to go see it. After that, we had planned on going back to Dumfries to see the grave of Robert Burns, so we could reunite him and Clarinda in the photographic afterlife, but instead, just got back on the bus straight to Carlisle (which is back in England).

In Carlisle, we went to the castle, after walking the entire way around the castle walls looking for the entrance. It wasn't as informative as Edinburgh Castle, but we did learn all about the Jacobite rebellion in 1745, when there was a dispute as to who would take the throne and the Scottish Highlanders all rallied around Bonnie Prince Charlie and invaded England. Scottish prisoners were held in the dungeons of Carlisle Castle with little food or water, and you can still see where they would lick the stones to get something to drink. Also, Mary, Queen of Scots was held prisoner there before her execution, but that was well before the Jacobite rebellion.

(This picture has nothing to do with anything I just mentioned. I just thought it was funny to see tanks in a castle.)

That night, we stayed in this lovely little bed and breakfast, which meant that we got our own room and fresh towels and a full English breakfast in the morning. It was such a nice break from hostels! The reason we stayed there was because there are no hostels open in Carlisle in November, not being tourist season. So we went to the public library to use the internet and got Chinese take-away and watched a rerun of the Daily Show, Batman, and some other TV shows. Just watching TV was exciting.

And you can see that I am now back to form with the livestock pictures. I spent a good long time looking at the cows when we were at Ruthwell. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go read about the "Kingdom of the English" and freak out about how I'm graduating in just over a year and a half.

Monday, 5 Nov: Glasgow

Monday, we got up early and caught a train from Edinburgh to Glasgow. Catie and I were kind of scared to go to Glasgow, because we'd heard things like it was the stabbing capital of the UK and things like that. However, we did not get stabbed or molested in anyway in while there. So that was nice. The train ride from Edinburgh to Glasgow was beautiful. I just loved Scotland so much. I really want to go back. Once in Glasgow, we checked into the hostel and then went to Glasgow Cathedral, which managed to escape the English Reformation with minimal damage, luckily, and the Necropolis. The Necropolis is this giant cemetery built on a hill starting in the 1830's, I think, and it was lovely to be there in November with the leaves falling and the sun shining and the air just a little bit chilly. We got up to the top of the hill, and it started raining a little bit, but the sun was still out, so all of sudden, there was this rainbow right over the head of the statue of John Knox at the top of the hill. It was fantastic.

Then we went to St. Mungo's Museum of Religious Art and Life, which wasn't as interesting as I had hoped, but was free, so who cares? They did talk about Celtic Christianity with relation to the Scots, though, so that was cool. After that, we went to a Gallery of Modern Art. Some of the artwork was really just out there, but there were some interesting pieces as well. Then we had to go to Primark, a cheap UK clothing store, because Catie needed a sweater, then we went to Pizza Hut and back to the hostel. We were going to go out to see the fireworks for Bonfire Night (5 November), but it was cold and we could see them from the window. We did go down to the hostel bar and talked to the bartender, who was a student at one of the universities in Glasgow from Belfast. He asked us why we were studying in Norwich, "because there are so many English people there". We went to another pub across the street for a little, too.

I would have pictures, but Blogger is having problems right now, so those'll have to wait. I was going to do two entries today, but my entry for last Tuesday really needs illustration, so you'll just be getting the one, then.

Sunday, 4 Nov: Roslin

On Sunday, we got up and went back to Canongate Kirk to see the grave of Clarinda, some woman that Robert Burns loved from afar. She was actually married to someone else, and Clarinda was just her pseudonym in her letters to/from Burns, but that's the name she's buried under. It's odd.

Then, we caught the bus out to Roslin to go see Rosslyn Chapel. (My pictures of Rosslyn all really suck, so these are just to give you an idea.)

This is where people say the Holy Grail is hidden, including Dan Brown (though he says it was moved). It has strong ties to the Knights Templar and every last bit is carved with some sort of pagan/Christian/freemason symbolism. The tour guides say it is "a poem in stone". It was gorgeous. Right now, it has a canopy/umbrella thing over it, because the stone needs to dry out for it's preservation. While this makes it look really ugly from the outside, it means that you can climb up the canopy and see the outside of the church really well.

We also walked down to Rosslyn Castle, which is now in ruins, thanks to the destructiveness of Oliver Cromwell & co. in the 17th Century. The bus ride out to and around Roslin was absolutely fantastic. Allie and I decided that we are going to move there and raise sheep. It will be fun, I think. Anyway, then we headed back and dropped Allie off at the train station, then Catie and I wandered around looking for a Tesco (supermarket chain). Unfortunately, we didn't find one, so we went to Subway and then back to the hostel to play cards and watch Ugly Betty. We didn't want to go out that night.

I just loved Scotland so much, people. You can't even understand. And wait until you see my pictures from Ruthwell!

Saturday, 3 Nov: Edinburgh

Saturday morning, we got up and saw the statue of Greyfriar's Bobby, that little terrier who guarded his master's grave everyday until he died. I love that he has this little statue in the middle of the city, and a pub nearby named after him. We didn't go to that one, though. After that, we went to go see the grave of Adam Smith, in Canongate Kirk, which was down the Royal Mile. We figured it was important, because we base our economic system on his writings.

I've been to so many graveyards, churches, and castles this week, it's not even funny. After that, we walked back up the Royal Mile (taking tons of pictures) to go to Edinburgh Castle. It's this gigantic structure on top of an extinct volcano, and it's pretty impressive. We got to see the Stone of Destiny, where Scottish rulers are supposed to be crowned (of course, it was stolen by the English and only returned in the 1950's) and the Scottish crown jewels. We also saw where American sailors were held prisoner during the American Revolution. We also wandered through the War Museum there. Then we walked all the way to the other side of the city to go to the Dean Gallery, part of the network of National Art Galleries in Edinburgh. It was the only art gallery we went to there. The Dean Gallery houses Surrealist art, so it was all kind of really weird stuff. I did get to see a Dali in person, though, so that was exciting, and there was this whole exhibit about a Scottish architect, Basil Spence, who was pretty cool. After hitting some gift shops and dinner, we went on a literary pub crawl of Edinburgh. Not the big, heavily advertised one, but a smaller one with a really cool tour guide named Allan. He knew so many random facts about Edinburgh and it's literary history! It was a lot of fun, and we met a couple from Glasgow, so that was nice. We saw one of the places where Harry Potter was (allegedly) written. Apparently, claiming that JKR went to a place is a big tourist draw, so anywhere where she ever set foot is advertised. Except the Chinese restaurant that now stands in the coffee shop where she actually did write the first few chapters. So go figure. I, however, having a modicum of dignity, did not take pictures of it.

Friday, 2 November: Edinburgh

I'm going to do this day-by-day, because in my word processor, it's 11 pages and 3673 words long. I wish it were this easy to write a paper for my classes. So there will be at least one somewhat interesting post a day for the next few days, and some pictures as well. Once I stop being so lazy, there will also be pictures on Flickr, providing it doesn't freak out that I'm actually trying to post pictures. Maybe by next week. If you're lucky.

Friday I got up at 3:30 AM to catch the 4:44 bus to the train station. I left Norwich at around 6 and got into Edinburgh at 11:38. I think I really prefer Scotland and Northern England to the South/East Anglia. I met tons of people and the area is much more rural. At one point on the train, I looked out the window, and on one side was a field full of sheep, and on the other was the sea. It was gorgeous. Edinburgh was simply fantastic. It has a very stately sort of gloominess to it, and at the same time is incredibly fun. It is very touristy, though, mainly because we never really left the Royal Mile. The Royal Mile is the main street running from the castle to Holyrood Palace, the Queen's Scotland residence. That's where all the really famous buildings are, like St. Gile's Kirk (church).

I met Allie and we wandered up and down the Royal Mile before going back to the train station to pick up Catie. Then we checked into our hostel and went to the Writer's Museum, which memorializes Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns, and Robert Louis Stevenson. I've read pieces by all three (although only one poem by Burns--the title of Of Mice and Men comes from one of his poems--thank you, Mr. Last), Catie's never read any, and Allie's read Stevenson, I think. I don't remember. We also went to the Scottish National Museum for about an hour. It was free to get in, and we got to see the body of Dolly the sheep. That was pretty exciting. We also saw an early Scottish guillotine. It was cool. (Don't get me started on my penchant for medieval torture devices.)

Catie and Allie also had multiple opportunities to get dressed up:

That night, we went out for dinner and then went on a ghost tour of the city. Ghosts have seemingly lost their power to scare me, because I wasn't scared and I was able to sleep that night, but I know last year or before, the tour would have terrified me. The first part, we wandered the Royal Mile, with our guide giving us some history of Edinburgh and telling us what life would have been like. The second part, we went into these vaults under the city that are "haunted", as in people genuinely believe there's supernatural stuff that goes on down there, like inexplicable changes in body temperature and orbs of light in photos. We didn't see anything, though, and like I said, I wasn't too scared. If people had been jumping out at us, though, I don't think I could have handled it. Then we went and hung out at an Irish pub down the street from the hostel that played American music. It was weird, but we had a good time.

Facebook and Open Thread

Okay, this post has two purposes. First, I want to hear arguments for and against joining facebook. This was an issue of some contention in the past week, so I said I would take arguments when I got home. If you have an opinion, let me hear it.

Secondly, I want to know who reads this blog but doesn't comment. I know my parents and maternal grandparents do, because they tell me this, but the rest of you who don't feel the need to email me about it and don't ever comment--I want to know who you are! Leave me a comment!

Back Again

I'm home now. I'm absolutely exhausted. I've had a fantastic week, but I can't even begin to process everything yet. I'll post something more substantial later, but for now, I'm going just list the highlights:

• Seeing Allie
• Catie doing a faceplant on the sidewalk in Edinburgh
• Keeping myself from spitting on the grave of Adam Smith
• The bench in Edinburgh in memory of Beethoven (really, what is that?)
• Seeing a Dali in person. Not a great one, but it was still a Dali!
• Literary Pub Crawl in Edinburgh
• Rosslyn Chapel
• The Necropolis in Glasgow, including a rainbow over the giant statue of John Knox at the top of the hill
• Not getting killed in Glasgow
• The bus ride to Ruthwell Church
• The bus stop at Ruthwell Church
• Ruthwell Cross
• The bed & breakfast in Carlisle
• Haltwhistle
• Seeing Hadrian's Wall
• Choral Evensong at Hexham Abbey
• Seeing Bede's tomb at Durham Cathedral
• Sitting in the (warm!) kitchen at the hostel in York
• The Undercroft in York Minster
• Meeting tons of new people

So, yes, I had a great time. I'm completely wiped out now, though!

Quick Check-In

Hi everyone!

I'm in the public library in Carlisle right now, using the internet (obviously). I've had a great trip so far. I love Scotland. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been (and that's saying a lot!). On the train from Glasgow to Dumfries this morning, I just sat and stared out the window, open-mouthed. Edinburgh was absolutely fantastic. It was also great to see Allie again! Anyway, from here on out, we're going to see Hadrian's Wall, Newcastle, Durham, and York before heading back. Should be exciting, but I'm also excited to get home and get some sleep! I had 7 hours of sleep in 3 days before leaving for Edinbugh.

There's so much I have to say, but I don't even know where to begin. I think I'll leave off this entry and post more when I get home. Just wanted to treat those of you who actually read this blog and let you all know that I'm safe (if hungry)

So I survived yesterday with no serious scars, and even managed to have a little bit of fun last night. Now I'm off to Edinburgh to meet Allie. I don't know what my access to the internet will be like, but if I can, I'll keep you updated. Have a good week, everyone, and I'll see you on Sunday at the latest!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone! This is what mine looks like:

Paper of Death.
Socks drying.

Now go out and celebrate however you see fit! And I hope yours is more fun than mine...

Why I'm a Bad Student (Part One of Many)

Because the lint on my shirt is far more interesting than the subject of my paper.

I will say, though, that I have never missed Herodotus quite this much. Never thought I would, either. I'm trying to determine if I need The Histories enough to actually go look up the book. Because, you see, that would be work. And I'm opposed to work in all forms.

I'm Impressed.

People bring their dogs with them everywhere around here. Right now, I'm sitting in the library, working on my paper. From where I sit, I can see the lake and the field near it. A man has brought his border collie out to play. His dog is very well trained. Last week, when I was walking to campus in the evening, I saw a man walking two black labs. To my surprise, both were off-lead (which I was not comfortable with--I don't care how well trained they are, you never know what might happen and Earlham Road is very busy), and neither attempted to stray from their master's side. They crossed the road and jumped through the fence into the park. I have to tell you, I was so impressed. And with all the dogs I've seen, especially in town, I've not seen one act up or be a nuisance or anything. I think British people take dog-ownership much more seriously than Americans do. And I have a lot of respect for that.

Rambling Late Night Posting

It's 3:00 AM. I've got 1300 words on my Chaucer paper. I wish I could write at 2:00PM the way I can write at 2:00AM. I might be more lucid then, as well. I really really wanted to get this paper done tonight so I can devote tomorrow to my history paper, but that might not happen. Again, I have no access to coffee until about 8:00 tomorrow morning. I don't know if I can make it that long, or if I have enough money to fuel myself through the next few days if I can make it.

Ah, well, every fall is the same for me. Late nights spent writing papers and/or reading. And then every spring, I manage to get my papers done at a reasonable time. I do not know why this is. Also, I always enjoy the fall more. I seem to like my classes better (even with nasty ones like Chinese or Spanish 232) and be more satisfied with the work I hand in. Again, I do not know why this is. Did I mention it's 3:00AM?

Fixed!

I'm working on Flickr now (I know, it's been 2+ weeks, but the Cambridge pictures should finally be up and labeled if everything goes well), so that'll be done. I'll put up the ones from this past weekend too, I think. So you can all see St. Julian's. (ETA: Fixed now!)

I've got nothing planned for the weekend except work. I've got to read the Physician's Tale and the Manciple's Tale (I figure I've already read the Wife of Bath and the Franklin, I can legitimately skip those if need be), prepare for my meeting with my creative writing professor on Monday (eek!), round up and edit at least 35 lines of poetry, write a "writerly apprasial of a contemporary poem", write an essay on the Celtic contribution to the conversion of the English, write an essay on Chaucer--I'm thinking the prompt on fortune and Providence is most workable in a week--, and prepare a presentation on the Life of Alfred and Anglo-Saxon Chronicle A, all by Thursday. Friday morning, I get up at 3:30-3:45 or so to catch the bus to the train station at 4:44, then catch the 5:50 train to Peterbourgh, ending up in Edinburgh at 11:30. It should be interesting. I think I'm going to die.

Another Pub Crawl, or, I think I'll Stick with the History People

Last night, I went on a "Harry Potter Pub Crawl" with the LitSoc. It was really kind of dull. One of my flatmates went, and some other people who I guess know people I live with as well, but they were being pretty boring. I hung out with a girl from Australia who I've met at a couple of LitSoc and History Soc events. She's apparently a member of a newly formed Craft society and is going to send me an email with their next event (she also knits). I'm excited about that. The deal with the pub crawl was you were supposed to dress up, but almost no one did. Including me. And there weren't very many people, and they weren't very sociable.

I could have gone to the Norwich Beer Festival with the History Soc tonight, and I probably should have, seeing as I really like the people I've met there so far (well, all but one, but that's pretty good odds), but I didn't feel like leaving. I got a lot of work done today, surprisingly, and I just want to stay in and not do much. The Clerk's Tale took a lot out of me, it would seem.

Mitch-igan

You know what really cracks me up? When I tell people I'm from Wisconsin, and they ask me if that's near "Mitch-igan". Okay, no, it's near Michigan. I don't know where this "Mitch-igan" is. I have a hard time keeping myself from laughing, and just pronounce it properly, hoping they pick up on it. It makes me feel better about not being able to pronounce anything and being the one with a weird accent.

(No, that isn't a sense of superiority you're smelling there. That's genuine amusement. "Mitch-igan" just sounds funny. Say it. It is funny, isn't it?)

Norwich Castle

I went to the castle today with the History Society. That's actually an old picture--I didn't take any new ones today. We went an hour before closing, because that gets you a £1 entry to the general exhibits. Inside the castle is a really random museum. Some parts make sense--they have an exhibit on Boudica, the queen of the Iceni who lead them in revolt against the Romans (She even had Nero contemplating withdrawing Roman troops from Britain!) and one on the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, plus an art gallery of Norfolk painters and from the collections of Norfolk residents--but most didn't make much sense at all. There was a section on Egypt and a natural history portion with stuffed lions and a polar bear and a rhino. It was cool, though, and I had a good time. I hung out with people I had met on the pub crawl and got some suggestions on where to go in Barcelona. Anyway, I'm off to read about the rise of Wessex, so have a good evening, everyone!

Church of St. Julian

Catie and I went to the Church of St. Julian in Norwich today. I was glad to get out because the weather was absolutely gorgeous! Bright and sunny and pretty warm, too. I liked the church--it was nice and quiet, and they had a shrine set up where Julian's cell used to be. It took us forever to find it. We found out that she had a cat. For some reason, this just struck me as odd. I don't know why--maybe because I don't associate cat ownership with medieval authors. I suppose, though, she was a single woman, who was writing a book (pretty feminist for the 14th Century, even with the Church's consent/approval), and we all know that all feminists end up unmarried cat ladies. I like her a lot better now, knowing that she had a cat. She can't be entirely crazy if she liked cats (Operative word being "entirely". She was still absolutely nuts).

My Fellow Oles (Who happen to be on the Hill)

Oles currently on the Hill: PZ Myers, blogger at Pharyngula and bio prof at UM-Morris, is speaking in the Lair tonight! Go! Go! I command you! And bring me back a full report (please?). It's at 6 PM tonight. Seriously, people, go. I'm really kind of jealous.

Finalized Plans, kind of

Catie and I booked hostels today. Firstly, I'm very proud because we managed to figure it out so we're equal in terms of who's spending what for both the Scotland/N. England trip and for the Christmas trip. Secondly, we've got a flight and places to stay and everything! We're really going! Anyway, here's the layout so far (I know you find this riveting):

London 13 Dec.
Madrid 14-16 Dec. (2 nights)
Cordoba 16 Dec.
Grenada 16-17 Dec. (1 night)
(night train to Valencia)
Valencia 18-19 Dec. (1 night)
Barcelona 19-23 Dec. (4 nights)
Montpellier 23 Dec.
Marseille 23-26 Dec. (3 nights)
Nice 26-28 Dec. (2 nights)
Monaco 28 Dec.
Genoa 28-30 Dec. (2 nights)
Bologna 30 Dec.-1 Jan. (2 nights)
(Florence, Rome, Cinque Terra, Venice, Ravenna? 2-7 Jan. We have to hear back from Catie's family yet. But Florence, Rome, and Cinque Terra seem to be definites, and I really really really hope we can get to Ravenna. Byzantine mosaics and Dante's tomb? What could be better?)
Bern 7-8 Jan. (1 night)
Dijon 8-9 Jan. (1 night)
Paris 9-13 Jan. (4 nights)
Home 13 Jan.

So, yeah. I'm excited.

So. This is my boat.

I just finished "reading" the Monk's Tale (and by reading I mean scanning and saying, "Yeah, I know what happened to Sampson, thank you, I don't need to read that), and he talks about the emperor Nero's life. Apparently from Suetonius (or Swetonius, as Chaucer says). I got all excited, but then there was no mention of the collapsible boat. I mean, really. That's pretty much the only thing I remember about Nero, and it isn't even in there.

I have not yet fixed Flickr--that's work, and my life has almost entire been consumed by Christmas planning and the Venerable Bede lately. (Really, Bede, you could have chopped the Ecclesiastical History of the English People in half by cutting out all those letters to Augustine of Canterbury from Pope Gregory the Great. Was that really necessary?) We booked plane tickets to Madrid today, so at least I'm going to be there. Even if the entire rest of the trip falls apart, I will have gone to Madrid.

Plans

I don't remember if I actually posted this, but Catie and I've got plans for week 7. We don't have class, because most lecturers give you a break that week to "catch up" with reading/essays/homework/whatever. Not all of them do, though. Elizabeth's science classes are still meeting. Anyway, we're going up north for that week. Here's the plan: I leave Thurs. night for Edinburgh, Scotland, to meet Allie on Friday morning. Catie comes up Friday night. Weekend in Edinburgh. Allie goes home on Sunday, Catie and I take off for Glasgow on Monday. Tuesday morning, we leave for Dumfries, in order to see the cross at Ruthwell Church. This is the Dream of the Rood cross, people. I'm so excited to see this I can barely contain myself. Tuesday night we spend in Carlisle, back in England. Wednesday, we take a bus tour of Hadrian's Wall, bringing us to Newcastle. Thursday morning, we leave for Durham. Catie tells me there is some Anglo-Saxon stuff there, but I don't remember what it was and I haven't read much about Durham in my history class yet. Lots about Whitby and Lindisfarne, which we will not be getting to, but nothing about Durham. Anyway, Thursday night we spend in York, staying there until coming home on Sunday. So that's the week long Anglo-Saxon history tour of Northern England/Southern Scotland, folks.

We started planning our Christmas holiday today. Mom will be happy to find out that Catie liked the plan I had devised over the summer--that is, touring France, Spain, and Italy during Dec./Jan. when it's hopefully warmer there than it would be here--and wanted to come with me. The plan so far is to start out in Madrid, tour a little bit of Southern Spain before getting to Barcelona (Dali!), spend some time there before going through Southern France, end up in Marseille for Christmas Day, then head out to Italy, reaching Florence by New Year's Eve. Then I guess some of Catie's family members will be joining us (her dad, her sister, and her sister's fiancee, I think) and we'll be doing central Italy (hopefully places like Rome and Ravenna--Byzantine mosaics, people, and Dante's tomb! What more could you want?--and I'd also like to get to Bologna, but I maybe watched too much Passport to Europe over the summer), and then eventually heading back up toward England through Switzerland and France. We haven't planned beyond New Year's yet, though, because we ran out of time, and since we haven't booked anything yet, it's still all just dreams and snatches of clouds. But I'm excited anyway. Christmas in Marseille!

Sorry that was so long and rather torturous. I'm not proofreading because I can't bring myself to read through that again. So good luck, intrepid readers! Or should I say, congratulations, since this is the end of the post?

Anyway, I'll excuse myself to curl up in bed and watch a movie. I've caught a cold from one of my flatmates.

The Rest of My Weekend...

Friday night I spent in, listening to stand-up (Lewis Black and Eddie Izzard) and knitting. I finished my sweater, finally! It's going to be very warm.

Today, I didn't do much. Watched Jim Gaffigan on Youtube. I swear, everything that guy says is hilarious. I wrote some poems, too. Maybe I won't fail creative writing...

Mom says I ought to post more about the weather. It does rain a lot, but not actually as much as I expected. They did tell me that it rains the least in East Anglia. It's been cool so far. It took me a while to figure out what I should be wearing--I've got a 10-15 minute walk to the main part of campus, and if I wore too much, that would be uncomfortable, but I was always cold! Now I think it's settled down into a permanent sort of coolness.

Oh, and I know the pictures I put on flickr from last weekend aren't labeled, and there aren't many there. Flickr and I had a bit of a face-off last weekend, and I haven't gotten around to fixing the damage. I'll get to it eventually...

Thank "God"

I can't stop laughing at this picture (via the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks). Thank "God"! And on a billboard, too!

Went out to watch a rugby match in the bar today (England vs. France). It was...interesting. I had no idea what was going on, and I couldn't see the screen, so I just watched people. It was fun. England won, and I believe they're in the finals now.

After that, we went to one of the clubs in town. Unlike last time, this time I had fun. Last time it was a bit torturous and I was glad we left early. People are strange, though. That's all I'll say. I've got to get to bed. (It's 4:10 AM here.)

History Pub Crawl

Just read over my last post. *Sigh* If only I'd put that much effort into my classwork, or, say, into learning about Julian when I had to, y'know, take an exam on her...

Went on the pub crawl last night. I met a lot of really cool people. I don't know if I'll see any of them anytime soon--I recently realized that my Creative Writing class runs over the regular meeting time of the History Soc--but I hope I do. I even met one guy who listened to me rant about the sad state of American politics for over half an hour, and had the grace to tell me he didn't mind. He also told me I was the first American he'd met. One of the other guys I met kept asking me about what sort of music I listen to. When I told him I listen to country (did I just admit that in public? Ignore that, please. Never happened), he wanted to know what artists. Turns out he knows a whole 2 country artists: Johnny Cash and Shania Twain. Oh, and how, exactly, does one explain what New Age music is to someone who doesn't know? I just couldn't describe it adequately.

Anyway, since socs around here are mostly an excuse to go get hammered with like-minded people, there wasn't that much history imparted. I did learn that the Castle Mall was built in the old moat, and that some of the rooms in the City Hall still aren't completed, and it's been 70 some years since it was built. Towards the end I stopped listening to our leader anyway, because I was toward the back of the group and I was talking to people. I know, I'm a bad history student. Sorry.

Julian of Norwich

Firstly, I found out that we don't know for sure if her name was actually Julian--the church was named Julian first. In the Catholic Encyclopedia, they call her Juliana. Also, I learned that she is not only venerated in the RCC, but also in the Anglican Communion and the ELCA. That would explain why people keep making me read Revelations of a Divine Love ALL THE TIME. Her feast day in the Lutheran Church is May 8. I did not know that the Lutheran Church had feast days. If they're going to be exactly the same as the RCC, why break away at all? (Yes, I know the reasons behind the Reformation--they made me read Luther all the time too.)

Also, being an anchorite/anchoress in the Middle Ages is creepy. You'd live in a little cell attached to a church, and the bishop would wall up the door. Kind of like in "The Cask of Amontillado", except you don't die immediately. Or "The Black Cat", except you aren't dead.

The Church of St. Julian in Norwich is named after Julian the Hospitaller, AKA St. Julian the Poor. I don't know when it was built, but it was obviously there during the 14th century, when Julian was writing. It was destroyed during WW2, but has been restored.

Odds and Ends

Catie and I were going to go to St. Julian's Church today (does anyone else know of the sainthood of Julian of Norwich? I didn't think she was a saint, but her church is called St. Julian's. However, I know that Hildegard of Bingen, who also was a female mystic, was never officially canonized, someone just slipped "St" in front of her name in a book. I suppose I could just look it up on Wikipedia...). However, Catie lost her bus pass, so we didn't go in. The church has been there since the 11th century, at least. It's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Anyway, I'm supposed to be reading the Life of Wilfrid. Can I just say, right now, before reading this particular hagiography, that I love saints lives? They're all pretty much the same--precocious child, miracles, dragons (I swear to god--all the ones I've read so far have dragons. I mean, really? Dragons? Miracles are one thing, but dragons? You expect me to believe that? Do you think I'm stupid, or what?). It's seventy some pages that I have to read by 7:00 tonight. I'm going on a pub crawl with the History Society.

I've got my plans for Week Seven settled now, I think. Catie's booking hostels right now. Week Seven at UEA is reading week--it's the week you're supposed to spend catching up on all the reading you've missed so far in the term. None of my lecturers are holding class, though I do have two essays due. I'm planning on getting them done a week early. I'm meeting Allie in Edinburgh on Friday, 2 Nov., and spending the weekend with her and Catie, then after Allie heads home, we go on to Glasgow, Dumfries (Dream of the Rood! and also Robert Burns, apparently, but I'm not such a Robert Burns fan), Carlisle, Newcastle (Hadrian's Wall!), Durham, and York (Bede! And St. Cuthbert!). I'm really excited.

This weekend we might go down to Ipswich and see Sutton Hoo (and some other things, but if' you're going to be seeing an Anglo-Saxon burial ship, who cares about anything else?). I don't know yet, but I'll let you know when we decide.

Cambridge

I went to Cambridge today. It's a beautiful town. I loved it. Catie and I took the 8:40 train from Norwich and wandered around the city for a while, completely lost, before we managed to find the tourist information centre. There we found a map and a walking tour of the colleges. Basically, what we did in Cambridge was walk around looking at all the different colleges, including Christ's College, where Milton and Darwin went, and King's College, the famous one. After that, we went to the Fitzwilliam Museum. The Fitzwilliam Museum is an art museum owned by the university. And it's free! We saw a number of fantastic medieval coins and weaponry, along with a collection of fans and other items. They also had busts of Newton, Milton, and Pope, which was really exciting to me. I, being a genius, noticed that Milton, unlike the other busts, had no irises. I don't know if this is the reason or not, but Milton was blind, and so I thought that was why he had no irises. I felt pretty smart.

We went through the churchyard of Little St. Mary's, which had an enormous garden around its tombstones. It was absolutely gorgeous. We were admiring all the flowers (which are still in bloom!) when we turned the corner and saw a homeless man sitting on a bench with his sleeping bag. I don't want to sentimentalize him or blow the event up or anything (because that would be rude and disrespectful), but it's easy to forget that these towns are really towns, that exist in the present, and are not idealized trips into the past. This man made me remember that real people, with real lives and real problems, live here. And then I felt guilty for forgetting in the first place.

Anyway, I will upload pictures to Flickr shortly. In the meantime, more farm animals!

These are cows behind King's College, and Catie with said cows. Yes, they are in there. No, I couldn't get any closer. And the other picture is of Christ's College that I keep talking about. It was actually really hard to find for us, for some reason, because we went on the street that the map said it was on, but there was a giant wall blocking me from worshipping where geniuses had walked. So we kept going along the wall, me cursing it under my breath, until the street opened up and there it was:

Christ's College. Milton went there, people. MILTON. (Yes, I do remember how much I complained when I had to read Paradise Lost. Pretty language does not absolve one of one's misogyny, but rampant misogyny, while tough--nigh on impossible--to take, does not make one's manipulation of language any less brilliant.) Unfortunately, when we got there, we saw this:

College Closed to the Public. Thwarted at the bitter end. You win, Cambridge University. You win.