flying here was one of the weirdest experiences i have had... you climb into this massive metal machine that makes a lot of noise, smash yourself in next to a whole lot of people you don't know, eat lukewarm overcooked food, get a sore back and no sleep trying to get comfortable for all EIGHT hours, and then you land. and you're in a different country. and you're like "what happened??"it is amazing that we have the ability to hop oceans that way, and to be only a few uncomfortable hours away from a totally new place, with its own culture and flavor and surprising similarities to home. i remember thinking on the coach ride to campus that the landscape looked almost exactly like the willamette valley. that was until we (no joke) drove past Watership Down. a whole green, grassy, hedgerowed field full of cinnamon brown bunnies. just bizarre. that and a few pastoral sheep pastures and miniature cars later, and i started to realize that i am a long way away from home.
my first impressions of england, as blurred as they are by sleep loss and map-derived confusion, are that this is a very pretty, very polite place. the brits i have met so far are unendingly courteous. they don't smile when you pass them on the paths around campus, but if you have a question or bumble with strange coins, they smile and comment on your "beautiful accent", and say nothing about your obvious "visitor" status. beyond people, the landscape is everything it is cracked up to be, and i haven't even seen the countryside yet. there are ponds and long, tree-lined walks, gorgeous architecture, quaint homes, and ducks on every single body of water larger than a bucket. pretty fantastic, i must say.
the food though... is less than fantastic. they do potatoes in many forms very well, but not much else. overcooked, meaty and low on flavor seems to be the name of the game so far. perhaps that will change once i venture beyond dining halls and chain stores, but i'm working my way into things slowly. porridge comes in second in edible-ness of the food i've eaten here, in spite of it's questionable color and general lumpiness. a few teaspoons of sugar and you're in business! more worrisome than anything else, though, is the total lack of pasta. it seems to be m.i.a. so far in my experience, minus the sad excuse for ravioli they dropped in front of us on the plane. that doesn't count in my opinion. the first thing i am going to do when i find an italian restaurant here is order the biggest plate of non-meaty spaghetti available and sink into garlicy, tomatoey, cheesy bliss. yum! :)
i hope you are well, dear friends. keep me up to date on yourselves as well! xo
the view across the lake: the trent building. it's really beautiful... and enormous.
here's the lake itself. there's a path all the way around it, and when i went for my walk i passed lots of families with little kids. it's a pretty popular gathering spot for people--there were also little old men floating beautiful little model boats in the lake as i walked by.
this is the bench i sat down on to write in my journal for a bit. these random little beautiful places are what i really love about england.
this is the downs. it's a big grassy hill right in the center of the campus. my dorm is down the hill here and to the left (i couldn't get a good picture of it).
this is a little path i take between my dorm and the academic buildings. i think i can handle seeing this every day... :)
