Well, I have successfully made the journey from Wheaton, IL to Cambridge, UK, with relatively little mishap! Upon arrival, I went through customs where I was promptly chatted up by the young guy checking my passport. I believe our conversation ended something like this:
Guy: So what are you looking forward to the most while you're here?
Me (very groggily): Um, I don't know, just exploring and going places.
Guy: And meeting some blokes with accents, yeah?
Me: haha...sure!
I've already adjusted to the time quite well and have done a bit of sightseeing around the city of Cambridge. Notable is St. Edwards, a small church that was the seat of the English Reformation (yay Anglicans) and Round Church, a gorgeous old little church dating from 1130! (Photos to come). I've also done a fair bit of eating, consuming copious amounts of tea, chocolate, and cheese, and enjoying other little english delicacies here and there. Yesterday I went out to Cream Tea with my mom - a cup of tea, a currant scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and a fresh strawberry. It was delightful!
This morning I'm at Pickwicks, a teeny cafe about a 5 minute walk from our little house, drinking tea and sharing a danish with my parents. Strangely, the techno song Sandstorm is playing in the background. I'm often quite amused by the juxtaposition of the old/new, traditional/modern here in Cambridge. There is free Wi-Fi here, and we are all on our laptops because the only internet we have at home is a very weak signal mooched from some unknown neighbors. The pace of life has been very different here - coming straight from a very intense last few weeks with finals, packing, RA duties, and trying to cram in as much hangout time with my friends as possible. I have almost no responsibilities here, so I've been enjoying a lot of reading, exploring, and chatting with my parents. Last night I made din-dins for my parents: pizza (so difficult!), a little plate of gourmet cheeses and olives, a garden salad, some vino :), and some nice dark chocolate.
I have a few more days here and will leave next Wednesday for London, where I will see my little sister Hilly, whom I have not seen since last August! I feel very lucky to be here, and am eating up every little bit of it. I'll try to post here every few days.
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