Lancaster Diary
11/04/04
Hello again!
Lots
of exciting things have happened in the last week. For one, the Red
Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years!!! Jen and I
got the college porter to let us into the college bar to watch the
game at 1am on the large projector screen upstairs. We tried to take
a picture of us watching it but it was too dark so I just got the
screen.
Luckily the game was on a Wednesday and we didn’t have classes on
Thursday morning because the game didn’t end until 5am our time! It
was well worth it though. Another American study abroad student even
came to watch the game with us! Donnah was visiting so we dragged
her along as well though I’m afraid she didn’t have as much
appreciation for the event because she fell asleep in the 5th
inning.
Last Friday was Halloween so nearly our entire hallway got all
dressed up to go out clubbing. Jen dressed up as a footballer
(British for soccer player) and I went as a battery! It was my
friend Arie’s idea; I wore black with a plus sign on my forehead and
a minus on my feet and put “Duracell” in white duct tape on the
shirt. The English apparently thought our costumes were quite
strange. A boy in the corridor adjacent to ours asked if in America
people dressed up as “random things” for Halloween. We were informed
that in England you either go as a witch, vampire, devil or
something dead. Here is a picture of Jen and Donnah at the
“Sugarhouse” on Halloween.
On
Saturday we just hung out, then on Sunday Susan, Ellie and I got up
early to take the Sunday bus to Carnforth in the Lakes District. We
took the line all the way to Arnside, an hour’s ride for only a
pound! We were a bit disappointed when we got there because the bus
brochure had bragged that there was a “promenade” with “lots of
little shops” etc. However, there were only about 5 shops, two of
which were closed. So we poked around in the shops, bought a few
things, got some hot chocolate at a bakery and walked around for a
while longer. It was really a very pretty area; unfortunately the
day was a bit hazy so the views weren’t as good, but we still
enjoyed getting some fresh air and seeing some of the countryside.
Here’s a picture of Ellie and I eating our lunch at a bench on a
little pier that jutted out over the marsh.
This
week seemed to go by rather quickly. It’s half term over here, and
next week we start another biology class. It seems weird to be
starting and stopping classes after only five weeks…but apparently
its rather common over here. Another odd thing is that there was an
outbreak of mumps on campus so everyone was supposed to go to the
infirmary and get a booster update. Ellie and I queued outside in
the cold and rain for the better part of two and a half hours to get
the shot! Hopefully it will be worthwhile however, I don’t want to
get the mumps!
Well tomorrow we’re off to Edinburgh, Scotland for the day. This
weekend is also Bonfire night/Guy Fawkes day. Ellie taught me the
rhyme, “ Remember, remember the fifth of November. Gunfire, treason
and plot.” Guy Fawkes had been plotting to blow up the Queen of
England, when I asked Ellie which queen she said, “I don’t know.”
(Later she found out that is was King James) So apparently not that
important, but fireworks nonetheless! Check back to hear about our
weekend!
Cheers,
Jen and Erica
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