Off to Durham

Apparently I should’ve updated sooner because I feel like I’ve been doing so much here in the UK that I can’t quite remember everything. Let’s see…

Well my parents and I (Sara opted to stay home) took a day trip out of London to go see Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath. Thankfully it didn’t rain when we took the trip, but it was definitely cold (a common British theme, I’m discovering). Windsor Castle was beautiful – it is where the Queen goes on the weekends a lot and I think during the summers, but no, I didn’t catch her there. However, I do get to see her on pretty much all of the money I have, so maybe that counts? Then we went to Stonehenge which was very interesting to see. Then the end of the day we went to the Roman baths in…Bath. I think I liked Bath the best – there was so much obvious archaeological work that had been undertaken there and they even had a skeleton laid out (so guess where I stood for about 20 minutes) :-D

Windsor Castle

Stonehenge

Bath

The next few days we mostly took it easy. Apparently running around site-seeing every day, going on the Tube, and being constantly surrounded by people got my dad and me sick. But we did do a little shopping and exploring in Covent Garden and other areas of London. We went to a place called Selfridges (a gigantic department store) which just opened a shoe gallery with more than 4,000 shoes. It was huge. I got a new pair of boots that I’m eagerly waiting to scotch-guard and wear.

So after our long stay in London, it was time to say goodbye to our lovely Holborn/Russell Square flat and move on up to Durham. Did I mention we rented a car? Did I also mention that the British drive on the other side of the road and have a bunch of ridiculous roundabouts? No? Alright, well there you have it. Thankfully, my dad is an amazing driver and got us up here safely. Hopefully none of the traffic cameras caught him doing something illegal…

We saw A LOT of countryside between London and Durham during the 4 ½ hour drive, so naturally I thought Durham was going to be some backwoods tiny one-horse town in the middle of nowhere, sheep running rampant through the streets. Thankfully, I was wrong. I think. Durham is a beautiful, bustling little city and I’m sure once the “freshers” move in and the undergrads come back to school it’s going to be even more populated. Also a (hopefully) good gay omen - double rainbow on Wednesday and a regular rainbow Thursday (see pic left).

I moved in Wednesday and Thursday to my room. I live in the Josephine Butler College which is apparently a newer dorm and fun fact was named for a woman who lobbied for rights for prostitutes and women in the early 1900s I think. I was very happy to hear that as I am a feminist at heart (could you tell?). Anyway, so my flat has 6 people in it. We each have our own rooms and bathrooms, and share a kitchen/common area down the hall. I’ve met 4 out of the other 5 so far, and got to hang out with 2 of them. In my flat alone, we have people from Malta, the Channel Islands (not the ones in CA, but the ones near here), China, India and of course I’m representin Amurrrica. And across the way from us is another flat with a guy from Germany and another guy from New Jersey. Oh, to be an international student…

Last night was the postgraduate formal dinner. We were told to wear smart/formal attire (smart is their word for dressy) and that gowns would be available to borrow if we needed. I don’t know about you, but I was like “whoa, what? Gowns? Is this a black-tie affair?” Nope. Apparently Durham University is a “robed” university which means we have to wear our robes to formal events like dinners and university ceremonies. Yup, like what Harry Potter and those people wear. Another fun fact: the castle that is technically one of the colleges of Durham University was used in the Harry Potter films. Anyway, back to the story, so we bought robes at dinner and had to stand for the “high table” (and weren’t allowed to get up while the professors were still there all throughout dinner). They served a 3 course meal and my table (all 5 of us) collectively downed 6-7 bottles of wine (that we stole from other tables when they left – hey, it was free [see pic left]). We then dropped off our stuff and headed out to a night club in I guess “downtown” Durham and danced it up. First impressions, I’m definitely liking it here. But then again, classes haven’t started so check back again in about a week or two.

Oh and I do hope all is well with all of you people. I miss you all terribly. I have a ton of pictures on my wall now so I can see your lovely faces every day. Well, on second thought, maybe I don’t want to see your face. Ohhhhh that’s what your mama said last night! Oh shit, wait…