Exploring a village...

Today, to fulfill yet another requirement of our class (International Studies 135: Exploring Great Britain), everyone in the group was assigned a partner and a village outside of Nottingham proper and had to explore and learn everything we could about it. Mary and I were to find Cotgrave, how to get there and well, here's what happened...

Our trip was fine, we learned a great deal, were harrassed by a gaggle of adolescent boys, visited a church that dates back to the domesday book, spoke to several friendly elderly women who shared the history of the area, had a nice lunch at a pub and a lovely afternoon tea at a little shop. Our assignment was completed in plenty of time, so we treated ourselves to an afternoon of shopping near the Lace Market area of Nottingham. When we returned to the flat for the group dinner (with mandatory semi-formal presentations), we soon learned that the rest of the group had not had such an easy time. Kate was unfortunate enough to have bad luck with the bus system again... even though she left the flat at 8:30, she didn't arrive in her village (a mere ten miles away) until 1:30 in the afternoon. Most of the 'quaint' villages that were assigned were bedroom communities, aka, no one was around, at all. The majority of buildings were aparently residential... some locations only had one or two pubs... in two instances, the lone pub was closed. This posed a problem. How the hesitant and awkward American students were to approach complete strangers (who were not keen on talking to silly study abroad students in their home town) was a mystery to most everyone. Regardless of all the obstacles, everyone managed to find a place to grab some lunch, some amongst wedding parties - others with aimiable old men, and learn a bit about the history of the place... or atleast what was going on that night. Brandon, as usual, was exceptionally successful at finding the angle and talking to all sorts of interesting people. In the end, everyone completed the assingment and came home safely.

After a long discussion over dinner, Mark and Carol finally left and we started to settle in for the night. Anna, Em and Ryan went out for the night and the rest of us stayed at home. As we congregated in the common room, huddled over our laptops blogging, Kate finally convinced us to stop and watch a movie, have some chocolate, and best of all, share backrubs. So, before I waste anymore time, I am going to enjoy a relaxed evening...

randomness

So, after ten days, I am finally entering another post. Sorry for the lack of communication and information, but it has been rather crazy. I have completed orientation, registration, and we have gone on another group trip. The group has started to cook for eachother and the first two dinner meals have been quite successful (My cooking team made roast chicken, wild rice, glazed carrots, ceasar salad, and chocolate sauce pudding for dessert... of which I made another batch last night due to popular demand). For those of you who don't know, there are nine of us living in the flat together and then our two advisors join us for dinner M-F. We have been split into three cooking groups and are required to create a well balanced and delicious evening meal for 11 people (plus any guests) five nights a week. For breakfast and lunch we are on our own, same goes for the weekends. Once a week, Mark and Carol go grocery shopping with one of the nine. I was the first. It was insane. After three hours in the grocery store, and 200 pounds (approx 400 dollars) later, we drove home and spent untold hours fitting all of the food into the jigsaw of cupboards and refridgerators. Later that night, Mary and I spent a considerable amount of time sorting and reorganizing the entire kitchen. We threw away some three year expired spices, found four containers of nutmeg, found moldy lasagne (i didn't know that was possible) and finally got rid of all of the tupperwear without lids. Needless to say, the kitchen is now much easier to navigate.

Today we spent two solid hours of Mark and Carol teaching us how to clean toilets by hand... how to dust... how to vaccuum. It was invigorating.

Now that the pouring rain has stopped, we are off to explore Nottingham castle and some interesting neighborhoods. Complete with journal assignments and most likely papers to follow. On the bright side, our first test (or exam... maybe quiz?) was returned and the results were much better than expected. Contrary to everything that Mark and Carol have ever done in classes at Luther before, the grades were curved... I only hope they are so generous for the rest of the year.

I also wanted to say thanks to all of you for reading, leaving comments, and sending emails and letters. It is so nice to hear from home. It was a nice surprise last night when my mobile rang and it was a call from home... cheap for them and free for me... hint... hint... (07960040413) ...
but moving on, now that the weather has changed again and it is about to rain, if I go get ready to head out, then it will hopefully be clear again... oh England and its inclement weather...

Backtracking to the trip...

Where to begin? In five days I saw more of quite a few places than I have yet seen of my home for the next year. So, I'll attempt to recount a bit of each location we spent time in. The first place was York, only a bit over an hour away from Nottingham by private coach. As soon as we arrived, Mark and Carol handed us maps and a list of sights we had to see in the next two days. The dropped us off in the city and told us to go, just like that. We stubled around for a few minutes, getting our bearings, and eventually decided to spend some time in the City Art Gallery. The main focus of our attention there was to be the "Icons and Idols" exhibit, part of the Nat'l Portrait gallery. We spent some time pondering our assignment and once sufficient notes had been taken, I moved onto an quiter exhibit upstairs. At the end of one room, I found a solitary bench from which I could view the entire room, all of the art and people included. As I watched the people wander through the room, something suddenly dawned upon me. A sense of calm came over every person who set foot in the room. From the weary traveller to the tired toddler to the lontime patrons and art critics, all seemed to breathe a little slower. Each person was absorbing not only the colors on the canvas, but the emotion poured into each piece by the artist. It was humbling to be sitting in the presence of something that could unify all people so simply.

The group left the gallery for a group lunch at the University's refactory, complete with plum crumble and custard. We moved on and split the group in two for exploring the historic city of York. We saw the complete and extensive city wall, the Merchant Adventurers' Hall, Fairfax House, and of course, the Shambles - the one remaining street with many origional 18th century buildings. It was fascinating to learn of the history, stretching from recent all the way back to Roman 1st century. It was bizarre to realize that the people living in York know the 2000 year history of the land they live on. The day was spent going through museums and the occasional boring audio tour, but started to wind down in a jovial manner. Aaron had spent the day with the five girls, putting up with our jet lagged near hysterical laughter and randomness, and it only went downhill from there as we went to dinner. We decided to eat at this Italian chain restaurant by the name of 'Ask Pizza'. Once inside the towering doors, a grand entry way took us by surprise. The dinning room was in an incredible assembly hall with granite walls, marble pillars, and exquisite statues included. It was a pretty nice 'chain' restaurant if you ask me. Anyway, the dinner was excellent, and Aaron, once again, did a marvelous job of dealing with the five girls. Our laughter soon turned into tears as our fatigue caught up with us. I will have you know that this is the second time I have laughed myself into tears in Europe over dinner (Family, remember Zurich?). Soon enough, the other three guys walked into the restaurant and had a much more controlled dinner and we left together to head to the playhouse for the show "The Man with Two Gaffers". It was nice end to the night. Afterwards we walked to our hostel outside the city walls and soon fell asleep after a few scribbled notes in our journals.

The hostel proved to be nice enough. There were plenty of two inch mosquito-like bugs (except these were harmless), but it was a bed and a shower and a surprisingly good breakfast within walking distance of the town, so it worked out well. The second day in York was much more enjoyable. I got up earlier than any normal person should and went for a quick run with Kevin and Brandon. After a solid breakfast, we went out for day. As we had gotten most of the museum visits out of the way the first day, we were free to wander a bit more. We started the day with a tour of the towering York Minster. We learned that parts of the first Harry Potter movie were filmed there, this was one of the set locations we saw. The Cathedral and the history behind it are both beautiful and fascinating, but somehow, it had become such a tourist attraction that the sacred nature of the church was somehow lost. Regardless, it is still quite an impressive building. We spent the day exploring, shopping, eating pastys and fudge for lunch. As it started to rain, we decided to look in on St. Mary's church, which has been turned into an art gallery. The current exhibition was called 'Echo'. As we sat in awe of the bold, yet soothing display, we took a break, shared some Cadbury's and journaled. It was a much needed break from the hustle and bustle of the narrow streets of York. After a torrential rainstorm, inwhich a group of us took refuge in a women's toilet, we finally made it to Evensong at York Minster. It was an etherial experience to here the music of boys and men echoing throughout the walls of the 12th century Cathedral. The group left the Minster and walked to Tandoori Nights where we had the best Indian meal I have ever tasted. From coconut naan to chicken corma, every bite was wonderful. We discussed the experience of the past few days and plans for the rest of the trip. After a brief stop at the hostel, the majority of the group went out for our first night out. We found an interesting pub and ran into some people we had met over the past few days. It was a good start to a year of bonding. A quick walk back to the hostel, only held up by squishing the seven of us into a traditional red phonebooth, and into bed, ignoring the slight flutter of wings as we drifted off to sleep.


...the story of the rest of our trip to The North is to be continued.

A quick note before bed...

After a whirlwind five day trip to York, Durham, Alnwick, and everywhere inbetween, I just wanted to let everyone know that I am safely back at the flat for a few hours. Tomorrow, we pack up for three days and go stay in the dorms at UNott for orientation. Tonight was a flurry of making dinner, doing laundry, and sorting through 359 pictures. (Be sure to check my web album, there are some highlights of the trip posted) I will do my best to recap some of the the trip at a later time, but for now, it is well past my bedtime and I still have to figure out when I am going to meet up with Kim. For those of you who don't know, my sister Kim is currently in London with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and somewhere in our busy schedules, we are going to finagle some time to see eachother. As for now, good night.

Beyond the flat...

After and amazing nine hour nap, I started the day with a quick jog around the neighborhood. It was a little unnerving going for a run in unfamiliar territory, but well worth it. After a quick jog around the immediate residential area, I explored a bit further. I discovered a few things, a bus stop, a tram track, the green grocer stand (Margaret, one of the owners, suspected me a Luther student and waved), and perhaps most importantly, that not many people run around here... so I received a great deal of inquisitive looks, but I guess I get that in the States, too. The jet lag was mostly worn off by the end of my run, and the group met with our Mark and Carol to talk about travel, Nottingham in general, and the courses that we will be taking for the year.

After a leisurely lunch, we got our first tour of the area. While enjoying the scenery, I noticed a few things. Firstly, all of the homes here are very similar brick buildings built nearly a centure ago. These homes have since then been split into two, three, or four parts... each being a two story smaller home/apartment. Secondly, instead of large lawns, the yards are filled with gardens or paved by stones, occasionally a bit of green is present, but it is a finely manicured putting green quality grass that makes me emabrrased to call the plants growing in my yard a lawn. Thirdly, there are spiders everywhere. I don't mean your little jumping spiders or daddy long legs, I mean huge garden spiders with webs stretching as many as six feet, and tonight, Brandon saved my life by killing a ginormous brown spider with his bare hands. This spider was inside our flat! Apparently, as I read in a British newspaper, the number of spiders is the highest it has been in years. Fantastic. In addition to that, there have never been any spider fatalities in the UK. Until last year when there were 12, thanks to the wasp spider brought over from Europe over 50 years ago. Fine. Great. I am not the world's biggest arachnaphobe, but lets be clear, I don't love spiders. Beyond the domestic side of things, I realized that driving is not just a mode of transportation, but a competition to see who can exceed the speed limit the most, regardless of curves, yeild signs, or pedestrians. Lets just say that crossing any major roads is best done at a sprint.

On our brief tour of the neighborhood, we met the locals who have helped the Luther Nottinghamers for years. The first being John and Margaret, the green grocer owners. They were wonderfully hilarious. Aparently they give us all nicknames, but don't tell us what they are until the end of the year... I'm curious as to what they will come up with. They offered us all a piece of fruit on the house as it was our first day around town. Mom, I got a fresh fig, just for you. It was pretty good, but I think I'll stick to mangos for now. We also met our local newspaper and general shop owner who promised he wouldn't sell us any tobacco products, but advised us as to what would be the best cheap drink to put us in a good mood. One of the most interesting things about our neighborhood is the recreation ground which is right in the middle of an incredibly residential area. There is a surprisingly large field with atleast five soccer pitches, a playground, and a large expanse of lawn. That will prove to be an excellent place for a varried run. As our neighborhood is Northwest of the city centre, there are more local shops and a very homey feel.

For dinner, the group was escorted by our lovely advisors to the city centre. We took the tram, which will be dead useful (we will get unlimited passes soon) and walked around a bit to see the main sights in the city. We had dinner in the Salutation Inn, a pub who was kind enough to let us have the upstairs, due to the fact they ignored our reservation. I had fish and chips with vinegar and a light ale, Loxley (appropriate for Nottingham I thought). The rest of the group had puddings, mash, beef and guinness pie and all sorts of typical pub meals. It was a good start to the apparently poor British food. Mark and Carol left for home and the rest of us explored the city centre at night. We stopped at the oldest pub in England, Ye Old Tripe to Jerusalem (1189AD) and saw the old Nottingham Castle, complete with a Robin Hood statue. We navigated our way through the streets and made it back to the tram and home all in one piece.

After and incredibly full day, we packed and completed our first assignment for our International Studies course with Mark and Carol. We leave in the morning for York, Durham, Hogwarts (OK, the castle at Alnwick, but I can dream...) and Hadrians Wall. The weather looks bleak, due to the Hurricaine that just hit the States. Regardless, it will be exciting to stay in castles, hostels and gain some insight to Britain's extensive history. As soon as we return, we run off to UNott for orientation for a few days. Hopefully, once Kim is in London, I will be able to see her for a few hours or days if our schedule permits. As for now, it is well past my bedtime, and I still have to pack in the morning.

Even though just a few days have elapsed, the group has already started to mesh. Everyone is learning about eachother and it will be interesting to see how the group changes and we grow more accustomed to the eachother, the flat, and the rest of all of this newness.

Goodnight :)

It's Official...

At long last I have finally arrived in Nottingham. A solid twenty four hours of travel brought nine Luther students together in London to begin the year abroad. To put it simply, these past few days have been surreal. As I finish putting my carefully selected things, I am beginning to realize the enormity of what is to come. To be honest, I am quite jet lagged, having little or no sleep (I'm not sure which) for the last forty hours, and am about to drift off to sleep. However, before I cut this entry short, I cover the most important points. The trip here was smooth and much more enjoyable after a wonderful send-off from friends at Luther and family at home. Once in London, our advisors for the year (Mark and Carol - Luther English Profs) met us and we took a private coach to Nottingham. We were surprised beyond all expectations when we arrived. We had seen pictures of the flat, but clearly they had not done this place justice. After hours and hours of remodeling and decorating, Mark and Carol have turned an already nice flat into a phenomenal living space for the nine Notters. There are five bedrooms of varying size and theme, two baths, a sewing room, a kitchen with full pantry off to the side, and a large open room with two levels; the upper being the dining area, the lower being the living room (complete with fireplace). On the lower level, there is a computer room, a library and a rec room at our disposal. We have a quiet little courtyard to keep our bicycles and whatever dandelions that may be growing in the pots. The rooms are encompassed by large windows which allow the sunlight to pour in and the breeze to flow smoothly through the flat. After our advisors so generously prepared a comforting meal, the group began to settle in and accustom ourselves to the idea of living with the surrounding eight people. As I finish winding down and preparing for bed, it seems a little more real with every minute that this year has really begun.

Tomorrow, we will attempt to learn our way around the transportation of Nottingham and our neighborhood. The next will start the series of group trips, the first to York and Alnwick. However, each sentence I type takes a little longer to write, I still feel the occasional burst of adrenaline as I think of each new challenge or task that will be faced in the next few days, the next month, and for the duration of the trip. Goodnight.

-Hil

67 Homefield Rd
Nottingham NG8 5GH
England


0115.929.3353

Almost there...

With less than two weeks to go, I can honestly say I am ready to go. Although I may not be packed or completely organized, I am ready to move onto something new. It has been nice talking to my fellow flatmates on the phone or IM, but I think I speak for all of us when I say that we are tired of waiting and are ready to be in Nottingham. Now.

What little information that our professors have been sending back to us from England, has been eagerly lapped up and made us anxious for more. Just now we are learning of the multiple group trips that we will be taking to Wales, Northern Ireland, London, and all other sorts of places.

What's left? A to-do list that grows continually shorter and a few days. Soon we will be boarding a plane and will be whisked off across the ocean...

Until then...