I finished my first big paper for my study abroad program here in Cambridge last night. I wrote 2,000 words on Thomas Hardy's poetry talking about nature's indifference to man. I'm a bit nervous about it. I always hit a certain point in my papers when I just want to get it done. You can always tell. The paragraphs get shorter and I get increasingly sassy. I'm hoping that all of that doesn't show through. We'll have to see how that goes!
As a result yesterday was very low key. I hid in my room only coming out to grad a loaf of bread from the market around noon for a makeshift lunch. 2,000 words felt like such a struggle after all this time at ONU teaching me to be extremely concise. I also had high table last night, which is when you dress up and eat with the professors and program coordinators at the table on the dais. Most unfortunate meal of my life! We don't get choices at dinner; we're just served what we're served. Last night was salmon. Due to this trip, I have decided that salmon is not my thing. So in the three courses we were served, I ate next to nothing because not a morsel of it tasted good to me. I felt awkward to say the least. Ah well, what can you do?
Today for travel writing our professor forced us out into Cambridge, saying that we needed to get out more. The challenge was an hour and a half to explore Cambridge and come back with three pitchable ideas for a travel piece. He wanted us to do brief research and talk to people. Go!
After a moment of sheer panic, I enjoyed the challenge. I ran all over the city. And discovered several great places I want to return to including the Sepulcher, a round church built by the Templar Knights, and an apple tree rumored to be from the seeds of Isaac Newton's. I'll definitely be returning to these sights!
My poetry class was a relief after I turned my paper in. We're now moving on to reading W.B. Yeats. I'm pretty excited because there's such a magical quality to Yeats' poetry. And I'll never get tired of listening to Caveliero just reading poems in his gravelly British accent. My favorite quote from him thus far (beyond the Harry Potter quote on Day 1) is, "Poets are all liars. Liars that tell the truth." Some of my classmates dispute this but I quite like it.
Dinner was nice today too. I have become a major fan of duck. I've had it twice since we've been here and both times it has been delicious. There was also au gratin potatoes. Creamy scrumptiousness. And while I've been sitting here my friends, and I have been sipping sparkling wine in the JCR and laughing together. Not every day is a large scale adventure here in Cambridge, but that doesn't mean these adventures are any less grand.
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