Living La Vida Loca

So this semester I plan to be in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Greece. I’m traveling the world, but I have it on special request to tell my readers about what my life is like here in Cambridge when I am not traveling. Considering I am spending around 70% of my semester in Cambridge going to class, I guess that is logical.

First of all, I love it here. Maybe the British people don’t think we are the coolest thing since sliced bread, but I think they are fantastic! And if you spend time finding the right ones, not all of them have negative preconceived notions about you either. The streets that run through town are pretty small so only taxis and buses are allowed on them. Oh and bicycles, lots and lots of bicycles.

But as for my classes, we are four weeks in and I still don’t know my schedule. I know that I go to class at 9:15 every morning (all of our classes take place in the same room) and that the first class ends at 10:30 at which point I collapse on the couch and take a deep 15 minute nap before I go back for the second class of the day. The only day we have another class after those is Monday, I think. I don’t know which classes are when, but it doesn’t really matter with the way things work around here. I love being done by 12:00 3 days of the week!

I am taking Theology, History, Art Appreciation, Classical Mythology, and English Life and Culture. Our Theology professor is the Reverend at the church next door, runs the seminary attached to it, and is about the sweetest British man in the whole world. We went to church one day and sat behind him and his grandkids came in and were so happy to see him, it just melted my heart! Our History teacher is an Irish born English man who has an opinion about everything. His teaching is interesting, opinionated, and keeps everyone on their toes. Our Art teacher is a sweet Welsh woman who sure can talk about Art. Mark Farmer (our leader here at the center) teaches the last of the two classes and even though they involve the most work of any of our other classes, they also teach us a lot about things that are relevant to our stay here.

As awesome as all these classes are, my favorite thing about the week here is by far Wednesday nights, when all the hands of the household gather in our two kitchens and set to work chopping, boiling, pounding, and anything else the head or second-in-command chef tells them to do. Then we eat what is always our best meal of the week and we talk and laugh and it is wonderful. We share our highs and lows from the past week, which is always nice when you don’t always know what your house-mates have been up to.

Two weeks ago I led my common meal and it was so much fun! I made Chicken Parmesan and it turned out just wonderfully. I hope that I take these excellent cooking skills home with me!