Wow. Okay. Goodness. Holy crudpuppies. What.
I am in England.
It’s both incredibly unbelievable and hauntingly familiar at the same time. It’s like every dream I had about England, Cambridge, old historical towns and fashion-forward trendsetters come to life. I mean, seriously, this is what my desk (that I am typing at right now, this minute) looks like:
I mean, this is my life? Really? But I digress. There is more you want to hear about, not just me flipping out over the reality my dreams became.
SO. Today I have flown into Heathrow Airport, ridden up and down the lifts in said airport trying to find the right place to get to our bus (‘lifts’ are ‘elevators’–everything here as a slightly different, but somehow more proper-sounding name… I don’t know how that happened, exactly), took a rambling ride through the Britsh countryside in a very hot bus, somehow managed to understand the rules Matt (Professor Ringenberg, our director) told us, settled into my room, walked downtown, freaked out at how unbelievably COOL downtown looks, withdrew some money which came out in pounds (which was weird), bought stuff to shower with, took said shower, and now I’m sitting down to explain to you all why it is that I find it hard to function normally.
Funny story #1: Apparently there is no such thing as ‘just coffee.’ Well, not at the place we stopped to get coffee, anyway. This is during our small trip downtown Cambridge to retrieve necessities like shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste. We were all exhausted, naturally, from the 7hr 45min flight, and the 6hr time difference, and so decided that a coffee break was needed to make it through the day. Rachel, one of the girls here, asked the barista for an iced coffee–pretty much the simplest coffee drink there is. Coffee, ice. Bam. However, the barista (and all the workers there) didn’t seem to get ‘just iced coffee.’ The barista suggested an iced latte or iced americano instead, which we ended up getting, but it was a bit of a shock to have a deceivingly ‘American’ looking coffee shop immediately prove itself to be not what we expected. I’m sure there’s more of that to come.
Funny Story #2: We were walking back from our mini-downtown-trip when a mother rode past on her bicycle. She had a kid in a bike-seat in front of her and another in a bike-seat behind her. As the mother coasted down the slight hill, both children were going “weeeeeeeeeeee!!” For some reason, that reminded me that no matter how different or fantastical or strange this place may seem, it is still populated by human beings who aren’t that much different from me, or my family, or my friends. It’s the little things, people.
Finally, we went to Sir Isaac Newton’s Pub for dinner. Now, we were all exhausted and such, but this pub looked pretty cool.
This is the pub we went to… but we got to sit upstairs!
So some of us got chili con carne, some of us got the traditional fish and chips, and Matt even got a lamb burger, I think. Me? I got cheesy chips (cheesy french fries) and garlic bread. I love my carbs. It was really delicious though, even if I did end up sharing my fries with pretty much everyone. But we just got back to the house, I’ve put on my pyjamas, and I plan to relax a bit and force myself to stay awake until at least 9:30 so that the jet-lag doesn’t hit me too hard.
With amazement, love, and exhaustion,
Bryn
August 21, 2013 at 3:18 pm
So excited for you! It is going to be fun to read all your posts!
August 21, 2013 at 3:28 pm
Bryn! I’m so happy you’re loading up on the carbs and getting the hang on that fancy British jargon. I know you’ll fit in incredibly well there. I love reading your blogs, so keep writing about your adventures:) (ps: I’m in your desk photos! Honored.)
August 21, 2013 at 4:55 pm
I’m so excited to hear from you and see that you are OK, though a bit amazed at the prospects of 9 months in England. I’ll be checking your blog daily to see what you are up to and to make plans for November. Know that I love you dearly. Gma
August 21, 2013 at 5:15 pm
Nicely done, Bryn! Your Grandma Wisner tried to leave a comment, so I’m trying to find it… 😉 Hope you get the sleep/jet lag worked out tonight! Good plan! Dad
August 21, 2013 at 9:52 pm
Happy to hear you are there! Looking forward to reading your stories!
August 23, 2013 at 7:38 am
This sounds FANTASTIC Bryn! So glad you made it safely, can’t wait to hear more 🙂
August 23, 2013 at 4:16 pm
happened upon your blog post randomly on facebook- Enjoy your time there, it goes by way too fast! If they still have the Trailer of life in the downtown square at night, their cheese & chips is to die for. Also, the Fez was the place to go dancing back in the day (2006). There are lots of really pretty places to explore just out of town, you can get there by bike or walking if your willing to put in the time – the river has a great bike path that leads out into the country and there is also an orchard/tea garden just outside of town that is beautiful and quaint. Have fun and Safe travels –
Megan Beaver – Spring 2006 @ Cambridge
August 23, 2013 at 10:46 pm
Brynyth…just got the blog site from mom….sounds like you are enjoying your stay in Cambridge right well, mate! (I am told by an English woman I work with that we’re all mates….it has neither a male or female connotation…so your a mate, mate… Anyway. have fun, be careful and we look forward to sharing your life through your blog for the next 9 months or so… we luv u and miss u already !!!
August 29, 2013 at 2:07 pm
Bryn – great to hear you’re hale and hearty in Merry Old England! Remember to put that WHAP and APUSH knowledge to good use during your time in the mother country. 🙂
Franzes
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