In all of the craziness of packing and planning this past summer, I found myself getting more and more stressed about the semester to come. Then we got an email about Open Cambridge, at weekend completely devoted to experiencing and learning about Cambridge. Since this city would become my home, I was so excited. I started planning every event that I wanted to go to. Planning my events for Open Cambridge was something that became a kind of solace for me. It was relaxing and fun but also productive since I was able to at least check one thing off my list. As the weekend approached I was happy to see more of Cambridge and to have a break after a busy weekend in London.
Newnham College of Cambridge University
I really enjoyed the weekend but it was for different reasons than I originally thought. The event I was most excited for was a talk at Newnham College about Women’s history and literary heritage. Coming from a sorority whose open motto is “Inspiring the highest type of womanhood” and main philanthropy is an organization that works to instill confidence in your girls, I was SO excited for this talk. I wasn’t sure if it would be a lecture or a discussion but I was eager to find out how women had worked their way through history in Cambridge. I did end up learning a lot, however it was much more focused on a tour of the campus itself with some history about how the college came to be. The campus was beautiful and the buildings were absolutely gorgeous but just wasn’t the talk I was expecting. Even though it was a bit of a let down, we did get to know more of Cambridge just by walking out there and seeing a part of town we don’t usually venture out to.
On a brighter note, there were 2 events that stood out to me above others and I absolutely loved. The first was the session of Squash that we played at the Sports Center in West Cambridge. That was another event where it was quite a trek to get there. Being the navigator and the broke college student, I figured we’d be better off walking there rather than taking a cab that would actually know where the sports center was. Having screenshot different pages of Google maps, we seemed to be on the right track, but it was taking much longer than expected. We managed to only get lost once, finding ourselves wandering through a large field but soon got back on the right road. Finally we arrived and learned how to play squash and racquetball. Although we were horrible and we didn’t keep score, it was a blast! Of all the things I’ve done in Cambridge it’s been one of the most enjoyable because it’s something that is much more unique to this culture. Being able to tell my friends that I spent the afternoon playing squash was something so simple yet an adventure all on its own. I also loved being able to be a part of Bridge the Gap. Walking around the city and campuses without being talked at was a break that I needed. I love exploring this city and seeing all the history it has but it was refreshing to take my time and see the campuses on my own.
Although this weekend wasn’t quite what I expected, I think it was exactly what I needed. I needed to have time to explore Cambridge, I needed to take a break from the craziness of the last 3 weeks and most importantly, I needed to know that while things don’t always go as you would expect, that’s part of traveling. Open Cambridge wasn’t what I expected but I still had a wonderful weekend and had great experiences.
-Emily
Leave a Reply