We went to Cambridge on Friday!
It was good fun. The drive is about an hour and a half, and we had a lovely tour from an extremely knowledgeable tour guide. We went to Queen's and King's colleges. Pictures will come.
I bought a hoodie, since I didn't bring one, and it's nice. I guess there isn't a ton to post, but I will say that the King's College Chapel is beautiful...more like a cathedral than a chapel. It was very cool to see the town. It's small but really nice. It's a town that pretty clearly popped up around the school, rather than the other way around. A picture post will follow soon.
UPDATE:
I lied, it seems. We saw some very cool things, but at 9:00 at night two days later I forget things.
We saw the lab where Watson and Crick discovered the molecular structure of DNA, and then ate in the pub where they announced said discovery. We also saw the lab where scientists were successful at intentionally spliting the atom for the first time. It had been done before, but mostly by accident.
So that was, you know, just a little bit superawesomecoolandstuff. Just a little.
Showing posts with label stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stories. Show all posts
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Review: Taming of the Shrew and JUDI DENCH
Theatre: Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
Date of show: September 4, 2012
Director:
Synopsis: The Taming of the Shrew "Two wealthy sisters in Padua must be married off. The modest, demure Bianca has no shortage of suitors, but who on earth will take the wild, ungovernable, shrewish Katherina? Only the gold-digging Petruchio, a man as maddeningly strong-willed and perverse as Katherina herself, is equal to the task of bullying her to the altar."
The production was WONDERFUL. Everything a typical bawdy, Shakespearean comedy should be. The woman who played Katherina, or Kate, was too old by about twenty years, but she was otherwise spectacular.
My only complaint is that some of the humor detracted from the text, in that it took over some particular moments. For instance, the guy playing Petruchio, who was incredible, was wearing nothing but a codpiece (a speedo, basically), and a pair of boots. But it was well placed, and was only moderately distracting.
The best part of the show was that Dame Judi Dench was in the audience! The woman playing Kate was directed by Dench in a production of The Boys from Syracuse a few years ago, so we're guessing that she came to see her perform. But she was there. And it was awesome. I almost fainted. So did most of the rest of us. Because...I mean...Judi Dench.
The production was WONDERFUL. Everything a typical bawdy, Shakespearean comedy should be. The woman who played Katherina, or Kate, was too old by about twenty years, but she was otherwise spectacular.
My only complaint is that some of the humor detracted from the text, in that it took over some particular moments. For instance, the guy playing Petruchio, who was incredible, was wearing nothing but a codpiece (a speedo, basically), and a pair of boots. But it was well placed, and was only moderately distracting.
The best part of the show was that Dame Judi Dench was in the audience! The woman playing Kate was directed by Dench in a production of The Boys from Syracuse a few years ago, so we're guessing that she came to see her perform. But she was there. And it was awesome. I almost fainted. So did most of the rest of us. Because...I mean...Judi Dench.
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES #2
1) Inanimate objects are very polite: elevators, warning signs, the underground...everything, but not so much the city people. The elevator in the building where our classroom is located warns you when the doors are about to close and open: same with the tube. "The doors are about to close. Please stand clear of the doors. The doors are about to close. Thank you." And when there are delays: "We regret to inform all passengers on the District and Circle lines that there are moderate delays. We apologize for any inconvenience."
My favorite things was the alarm warning on the tube. The alarm was attached to the wall of the tube interior and instead of saying "Warning: Do Not Press Alarm" like it would in the US, it said "Please be aware of this alarm. Please do not activate alarm. Thank you for your cooperation."
The people, on the other hand, are the epitome of the city-dweller stereotype, at least in London. The residents of Cambridge (see next post) were very nice, but it's a much smaller town.
2) Closing times. Everything opens late and closes early. It's a big deal that Primark (think Target) just announced that they will now be open from 8:00am to 8:00pm during the week. And on Sundays? It's not worth trying to go anywhere to buy things. They open late and close early. It's kind of nice, that the workers get to go home etc., but if you're used to everything being open until at least 9:00pm, it can throw you off a bit.
3) When I was on the subway in New York or in Washington DC, it was LOUD. People chattering and playing music and so on. Here it's silent; talking is weird, and should be done at a low volume.
4) Traffic rules and signs are not so much laws as REALLY REALLY REALLY loose guidelines. It's terrifying, and I don't think I ever want to be in a vehicle on London streets ever again. The bus to Cambridge was scary. Unfortunately, we're going to Canterbury this next weekend, so we'll be cruising through London again on our way in and out of town. I'm scared.
5) Prices. Are wonderful. Right now the exchange rate is just over $1.50 for each British pound. This makes figuring exchange rates pretty easy. Food, especially, is very comparatively inexpensive. Even more so when you consider that taxes are already figured into the prices posted in the stores.
6) And Alex tells me that I should post about how street name signs are posted on the sides of building, rather than on sign posts.
My favorite things was the alarm warning on the tube. The alarm was attached to the wall of the tube interior and instead of saying "Warning: Do Not Press Alarm" like it would in the US, it said "Please be aware of this alarm. Please do not activate alarm. Thank you for your cooperation."
The people, on the other hand, are the epitome of the city-dweller stereotype, at least in London. The residents of Cambridge (see next post) were very nice, but it's a much smaller town.
2) Closing times. Everything opens late and closes early. It's a big deal that Primark (think Target) just announced that they will now be open from 8:00am to 8:00pm during the week. And on Sundays? It's not worth trying to go anywhere to buy things. They open late and close early. It's kind of nice, that the workers get to go home etc., but if you're used to everything being open until at least 9:00pm, it can throw you off a bit.
3) When I was on the subway in New York or in Washington DC, it was LOUD. People chattering and playing music and so on. Here it's silent; talking is weird, and should be done at a low volume.
4) Traffic rules and signs are not so much laws as REALLY REALLY REALLY loose guidelines. It's terrifying, and I don't think I ever want to be in a vehicle on London streets ever again. The bus to Cambridge was scary. Unfortunately, we're going to Canterbury this next weekend, so we'll be cruising through London again on our way in and out of town. I'm scared.
5) Prices. Are wonderful. Right now the exchange rate is just over $1.50 for each British pound. This makes figuring exchange rates pretty easy. Food, especially, is very comparatively inexpensive. Even more so when you consider that taxes are already figured into the prices posted in the stores.
6) And Alex tells me that I should post about how street name signs are posted on the sides of building, rather than on sign posts.
Monday, September 3, 2012
WHY FLAT DOORS SHOULD ALWAYS BE LOCKED AT NIGHT.
WHY FLAT DOORS SHOULD ALWAYS BE LOCKED AT NIGHT.
When one is jet lagged, tired, distracted, and the time is 12:15am, important things can be forgotten. The problem lies in what sort of thing it is you forget.
In our case, it was to lock the flat door.
Most of our class arrived in London between 9:00am and noon on our first day, but one of my flat mates wasn't landing at Heathrow until 11:00pm because of a desire to save money. I cannot fault her for this. I offered to stay up to meet her, an one of our classmates joined us. She arrived as expected at the flats at 12:00am, and he and I showed her the way up to our flat, he went off to his flat and she settled herself a bit.
I was exhausted and moderately delirious. I immedietly went to sleep, and she went onto the back balcony to call home.
I hadn't told her that the door doesn't always lock behind you because, well, I forgot about it. We'd only arrived that morning after all. And she didn't know to ask about it so...
A few minutes later, I heard a knock at the door, and then heard the door open. I figured the guy who had waited up with us had come back in to check on things, or something, and so when I heard a guy's voice holler "hello", I didn't think much of it. When a second voice joined the first, I figured another classmate must have come along. Then I heard the accents. We're guessing Italian.
There they were, in our kitchen door talking to my poor confused flat mate, and the two of them, about our age, were absolutely wasted. They were very friendly, and when they were told to "get out", they did so, after introducing themselves and offering us drinks and would we like to come upstairs for drinks (yeah..."drinks"). They were firmly but politely led out the door, and it was locked behind them. My flat mate and I proceeded to stare at each other in dazed amazement and then burst out laughing. We didn't stop for a good five minutes.
Then we crashed.
But. Lesson learned: ALWAYS LOCK YOUR FLAT DOOR.
When one is jet lagged, tired, distracted, and the time is 12:15am, important things can be forgotten. The problem lies in what sort of thing it is you forget.
In our case, it was to lock the flat door.
Most of our class arrived in London between 9:00am and noon on our first day, but one of my flat mates wasn't landing at Heathrow until 11:00pm because of a desire to save money. I cannot fault her for this. I offered to stay up to meet her, an one of our classmates joined us. She arrived as expected at the flats at 12:00am, and he and I showed her the way up to our flat, he went off to his flat and she settled herself a bit.
I was exhausted and moderately delirious. I immedietly went to sleep, and she went onto the back balcony to call home.
I hadn't told her that the door doesn't always lock behind you because, well, I forgot about it. We'd only arrived that morning after all. And she didn't know to ask about it so...
A few minutes later, I heard a knock at the door, and then heard the door open. I figured the guy who had waited up with us had come back in to check on things, or something, and so when I heard a guy's voice holler "hello", I didn't think much of it. When a second voice joined the first, I figured another classmate must have come along. Then I heard the accents. We're guessing Italian.
There they were, in our kitchen door talking to my poor confused flat mate, and the two of them, about our age, were absolutely wasted. They were very friendly, and when they were told to "get out", they did so, after introducing themselves and offering us drinks and would we like to come upstairs for drinks (yeah..."drinks"). They were firmly but politely led out the door, and it was locked behind them. My flat mate and I proceeded to stare at each other in dazed amazement and then burst out laughing. We didn't stop for a good five minutes.
Then we crashed.
But. Lesson learned: ALWAYS LOCK YOUR FLAT DOOR.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES #1
I've not even left the states and I'm already seeing some very interesting cultural differences. I have a lovely cookbook given to me by some family friends upon their return from the UK, and it is full of traditional teatime recipies. BUT. There are some oddstuffs happening in that cookbook.
1) The British are apparently extremely fond of baking their pastries etc. for a LOOOOONG TIME. I think at least five recipies have cook times from 1 to 2 hours, and one even has 2 1/2! Holy cow. I thought "perhaps they cook on very low heat?" NOPE. 350 or higher, excepting one recipe, which cooks at 325.
British people, apparently, have far more patience when it come to their biscuit recipies than I do.
2) Speaking of temperatures...after every degree given (in Farenheights...this is after all a book meant for tourists) they have written a "Mark". For example: "Bake at 350 degrees or Mark 6..." This is very interesting to me, especially as both 450 and 425 areMark 8. It sounds a bit impresise, but what do I know about British food? It will be interesting to see what the oven in our flat says.
3) British recipes often use the following : caster suger, self-rising flour, mixed/candied peel, and curd. Caster sugar, as explained by Mom, can be made by chuffing regular sugar into a small blender and giving it what-for. Self-rising flour apparently means the baking soda is mixed in, and curd means straight up cheese curd. This confuses me a bit, as I don't think any old cheese curd would do...can you imagine sharp chedder cheese curds as part of a sweet pastry recipie? Blech. Mom (who I swear know everything) suggests that it would be more like ricotta cheese. And apparently mixed and candied peel each can be bought at any time of the year, though I've only seen them around Christmas time here. They also seem to LOVE grated lemon rind, in everything. I mean, just love it. Fortunately I do too, so that works out nicely :)
4) There is also a plethora of odd devices in which to bake these recipies. They all have equivilants to commonly used tins etc here with the exception of a "sandwich tin", which I have never once heard of, and won't try to guess at.
5) One of the most intriguing types of recipes is Parkin, which comes in Leeds, Sticky and others. Parkin is put into a tin, like a Spam tin, apparently, and left to sit for awhile, which just sounds interesting and odd.
6) Words: golden syrup is corn syrup, treacle is molasses (which you should all know from Harry Potter), biscuit is cookie, and pudding means dessert (also seen in Harry Potter).
7) and of course there's the bit where they weigh everything, as opposed to using measuring cups and spoons.
Cooking my office treats tonight (see previous post) will be an adventure, I'm sure. Pictures might follow, if I take any.
UPDATE: According to Google images, this is a sandwich tin. WHY it's called a sandwich tin, I have no clue. I'm not sure where the sandwich part comes from. I think I'll stick with "springform pan".
1) The British are apparently extremely fond of baking their pastries etc. for a LOOOOONG TIME. I think at least five recipies have cook times from 1 to 2 hours, and one even has 2 1/2! Holy cow. I thought "perhaps they cook on very low heat?" NOPE. 350 or higher, excepting one recipe, which cooks at 325.
British people, apparently, have far more patience when it come to their biscuit recipies than I do.
2) Speaking of temperatures...after every degree given (in Farenheights...this is after all a book meant for tourists) they have written a "Mark". For example: "Bake at 350 degrees or Mark 6..." This is very interesting to me, especially as both 450 and 425 areMark 8. It sounds a bit impresise, but what do I know about British food? It will be interesting to see what the oven in our flat says.
3) British recipes often use the following : caster suger, self-rising flour, mixed/candied peel, and curd. Caster sugar, as explained by Mom, can be made by chuffing regular sugar into a small blender and giving it what-for. Self-rising flour apparently means the baking soda is mixed in, and curd means straight up cheese curd. This confuses me a bit, as I don't think any old cheese curd would do...can you imagine sharp chedder cheese curds as part of a sweet pastry recipie? Blech. Mom (who I swear know everything) suggests that it would be more like ricotta cheese. And apparently mixed and candied peel each can be bought at any time of the year, though I've only seen them around Christmas time here. They also seem to LOVE grated lemon rind, in everything. I mean, just love it. Fortunately I do too, so that works out nicely :)
4) There is also a plethora of odd devices in which to bake these recipies. They all have equivilants to commonly used tins etc here with the exception of a "sandwich tin", which I have never once heard of, and won't try to guess at.
5) One of the most intriguing types of recipes is Parkin, which comes in Leeds, Sticky and others. Parkin is put into a tin, like a Spam tin, apparently, and left to sit for awhile, which just sounds interesting and odd.
6) Words: golden syrup is corn syrup, treacle is molasses (which you should all know from Harry Potter), biscuit is cookie, and pudding means dessert (also seen in Harry Potter).
7) and of course there's the bit where they weigh everything, as opposed to using measuring cups and spoons.
Cooking my office treats tonight (see previous post) will be an adventure, I'm sure. Pictures might follow, if I take any.
UPDATE: According to Google images, this is a sandwich tin. WHY it's called a sandwich tin, I have no clue. I'm not sure where the sandwich part comes from. I think I'll stick with "springform pan".
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