Last one, I promise
This one is for the travelers, anyone interested in visiting the Luther Flat in the next 9 months.
Following are the dates for breaks, closings, etc. for the next year....
Christmas Break: Sunday Dec 17th until Jan 6th
Spring Break: Sunday March 25th until April 21st
Final summer closing Saturday, June 5th
As far as other contact info, our address:
67 Homefield Road
Nottingham, NG8 5GH
UK
Telephone: 0115-929-3353
As far as my cell, it's way too damned long to put here.....
i can call people in the states for 3 pence a minute ( 6 cents ), so email or skype if possible....
kevin
Grandma, I'm sorry.
Fish? Check
Chips? Check
Vinegar? A little bit, on the fish.
Guiness? Sorry Grams, but yes.
I've never been so full in my life. Today, after making too many lenghty posts on the blog, the group headed into downtown Nottingham for the first time, where we experienced the awe that (should) go hand in hand with seeing a bustling European city...
On our stop were the Salutation Inn (a pub named for the cheery greeting that Gabriel extended to mary when he announced the immaculate conception) which was founded in 1240 ad, followed by the oldest pub in England (that's right, the whole damned island) called Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem- which now claims a "crusade for great ale" and is as commericalized as any touristy American establishment. Commemorative tshirt or coasters anyone?
That crazy British Sense of Humour...
About 900 years old...
We were able to ride the tram down, which was a great deal easier than I thought it would be----if all goes our way, the programme will pay for our unlimited use of both the tram and bus system... so cross your fingers...
All in all, it was a very releiving experience. I now know what awaits us-- an urban setting, awesome nightlife, great cultural experiences, and a chance to challenge myself as an individual.
WE saw a tribute to Robin Hood, as well as my first RED TELEPHONE BOOTH and the Nottingham Castle...
Something about the KEvin Costner poster in the window (not pictured) seemed to kill the authenticity of the store...
York tomorrow, which should be amazing. AFter two days in a Hostel and exploring York, we head to the home of Harry Potter, a castle where profs from St Cloud State regularly live for months at a time. Eat your hearts out, muggles.
much love,
KEvin
ps- here is another awesome example of the British "harsh truth in advertising"
Quick tour around the Neighborhood
There are many small things that have begun to prsent themselves--- things that are a bit odd or different that we have all begun to notice.
Thing number one: people litter all the time. In Heathrow Airport, there were roughly two trashcans that i saw the entire time. that includes the bathrooms, which were completely void of any rubbish bin.
Two: spiders are everywhere. maybe it's the 80 degree heatwave that we've been struggling through or maybe it's the always-damp climate that bugs apparently like, but they are everywhere. maybe i'll get a pic on here sometime, but the spiderwebs are amazing.
Three: driving is not an art or a pasttime so much as it is a dangerous undertaking that only psychopaths attempt. Seriously, in one stretch of 30 mile highway there have been hundreds of deaths because of rogue motorcyclists who weave in and out of traffic. Being a pedestrian here is hell. One way to think about it is that England so far is the polar opposite of Estes Park Colorado---- littering there is a sin, and pedestrians are always right.
Finally, the last thing that has really struck me is the honesty in advertising, news, and culture... instead of a 'surgeon general's warning' on cigarettes, the following cryptic and shocking message is given:
I love the difference in words- instead of a car left 'idling' or 'running', a car is said to be 'standing.' Instead of orange juice being 'pulp free' or 'super-pulp', it may be 'full of juicy bits'. Oh, and i miss real orange juice.
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Today we went on a tour of our immediate neighborhood, a narrow-streeted (that's not a word, i just checked) area that sits north ( a word apparently not used by the english.... say 'top' instead of north) of the university, and east of some awesome sporting grounds...
We are (as Mary pointed out) basically surrounded by a triangle of deathly busy streets. I was lost at times and confused by the 3 different bus routes that all have stops within five minutes of our flat, and kind of uneasy that Carol doesn't find it safe to be out at night by one's self past the southern bridge (visable from our flat), but i think that once we settle into a scholarly habit and make some friends outside of the flat, the city will seem more accessable.
Having never had to deal with buses before or not knowing our actual academic schedule, it is hard to visualize waking up in the morning and making our way to classes. It's nice to get out and about finally, but still hard to contextualize....
Highlights of the tour: Carol and Mark's house- awesome interior, beautiful garden (pic of brandon mowing it with the electric mower ), meeting John and Margret- the produce shop owners who have already promised to be our surrogate parents while we are abroad... margret's teeth fulfull every hope and dream i have ever had of meeting a stereotypical brit...and finally, seeing the sports grounds- cool place to run, with promises of more trails that we'll see later.
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Today we previewed tomorrow's trip to York- a trip from WEdnesday that will last until Saturday. I'm honestly scared of the academic rigors that this travel course will provide. It seems like there is a lot of freedom on our part (Thursday is us on our own completing as many tours as possible in 6 hours.... to be reinbursed by the program)... That freedom is not natural to me, and as far as i can tell will be one of the hardest parts of the next nine months...
also included is a journal to be filled out and presented at intervals to be graded, and several books to be completed on our own (ok, just two books) to be completed on our own while the program is underway.
I just hope with all of the cultural experiences and adjustments that i will still be able to complete my work and have a great time. WE have yet to go to the pubs, but tonight may provide an opportunity (depends on packing and how tired we want to be when we walk along the Roman wall tomorrow)...
With that i will leave a pic of my new favorite shop, an homage to my TAnzanian buddy, Zachary Boozer.
Much love, and i'll try to update as much as humanly possible while away .... This wirlwind will only get worse, as the York trip turns into International STudent Orientation at the University (5 days) and then eventually classes.
i'll try to get those vids up sometime....
ps- we only get three tv stations: BBC1, BBC2, and ITV.... probobly won't be an issue, but you can only watch Eggheads (crappy quiz show) so many times before you start wishing a half hour of FoodNetwork here or Comedy Central there made its way into the flat...
real quick EuroMullet
hey gang--- i hope people enjoy the update, but just before i sleep, i wanted to add my VERY FIRST EUROMULLET.....
updates to look forward to: a wonderfully edited two-part series in which i tour the flat....
much love faithful readers,
(trip to York could hamper the updating, but we'll see....)
kevin
Tailspin
Dang....
6 days and about 5,000 miles later, i am happy to say that the Notters are at home in the flat (67 Homefield Rd, Nottingham NG8 5GH, UK), unpacked and ready to rock
Following a tearful trip up to Luther with my mom (9 months is a long time), it was great to see the luther gang again. Eda turned 21 on friday and the crosscountry team held both the mabe's dinner and the allamerican meet/ all american party.... needless to say pictures were taken (see below).
In general, feelings varried on the trip from home and from luther to chicago... at a certain point you realize that you've been looking forward/somewhat dreading this moment for almost an entire year. How are expectations of what the flat will look like, how university life will be, how the flatmates will get along, etc supposed to live up to a year's worth of created mental images...
it's kindof a daunting idea to have to confront and change the expectations that have been building for a year, and as brandon said when we were on the plane, at a certain point there's a feeling of letdown in knowing that the carrot of a year in the UK that has dangled before us is finally reached.
To "Tarentino" this post, i'll generalize the group as we stand, and go through some stories along the way....
Right now, as jetlagged and confused as we all are, we're happy to be in the UK... I'll admit a feeling of trepedation- an unsure feeling, not quite a lack of faith in our leaders, but a unpreparedness for what is about to happen. We are traveling to York for 6 days on Wednesday, but at this point (aside from waiting around Heathrow for 3 hrs talking to a rabid anti-Bush, f-bomb dropping security guard) I feel almost as if i were still at home.... the scenary was sunny, grassy, farm-like. Anyone who has ever driven from DesMoines to Ames knows exactly what the boring-as-hell drive from London to Nottingham looks like. We don't know our neighborhood or how the house even fits in to the geographic scheme of things (ie, the University as a whole....) and so right now I'm desperately hoping that tomorrow will bring a better grasp of where we are and how we fit into the UK thing.
....
The airport was an adventure. I learned many things--- 1) the terrorist attacks of 9/11 may or may not have been caused by chocolate covered raisins. 2) Indian people smell strange. 3) 2.85 p is way too much to spend on a mochaccino, no matter where it's from.
The following pic is from our OHare AirIndia experience, in which we were supposed to go through a second round of customs (ie, two ladies look through our carry-ons). When we (Brandon, Hil, and girl from NW in Evanston who was our travel buddy) were asked to bring our bags forward, the lady commented on Brandon's sack lunch..
"I get so hungry when you damned kids bring all that food... i could be full until i show up to work and see all you people carrying around all that good food..."
"you know, i have some chocolate covered raisins"
----at this point the lady goes catatonic... literally throws her body around (never once touching brandon's bag-- and goes to the corner of her own bag to grab a small plastic cup..
"just put a few in there....ooooh, too much.... oh, don't let lashaunda see.... oooh, i always get in trouble...."
----brandon proceeds to fill her cup with the chocolatey treat while she stamps his ticket with the APPROVED: AIR INDIA SECURTIY CHECK stamp and moves on to my bags
"ooooh, what do you have in that bag?"
"my grandmother's delicious chocloate chip cookies"
---i give her a handful, she nary even looks at my bag, and proceeds to stamp my ticket
at this point, her coworker looks over and yells at her "are you eating again? what the hell are you eating?"
the cookie monster, who is juggling the raisins, cookies, and stamp at this point, drops what she's doing to pick up the security wand and starts waving it around me like she's doing her job.
my conclusion: if terrorists brought raisins, we'd have a lot more 9/11s going down...
That's going to be all for tonight. included here are travel pics, two videos from the flat, and some birthday pics from luther along with allamerican pics....
much love,,
kevin
