Welcome to Cambridge

Dearest reader, you’re probably wondering why it’s taken me so long to post this blog (at least, I hope you’re wondering since that means you read my blog and care whether or not I post).  The main reason is this: I have yet to sort out the complicated world that is Cambridge internet services and get internet in my room.  My big plan for tomorrow is seeing the IT department at St. John’s.  Part of me kind of hopes they’re like Roy and Moss from The IT Crowd but the other part of me hopes they aren’t since Roy and Moss seem to never actually fix computers on that show.  And, yes, I realize that reference will be lost on 95% of you. [Note: Went to the IT people today.  Got internet in room.  IT guy not like Moss or Roy.  Actually an American.  Bummer.]

So, no internet, no blogging.  I’ve been able to use Starbucks internet for a while, but trekking a half an hour away with my massively heavy laptop is not my favorite activity.  But, still, here it is.  Let me give you a brief intro into what I’ve been up to this past week, and then hopefully I can give more detailed posts on specific topics.

Cambridge is a beautiful city.  Okay, that’s very simplified and cliché, but it’s truly beautiful.  The streets are all cobblestones (which is only cool until you have to walk long distances every day), the buildings have been around for centuries (and haven’t changed much), there are quaint pubs, narrow alleys full of shops, massive churches, terrifying people on bikes (not terrifying like they’re dressed up as clowns, just terrifying because I almost get hit ten times a day), and, of course, the picturesque River Cam running right through the city (and my college’s backyard). 

My college, St. John’s, is one of the largest, richest, and (IMHO) best colleges out of Cambridge’s 31 diverse colleges.  I walk through the corridors and courtyards and I feel like I’m at Hogwarts.  This feeling is amplified when I go to Hardy’s, the adorable candy shop across the street from college (dangerous, I know) that reminds me of Honeydukes. 

The city is mostly full of students, but there are a lot of tourists, which is new for me being from Milwaukee (a not very touristy city).  It’s kind of an interesting feeling NOT being the tourist and actually being a member of the college (I’m an official member now that I’ve matriculated, which basically means I signed a piece of paper saying I would obey the Fellows and all the ordinances of the university, etc. etc.).

I spent my first days in the city getting to know the lay of the land, and I feel pretty sure about where I’m going most of the time.  This only applies to the city, though, because as soon as I get into my college I get all turned around.  Every single court looks exactly the same!  But in the middle of last week there was a punting trip for international students.  A punt is a gondola-style boat that is steered by a person standing on the back with a long pole (this person is, therefore, a punter, and going on the punt is punting).  What I didn’t know when I got on the punt is that we didn’t have a punter.  So, as you can guess, we had to do the work ourselves.  Yes, even I took a turn.  It was terrifying at first, but once I was up there it was rather fun.  I was awful at it and we smacked into the wall a lot, but I think I did about as well as any of us, especially for a first-timer.  I plan on practicing more, so if any of you readers visit I should be an expert and can take you around town.

I also got to move into my hostel during my first days.  I’m located about a seven minute walk from college, which is nice, though it does get tedious when I go back and forth four plus times a day.  The building is an old brick three-story house, which has seen better days (the windows certainly need to be cleaned (see below)) but my room was surprising HUGE.  Yes, HUGE.  I think I can fit maybe eight or nine people in sleeping bags on my floor.  So, feel free to visit me in groups!  I also have a LOT of furniture (especially wardrobes and dressers), which is great since I brought a crap ton of clothing with me.  J  I’m going to wait to post pictures of my hostel until I have decent decorations up.  Right now it sort of looks like a rather large dorm at a prison-like all girls boarding school from the 1800s.  But I went to a poster sale down the road and picked up some prints, including an awesome A Clockwork Orange movie poster (you definitely won’t see that at an all girls boarding school from the 1800s (though I’m also hesitant to add it my walls since I don’t want Alex staring me down from either my bed area or my bathroom…hmmm…a conundrum (also, also, I think I need footnotes in this blog…sorry for the excessive parentheses))).

The only downside to my hostel lies in the fact that it’s a breeding ground for spiders.  Actually, I think all of Cambridge is.  This is what I found as soon as I walked into my hostel bathroom on day one.

Lovely, right?  I named him Ralph.  And then Ralph went (as my aunt put it) into the Witness Protection Program in the toilet.  Ralph was then followed by a handful of unnamed beasts that are coming out of the woodwork (probably literally) and camping out under my tables, by my windows, on my curtains, and on the doorframe.  Not cool, arachnids, not cool.  I guess this is the price I pay for having a big room AND my own bathroom.  (Now that I think about it, I could probably fit two to three more people sleeping on my bathroom floor.  Not that you’d want to with all the spiders running around like they own the place.)

Anyway, this blog is getting long, but I’ll just mention one more thing before I go.  This current week is called Freshers Week and is full of events for freshman (both grad and undergrad) students.  So far I’ve gone to a wine tasting (which was stocked with 100 bottles of free wine…you can imagine how that night went) that led to a night out at a local bar.  I’ve gone to a club night at a rather awkward tiki-themed British club.  Last night I went to another bar event.  Yes, as you can see, Cambridge folk love their liquor.  Just wait until I tell you about dinner in Hall (next post, I think).  Thankfully I’m from the beer state, so I can handle my own.  But coming up are quiz nights, themed parties (Disney, I think, is next weekend), more punting trips, library tours, speed dating, and fancy dinners.  I’m trying to enjoy it all while I can (aka while I still don’t have school). 

So that is a really, REALLY brief summary of the chaotic first week I had.  I plan on posting a few more blogs soon, one on dinner in Hall, one on Cambridge Quirks, and one on the Cambridge Botanic Garden.  Once I have internet in my room the posts will be coming quicker.  As of now, I may be a little slow.  So, forgive me.  And, as usual, comment, follow, tell your friends.  More updates soon!