Clear as a Bell

I'll refrain from apologizing for being crap at keeping up with the blog. There was a busy couple of weeks and I lost track of time. Since the last post we have had our 'reading week' which is like a mid-term study break. Needless to say I didn't do much towards school work since Shannon and I decided to run away to Scotland instead. It was a much needed break after spending a flurry of days in our flat trying to revise resumes and cover letters for some of the graduate recruitment scheme deadlines. I've just heard I was not selected to interview so I suppose I now have no excuse but to go back to focusing on school and this blog.

Scotland was delightful, if not seriously cold and dark. It reminded me of being back in Alaska when the sun set around 3:30pm. Alaska is sadly short on ruined castles and kilts so there were some perks in the frozen north of the UK. We managed to see most of Edinburgh and took a day trip down to the borderlands in the South for a visit to Rosslyn Chapel. You'll know Rosslyn from the final scenes in The DaVinci Code. I have to say that it is far more creepy in person. It's used as a church but you get the definite feeling that the purpose for it being built had nothing to do with God. That's just my opinion but I don't feel I'm wrong. At any rate I will be glad to go back to Scotland next summer when it's a little more daylight filled and go north to the Highlands that we have heard are stunning. The train ride to and from was just beautiful and we got to remember what the ocean looked like.

Back in London it had gotten darker as well but it was a bit warmer and definitely felt even more like home. Our classes are beginning to wind down a bit and it's scary how quickly time is flying by. We hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house yesterday. It was complete with tension, some fighting, food explosions, and at least one person ended up with a cooking injury but those are all of the things that made it feel exactly like every other Thanksgiving I've ever been to. Our turkey was beautiful and the company was lovely. We had quite a time trying to find certain things deemed 'American' in the week before. We finally came across the American foods section in the big department store Selfridge's where we happily bought Jello, canned Pumpkin, chocolate chips, and a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese to be savored at some point later this week. We had to face facts that Cool Whip and Pillsbury biscuit dough were not going to be found anywhere in the country. We did, however, manage to score the last two tins of French Fried Onions to be had at Sainsburys the morning of, and the green bean casserole turned out just fine. Beth has a really eclectic and truly wonderful group of friends that Shannon and I have managed to start co-opting as our own, and school is also providing some truly fantastic people that have made our transition here a little more easy. This is not to say that on Thanksgiving day while all our friends and family were back home celebrating we did not wake up a little bit sad. I think I had a generally lonely dismal day for some reason and Shannon's was similar...I believe there was a meltdown of sorts, trying to locate a pie pan. We found a pub over by Parsons Green and consoled ourselves with lamb shank and sausage and mash. There's nothing like hearty comfort food for the soul.

The next challenges will be our course assessments that will be due after Christmas. I'll be back in Dallas for some of the holidays and am hoping to get the largest chunk of the work done since I'll have a friend in town when I get back. We're not sure about the grading system here...it seems easier than the states, you only need 50% to pass. But how hard it is to get a 50%? We're not sure. Meanwhile, I'm dreaming of getting a chick-fil-a sandwich, riding in a car again, and being back somewhere familiar. No matter how much you want to be somewhere it's always hard to exist in a new world. We keep ourselves very amused though as the British have a sense of humor I can get behind. We've started discerning the various types of accents and have determined that we do not like the one we've titled 'nuffing.' The offending accent says fings like, 'Bef (Beth), would you mind helping wif the fing I asked you about? There's nuffing I can do about it from ova 'ere.' It's hilarious. Public transport is also a prime area for amusement. We were waiting for the train to leave the station the other day and the driver comes over the PA system with the normal, "Please stand clear of the doors, this train will depart shortly." That's normal. He comes on again, "Stand clear of the doors, please." And then, "STAND clear of the DOOOOOORS!!!!" The entire train started laughing. I do not want that guys job, for sure.