Easter Just West of London

I’m rubbish at blogging. I know I say that every time, and every time I vow that I’m going to do better, but to no avail. Ah, such is life, right? Well, I think its safe to say that not a lot has happened. We are currently enjoying Easter Break which is awesome, especially as we get FOUR full weeks of school off, so I’m again at Lucy’s house trespassing on her parent’s (and her) abundant hospitality. (Sorry, I’ve been reading too much Charlotte Bronte, and my syntax and diction is taking a beating…). Anyway, the last week of school proved rather uneventful, yet again. I didn’t do much work, as I was in anticipation of Easter Break, but I got my essay finished, attended all my classes (aren’t you proud of me?), and had fun hanging out. We had a fun night at the flat near the end of the week with most all of us, Fred made an *amazing* curry, and I think its safe to say that I’ve been officially converted to curry now. I know that’s terrible, and its taken me nearly 7 months, but hey, I like it now, don’t I? I want to learn how to make a Korma too, but I don’t know that I’m that talented yet.

Well, school wrapped up and within a matter of days the flat was almost completely deserted. It’s really strange to be living in a flat where that’s almost empty, in a country that you’re still not 100% familiar with. I spent most of my time in my room on my computer, watching movies, and reading. It was actually sorta nice, but solitude is only so great after the first day or two. I did, however, make excellent progress on reading Villette by Charlotte Bronte, and I’m sure Erin is proud of me for that one…. I promised her that I’d read it about a year ago, and now I *finally* have fulfilled that promise. Good book too…. Sad though.

Anyway, I hopped on the train on Thursday night to head over to Lucy’s house. 4 hours later I had arrived with little trouble, thank God. I’m getting used to the tube system in London now, a little more at least. Hopefully I’ll be able to navigate me and my parents through London when they come. Anyway, Friday morning we went to a Good Friday service at Lucy’s church which was nice. On Saturday, Lucy bravely cut my hair, and now my shaggy mane doesn’t look quite so bad any more. Her cousins thought I was brave to let her do it, although I wasn’t too worried. She’s cut my hair before. My mom wanted to see a picture, but its really not that exciting. Haha, I’m sure you’ll see pictures in my next post because we’ll take an incredible amount of pictures in Spain and Italy I’m sure. But that’s a different topic.

Ok, so Easter was really fun. I woke up and there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. Talk about weird. Church was nice though, and after church we went to this really nice restaurant called Biggles with Lucy’s dad’s side of the family. It was super good too, and her family is a lot of fun to hang out with. They all came back that night to Lucy’s house and we hung out there chatting and drinking tea. (It really is incredible just how much tea I drink when I’m at Lucy’s house. Its great!) That night though, we went to the Anglican church for their Gospel Choir service. That was fun… especially seeing as it was a bunch of English people singing like a Gospel Choir! They actually sounded pretty good too. Anyway, so far it has been a really nice weekend. I really like hanging out with Lucy’s family, and it really is a blessing that they are so amazingly welcoming to me.

But alas, the time will be cut short. Lucy and I are headed off to Barcelona, Spain tomorrow! I literally can’t wait. We booked our hostels last night, so we’re all set for where we’re staying, and we’ve got to be at the airport at about 7am tomorrow morning, so I think we’re leaving here at 5 am! There really is no better way to start out a trip than waking up and leaving before the sun rises, right? Anyway, we’re spending 3 nights in Barcelona, and then flying to Rome on Saturday where we’ll stay for 4 more nights. We watched the movie Gladiator the other night and it was really strange to think that I’m actually going to be able to SEE the Colosseum, even if it isn’t in great shape anymore.

Still, I can’t believe that I’ll be spending my 21^st birthday in Barcelona. I don’t think its really hit me yet. Unfortunately, reality is going to hit as soon as we get back. I’ve still got that drama project to get finished before we go back to school. Woohoo. Then its all work work work for the next month until school’s out. I almost can’t believe that my time here really is winding up. Only 3 months til I head home, and only 2 ½ months until my parents and brother come out here! I can’t wait to see them!

Oh, and on a completely unrelated and uninteresting note, I almost hit the roof with excitement yesterday. Perhaps I should start at the beginning. Ok, one of my favorite bands is The Counting Crows (who aren’t exactly that popular out here), but I listen to their music a lot while I’m cooking in the kitchen so the whole flat has now heard their music in abundance. Well, I’ve only seen them in concert once and ever since then I’ve always wanted to see them again, so when I heard that they were doing a European tour, I was thrilled, right? Well it turns out they’re playing in London about 3 days AFTER I fly home. How awful is that? So I complained to Lucy, naturally. Well I found out that they are touring this summer in the States, after I get back, and they’re actually playing in ABQ with Maroon5 and Augustana. And I know most of you don’t care, but I was absolutely thrilled. I came running down the stairs to tell Lucy, and she didn’t seem to excited, but her dad laughed at me. Haha, I would have laughed at me. Oh, and they’re new CD got released today so I’m listening to that now. Awesome.

Alright, well that’s pretty much it that’s been going on. I’ll be blogging as soon as I get back to tell you all about the trip, but I won’t have a computer out there, so don’t expect anything for at least another week.

Miss you all!

So Much Time, So Little To Do!

Well, so much for consistently blogging this term. Sorry about that. I wish I could say that it’s been a busy week and yadda yadda yadda, but I suppose to a big extent, that wouldn’t be true! Don’t get me wrong, its been a bit eventful, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I have a decent amount of homework this week though, and I have successfully put it off all day. Unfortunately, that means I have to work twice as hard tomorrow. I told Emma that the plan was to wake up early tomorrow and go spend the day in the library, but she didn’t believe I could do it. I think she might be right. Anyway, I’ve got to keep working on this Drama Project, and right now I’m at a bit of a standstill. I think I may have had too much faith in my writing ability, so now I’m strained. Call it writer’s block, if you like. On top of that, I’ve got an essay to write for a play I don’t really remember, so I should probably reread that play, which will take up a good 2-3 hours of tomorrow, then research, and then writing the actual thing. Eh, should be a good day.

But enough about that, I suppose I should give you my cooking update. I’ve tried two new dishes. First, I asked my mom for her Red Chile Chicken Thighs recipe, and I was able to bake them in the microwave, and I think that may be the best meal I’ve made since I’ve been out here. My roommate agreed. We partook of the wonderful food together, and that made it more exciting. Also, feeling high on life with the success of the chicken thighs, I called my brother to get his Brazillian Stroganoff recipe as well. That one didn’t turn out quite so well, possibly because Jotham’s recipe had directions like, “add some ketchup” (and how, may I ask, am I to interpret “some”?). But all things considered, it was still tasty, and skeptical Emma even said that she’d gladly eat it again! So there ya go, I’m 2 for 2.

Along the same lines though, we went to this pub on Sunday for a proper English carvery (think thanksgiving dinner), and my was it tasty. There was loads and loads of food and you just got to pile it on your plates. And the place was called the Dun Cow… honestly, how un-appetizing is that? Haha, but still, it was very very good and I’d gladly do that again. Nikki said she’d cook me another roast dinner before I left. That made me feel special!

Anyway, there’s more to life than cooking (not much, though, as I’m learning). Easter break is coming up soon, so I have to do all this work before that comes. I’m going to be spending Easter with Lucy’s family. Her mom is so sweet, every time I go over there she invites me to come again whenever I like. I really like Lucy’s family, they’re all very sweet and have been extremely welcoming, and it truly is impossible to express just how thankful I really am to them for that. It has made this experience all that much more enjoyable. I was actually over at her house last weekend, and it was just nice to be hanging out somewhere besides the flat for a weekend. I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to come home to NM for the weekend, only to go back to uni again.

But, besides going to Lucy’s house, since Easter Holidays are a full month long, Lucy and I are actually going to go to Spain and Italy for a week! I’m so excited; I’m going to be in Barcelona, Spain for my 21^st birthday!! How cool is that? I really couldn’t be more excited. Although, I must say that budget airlines, while cheap as all get out, are still able to give you the biggest hassle! Trying to book these flights and figure out this trip has been a royal nightmare. They charge you for EVERYTHING. Literally. There’s a charge for “taxes & fees”, a charge to use your credit card, a charge to check a bag, a charge to check-in at the airport, and I’m sure there’s more! So what was going to be a cheap flight, is still a cheap flight, but now it’s just doubled in price. Amazing. Still, its cheaper than it would be with a different airline… just more of a hassle. But I shan’t complain! Or at least I’ll try not to. I’m just excited that I’m going to actually see Spain and go to Rome after that and see all these places that I heard about in history class. It truly is a dream come true (as cheesy as that sounds).

Oh, but the highlight of these past few weeks is something else entirely. First, let me just preface this story by saying that we put far too much faith in technology. Well, I do at least. So, I’m sitting in my room, minding my own business (for once), and I’m sitting at my computer like I always am, and all of the sudden, Emma comes bursting into my room telling me that there’s snow or hail outside. So naturally, she opens my curtains and I join her. Well I had forgotten that I had a pint of water sitting on the windowsill, and as I tore back the curtains, the pint of water spilled, quite accurately I might add, ON TO MY LAPTOP! I freaked out. I started yelling, so loud that Lucy heard it down the hall and came running in.

So the screen goes blank on the computer, so I’m unplugging every cord imaginable, Lucy’s run to get towels from the kitchen, Emma’s in my showerpod looking for my towel, I’m trying to pull the battery out of the computer, Emma hands me the towel, and I start yelling at her to turn my hairdryer on and to start blowdrying my laptop! So all this is happening in a matter of seconds, and I’m in a complete panic/anger attack. I couldn’t believe that that had just happened. But there was literally nothing more that I could do than try to dry everything off and hope and PRAY that my computer turned back on. So we finish drying everything off, and I grab my computer from Emma, and I hold my breath, send up a quick prayer and hit the power button. Thank God up in heaven, my computer turned back on! And every single key on the keyboard still works as well. It honestly is a miracle. A complete miracle. Emma told me I have to keep that hairdryer forever now. I think she might be right.

Well, that’s not the only thing that’s broken. I successfully snapped the handle off my frying pan today, as well. That was upsetting. I had almost the same reaction to that as I did to my computer! Except, this time it was while I was washing dishes, and all of Lucy’s friends were hanging out in the kitchen! Oh well, I guess I have to buy a new one now. I was really hoping all this stuff would last me for the full 10 months that I was out here, but that may have been expecting too much from that cheap frying pan. Oh well! Everything else is holding up pretty good… knock on wood, at least.

Well that’s pretty much it. Although, I suppose I should mention one more thing. I’m addicted to the TV show Survivor. Its terrible. A new season started, and now Lucy and Kara and I (I got them all hooked too….) watch it on my computer on the internet every Saturday. It’s really slightly amusing. Its pervading my poor life. Glad that writer’s strike is over though, now REAL tv shows will be back on the air (yay!).

Ok, well its 1 am and I think I should probably sign off and go to bed or do some homework. It’s a shame I’m not more tired. Oh well. Oh, one other thing. I went running. Well, more like I went jog-walking-out-of-shape-“running”. It hurt.

Cooking Extravaganza!!

Mema, I do think you may be right… this blog has turned into my cooking brag outlet. I suppose its just because I didn’t actually think that I’d ever be able to cook properly, and yet here I am, 5500 miles away from home turning into a competent cook. Well, “competent” may be going a bit far. Perhaps I should explain. I tried Sopapillas again, and this time I had proper measuring spoons and measuring cups (thanks to the European equivalent of Wal*Mart: ASDA!). Anyway, they turned out absolutely fantastic, and everyone loved them. We stuffed them for dinner with mince, beans, potatoes, lettuce, tomato and Cholula sauce and they were excellent! I think they may have even given my mom’s Sopapillas a run for their money… haha, I’m sure she probably wouldn’t agree. Anyway, I was so excited that they had actually puffed up this time that I started screaming and Lucy (who was assisting me in this endeavor) started laughing at me. I then called my mom and dad to inform them of my success, and they (I’m sure) thought I was crazy. Which I am, so it’s no big deal!

Right, so those were great, and then I made breakfast burritos with sausage and potatoes the next morning for the whole flat. I think I’ve gotten them addicted to my American cooking! They seem to enjoy it… especially since they’d never heard of things like breakfast burritos or stuffed Sopapillas. And then tonight, I attempted an English meal. I was starting to get tired of all the things that I’ve cooked multiple times, so I made a sort of Cottage Pie (or is it Shepherd’s pie? Whichever one has beef, not lamb) and it actually turned out quite nice. I was so proud of myself that I took a picture. And I made enough so that I don’t have to cook tomorrow night.

Right, so enough about cooking, as I am sitting here writing this blog you will never guess what just happened. So I’m sitting here on my bed with my computer in my lap and its about 1am, and all of the sudden I feel the walls shake, so I just assume that my flatmates are banging against the wall or something, but then the floor and bed starts to shake too. So after it got a bit worse, and kept going, it finally stopped. I was so confused though, so I went out into the hallway to see if anyone else had felt it only to find everyone else in my flat coming into the hallway as well! I think we just had a small earthquake/tremor! I didn’t even know they had those in England! Maybe I’m overreacting, but that was really strange! And don’t freak out, it wasn’t big at all, it was more just a little shake. Haha…. Weird.

So I stayed up until about 5am on Sunday night watching the Academy Awards because I’m a movie dork. I spent the whole of last week trying to find someway (any way, really) that I would be able to watch the ceremony live. Something about watching Hollywood give itself a big pat on the back appeals to me for some reason… I have yet to find out what that reason is. Anyway, after a lot of searching I finally found a website that was streaming ABC, but the ceremony started at 5pm in LA, so that’s 1am England time. I had fun watching it though, even though it didn’t end until 5am and I had class 5 hours later… ah, but that’s the price that is to be paid, right? Kyle appreciates it too… so I’m not *entirely* alone, just *mostly* alone. (After all, “there’s a big difference between being mostly dead, and all dead. Mostly dead… he’s slightly alive!”)

Anyway, nothing else really new to report except that I think I may be going to London again this weekend to hang out with Lucy’s family again for the weekend. I’m excited to get out of Norwich for a couple days, so that should be nice. I’ll be able to do a fair bit of homework and reading on the train too. Yay for 3 hour train rides. This really isn’t that interesting, but I’ll tell you anyway, Lucy and I were talking about distances today and how because of the size of the different countries that each of are from, our concept of how long is a “long” distance and how short a “short” one is are completely different. She said something about an hour and a half train journey like it was a long thing, and I couldn’t help but think of the fact that I drive 3 hours to get to Colorado to go snowboarding and then drive back the same day like its no big deal. Its weird, I’ve been here for almost 6 months now, and I still feel just as American as I was the day I stepped off the plane. Sure, I’ve picked up some British-isms and stuff, but I’m still horribly American… I’m trying to figure out if that’s a good thing!

Well, at least we appreciate some of the same stuff. We’ve been having fun watching Survivor online every week. I got Lucy hooked, and I think Kara as well. Its like a bonding experience or something. We’ve also found some amusing videos on youtube… I just have to share this one because its so darn cute! It’s a 3 year old little girl explaining (surprisingly well, actually) the plot of the original Star Wars movie. I still can’t stop laughing!

Alright, well that’s it for now. Can’t wait to see you all again, although it hit me the other day that in 4 months I’m actually going HOME… and consequently, I won’t be coming back to England anytime soon. That was a strange thought.

Mas Fotos!

AQUI!

http://unm.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29157&l=3e67b&id=545464971

This One Is For You, Ellie!

Hi Ellie! I just got your comment, and I think I entirely agree with you, that I need a new blog. Again, (you must be tired of hearing me say this… oh well) I’m sorry its been so long, I again have no good excuse but I’ll just try to fill you in anyway. Once again I’d like to thank all of you who read my blog…. You make me happy!

Ok, so I think we left last time with Pancake Day and all of us sat around the kitchen table playing Squeak. I can’t say much has changed, except that my losses in Squeak are becoming more frequent. Emma, Irene, and I all played a few nights ago for about 3 ½ hours straight (5 games in a row), and out of the five I won three, and Emma won the other two. Yesterday, I lost for the first time since we started playing to Lucy, and that was a blow, haha. Anyway, Squeak still continues to be one of the things that the entire flat can get into… although I think it may be getting progressively more competitive… even violent!

Besides Squeak, we haven’t been doing much. Squid and I got bored and played Frisbee in the corridor yesterday though. We were having a good time banging the thing against everyone’s doors, because the corridor is far too thin to actually throw a Frisbee, and we were having a great time until I accidentally hit the ceiling light! It actually fell down and broke! Lucy gave me the disapproving mother look, but I couldn’t stop laughing! I couldn’t believe that I was the one who’d knocked it off… if it was going to be anyone, I would have thought it’d be Squid! Anyway… now I’ve broken the hall light and my wardrobe… I should start making a tally of all the things I break. Not really.

So Jimmy came from Germany last weekend. That was fun to see him and hang out with him. He came for four days, I think, and we had a good time just kinda bumming around in England. We weren’t able to go to London because it was sort of a last minute trip, and it would have cost too much to get a train ticket that late in the game, but we just hung out in Norwich instead. It’s hard to entertain guests for a few consecutive days, especially when you’re both staying in a single dorm room and you don’t have a car. But, nevertheless we had a good time. We tried out this pub called The Fat Cat, which is supposedly one of the top 5 pubs in Britain (I think…. I could be lying…), and it was actually really good. I tried this horribly overpriced Belgian Peach Beer, which was to die for, and I also got some of this chocolate beer that they had which was pretty good too. It was nice to get out of the flat that night.

While Jimmy was here, we also had some absolutely gorgeous weather! It got to the point where I almost didn’t even have to wear a jacket. It was sunny for about 4 days straight, and then Valentine’s Day hit, and it was cloudy, cold, and gross all over again. (My guess is God doesn’t like Valentine’s Day either…. Just a guess though.) But the temperature has since dropped. We’ve had some really foggy nights (which looks really cool, btw) and then we wake up to frosted mornings (if you’re awake that early, that is). But I don’t think we’ll see snow again. We might though. Lucy told me it won’t be warming up until the end of March/beginning of April. That’s a long time. Although, maybe it’ll be warm for my birthday. I’m all excited because I’m turning 21 in five weeks!

Spring break is coming up soon too. We have a month off, and I think Lucy and I are going to try to travel, but we’ll see. Emma and I were thinking of going to Liverpool too, to see the Beatles’ Museum and all that stuff. It should be cool. I’m excited to meet Emma’s family also, they seem like they’re lots of fun. Plus, it’ll be nice to go visit northern England, as I haven’t been up there yet.

School, on the other hand, is a bit of a bore so far. I like my creative writing class though, and my drama projects class is starting to pick up. I get to meet with my project supervisor every Friday to give him a sort of progress report, and I only had my first one last week. The 15 minute show I’m supposed to be working on isn’t written yet… unfortunately, so I don’t have a lot to tell him at this point. I’m still trying to keep up on my reading though, and stay busy, although I’m having issues doing that. I’ve been watching a handful of movies though, trying to catch up on what I’ve missed out on not being in the States, especially with the Academy Awards coming up! (I know… I’m the only one who cares, but still.)

And finally, I don’t think this would be a proper blog if I didn’t talk about my cooking situation. Mema told me in one of her letters that I should start calling my blog the cooking show because I seem to measure my weeks by what I’ve cooked! And she’s probably right… although, I must confess that cooking is becoming more and more of a chore. I think it’s because both my resources and my cooking knowledge are limited, and therefore my cooking is limited. I’m getting a bit tired of cooking the same things every night, so if any of you have any good and SIMPLE ideas for cooking, email them my way (iamthejoey @ hotmail.com). Although (this is entertaining), we made smores last night in the grill. Yes, that’s right, in our grill thing. And they were actually really really good! We didn’t have ghram (sp?) crackers so we had to use tea biscuits (still good), and not having an open flame we cooked the marshmallows on chopsticks in the grill! All my English friends seemed impressed, only Lucy’s sister had ever had one before. We got marshmallow stuff all over though! That was fun to clean up this morning.

Well, I think that’s about it. I’ll try to get some pictures up here in the next day or so, and I’ll put a link to them up here on the blog. Anyway, I miss you all terribly and can’t wait to see you!

Pancakes!!

Well, this is officially the longest I’ve ever gone without writing a blog, and I’m not sure why that is. So for the 900^th time, I’m terribly sorry! Although, not all that much has been happening. I told you all about my school schedule and how not demanding it is, so that has been nice to just sit back and relax, but its getting a bit old! How sad is that? Isn’t it every college student’s dream to not have a lot of homework? I suppose if I had a job, it wouldn’t be that bad, but sitting in the flat for hours on end doing absolutely nothing is getting old. SO, I decided that I would start reading again. I used to read books like nobody’s business when I was in middle school, and then it dwindled in high school and almost disappeared when I started college. Anyway, I’m turning over a new leaf. I read Catcher in the Rye and The Picture of Dorian Gray (both VERY good, I would highly recommend both), and now I’m reading The Case for Christ, also good so far.

Well life hasn’t been too bad out here, just hanging out more than anything. We’ve recently developed an addiction to the card game Squeak. It’s like a community version of speed Solitaire. And it all started when I taught Lucy how to play about a week ago, then everyone else, one at a time, wanted to join in too. Its gotten way competitive, and Lucy absolutely slaughtered me the first night we played, but since then I’ve been unbeatable. Unfortunately, last night was the end of my Squeak reign. Emma beat me last night. It was a sad day in the world. Well for me; everyone else seemed pretty happy about it. Oh, but the good news is, Dan decided he wanted to put money on one single round of Squeak, so we put a fiver on the game, and I ended up just barely winning. That was fun.

Besides Squeak though, I have been doing *some* school. My creative writing class isn’t too bad, my Intro to World Dramatic Literatures is still a bit boring, and my the proposal for my 15 minute show is due in my Drama Projects class on Friday. So I think, like I said in my last blog, that things are going to get a bit busier here in the next few weeks. This weekend should be fun though, Jimmy’s coming from Germany to stay for the weekend and a few days after. His semester is finishing (the German school system is even weirder than the American or English one’s), so he’s going to come visit out here, and hang out with me and my roommates.

Oh, on a different note, we’ve (all of us in the flat) have all been getting along really well this term. Its been fun, what with playing Squeak and all, and we’ve started doing a group dinner every Thursday night. Heather made enchiladas last week, and those were way good. A bit different in England than New Mexico, but still very good. I think Anna’s cooking tonight, some Thai soup, but its just nice to not have to cook once a week. (I think I may have already told you all of this before… so I apologize if I’m repeating myself…) And even better than someone cooking for you once a week, was today: Pancake Day! Yes, it’s a national thing. Everyone makes British Pancakes (think crepes), and then you eat loads and loads of them! Lucy’s been perfecting her pancake mix since we got here, and we made 4 batches to feed all 9 of us! The kitchen got all smoky, and we had fun flipping them in the pans… we didn’t even drop any of them! Although… some ended up a bit wonky, still tasted good though!

Well, I think that’s pretty much it, I’ll write more in the next few days, and I’ll try to do it a bit more regularly. I shouldn’t like to go another 3 weeks without a blog! I do apologize. Ooo, but it snowed! IT SNOWED! For the first time! It was awesome. We made snowballs and threw them at each other and froze our hands off. It was fantastic. I’ve had my fix now, so I can go another year without snow if I have to… even though I don’t want to.

The only other interesting thing that has happened is that we got bored one night and attempted to fit as many people into my wardrobe as was possible. Sounds dumb, I know, but it really was quite funny. We started off fitting three people, and were all proud of ourselves, but we’ve now graduated to fitting five of us in there! It was hilarious, because all of us were squished in there, and then Emma, who was tucked on the bottom at the back, started yelling because she could hear the floor of the wardrobe breaking under our weight! Then, within a few seconds it snapped and we all screamed. So now my wardrobe floor has a crack… I think it was particle board, so I don’t know why we thought it could hold the weight of 5 university students! Anyway, now my wardrobe has character.

PICTURES

SNOW!!!!

Just wanted to tell you all that it is snowing! snowing! SNOWING!





Hehe, I'll write more later, but I just couldn't contain myself. We already went outside and played in it, and made snowballs and everything, and now I can't feel my hands anymore. Oh well! I'm sure we'll be back out there soon to make more snowballs and have more snowball fights!

SNOW!!!!