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Jul. 5th, 2011 09:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedlamsbardToday I saw an eleventh-century church, or at least the tower was eleventh-century, which was another case of OMGWHAT? There's been a lot of that going around, along with, "The Old Court predates GLASS and CHIMNEYS? What the hell." Although, heh, the pelican is on Corpus's crest too. (It's on the state flag of Louisiana, along with being all over Tulane. Although our pelican looks more like an actual pelican, while this one looks just like some random big white bird.)
And then we got our first lecture, which was mostly our syllabus, which got a lot of attention because we ended up going, "Wow, this is a lot more work than we expected," and, "No, you did not actually tell us that," on some things. (No, you did not tell us to bring hiking boots, which is why everyone is freaking the fuck out, because good hiking boots are really expensive in the U.S., never mind in the UK when you consider the fact that the dollar is around half the pound. You told us to bring close-toed shoes, which is what we brought. Also, those of us who were planning on doing this course not for credit would like to know if we actually have to take the exam and write the essay, like the website said.)
I confessed to our student rep that for a really long time I wasn't actually convinced that the program was legit, which several other people chimed in on as well, which made her go rather green. Well, obviously we were convinced enough that it was real and not a scam to actually shell out all the money past the deposit + the plane tickets and actually show up. I like our student rep, she's nice. (Her name starts with E. I know so many people with the first initial E...) She's a Cambridge grad who's going off soon to do her grad work at the University of Capetown in South Africa, which is pretty cool.
Right now Cambridge is buzzing with (a) tourists and (b) summer groups like mine. Presumably there are also (c) staff/faculty/whatever they call 'em in England and (d) actual Cambridge students. Presumably also (e) residents.
Other mindfucks in town: King's College, which, how is something like that even real? (It is just so fancy. It's right across the street from Corpus Christi College, so I see it basically all the time.) And the Corpus Clock, which, okay, pictures cannot convey the weirdness of that clock. It's...a giant cockroach on a clock, and it...does things...at odd intervals...and stuff. Also, the thing about not walking on the grass. ("Those birds must be fellows. They're on the grass!")
I am considering if I want to buy an electric kettle, because I have never gone so long without tea and I know I'll use it if I have it, but then again, I'd only be able to use it in the U.K., as it seems kind of ridiculous to buy a UK-US transformer just to continue using it in the U.S. On the other hand, there are people here who have bought cell phones that they can only use abroad. Eh, maybe I'll just see how much an electric tea kettle costs.
And then we got our first lecture, which was mostly our syllabus, which got a lot of attention because we ended up going, "Wow, this is a lot more work than we expected," and, "No, you did not actually tell us that," on some things. (No, you did not tell us to bring hiking boots, which is why everyone is freaking the fuck out, because good hiking boots are really expensive in the U.S., never mind in the UK when you consider the fact that the dollar is around half the pound. You told us to bring close-toed shoes, which is what we brought. Also, those of us who were planning on doing this course not for credit would like to know if we actually have to take the exam and write the essay, like the website said.)
I confessed to our student rep that for a really long time I wasn't actually convinced that the program was legit, which several other people chimed in on as well, which made her go rather green. Well, obviously we were convinced enough that it was real and not a scam to actually shell out all the money past the deposit + the plane tickets and actually show up. I like our student rep, she's nice. (Her name starts with E. I know so many people with the first initial E...) She's a Cambridge grad who's going off soon to do her grad work at the University of Capetown in South Africa, which is pretty cool.
Right now Cambridge is buzzing with (a) tourists and (b) summer groups like mine. Presumably there are also (c) staff/faculty/whatever they call 'em in England and (d) actual Cambridge students. Presumably also (e) residents.
Other mindfucks in town: King's College, which, how is something like that even real? (It is just so fancy. It's right across the street from Corpus Christi College, so I see it basically all the time.) And the Corpus Clock, which, okay, pictures cannot convey the weirdness of that clock. It's...a giant cockroach on a clock, and it...does things...at odd intervals...and stuff. Also, the thing about not walking on the grass. ("Those birds must be fellows. They're on the grass!")
I am considering if I want to buy an electric kettle, because I have never gone so long without tea and I know I'll use it if I have it, but then again, I'd only be able to use it in the U.K., as it seems kind of ridiculous to buy a UK-US transformer just to continue using it in the U.S. On the other hand, there are people here who have bought cell phones that they can only use abroad. Eh, maybe I'll just see how much an electric tea kettle costs.