November Redux

Sorry for not having updated earlier, but unfortunately, as soon as I returned from Ireland, I had to start working on my last papers for "Modern Germany, 1866-1945," "Women & Gender in Early Modern Europe," and Humanities 310. After more late-nights than I've had in a while, I've finished with two out of the three, so I suppose I've earned the right to relax a while and let everyone know what's been happening since I last updated. (The fact that I awoke this morning to see Tom Morgan screaming "BOO, UPDATE!" across the oceans also helped as motivation. Thank you, Tom.) I'm afraid that since I have another paper to write, laundry to do, and Christmas presents to buy, this update won't be anything too elaborate. I promise, however, to post more accounts later once I get home to the ever-blessed U.S.A.

• Trip to Wicken Fen and Ely (November 2). On the 2nd of the month, Rudy had us all rise early in the morning for a private coach ride to one of the few remaining wetlands in East Anglia, Wicken Fen, and then the city of Ely. It's safe to say that I enjoyed the latter more than the former, which shouldn't come as any surprise because, despite my upbringing in the rough wilderness of shopping malls, used car dealerships, and restaurants that is Grand Junction, I'm not much of an outdoorsman. After a tour of the Ely Cathedral, which is easily one of the most impressive and beautiful structures I have seen in my life, a few of us, including Prof. Rudalevige, his daughter Liza, Zack, Emma, Shannyn, and I, attended the evensong surface. I don't know what it was, but as I watched the billows of incense rise and fill the place and heard the doleful sounds of a classical requiem, I really started to appreciate what motivated our forefathers to dedicate tremendous amounts of time, energy, and resources to the construction of these great edifices. The whole experience came together really to fill one with a sense of the numinous, as C.S. Lewis would say.
  
• Trip to Dublin (November 6-10). I spent the first full weekend of November with Zack, Lauren Deitz, and Meghan Blickman in Dublin. And it was incredible. To mention a mere handle of the sites, we visited the Guiness Storehouse, Dublin Writers Museum, Trinity College, and the Christ Church Cathedral. It had been so long since I'd been in a major city other than Norwich that I had nearly forgotten the wide variety of activities, museums, churches, and other attractions theey have to offer. We also joined one of our roommates at the hostel, a French Canadian named Simon, for a pub crawl that Friday night, which was also very good; if you ever have a chance to visit Dublin, look for "Chaplin's" or "The Long Stone." They're located across from each other on the south bank of the Liffey. Delightful establishments with decent beer, good atmosphere, and (in the case of "The Long Stone") an enormous wooden fireplace carved to resemble the head of Thor the Norse god of Thunder.
  
• William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (November 20). Having never read the Bard of Stratford's tribute to the self-destructive love of two young Italian nobles from competing families, I couldn't share in the anguish of Lauren, Shannyn, and others when Rudy announced that we'd be attending the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Romeo and Juliet at Norwich's Theatre Royal. Surprisingly, I didn't mind it too much, mostly because (a) I was in awe of the power, beauty, and elegance of Shakespeare's language and (b) they'd modeled the play's entire appearance around The Godfather, which fit the material fairly well in most instances. (My main objection on that score was the decision to have the actors wield switchblades as if they were rapiers.) Afterwards, I went to a pub with Dan, Duncan, and Leah for a couple of pints--if you have the opportunity, try Wetherspoon's Abbots Ale. It's got a really good, almost nutty flavor to it and, more importantly, its ABV is 5.0 percent.
  
• Thanksgiving on Unthank Road (November 27). The Rudaleviges hosted an enormous Thanksgiving dinner for everyone on the Humanities program, complete with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweetcorn, green beans, rolls, two varieties of cranberry sauce, and more pies than you can imagine. It was all wonderful. Unfortunately, I really didn't eat as much as I could have, but I've noticed that I seem to do that whenever I go over to someone's house (other than the Heflins' in Gettysburg). After dinner, most of us played Charades, which must be an invention of the Devil himself. I was dragooned into playing two rounds, and mercifully, someone was able to guess what I was doing without too much effort.
  
• Trip to Cambridge (December 5). To finish off the unofficial "month," we had to rise early for still another class trip, this time to Cambridge. Rudy had purchased everyone tickets for the 8.44 train to Cambridge, so we had to be at the Norwich Rail Station no later than 8.30. Most people on the program rose early and made the long (and apparently cold) bus ride to the Station. Fortunately, I was able to sleep a little later and share a cab with Dan and Duncan; most unfortunately, Leah and Lauren had to remain behind a while and wait for another taxi, because there was a small miscommunication about how many people were riding down to the Station in the first cab. Cambridge itself was amazing. We toured the beautiful campus of King's College including its massive chapel (which is nearly a cathedral in itself) and King's Hall, the College's cafeteria. Afterwards, we sat down with Professor Vaux, an old college buddy of Rudy's and a fellow at King's College, to discuss the eccentricities of British higher education. Well, everyone discussed those topics. I was struggling to remain awake, even as I was seated next to Rudy and in plain view of Prof. Vaux. Hurray Me! Afterwards, Shannyn and I wandered around Cambridge, shopping for Christmas presents and just acquianting ourselves with the town. No surprise--Shannyn had to visit Christ Church College, Milton's alma mater. We grabbed dinner at a Nicholson's pub on Magdalene Street before trudging back to the Cambridge Rail Station to catch the 19.25 back to the Norwich.

In addition to all of this, there was so much more that happened this month--the Dickinson-UEA 20th Anniversary Dinner on the 3rd, Election Day on the 4th, and a visit to a British primary school on December 1st. Altogether, November was a very hectic, but very enjoyable, month. I'm straining to finish the last of my papers, but soon, I'll be boarding a jet plane for a three weeks stateside. Hopefully, I'll be able post more extensive accounts of a few of my adventures while I'm home. But all I know is that I'm going to be so happy to be back on our side of the Atlantic where people don't talk with funny accents (except in the South and Wisconsin), can talk about issues other than the weather, and generally prefer to do things in the most sensible way that they can.