Sounds like a painting, doesn't it?

Well, I'm back. I decided not to write up a full Adventures With post on the grounds that it would be boring for everyone else ("Today we hung around Matthew's flat and played video games, just like yesterday..."). So instead you get these little tidbits of interesting stuff.

~ Even before I landed, I could see how pretty the English countryside was. I've seen a lot of the States from above, and it's mostly large barren rectangular brown fields. England has fields too, but they're green and lined with trees.

~ I got handed a Flake by Matthew almost as soon as I stepped out of Passport Services. It took a second to get used to the flavor, but I wound up bringing an obscene amount home. (It's all your fault, Sosiqui.) All I had to declare when going through Customs coming home was 'chocolate'.

~ London is probably a lot easier to see when one is not dragging a heavy suitcase behind one. Still, I got to see various landmarks pointed out to me vaguely by the Brit crowd as we walked by them (we'd collected wintermute and Beasty by then). These included, I think, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Thames, red phone booths, the Tower of London, the Millennium Wheel (which I'd never heard of before I saw it), and the place where Sosiqui met Beasty. We had ice cream with Flakes in while in view of the last.

~ Even though it was warm (and sunny!) enough to have ice cream when I arrived, it became noticeably colder and wetter as the week went on. For the most part it was a rather refreshing change from California, but it did get to be too cold for me by the end of the week. (You Brits may all laugh at me now for being a wimp.)

~ Bath. Beige and surrounded by greenery, and very easy to get lost in. Made me glad I had my own personal guide to the city. At one point, we saw a fish 'n' chips shop, walked on for about 20 minutes, then decided we wanted fish 'n' chips. We crossed over a few streets, and bam... there was that same shop.

~ Frozen food is GREAT.*

~ We went to Warwick Castle. My main memory is of staring at the hundreds of narrow spiral steps as I tried to make my rubbery legs climb up and down the various towers. Considering how much of a klutz I was the rest of the trip, I'm surprised I didn't slip once. Besides that, though, it was awesome to see a REAL CASTLE. I was impressed by the fact that many of the elaborate displays weren't roped off or being watched by guards. You'd never see that level of trust in America.

~ Spotted dick is pretty good. I have a hard time not laughing whenever I say or type it, though.

~ Being able to pay for things with coins is trippy. It's difficult not to grow fond of the one-pound coin. I didn't get to keep any, though, since I had to make a last minute purchase of stamps with the last of my English money.

~ The day I left, November 11, was Remembrance Day. Right before I had to head for my gate at the airport, an announcement came over the PA system asking that everyone observe a two-minute silence. I had never in my life seen an airport less than busy, yet everyone stopped in their tracks, shops ceased playing obnoxious music, and airport officials halted the escalators next to where Matthew and I were sitting. For two minutes, everything was absolutely still. It was amazing, and I was deeply impressed.

Leaving was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Mostly because I knew I probably wouldn't see Matthew again until next summer, but also because for the short time I was there, I really grew to like the country. Perhaps it was simply the novelty of a new place, but it seemed to me to have a charm that America lacks, except perhaps in its smallest towns. Everything here seems sterile and monotonous in comparison. I can't really seem to explain it properly, but I think I could be quite happy living in England. Now to look up those study abroad programs...

Maryam

*Ok, I guess this needs some explaining. While riding in the car to Matthew's parents' place, we heard on the radio two guys inexplicably talking about how great frozen food was. It went something like, "Frozen food is GREAT." "Yes, it is great." "How DO they keep that food frozen?" "Well, I think they just freeze it." "You can get all sorts of frozen food." "Yes you can." ... etc. It went on for ages. Bizarre.