What a beautiful day it was today!

I woke up, opened my curtains and a rush of sunlight filled my room. I decided that I would enjoy the sun, while it lasted... I got dressed, grabbed the book I am reading (Julie and Julia by Julie Powell), grabbed a couple snacks, threw on my sunglasses, and walked down to the lake. What a tease the sunlight is, for it was FrEeZiNg!!!

As I walked to a bench next to the water, there was a family of four... A Mom, a Dad, and two little girls, probably about age 4 or 5.  The parents were sitting on a bench while the little girls were playing with the rocks/dirt... as I was getting closer to them, I guess they had had enough time outside, and started walking again.  I looked to see what the little girls were doing, and look what I found!!

^^How cute is that?!!^^

So with the combination of the sun, and seeing these hearts, let's just say I had a smile on my face all day. :)

I decided to sit on the fishing dock, instead of the bench because it was in the sun, and it was a bit warmer.  I sat there, read my book, and enjoyed my snacks.

I hope you had a great day as well!!!

A few nights ago, Mikayla and I watched the film 'The Other Boleyn Girl'.  If you havn't seen it, I would recommend it.  It is about two sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn, who are competing for King Henry VIII's love. 

After the movie, we were discussing what happened, and talking about Henry VIII and the Royal Family Line. Mind you, this is about 1am....
I was starting to get confused, with all the inter-marriage and stuff, so Mikayla suggested that we write it down.  We did... and that lead us to stay up till 3 in the morning, looking up the family line and trying to figure stuff out.  We eventually went through all the Kings and Queens, up until the current Queen Elizabeth.  We figured out that she is the great great great great great great great great great great great great great great grand-daughter of Henry VIII.

The next day I decided that it would be cool to rewrite all our findings out onto a nicer piece of paper... and this is what I came up with...

Please notice the random bits of history thrown in... the Mayflower, the Salem Witch Trials, the sinking of the Titanic...

Also, each family line is written to include their symbol. So the House of Tudor has the Tudor rose....

I learned so much from doing this by myself, it's ridiculous! Have you ever heard of the Gunpowder Plot? Ya... me neither. Not until now... (look it up if you don't know what it is!)

I remember when I was little, I would always get in trouble for holding my fork upside down, or holding it in a first with my hand. I was to always hold it in my right hand right side up, to sit up straight... to basically not look barbaric while I eat.

Here, they hold their forks in their left hands, upside down, with their knife in their right. After using their knife, they don't put it down. The hold it in their clenched fist, and lean over their plate.

One day they noticed how when I cut my food, I will put my fork in my left hand, and cut with my right, and then put the knife down, and switch my fork to my right hand to eat. They thought that was so weird.

Another thing they thought was weird!
Yesterday I went to serve myself some icecream. I decided that instead of dirtying another dish, I was just going to serve it in the mug that I was previously using to drink my water. The Brits in the kitchen looked at me very oddly. They asked me what I was doing, and I just looked at them and told them that I was serving myself some icecream.  They proceeded to ask me what I was going to do with it; if I was going to make a milkshake... apparently its BAD to serve yourself some icecream in a mug!! They thought I was crazy...

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches are also very weird to them.  First off, they are called 'Cheese Toasties'... and second off, if they DO make them, they don't do it the way I do. See, first I butter my bread, and then I put the bread butter side down in a sarten and let it toast.... The first time I did that, one boy thought it was the worst thing to do; ever, but another told me that he had never thought about making them that way, and that it was a good idea... Here, they put their sandwich in the George Foreman grill and let it toast that way... I guess both are equally okay.


Basically - they just think us Americans are weird....
I also have trouble pronouncing the words 'Norwich' and 'Norfolk'... They always give me funny looks and giggle. I don't know why it's so hard to say them!!

Every Tuesday and Saturday UEA hosts a 'club night' in the LCR (Large Common Room. A Huge room for everything... that's where I saw Reel Big Fish).
Basically, it's just a huge dance party where students can buy cheap drinks. I have only been to two, because, COME ON!
EVERY Tues and Sat? Do these kids sleep?? By now, that's like... 12 LCR nights!! ...Crazy kidz...

At each event, there is some sort of 'fancy dress'.  Now, when I first heard about that, I was really excited. I thought to myself, Yes! FINALLY a place where I can wear this cute dress of mine!.....

WRONG...
Fancy Dress does means to dress up... but to dress up in some sort of costume according to whatever theme... I guess all my years playing dress up as a kid will soon come in handy!

This past Tuesday, the theme was 'Chav's and Emo's'.... I know what an emo is, but I had never heard of a chav.  Apparently, a Chav is sort of like what we would think of when we hear the 'Chola'..... Ya? Rigning any bells? Or... A white girl who dresses sorta gangster-like... English white trash?? You know. With the gaudy jewlery, the matching trackie, make-up so caked on you can't tell what their real skin looks like, big hoop earings...


I went as a Chav:

Notice the 'winged' eye makeup...the fake pearls...the hoops...the hair slicked into a high pony tail and hairsprayed down so that not one hair is sticking up...OH;and they don't smile either. So here is Ben and I - doing our best 'CHAV' impression.

Luke, Harry, and Lisa... They went as Emos; although, Emo's don't smile either... jeez Lisa...!

Me, Ben, and Mikayla.... much Happier Chavs!

(Yes - Mikayla and I are nerdy and we wear our earplugs... but where as others are losing their hearing, I'm not... When people ask and start to make fun of me, I just blame it on the fact that I have to because I'm a music major... truth of the matter is, unlike them, Mikayla and I won't have to ask over and over what someone is saying because we lost our hearing at some silly dance party, and we won't have to get hearing aids for a very very very long time)

Aw CUUTE!

...just three American Girls playing dress up :)

The flat around the dining table before LCR:

L-R;

Matt, Me, Mikayla, Lisa, Luke, Taylor, Ben, Anisha, Ruth

So just like the Cambridge trip, and the Windsor Castle trip, I went to go get my tickets for Oxford... But. They were sold out. :(
It's okay though. I've been there before... stayed in the dorms at Oxford....
so instead of spending £20 on transportation...

...I spend it on shoes. :)

Windsor Castle;

The oldest and largest castle in the world, still occupied today, by Her Majesty The Queen (you know, as a weekend get away!!), and to 150 others.

As Lisa and I were walking to the entrance of the castle, we noticed a lot of police and people just hanging around. She asked one of the police men what was going on, and it turned out that we were just in time to watch the changing of the guard!

Here Comes the Band!!!

Professor Rees would be horrified at their horn angles!

Some of these guys looked like they were 16. I'm not too sure that I would trust them to guard MY castle.. they might get scared and run away!

I would like everyone to notice the peanut butter and JAM sandwich in my right hand... delicious...

Behind me, and beyong that black gate, is a lovely courtyard. Past that holds some of the finest portraits and furniture that I've ever seen. Even Henry VIII armour is there... he's a BIG man!!

I don't have any pictures of the inside because we wern't allowed to take pictures...

If I could have moved this by myself, and managed to get it out of the castle and onto the coach, I would have. But alas, that was not possible - so here you are Dad: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I got you a [picture of a] bell from Windsor Castle!

St. George's Chapel - Henry VIII is buried here... the whole time I was at this Castle, I couldn't get that stupid song outa my head: "I'm Hen-e-ry the VIII I am! Hen-e-ry the VIII I am I am...!!!" ...rather annoying if you ask me...

I bought this rosary at the Chapel.... I think I'll keep it in my pocket... you know, in case I randomly have the urge to pray... RIGHT...NOW....

After the Castle, Lisa and I had about an hour and a half to walk around the city some.

MMmmm....!!

Lunch!

My 'beef burger' had a cucumber and this random sweet relish on it, but it was Oohhhh sooo good!!!

We found some guy selling flowers. He was selling these potted plants; 3 for 2pounds. Lisa and I each paid a pound, and we gave the third pot to our friend Mikayla. Now I have something pretty in my room!! (...besides ME, of course... ;-) hahah)

No But really - Dad; What kind of flowers are these? And full or partial sun?

So today I was sitting at my computer working on my essay (I'm actually doing Homework?! What?! - yes..) and I look up to see a crowd of about 20 people walking past. Now, I normally wouldn't have been alarmed from this sort of activity. Who knows. They could all be going to play a nice game of football, or maybe to have a picnic, or possibly to just strole around the lake, taking in the sunlight and the rather cold breeze... but No. These people were different. I knew for a FACT that they were going to do none of the above!

First off, they were dressed in a sort of medieval attire, and were carrying swords and daggers and shields.

I went outside to invesigate, but kept my distance, in case they decided that I was an enemy and that I should be slayed...

For a while they did nothing. I noticed two groups of people. One with about 15 and the other with maybe 9... all of a sudden, they started screaming and running towords each other!! Then, the sword fighting began.  People would periodically fall to the ground, playing out their tragic death.  It was ridiculous. 

I guess this is some sort of club here on campus... crazy, crazy people...
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A few nights ago the boys were drinking the night away in the kitchen. Everyone who was not with them woke up the next day to a lovely piece of cutlery taped to their door. I just thought I would share this with you, for I find it rather amusing:

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I thought this was a cute picture of Bob and I. I am on my tippy toes! That shows how tall he is! He gave me a ride on his shoulders as we all walked to a party in another flat. I felt like I was a giant!! He also does rowing - which is crazy cool. He practices every day. I feel sorta bad though, because he has a lot of gross sores/blisters on his hands; but to him, its probably worth it.

(More flatmate bios to come, once I get to know them a bit better...)

So apperently I have a new name. It is now, Aundie...
You know, Kassandra; Andra; Andy (too boy-ish), Aundie...
Sam (plays trumpet in Orchestra with me) decided that I should have a more 'English' name... Whatever...

Lisa (from Tucson) and Mikayla (from Wash. State) and I have decided that we are going to start cooking together. We have a pretty amazing menu for this week:

Today: Spaghetti, Garlic bread, Salad


Sunday: Burgers, Fries, Apple Pie

Tuesday: Fett. Alfredo, Salad, Apple Tart

Friday: Chicken Terryaki Stir Fry

Sunday: Tacos

...and since we're all chipping in, it's soooo much cheaper to have a nice hot meal!

Hmm... this picture actually doesn't look that appatizing anymore. But trust me; it was DELICIOUS!!!

 

Today I traveled for about an hour and a half by coach to the city of Cambridge - which is basically just a huge campus with some cute shops. There were a lot of museum and churchs, but I didn't really get to spend any time in them, because I only had three hours (after a two hour walking tour), and in a city where you don't know where you are, it's hard to get around quickly...

So this bridge was pretty cool. It sets over the River Cam, which is what the city is named after.

This is the inside of the King's College Chapel. It took 100 years to complete due to the War of the Roses.

The whole church was lined with this beautiful stained class.  The upper windows contain the Old Testament and the lower, the New Testament. The middle pane contains a figure holding a banner around their necks, with part scripture on it, explaining the stories contained in the joint panels on the left and on the right.

We walked into a fudge shop - SO GOOD!! Melted on your tounge...

MMmm... food... Guess which one was mine??

Ya - I might have ventured past the door that said "Closed to Visitors".....

(Just kidding Mom... oh, excuse me: Mum)

Arn't these cute??!! I bought them at some random shop... They are about 1'' tall and I think made out of some sort of metal - not too sure. But I HAD to get them...

WOO!! Reel Big Fish!!

Yes - maybe this IS the third time that I have seen RBF:

BUT THEY WERE AMAZING!!; Yet Again. :)

Ben, Me, AJ (from NY), Mikayla

The first time I went to a RBF concert, my friend Matt and I brought our trumpet cases and Johnny Christmas (lead trumpet) signed it. I got a picture of him and I, so at the second concert, I took that picture and he signed it (and he remembered me and asked me how the trumpet was going!). This time, I took the picture of the picture, and had him sign it again! So now, I have a picture of a picture of a picture:

I know - Way cool; Right?

So Yup. Last night was pretty awesome - follwed by an even better day today when I went to the postroom to pick up a package that Mom had sent me... the best item in that box was a bag of pinto beans and corn tortillas! I CANT WAIT for tostatas!!! I've been having small heart attacks from the lack of Mom's mexican food and canilla tea!!!

The Cornetto:

The cornetto is a wooden instrument with a small trumpet-like mouthpiece and fingerholes like a recorder, and is usually covered in leather.  Typically the instrument has an slight curve and an octagonal cross-section; it has six fingerholes and a thumbhole.


The name comes from the Italians; "little horn" ("corno" - horn, plus the suffix "etto" - small); it is also nowadays often referred to as "cornett" (with two t's to give a distinction from the modern brass instrument, with which it has no connection).

The repertoire for the instrument covers the Renaissance and early Baroque periods.
I was introduced to this instrument today, and will most likely be playing it in the March Concert - seeing as though I can get the tuning right!
...more about me and the cornetto to come...

The only real pain about living in dorms is the fact that there is no room in the fridge or freezer.  It takes about 20 minutes rearraing everything to be able to fit just one small package of chicken.  And even then, it takes another 5 minutes trying to figure out what the heck is blocking the door, making it so that you can not close the door all the way.
And the fact that I am terrified that someone is going to steal my milk!! You need milk to drink tea, and people have a habit of knicking whosevers is just there.  I put my name on my milk, and wrote on there, "Do not drink... Grrr!!!!" Hopefully that will ward off anyone who tries... (haha)
Oh. Another thing is that practically everything in the kitchen is always dirty. I don't care if someone just washed it and it is sitting on the drying rack... Even though these boys all seem to know how to cook - their cleaning skills arn't as great. I am beginning to get into the habit of washing/rinsing my dishes before I use them...
OH! ANND when you get up in the morning, get all of your stuff and are ready for the showers, and the cleaning lady is taking her sweet time cleaning the them.  I appreciate a clean shower - but she has always managed to begin cleaning them whenever I need to use them.
Let's just say, I prefer to live in a flat with just me... or maybe one other person. Not 12 others!
But it's okay. I can deal for 6 months. Besides - these people are pretty cool, and we all get along well; which is awesome!

Today I got up at 7am and left the flat around 8a. The people that were going to tag along for a day-out-on-the-town bailed last minute because they decided that it was too early for them.
I got on the bus and made it to the 9am mass at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist.  It was built in 1894 and was designed in the Early English style of 19th Century Gothic.
The mass was just like every other Catholic mass - except for the British accents; which I found amusing at times. Is it sacrilegious to giggle at the way the Priest just said something??
The only bad part about the Cathedral is that it was FREEZING! I wanted so bad to put my beanie back on, but I felt that that would be inapppropriate.

St. Johns

Once mass was over, I got back on the bus and headed to the Town Centre.  There I got off and began wondering around the city.  I eventually ended up at St. Andrew's Anglican Church. The tower of the church was built in 1478, with the rest of the building erected around 1506. It had a beautiful set of Organ pipes that were put in in 1908. I wish I could have heard what they sounded like.

I'm oviously not good at taking pictures or uploading them, so you will just have to deal with this and cut and paste with your mind!!

I again kept walking and found a few cool sites to take pictures at:

Kinda Creepy?

A cute little/Very empty side street

Norwich was once the second most populated city in England. I don't remember when, but a Looooong long time ago.

(I think even before you were born, David!! ;-) I guess you're not that old!!)

This is part of the remains of the wall that surounded Norwich to keep enemies out.

"THIS FORMS PART OF THE OLD CITY WALL. Build during the 13th - 14th Centuries"

If you look at a current map of Norwich, you will see that there are a few streets that basically form a circle.  Those streets pretty much follow the place of the walls of long ago Norwich. (There was no wall when it came to the river. They used that to their advantage)

(Dad - I might go to jail for putting this up here... but this rock is from that wall. (I swear it was just lying on the ground!) And it is for you!! Shhh.....)

To end my day, I came back to my flat and did laundry. I know. Exciting. I just wanted to show you that I was a cheap college student who refuses to use the dryers, and so hangs everything on the radiators/chair/door frame...

And now, off to make a cup of tea and much on a few digestives before bed :)