I'm an optimist...mostly
I promised that I would post a non-travel blog post and being that I’m on a week-long break from work, this seems a perfect time. My past two week work placement was largely dominated by running, knitting, studying for the UK driving theory test, piano/organ practice and planning a day trip to London for my client and me.
I was quite surprised by how stressful this accompanying experience was for me. I think despite my periodic emotional downturns, I’m a sort of closet optimist. I agreed to accompany an entire church communion service despite having never accompanied in public before (aside from five years olds singing and 3rd graders on recorder), I haven’t taken a proper private piano lesson in 10 years, and I haven’t seriously played in almost as long. Just the same, when the church vicar found himself without an organist (despite the 6 on their list), I felt strangely confident in volunteering what turned out to be hours of practicing not to mention some lost sleep. I think Jonathan could see more clearly and encouraged me to ask to pare the service down to pieces I felt comfortable with. In the end, a member of the congregation stepped up and played the organ prelude, postlude and communion music and I was only responsible for 3 hymns and songs. This man is about 75 and a church warden and despite not knowing the names of the keys or notes on the page, knows quite well which correspond with each other and can sight-read hymns on the organ quite a bit better than I. Gordon saved the day and I got through the service without many mistakes. My optimism has won out since I’ve agreed to play on the 12th of July – this time only 2 songs and more than a week to prepare. I think it will go well…
My driving theory test went well too and all my studying paid off. It was SO official! You sign in at 3 different desks with all your official documentations and put all belonging (including any unnecessary outerwear like cardigans) in lockers and wait to be shown to a computer cubicle in a room full of about 50 computers. A guard patrols the room watching for people trying to take down answers or just looking suspicious I guess. Finally, a folded printout is handed to you by a proctor with a stern expression. I waited til I got outside the scary test center to open it. I just read “Congratulations…” and skipped all the way to down the lovely London street to meet my client at Starbucks where I treated myself to an iced soy latte…or soya latte as they say here. Whatever. I’m just glad I passed. Now onto the practical exam which is in just over a month. Apparently, about 40% of the people who take it pass. I don’t find that very encouraging but I plan to be prepared. Mostly, I just don’t want to pay the £62 more than once but I also need a UK license for my current job.
After a stressful couple weeks, I’m enjoying being home and settling into the simplicity of cleaning house, meeting Jonathan’s co-workers at the pub, and of course the beauty of Cambridge in summer. The baby swans are so cute on the river and all the fields are covered with red poppies in full bloom. It’s hard to believe we’ve been here almost a year and at the moment it’s hard to imagine life anywhere else.
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Weekend excursion
I sort of hate that we mostly seem to blog about trips. I know I should blog about everyday life but because I sit down to blog so infrequently, I feel like I need something important or new and different to share.
Oh well, obviously this is another trip. A few weeks ago, Jonathan’s friend Antje asked if we’d like to take a weekend trip to Bath. I have been to Bath but Jonathan has not and so we agreed. Antje’s friend and co-worker from the CBU Jeanette joined us as well. I haven’t taken a lot of road trips with people I don’t know very well so I was unsure of how it would play out but everything was great. Antje served us pancakes and fruit and yogurt and coffee on Saturday morning at her flat and then the four of us piled into our hired Renault Clio and headed west to Bath. We chatted about books, politics, family, and careers. Antje is from Germany but did 5 years of graduate work at Boston University. Jeanette is from Switzerland and has been in Cambridge for almost 2 years. It was fun to share our different perceptions of England and mainly the English traditions and customs.
Our first stop was Stonehenge which I’ve also been to before and so settled for a distant view from the car as the other three paid admission and learned about these ancient structures and grounds. After splitting a Cornish pasty with Antje, I was ready to drive the rest of the journey to Bath.
We parked in the city and began to wander. We first came upon the Bath Abbey – a large cathedral just next to the Roman baths structure. We noticed that tower tour was leaving in 2 minutes and so we spontaneously ran in and got our tickets to join the tour. What better way to be introduced to a city that to view it from the top of a cathedral tower? The tour was great. We climbed 212 steps to the top stopping on the way in the bell ringers room and getting to crawl into the area behind the big clock face. We got to peak into the actual bell room and see the 3 ton tenor bell which is the biggest. We also got to climb under the roof but above the inner ceiling of the cathedral. There was actually a little hole in the ceiling where a brave soul looks through during weddings to tell the bell ringers to start ringing as the newly wedded couple makes their way out of the church. When we got to the top we could see all directions and admire the design of the city as endless Georgian terrace homes are cut into the hillside.
After more wandering around the town and admiring the beautiful homes on the Circus and Royal Crescent we headed off to drive the 12 miles to our bed and breakfast. I was not able to find rooms right in Bath for this trip but it turned out that this was a blessing in disguise.
The Orchard House was lovely and as usual the owners were so helpful. We arrived around 8 pm and asked about the local pub for dinner. The owner, Derek, said he would call the best places and check to see that they had room for us. He returned in 10 minutes to say that The Crown Hill would be expecting us and talked us through a hand written map to the pub. Such service.
Breakfast the next morning was in their lovely dining room and everything was perfect right down to the 4 types of homemade jam on the table. Yum! Oh, the best part of the meal was Derek’s information on the area and even a short lecture on British history and cathedrals in England. It was truly fascinating and we hope to return to the this establishment again soon.
Thanks to Derek, we ended up taking a little detour to the town of Wells to see the cathedral there and also the Bishops palace – yes a palace. The town of Wells was precious and so quiet and peaceful on a Sunday morning. The bishops palace was a beautiful site – the current Bath and Wells bishop still resides there and the grounds and large rooms are used for public functions and events. We heard about the history of the bishops through the centuries from the tour guide and just enjoyed wandering around the flowers and trees and streams with ducks and swans and ruins of an original chapel and through beautiful rooms of the palace. It was a very relaxed morning and despite forecasts of rain, it was sunny and warm.
Around 1 pm, we headed back to Bath as we had not yet seen the famous Roman baths (well, I have on a previous trip). We first stopped at Sally Lunn’s which is where Eun and Christina and I had supper on our one night in Bath back in February. The Sally Lunn house claims to be the oldest house in Bath (1460 or so?) and serves the Bath specialty – the Sally Lunn bun. It can be served as a sandwich, accompanying soup, or topped with meat and tasty sauces. I had mine toasted and buttered with lemon curd and clotted cream, oh, and tea of course. Yum! Finally, we felt ready to explore these famous Baths. Thanks to my friend Christina, I felt so much more educated this time. I knew about pediments, and different types of columns, and temples. (Christina, there were Corinthian columns here!) I think my favorite part though, was exploring the different rooms surrounding the main bath – the cauldarium and tepidarium and others I can’t remember the names – places where one would prepare to bathe using oils and hot steamy saunas and scraping implements to remove dirt and hair. The Romans were quite committed to cleanliness.
Overall, it was a wonderful combination of urban and rural sites, tours and lectures, conversation and laughter and of course, good food. I sort of feel like we were gone for days instead of just one night. I look forward to our next weekend break which I think will be Edinburgh, Scotland this August.
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Greece!
Early last Monday morning (5:30—which is REALLY too early!) Jill and I got back from a long weekend in Greece. Our friend Christina, who is an ancient history PhD student, has been spending the year in Athens doing research, and we thought we should get over to visit her before she leaves in June. Turns out this was a brilliant idea…we loved Greece and it was fabulous having such a wonderful friend to guide us!
We arrived in Athens on Wednesday night. Christina had arranged for us to stay at The American School, the place she’s affiliated with in Athens. As I understand it, every country that wants to do archeological exploration in Greece has a school in Athens that manages expeditions and houses researchers, so there is an American school, a British school, a French school, a German school, etc. In any case, it was fun to have a place to stay, and to see the school where Christina spends a lot of her time.
After we dropped our things off we went out for dinner, which—-like all of our meals—-was excellent. I’ve had Greek food in the US (at places that seem to be run by Greek people) but this was definitely a cut above. I suppose I might get sick of Greek food after a while, but I certainly didn’t while we were there.
We spent Thursday seeing Athens. This was mostly the acropolis and the agora, which is an open market area from ancient Athens (that the Romans then took over when they were around). It’s really neat just to see these old columns and think about all of the effort and craftsmanship that went into constructing and decorating them. It was also fantastic to have Christina there to give us a guided tour of everything (true of the whole trip, of course)!
Friday morning brought an unexpected surprise: we got to see a mammoth bone that someone had brought to the school, found along the side of the road somewhere near a construction site. This was pretty exciting for me, but especially important about THIS mammoth bone was that it had tool marks, indicating that it had been hunted (or at least, cut up for meat after it died) by some REALLY ancient Greeks. Very cool!
Later Friday we then set out for Delphi (pronounced “del fee”, which I didn’t know), with a stop in Thebes for gyros…yum. I hadn’t realized that gyros, in addition to delicious pita bread (the best) and meat and tzatziki, have french fries in them as well. What a great idea! We also stopped at a border fort and had a chance to climb around a bit. It’s really amazing how solid a lot of the construction seems after 2000 years. Stone seems like a good building material.
After lunch we continued to Delphi, found our hotel, and saw the ruins…I asked Christina if we could talk to the oracle but she said no. :-( (She claimed it didn’t exist any more but I suspect she was just being difficult.) After a tasty dinner and strawberries on the hotel balcony we went to bed. This was exciting because in the middle of the night Christina and I woke up to an earthquake! Not uncommon, apparently (Jill slept through it and missed the excitement.) I was glad that Christina woke up too, because I wasn’t sure if I imagined it.
The next day we checked out of our hotel and went on a 3 1/2 hour hike in the hills around Delphi—-the foothills of Mt. Parnassus, actually. This was a beautiful (but hot!) walk. The most exciting part (except for the amazing views) was when I nearly stepped on a 3-foot snake. I have no idea if it was dangerous or not, but I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to what I consider a large snake, and I it gave me a jump. After climbing down the hill (mountain?) we drove back to Athens, but stopped in a small town on the way (Porto Germano I think?) to dip our feet in the water and see another border fort (and another snake!). Then, out to dinner at a fantastic Greek/Turkish restaurant.
Sunday, our last day, we just spend in Athens, since we had to fly out in the evening and were a bit tired by this time. We did get to see a few other sites in Athens (including the National Gardens and the temple of Olympic Zeus), and more importantly, had a nice relaxed breakfast (including Greek coffee) at a cafe.
So, there you have it—-Greece was great, and we’re already looking forward to going back!
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Jeanette Davies 1925-2009
My grandmother never shared her deepest dreams and fears with me. But nothing could prevent me from knowing of her love for life. It sounds so cliché of course but it’s just as true. I’ll always think of Grammy when I hear great music, take in a gorgeous painting, travel to a new place, or sing along with the radio. She loved to dance as well and the way her face would light up each time she sang or hummed one of her favorites and swayed her hips to the beat will always be fixed in my mind. I didn’t inherit her moves but I’ll never forget her smile as she danced around the kitchen with an infectious joy.
Grammy will also be remembered as an adoring wife, completely in love with her dear husband. She was dedicated to him throughout their marriage and those who knew her know it’s hard to think of her and not think of my grandfather. Grammy was completely smitten with Grampy’s charms, good-looks and constant attentiveness to her. Even as they grew older she would always refer to him as a handsome fella or a keeper. I think we all knew that after 60 years he was a keeper.
I remember being home from college on winter break and rather sulky and unpleasant at the idea of being separated from my own dear Jonathan. Grammy proceeded to tell me what real separation was like. Many of us have heard this story but I loved hearing it again and again from both of them. I may get some details confused but this is the short version. My grandfather was sent off to a military base in Utah shortly after they were married. Grammy was determined to see her husband and took a train out there on her own. Doing his part in the plot, my grandfather snuck out of his base and hitchhiked to town so he could meet her at the train station, technically going AWOL. They spent the night in town together before he hitchhiked back to base and arrived only minutes before his men were deployed on an air training mission to California. My grandmother determinedly stayed on
and saw him whenever possible over the next few months. Sigh…does romance get any better than this? Especially since my aunt was the happy result of their time together. My grandparents love and commitment to each other is so rare and so beautiful.
As Alzheimers began to take hold, some things stayed so constant in Grammy: her love of music and great dance moves, her love of beauty in animals and nature, and without a doubt her ability to relate and converse with just about anyone she met. I visited Grammy and Grampy at home one afternoon a couple years ago. We sat in their sunny living room and they asked about my life and listened to my latest career plans with such interest and indulgence. As evening drew near I stood up to leave and Grammy gave me the sweetest, most gently hug and kiss and said something like “well, honey, it was so lovely to meet you.
You are so sweet and you are welcome to come back anytime!”.
Naturally, I was sad that Grammy couldn’t place me in her
deteriorating memory. But what struck me the most was that despite her assuming me to be a complete stranger, she actually treated me like a most beloved granddaughter.
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London
This past week Jill was off of work, and we took the opportunity to head into London for the day. We started off at the Natural History Museum where there were two exhibits we had really wanted to see. The first was on Charles Darwin. This was a really fascinating exhibit that chronicled his journey on the HMS Beagle in some detail, as well as the rest of his career. A few interesting facts we learned:
- Darwin was at Cambridge for a while studying to be a clergyman, but spent most of his time collecting beetles
- Darwin was in his early 20s when he left on the Beagle —- I didn’t realize this was at the beginning of his career
- I had never thought about the fact that Darwin did his theorizing before Mendel’s ideas about genetics were popularized. So Darwin was apparently struggling to find a mechanism to explain how traits could appear and be passed on to future generations, when in hindsight, this seems more obvious.
Darwin kept copious notes, and one of the most fascinating things was to see his original journals, letters, and diagrams on display. (A whole collection is available online.)
In addition to the Darwin exhibit we wanted to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, another temporary exhibit. The photographs on display were beautiful, and the descriptions that went with them were informative. You can get a sense of some of this by looking at the online gallery.
Finally, in the evening we went to see a play: Dancing at Lughnasa at The Old Vic Theatre. The theater was recently remodeled to be a “theater in the round”, so the stage was surrounded on all sides by seating. My favorite thing about the play was the ice cream during intermission (this is standard fare at British theater events, but still seems strange and wonderful to me). I wasn’t a huge fan of the play, but the whole experience was still very enjoyable, and I’m looking forward to going back!
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More entries can be found in the archive. . .