Welcome to Cambridge

First of all, let me say this on record: Screw the 24 hour clock system... I would use harsher words, and in fact, did when I realized that my train left at 8:40pm and not 10:40pm; so that is 20:40 friends. (As a side note, now that I have immortalized my distaste for the 24 hour clock, I choose to embrace the system, and master it as quickly as possible.) When I received a text from Jim at roughly 19:50 saying that he would be at my place at 20:05, I was a little bit panicked, because in my head, I had somehow changed the time of my departure.. I ran quickly into the kitchen, threw a slew of train tickets in front of my neighbor, Jake, demanding: "What time is my train!??" I would have missed it. Luckily I panic packed everything into my suitcase in t-minus 5 minutes and was off to the train station! Barely made it, skipped my dinner and grabbed two muffins, one for my dinner and one for Jim for saving the day. Maddy helped me struggle my belongings down the stairs and all in one breath, I shouted back to my flatmates something that amounts to: "sorry about the dishes, eat the dinner I left on the stove, see you on Sunday, bye!"

That was the most complicated part of the trip, once arriving at the train station I was good to go! Cambridge is lovely. After breakfast and coffee, Mi and I did some work in the morning and then went to meet Ross for lunch at his college, Pembroke. Then we embarked on a series of intellectually stimulating, multi sensory activities and lectures from the Festival of !deas. Hooray! First stop was to the CRASSH center to listen to a speaker on the phenomenon of the use of the MP3 player. He spoke of ways in which people shaped their space through music, and that by creating play lists for certain activities or places, you are associating that music with that event and presumably, whatever emotion is evoked by that music will also be associated with that activity/place/event. At one point, the speaker asked if anyone puts their music on shuffle all and hits the button until there is a song they like. I thought, well he has watched me with my Zune! Has he not?! So I raised my hand, only to discover that I was the only one (though I know that is not a true reflection of reality, there must be other shufflers out in the world!) The implications of this action appear to be that I select my music to fit my mood at any given time, instead of shaping my mood through the sound experience I prescribe... chicken egg, egg chicken... I think this observation holds true for me, because sometimes I want to go running to Norah Jones, or Everclear and sometimes I would like a little P-Diddy in the morning.. who doesn't??

After the lecture at CRASSH we raced over to the Faculty of Law to listen to Catherine MacKinnon speak on gender, human rights and international law. This was my favorite part of the day, she is a dynamic speaker, eloquent and intelligent. Some highlights from her talk, included her discussion of treating inequality between men and women as a "value" argument and her stance that it has nothing to do with values, it is reality, it is a fact; and facts can not be argued, values can. She stated that her reality is subject to evidence, which she can supply; whereas, morality is open to opinion, and "objective morality" does not exist, according to MacKinnon.

She talked pointedly about the the idea that whether equality for men and women is good or bad is not the issue, whether inequality exists is the issue; if it does exist (and it does) it is illegal, and that is a fact. She gave examples from her practice in the work for inequality, including a case where she was a defending a woman who was fired from her career (I think in some office job, I do not recall) because she used to work in prostitution. She spoke of "victim" as being a VERB and not a noun; a person is not a victim, we are so hesitant to define ourselves as such, but victimized, according to MacKinnon. At first, I thought I differed in opinion on this idea; that is to say that I think that living life with a victim mentality can lead to a harmful cycle of self-fulfilling prophesy. However, that example still used "victim" as an adjective, and not as a verb. If one is able to understand the forces at work within their own victimization, then they can begin to change their situation. Well done Catherine MacKinnon.

The talk was fascinating; agree with her ideas or not, she does address issues central to international human rights. One aspect about the talk that I thought was a little personally poetic was that it took place in room LG17 in the Faculty of Law. This particular combination may not mean anything to most people, but allow me explain: My very good friend for over a decade and all around quality individual, Lauren Gotchy is a lawyer and her lucky number is 17. :o) I loved that. You were there in spirit, Lauren!

After a tasty dinner of aubergine/eggplant parmesan at the local vegetarian restaurant, we attended a screening for the film, "Manifactured Landscapes" which is a photographically beautiful film about the destruction of the natural landscapes of the world, particularly focusing on China. I recommend it, but it is not exactly a feel good romantic comedy. It does, however make a visual impact on the viewer, I felt, about the consequences of the pace in which we live our lives, and the self destructive nature in our society.

On a lighter note, Mi and I walked out to the vending machines to procure some snacks for the film, and when returning the girls running the front door said, "oh sorry, there is no food or drink in the auditorium." To which Mi replied, "oh no, we aren't going to eat these, we are just going to put them in our bags for later." Of course this was a bold faced lie, but they didn't really want to not let us take them in, and we didn't want to not have them, so they said, "oh okay," and off we went. Thanks random Cambridge students for being so rad!

All in all an intellectually stimulating and all around lovely day, even topped off with some chips back at Mi and Ross's apartment :o) yum yum yum yum.. salt...

Football Americana

Teresa spent some time studying in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, which is very close to where my grandma Bea was raised, and where my grandfather and she met and lived part of there lives. To me, Wisconsin will always mean running around in fields, swimming lessons, and that time Nate put on his trousers, only to find that a bat had made it their home whilst on the drying rack- scary and funny. In any case, I thought that my family would especially appreciate that Terry came into the kitchen one day wearing this shirt. For so many reasons, Terry is awesome, this is just one of them.

More Fall Pictures from Roundhay Park

If you will remember from my previous entry, when we arrived at Roundhay Park, I had a camera, and the batteries promptly went coput. However, Jim was able to take a few pictures with his camera phone (thank goodness for technology!) while our group strolled around Roudhay Park.. They are 2MP pictures, piccies... but they give an idea of the lovely fall day which we enjoyed and do just fine for the purposes of my blog :o) I really did want to chase after a Frisbee and roll down hills; there is something about large expanses of green that is a bit magical and rejuvenating...

I really like the light through the trees in this photo, the greens illuminated in the leaves of the trees and the sunlight across the grass is lovely.

Imagine if this was the view you had from your back porch in the morning? Grab a cup of coffee, and head out to see survey the land.

Autumn day... coffee and Roundhay Park

Sunday, I decided that I would be diligent in my studies. It was to be a day of neck straining research and copious note taking! So off I went to library with a good breakfast in my stomach for hours of reading and writing, and glad to do it! The library has these windows that flood light over while you read, and if I can snag a chair in the Shakespeare section then I could stay for hours... (To be honest, I could live there, the desks may even be more comfortable than my current bed.) It has morphed into a nice place in which to rendezvous with my fellow students of the Renaissance.

After almost three hours of work, I started to be anxious, the weather was SO NICE on Sunday, sunny, warm, beautiful....In fact, it brought to the surface all those Northwesterner tendencies: What!? it is sunny! Go outside! stay there... etc.. sitting and reading inside on a day like it was on Sunday seems... just wrong.


Luckily, Jim sent me a text and invited me along with a group to go for a coffee; when your friends text you to go and enjoy a coffee, especially if it is a location where you get to sit under trees like those pictured below, you say: "OK!" Close those texts for just one afternoon and run around outside...After a soy latte, the five of us headed toward a quite large park, Roundhay Park...

Unfortunately, my camera batteries died right after I took this picture, the two preceding were taken at the Starbucks. However, from this one picture of the visitor center sign, we learn that there are many attractions at Roundhay Park: (from right to left) they have deer, leaves, people jumping really high so as to click their heels, monuments, and seashells. super.

I captured the colors of leaves, images of the castles of the park and little blond children (of which there was a disproportionately large amount) running through massive green fields... in my heart. Hopefully I will have a chance to return to Roundhey Park with charged batteries, but these sunny fall days are few and far between...

Days like Sunday, I think, are what Edna St. Vincent Millay illuminates in her poem, God's World. Sometimes, I feel so overwhelmed by nature's beauty, and they say that a picture is worth a thousand words... for me, this poem communicates (at least) a hundred pictures. haha. In all seriousness, this poem encapsulates, and expresses for me the emotion I feel walking or running through a crisp fall morning...

God's World
By: Edna St. Vincent Millay


O world, I cannot hold thee close enough!
Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!
Thy mists, that roll and rise!
Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag
And all but cry with colour! That gaunt crag
To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff!
World, World, I cannot get thee close enough!

Long have I known a glory in it all,
But never knew I this;
Here such a passion is
As stretcheth me apart, -- Lord, I do fear
Thou'st made the world too beautiful this year;
My soul is all but out of me, -- let fall
No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.

"Wait, are you actually in culinary school?" -saucey chat comment from Tracey

In addition to studying and pondering language, rhetoric, and the meaning in and of it all.. I am baking and cooking quite a bit here in England. Thought I would highlight a few of the favorite experiences from the past couple of weeks. I still find cooking a very relaxing past time, and hope that I am able to maintain my current habits when my studies began to press me... Gathering around food is an ubiquitous practice across all the cultures with which I have come in contact. Here in England, seems to be no different... A few challenges have hindered my attempts at baking, but I am learning and adjusting... and purchased a measuring cup.. :o) My next goal is to master the use of a scale when baking. Guestimating in cups I can do... grams... I thought those were for crackers...(no racial slur intended)

Alright...recounting of cooking adventures commence... now..

Adventure 1: Tortillas Espanol con mi amigo, Terry de Espana (sorry about the n)

We decided that it would be fun to have a traditional Spanish meal, and Terry was in fine form with Torrilla Espanol and Sangria (the key is the cinnamon) Terry and Ali (de Chile) began with peeling a mess of potatoes and chopping a ton of onions... well maybe not a ton, but many, they were defiantly in tears, and not just because it was such a beautiful moment (though it was :o)

This is Terry, working hard at slicing and dicing to make this masterpiece

Then you put all the potatoes and onions in a pan and listen to music...

Just make sure that you use AT LEAST this much oil to cook... WOW! Are you kidding me? That is a lot of oil for a dish that 6 people will devour... but most of it is used for frying...
Sorry I could not add any pictures of the finished product, but once the eggs were in, even this omelet and scramble egg hater couldn't say no... they were delicious and devoured within minutes. Well done Terry!! Also... we drank much Sangria... but there was that left over the next day to be enjoyed with dinner.

Adventure TWO: Pasta with Pietro!

This weekend I also had the chance to cook with an Italian friend of mine, Pietro, making pasta with a simple and delicious tomato sauce. Here are a few hints that he shared with me, and I will now relay to you. (maybe you knew these, but I had no clue and my pasta tastes like old socks)

1. make sure you put enough water in when you boil the pasta, also enough salt (which is way more than I thought it would be and more, certainly than I had ever used)

2. Use plum tomatoes, because they retain more flavor. After chopping some garlic and onions, we put two cans of plum tomatoes in a pan, with a can of water, and let it simmer for about 30 minutes, at which point that tangy tomato flavor is removed without the addition of sugar to your sauce... super

3. When draining the pasta (we used Penna) don't let it dry completely, a little wet still and then put it back into the pan, add the sauce and simmer for a few more minutes

4. add some freshly grated cheese in the sauce, and save some for putting on top when serving. so delicious.

Ongoing Adventure: Vegan with a Vengeance

I've also been doing some experimenting with a new cookbook, Vegan with a Vengeance... I love it. If you do not own this cookbook and are looking to eat food that is tasty and not sure how to prepare it, I highly recommend this book; also if you like to eat tasty food but don't want to prepare it, then buy this book for someone you love (or loves you) and invite yourself to dinner...

Terry thinks this cookie has an evil face, I agree. I'm still looking for the cookie that looks just like the Virgin Mary; apparently I only make devil face cookies. hmmm. happy baking :o)

On our way to York!

Today, Maddy, Terry and I gathered ourselves down to the Leeds Station and took a train to York! It was quite the adventure for me, my first day trip while staying in Leeds. In order to make the most authentic experience possible, Maddy was looking for a Pub in which we could have lunch. Instead we found a great chippery and I had what were, I have to say, the best fish and chips of my life, I even enjoyed the "mushed peas" which I photographed here. I have seen this on menus often, and was never quite sure what to make of it, but there it is, and with a little salt, quite tasty...mushed peas... not just for babies anymore.

One of the "must see's of York is an adventure called: Jorvik. This museum traces the history of my ancestors and asks... are you a viking? Turns out, I'm not really, can't even seem to get the helmet to stay on my head properly. While riding through this simulated city on a Disney type ride, one can't help byt notice the damp dreary smell and the less than cheerful scenes of life during the viking era make me think, hey... I'm glad to be here and now. One interesting aspect of the simulated underground viking village is that they actually simulated people from the village through computer generated images using skulls found in the excavation site. What that means is that the big mannequins in the exhibithad a good chance of actually resembling the people from the town of Jorvik. whooooooooooa. Though the trip through the time machine was a root tootin good time, I did not really enjoy the taxidermy animals through out the ride...

I did get us a bit lost toward the end of the day, but I REALLY wanted to walk along the historic walls, built in the 13th century, that surround the city... so we walked a bit and then a bit further... and we could see the train station, just not, you know... get to it.. haha. Terry asked if I was on duty, and I was just making sure everything was in order, and the answer is... of course... and centuries later, the wall is still well built and will keep invaders out, and us... um... in :o)

Hoorah first day of school pictures and presents!

This is me on my first day of school :o) Off to my first lecture! By the way, that backpack totally makes me a nerd, but I don't care because it keeps all my belongings dry and saves my arms from having to carry large satchels of books :o)




















My sister sent me a package!! In it was this lovely apron and my bridesmaid's dress from her wedding, along with a tea towel from Carrie, potholder, some sheets, and lovely note. It was so great to get mail from someone else (I have received other packages from amazon.com but it is not the same) So thank you Kelly and Jon Jon, Carrie and Frankie :o) Wearing this apron around Carr Mills last night sure lifted my spirits, especially after one hall accidentally set off the fire alarm... twice...

My first week of classes...

One of my research goals for this year is to find a way to connect post-colonial and Renaissance/early Modern study. For those of you who know me on my quirky over enthusiastic about literature and theory side will have heard this quandary before, the constant search for connection between literature and culture. Why does it matter that we study Shakespeare in the modern setting? What can we learn about a culture from the literature produced therein, and more importantly what do we see in a culture from their reaction to classic texts that may illuminate some new and exciting interpretation. This is what I do now. I love it.

I was a bit hesitant, to be honest, about returning to graduate school after being out for four years. But today, there was a single moment that has since set my fears at bay (for the time being) Set in the special collections section of the Brotherton Library, my first seminar on Reading the Renaissance commenced; we observed and handled texts that were originals from the Renaissance era in England. Noting how the different intentions for each text may be reflected in the manner it was bound, or the type selected for that particular edition. Then, toward the very end of a two hour seminar, one of my professors smiled broadly and placed on the foam pads, that were meant to prop open the books, a red, leather, gold accented book. passing this around we saw the first folio of William Shakespeare. One of the original prints dating in 1623 costing over a million pounds. I was overwhelmed when it passed by, I felt almost blasphemous on how much I was moved by this book, all I could do was smile, from ear to ear. The picture accompanying this blog entry, I have actually seen in person, just hovered my fingertips over the well preserved pages. (!!!!!)

I know I have much to learn in regards to life, and especially in regards to my intellectual pursuits (haha not to mention love!) Today there was a little light at the end of the tunnel :o) I was reading in my lovely, cozy room, a critical essay written by Ania Loomba: The Colour of Patriarchy. She talked about the connections between Renaissance study, particularly Shakespearean plays and post colonial studies, particular in regards to race, gender and family structure. She states in her essay: "... Renaissance and post-colonial studies also meet each other via their common interest in marginalized peoples of different sorts, and their disparate attempts to theorise and recover subaltern resistance (or agency) and locate it in relation to power." (Chedgzoy, 236) After reading that bit, I thought to myself, yes... exactly... that is what I am seeking! I feel increasingly motivated to discover more connections between Renaissance literature and the modern (post colonial) world, and that I am not a complete loon for trying to do so. Studying literature, then, becomes a more ready tool with which we can study culture and political structure. That is not to say that I do not read a poem and love it just because it is beautiful, there is that as well. However, the reason I find it beautiful has to do with my own personal history and culture as well as that of the authors...

Alright, enough of that now, save it for my papers and what not. I was just excited that I found some published works that seem to back up my ideas and look forward to developing them. Tomorrow is my first class in Reading African Cultures... very much looking forward to that one as well. Also today I attended a little shindig with the post-grad English Society, good times had by all. :o) It was very informal, I suggested our next outing be a karaoke night, but I think I was shot down... haha... next time. :o)

Just in case you might have forgotten after that long discourse... I saw Shakespeare's first folio today! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! :o) okay off to read :o)