Rambling from our time in England

Aug 04, 2008 23:58

When I first got to Turkey, it was my goal to write about my experiences. I started out good! Somewhere along the line, it all slipped away from me. In the last number of months, everything seems to have moved so fast that keeping up with what has gone on has been a bit of a challenge. As I write this, I am laying in bed in the tiniest hotel room that was ever created in Cambridge, UK. It’s midnight. In the last number of months, I have gone to the Syrian border, Istanbul, Ephesus, Egypt, Brussels, London, and Oxford, with more to come. One after another, bam, bam, bam. It’s been a busy number of months. I can’t believe what I have seen and done. Oh yes, and of course, in there, I was working AND we became pregnant. Well, not became pregnant. That shows a lack of understanding of how babies are made. I do, indeed, know how babies are made. What to do with a baby once it is born, however, is a different story and will surely shape future adventures. But the past number of months? Wow. I would have never thought in a million years that I would have done what I have done…what WE would have done what we have done. This really is one of those once in a lifetime things that has happened. Again, going back to one year ago, and as I write this, it has been almost a year since this whole journey began. It feels like years since we were in Canada. We’ve had a lifetime of experiences thus far that I can’t help but feel that there is no way we could have done this in one year! So, where exactly did the money come for all of this? Beats me. I’m still not sure. But, somehow we’ve done this. It’s happened!

So, now, we’re in England. It’s rained, pretty much constantly, since we arrived. I like England. Part of why I like it is because people speak English here. It does make life much easier, indeed. It can be exhausting to try and function in a society where the language I know best is not the mainstream language. It take a great deal of mental effort to try and communicate, using the knowledge of Turkish that I have, and figuring out what is going on when I don’t understand what is being said. That doesn’t mean that I don’t like it. It can just be a whole heck of a lot of work, and so it’s a nice mental break to come to England. Well, sorta. Stop one was London. London doesn’t really offer a mental break. It’s a big, busy city and it’s pretty overwhelming. I love it, but it can be very draining. London is great. It’s exciting. There are a million and one things to do every day and night…and with that I don’t believe that I am exaggerating. It’s amazing the amount one can do in London on any given day. I’ll look through listings and say “Wow, I wanna do that…but, wait…over here, look, oh man, THAT looks great…and holy crap, that looks fantastic, too!” The choices are many! The time and money, however, are not quite as abundant.

But, still, we went to see a show in the westend, I saw an excellent comedy show, we went to the museum to see a Jack the Ripper exhibit, we went to the Globe to see King Lear. I went to Brixton. We went to Canary Warf. I saw St. Paul’s Cathedral. We took a day trip to Oxford, and I took a day trip to Brussels. Holy geez, we did a lot. No wonder we’re both so tired, and tired we definitely are. We’re tired to the point of not being able to function.

July 19, 2008

It was graduation day in Cambridge. Most exciting indeed, seeing all of the grads in their grad outfits, with their family members crowded around them, proudly taking pictures, hugging, and wearing hats…plenty of hats. Ladies wear hats here. Not baseball caps. Not those hats with the two side holders for beer, and a handy straw that comes down. Nope, I’m not talking about those kinds of hats. Fancy hats! Hats with flowers! Hats with big brims. Real, exciting, stand out in a crowd hats. It makes those flat grad hats (I believe they have a proper name, but I don’t know what it is, exactly) look rather…bland. Well, I guess they are rather bland regardless. They mean a great deal. They mean that a human being has achieved something quite remarkable. And, Cambridge? This is one of the top, top, TOP names in education! Cambridge is known the world over for being…well…Cambridge. So, seeing all these robed men and women around town was interesting. These were not just students…these were Cambridge students, and they were graduating, and they were about to move on to the next phase of their lives, and accomplish a whole new set of…things. What they accomplished during their time at Cambridge is…um….well…okay, so, the only thing that I know about these folks is that they are graduating from Cambridge. But, again, it comes down to being Cambridge. It sounds impressive. So, it was neat being in the town when all of these people were graduating. These people are supposed to be the best of the best. They will go out in the world with a piece of paper that has been hard earned in this town and people will be impressed. I’m impressed. I would hire anyone of them, if I had the power, or need to hire any of them. Which of the people did I see today will be the future all stars in their selected fields. How will they impact my life? That sounds rather selfish, I suppose. I should say, how will they impact all of us? Who did I see today?

On another note, we went canoeing tonight. Others punted. We canoed. There was a place renting canoes. We rented one. Why not punt? I dunno how to punt. I know how to canoe. Why not try punting? Well, one day, but tonight wasn’t the night. Tonight was a do something enjoyable, relaxing and familiar night. Standing on the back of a boat, hoping and praying that I don’t fall in as we pole our way through the canals of Cambridge didn’t seem relaxing. So, canoe we did. It was wonderful. Most of the day was cloudy, and at times, rainy. But this evening, around 7pm, when we got on the boat, we couldn’t have asked for better weather. It was nice, not too warm, not too cold, bright, sunny…perfect. It was pretty amazing really. It had been a while since we had been in a canoe. The last time, I believe, a black bear swam in front of us. This time, we had to settle for ducks, but, hey, there are amazing in their own way. What was nice was seeing Cambridge from a different perspective, from the water, quietly gliding along, dodging amateur punters, going beneath beautiful bridges, going by some of the most well manicured fields I believe I have ever seen, watching people on the shores, some enjoying their graduation day, others relaxing and reading, some walking their dogs, others enjoying the sun that finally came out! Many enjoying…beer.

Beer is very prevalent here. I see people walking around with open beer, anywhere and everywhere at any time of the day. And, they aren’t just cans of beer…they are mega cans of beer…tree trunk sized beers. I mean, Canadians love their beer, but, generally the law frowns on folks walking around drinking beer. Here, the law doesn’t seem too concerned about this…almost as if it isn’t against the law or something…which it would appear not to be. So, lots of beer and, often plenty of public intoxication. Now, this is something that just doesn’t happen in Turkey. It is pretty shameful to be drunk in public. It was somewhat of a culture shock to go from a country where alcohol use is more in control, to a country were alcohol use is much more public. This whole trip has been somewhat of a culture shock. Coming back to a western society, western culture, it’s very…different? Well, it shouldn’t be different. It has only been a year since we were out of this country. But, after that time, to come back, there definitely is a culture shock…things that I didn’t notice before that I really notice now…some good, some bad, some neutral. Advertising is much more prevalent. Teen pregnancy is more noteable. Signs are everywhere. There is a different sense of order. Strangers aren’t as friendly with each other.

July 22, 2008

Right now, I am watching a show on CCTV cameras in London, and how amazing they really are! Wow! Everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE, one goes in London, if not most of southern England, is under the gaze of these cameras, often accompanied by a sign saying that they are installed for MY safety and security. Gee, thanks! Thanks for letting me know that I wasn’t safe and secure and thanks for letting me know that I am now officially safe and secure! I wonder what the danger to me was? It doesn’t matter, apparently it has been eradicated thanks to CCTV! They’ve got my back. I know I needed that. They tell me so. Mind you, in this show, it’s pretty amazing the kind of stuff that people do try and get away with, even with all of these cameras around. That’s interesting! And, I’m getting some great tips. Apparently, I have to be scared of Romanians stealing my money in interesting ATM fraud schemes, black guys on cell phones, kids on vespas, vans with broken headlights…the streets are fraught with danger! It seems that everyone is out to get me…except my good friends behind the CCTV cameras, and this station is providing me the crucial information I needed about how vital they are to my life!

Now, that’s not to say that things don’t happen. They do. There are a few things that I don’t get about England. Alcohol is a big one. There is a lot of it around. And, I dunno, but for whatever reason, a lot of Brits seem to be mean drunks. Well, I guess that is rather broad sweeping and a bit of a stereotype, but, man, spending time out and about in the evening anywhere means that one will probably run into some intoxicated individual, and more often than not, at least in my experience, they don’t seem to be happy! Their may be happy drunks, but they are never the ones I see around. Maybe they just drift off to be happy somewhere while the meanies hit the streets.

Right now, there is plenty of talk about knife crime. Apparently, this is a big thing. At the moment there have been 21 murders in the London. There are conflicting reports about how many crimes have been commited with knives. One group says things are good. Another says they are bad. One report says that violence is down, but another says it just can’t be! Well, who knows. But, it would appear that I have to be worried that someone is going to stab me in the back at anytime! And, when it happens, it will all be caught on video! Woo hoo! Thanks goodness. So, when I’m lying in a pool of blood somewhere because I’ve met my inevitable end by stabbing, the whole thing will have been recorded to be shown on a fancy propaganda show that ends by telling the viewers how prone London is to terrorism, and how the only people that need to be scared of the cameras are those who are doing wrong.

On a brighter note, I rented a bike today and went riding. I forgot, however, that I haven’t ridden a big in quite a while, so my bottom is a little…well….tender. I saw a windmill…a real one…like on the Old Dutch Chips packages! That was neat! I rode down the last known intact roman road in Cambridgeshire! Those Romans were everywhere building crazy things, I tell ya. From Egypt, to Turkey to England, I can’t escape the ever present influence of the Romans. And everywhere one goes, if there is anything Roman in sight, it will surely be mentioned, and will be considered a must see. People love the Romans.

July 23, 2008

Well, today ended up being a rest day. I didn’t plan on it. It just kinda happened. The Jamaican lady who comes to clean our room has gotten quite used to me being in bed when she swings around to do her thing. I think I might be the only person who has ever stayed here in the history of her career that wasn’t up and out the door before…um…noon. Okay, I’ve been a bit lazy here. I think we’ve both hit a bit of a wall in our journey. We’ve both been a little busy. Granted, one of us has been productively busy, and the other of us has been doing rather non productive things. I shant outline whom is whom specifically.

So, tomorrow, we’re off to Winchester to see Elyssa’s England family. They are good folks. Then, we go over to the Isle of Wight! Looking forward to that. Never been there. Don’t know much about it. BUT, I am so looking forward to being at the sea. I love the sea…or big bodies of water for that matter. I suppose that comes from growing up next to Lake Superior. I like to look for shells. I hope to find shells. I also look forward to having a small kitchenette again so that we can make our own meals. This eating out all the time is not cutting it. I miss cereal. I want cereal. I liked sandwiches until I saw the preview to some tabloid show that looks behind the scene of the multimillion dollar sandwich industry. Based on what I saw in 30 seconds suggests that behind the scenes, things don’t look too good. So, now, I only eat chocolate bars. Well, chocolate bars, and these massive burritos from this Mexican restaurant down the street. Those things really are massive. I believe they call them “Big Ass Burritos”. When the word ass ends up in a food title, it generally turns me off. With these ones, it’s the fact that when I eat one, I feel like I have eaten a cross between a donkey and a horse, and don’t want to eat for a full 12 hours later. I tried the quesadilla in quest for a smaller Mexican food experience, but it turned out to be just as massive.

Part of our travel mission is to enjoy foods that we haven’t had in over a year…since we have been in Turkey. We’ve been eating things we have either missed, or stuff that have just not been available. I never realized how much food we don’t have access to in Turkey. The only foreign food that is easy to find is….Turkish. Mind you, to the Turks, it isn’t foreign. I do love Turkish food, I must point out. But, a little variety is nice. We’ve had Chinese, Indian, Italian, Vegetarian….pork…lots of pork. There’s no pork in Turkey. I didn’t think I missed pork that much. I did apparently, because it seems to sneak into my every meal. I don’t think I ate that much pork in Canada. It must be some kind of a rebellious thing or something. I’m eating a pig a day just because I can’t in Turkey.

For lunches, we seem to eat a load of packaged items…salad, fruits, and then, those nasty sandwiches which I have been eating up until about 4:53pm today when I saw that preview. I love this whole green thing that is going on in the west right now. If I go over to the store close by our hotel, they have all of these great signs telling me to not take a bag if I don’t need it so that I can do my part to save the planet. It doesn’t matter that everything, and I mean EVERYTHING comes in plastic packaging. If they individually wrap each grape, I believe they would. It’s just unreal how much plastic there is. It’s all for easy, on the go eating and of course sanitary purposes! And then, the market of your choosing helps you to feel great about it all because you have saved the planet by not taking a plastic bag. The garbage containers outside of the store are stuffed with all of these triangle shaped plastic boxes, salad bowls and fruit juice containers, but YOU, my friend, have saved the entire world by not taking a plastic bag.

But, if there is one thing that I have learned during my time in England it is that nothing I can possibly do will harm the environment. Nothing. The billboards all tell me so. If I fly, it’s okay. All those airplanes only count for a measily 2 percent of something in the atmosphere of some sort, so I can feel good about flying. Trains and cars? Never been better for the environment. I suspect that burning tires is now safe as can be. Everything appears to now be environmentally friendly, organic, and healthy. Nothing has actually changed other than the packaging and advertising. At the end of a day in London, I’m still blowing black snot out of my nose. I still end up tossing out my weight in garbage each day just to get to the morsels of food inside. I’m still getting on the same planes, onto the same buses and dodging being hit by the same cars that I was a year and some ago…only now, miraculously, none of it is bad for the environment. Hallelujah!

people, london, garbage, cambridge, england, oxford, travel, environment, uk

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