Monday News Update

Hello all!

Sorry it has been such a long time since I have blogged, I am definitely not doing it every day any more and I really need to figure out a way to build it back into my routine. Unfortunately I have been having a lot of trouble uploading any media onto my blog with the wifi that I have in my room. That means that there won't be as many posted, but hopefully I can add them on facebook.

So here is an update of the happenings from this week:

- I was invited to attend the 90th annual Cambridge Garden Party Celebration! It was held Wednesday night, and as soon as we stepped off the coaches champagne was served and we had dinner in the salon of an old tudor mansion. Afterwards we went outside where there was a jazz band playing and we entertained ourselves with croquet on the lawn. Later we had some scrumptious dessert (chocolate moose cheese cake with home made cream and strawberries) and walked around the gardens of the hall, which were beautiful! The days here have been roughly in the mid 70's but at night it gets quite cool, so around 8pm I was freezing my butt and went home. I had a fantastic time though!

- I went PUNTING! Punting is a traditional leisure activity for students/tourists in the area of Cambridge and Oxford. Since the beautiful River Cam runs throughout the campus, it is a great way to see the other colleges within Cambridge, and the famous architectural bridges. Punting is similar, in my mind, to steering a gondola however there are no paddles just a large spear that sticks into the gravel of the river bed which you then use to thrust the boat forward. Once you do that you quickly gather up your spear and stick it in the ground over and over again. The spear is pretty heavy, and the boat can become quite unmanageable if your punter isn't very experienced. Because of this reason, for 16 pounds, we hired a punter :) (We'll see if we get brave enough to rent our own punt later in the month)

- I went to my first English Club (recommended by the aforementioned punter). That was quite an experience. There were four floors to the building and at the top was a open-roofed hawaii-themed bar and deck. We met some very interesting people there and danced a lot. The style of dancing in the UK is quite different from that you encounter in US college parties. No one is "grinding" or Skanking as my old high school called it... rather just having a good time dancing on your own or in close circles. It was actually really fun! We stayed out until 2:45am and that made waking up for Friday classes a little difficult. 

- I stayed in Cambridge this weekend. I have been thoroughly exhausted these past 3 weeks from traveling every couple of days, and so this was a great way for me to recharge. I slept in for the first time in what felt like forever, and it was glorious! The rest of the weekend was dedicated to exploring museums, shopping in the city centre and market place, eating at cute cafes, writing post cards, and reading for my classes.

- I started running again. I am addicted to that post-workout feeling and so I have started my running regiment again. There are beautiful paths all throughout the University, and because it doesn't get dark until 11pm I am able to do this fairly later in the day. It gives me a boost and allows me to get other work that I need to get done, completed. 

- Also, every day or night we have been sitting in on fantastic and inspiring lectures. The one tonight was on Cloning, stem cells, and cell replacement by Sir John Gurdon FRS FMedSci. The lecture went a bit over my head but it was still interesting none the less. At the end Sir John presented us with an ethical question and wanted to here the consensus of the students:

Question: Only child of parents is killed by accident six months after birth. Parents cannot have more children. Skin from deceased child is saved. Mother offers eggs for nuclear transfer from a cell of the dead child, and so could have a genetically identical twin of the dead child. Are you in favour, or against this procedure?

I won't tell you my answer, but 60% of the audience was against this procedure. How do you feel?

Sorry this post got a bit lengthy, I guess that is what happens when one attempts to cram a week's worth of activities into one post. I have been having a lot of fun though and am very excited about my next trip coming up... Amsterdam! I will be there Thursday-Sunday so let me know if you have any advice or comments about the city. We are going to tour where Anne Frank was in hiding, attend a free tour of the Heineken factory, travel the canals through Amsterdam, and visit the Vangoh museum.