Two more awkward stories, and then I promise I'm done.
Story One:
I was at the theater waiting for Les Mis to start. The couple next to me were snogging their hearts out. Gross. Then it got grosser. The woman pulled away and started to cough and sneeze. Then they kissed again. Then she took out her nasal spray and sprayed it up her nose. Then they kissed again. Then she sprayed the nasal spray up her other nostril. Then they kept kissing. Etc. Really? Who does that? Then my friend who was watching the play with me came back from the restrooms. "You look tense." No joke.
Story Two:
Our entire group of 18 people got back to Cardiff from London at about 2:30 this morning. The train station is about two miles from our house, so we had quite a walk ahead of us through downtown Cardiff. Now, everything except the pubs closes at about 5:30 or 6, so everybody who was still out was drunk. Very drunk. We walked past groups of people falling over and picking each other back up. One of the more entertaining group seemed to be exercise junkies, maybe. They were doing scissor kicks and clapping their hands under their legs, which is surprisingly dextrous. Suddenly one of them spotted us. "Yes! Yes! Jack! Foreigners! Foreigners!"
Jack and clapping guy decided to be our escort, all while continuing to shout "Foreigners! Foreigners! School group!" Then they decided to try to figure out what country we were from. "Bore da! [Welsh for good morning.] Guten tag! Hola! Como estas? Try German! Guten tag! Try French!" Our response was silence, and walking faster. They kept walking with us for about half a block, and then we acted like we were turning down an alley. When Jack, clapping guy, and the others had turned, we continued straight. Meanwhile, we could hear their conversation. "Any luck? No, they were deathly afraid." Maybe, but as soon as we were past them it was hilarious.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
The insanity of the Brits
This is a post about the crazy people I have encountered. They have not been very numerous, but there have been some.
First there was the crazy guy on the corner. He apparently stood on the corner and shouted for hours, because he was there when I walked past, and also when all of my roommates walked past later. I got the boring shouts--not really comprehensible, and definitely not complimentary. He called one of my roommates Sweeney Todd, and asked another one where she lived. Right, buddy. We're going to tell you.
Then there was the guy I thought was going to mug me. I was walking home by myself, and it wasn't dark yet, but it was getting there. He started walking behind me, which made me nervous, so I sped up. He sped up too, which made me more nervous. Then he started shouting things. This was different from Crazy #1 because Crazy #2 was shouting complimentary things. After a while he turned down a back alley, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Next was the girl who sat on my lap. I think I'm going to tell myself that it's a cultural thing, and personal space does not exist in Spain. I was at an institute activity with the young adults of Wales, and a girl from Spain was visiting. We were sitting around, and I was sitting in an armchair. Despite the open seats on the couch and other chairs, she decided she wanted to share the chair with me. The chair was not quite big enough for two people. So she was practically on my lap, which was slightly awkward. Then she reached over and took my hand, which was really awkward. Again, I'm pretending in Spain nobody has personal space.
First there was the crazy guy on the corner. He apparently stood on the corner and shouted for hours, because he was there when I walked past, and also when all of my roommates walked past later. I got the boring shouts--not really comprehensible, and definitely not complimentary. He called one of my roommates Sweeney Todd, and asked another one where she lived. Right, buddy. We're going to tell you.
Then there was the guy I thought was going to mug me. I was walking home by myself, and it wasn't dark yet, but it was getting there. He started walking behind me, which made me nervous, so I sped up. He sped up too, which made me more nervous. Then he started shouting things. This was different from Crazy #1 because Crazy #2 was shouting complimentary things. After a while he turned down a back alley, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Next was the girl who sat on my lap. I think I'm going to tell myself that it's a cultural thing, and personal space does not exist in Spain. I was at an institute activity with the young adults of Wales, and a girl from Spain was visiting. We were sitting around, and I was sitting in an armchair. Despite the open seats on the couch and other chairs, she decided she wanted to share the chair with me. The chair was not quite big enough for two people. So she was practically on my lap, which was slightly awkward. Then she reached over and took my hand, which was really awkward. Again, I'm pretending in Spain nobody has personal space.
Awesome cars
When I came to Britain, I expected to see a lot of awesome cars. This was based mostly on the fact that when Josh was in Germany, he saw a lot of awesome cars. Unfortunately, I forgot that Britain is not the same, and I have seen more Fords here than in America. Bummer.
On the other hand, my house is about 3 blocks away from an Aston Martin dealership. For style and sheer class, you can't beat an Aston Martin. Also, I saw a three-wheeled car. Seriously. It was driving down the street, and there were two wheels in back and one in the front. It brings joy to my heart and soul. It looked like this willbop.breebop.com/2006/06/24/triple-the-safety/ only red.
Also, there are double decker buses, which look really cool but sadly are not that fun to ride in. But there was one which was purple, and therefore looked like the Knight Bus from Harry Potter.
On the other hand, my house is about 3 blocks away from an Aston Martin dealership. For style and sheer class, you can't beat an Aston Martin. Also, I saw a three-wheeled car. Seriously. It was driving down the street, and there were two wheels in back and one in the front. It brings joy to my heart and soul. It looked like this willbop.breebop.com/2006/06/24/triple-the-safety/ only red.
Also, there are double decker buses, which look really cool but sadly are not that fun to ride in. But there was one which was purple, and therefore looked like the Knight Bus from Harry Potter.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Awesome
Friends, this week has been awesome. I don't want to be incredibly repetitive to my family, who already were given an entirely too long email, so I'll keep this brief.
The highlights of my week:
Going to about four different castles.
Going to cathedrals. I went to Evensong at Salsbury Cathedral. It turns out Evensong means "evening service." So, I attended a Church of England service. Even better, it was the evening of their patron saint's day. So, at the end of the service, we all followed the choir over to the shrine or St. Osbert while the choir and congregation sang a song about how fantastic St. Osbert was. It was crazy, but cool. I had never been to another church's services, but this was fairly low key. Mostly they just sang songs and read a couple of passages from the Bible.
Going to Stonehenge. I can't even describe how cool it was. Most people get to walk past it and take pictures. We got to go up to it, wander around the stones, touch the stones, sit on the fallen stones, and dance around. So. Cool.
Driving around. We have a crazy GPS that we have named Gypsy due to its wandering nature. Gypsy has led us down hedgerow lined roads that touch the van on both sides, through a river (really, we forded a river. Twice. Once on the way there, and once on the way back.), down hills so steep that nobody should drive down them, much less a 16-passenger van that is a stick shift to boot, and around countless roundabouts. We think Gypsy's goal is to take us down a back alley and kill us one of these days. Anyway, it's always an adventure. Yesterday's adventure was that we ran out of petrol completely, and Gypsy told us we would have to go back to the town we had left an hour ago. Bad idea, Gypsy.
Going to Harry Potter 6. As a British movie, it opened here first. I think several of you saw it before me, but theoretically I could have seen it first. And I did go see it, and I enjoyed it.
Next week is going to be awesome. We are going to have conversation "classes" again. By classes, I mean we are going to pubs and talking to old Welsh people. We also are going to London again, and I have tickets to Les Mis. Life is good.
The highlights of my week:
Going to about four different castles.
Going to cathedrals. I went to Evensong at Salsbury Cathedral. It turns out Evensong means "evening service." So, I attended a Church of England service. Even better, it was the evening of their patron saint's day. So, at the end of the service, we all followed the choir over to the shrine or St. Osbert while the choir and congregation sang a song about how fantastic St. Osbert was. It was crazy, but cool. I had never been to another church's services, but this was fairly low key. Mostly they just sang songs and read a couple of passages from the Bible.
Going to Stonehenge. I can't even describe how cool it was. Most people get to walk past it and take pictures. We got to go up to it, wander around the stones, touch the stones, sit on the fallen stones, and dance around. So. Cool.
Driving around. We have a crazy GPS that we have named Gypsy due to its wandering nature. Gypsy has led us down hedgerow lined roads that touch the van on both sides, through a river (really, we forded a river. Twice. Once on the way there, and once on the way back.), down hills so steep that nobody should drive down them, much less a 16-passenger van that is a stick shift to boot, and around countless roundabouts. We think Gypsy's goal is to take us down a back alley and kill us one of these days. Anyway, it's always an adventure. Yesterday's adventure was that we ran out of petrol completely, and Gypsy told us we would have to go back to the town we had left an hour ago. Bad idea, Gypsy.
Going to Harry Potter 6. As a British movie, it opened here first. I think several of you saw it before me, but theoretically I could have seen it first. And I did go see it, and I enjoyed it.
Next week is going to be awesome. We are going to have conversation "classes" again. By classes, I mean we are going to pubs and talking to old Welsh people. We also are going to London again, and I have tickets to Les Mis. Life is good.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Croeso i Gymru (Welcome to Wales)
I am here in Cardiff, and have decided to let you in on some of the random things that have happened and some of the things that have surprised me. First, I expected it to be much greener. However, to make up for the lack of shocking green, there are huge trees, woods, and gorgeous flowers everywhere. The most surprising trees I have seen are palm trees. Seriously, there is a palm tree in about every third garden. I always associated palm trees with California, not Britain, but there you are.
When I got to Cardiff, I found the landlord's office. It had a sign in the window with the BYU study abroad addresses. I am living on Dogfield Street. There was nobody in the office to provide directions, so my friend and I set off on our own. We asked several people in the area for directions, but Dogfield is out of the way, so nobody had heard of it. So, we wandered. Finally, we found a pay phone and called Tom, our teacher. He told us we were actually only a block away from our street, and then came to collect us and give us keys.
The weather here is completely different from Utah weather. We have had rain every day except today. However, the rain is different. Instead of raining steadily, there are cloudbursts. It will be sunny, and the next minute rain is pouring down in buckets. Ten or fifteen minutes later, the sun is shining again.
The buildings here are really, really old. The tile in our kitchen and bathroom looks like it's from WWII. Also, the shopping center is in the center of Cardiff, which means all the stores are in really, really old buildings. It is kind of weird, but cool, to see an old brick building with amazing architecture, and look inside and see a modern shoe shop or tattoo parlor.
We have Welsh conversation classes in pubs. We just go over the pubs, and there are groups of Welsh speakers who meet to chat every week. We join their chatting. I have found that I am much better at understanding other people than at forming my own sentences. I also think my Welsh will be much better than it is now by the time I come home. Today I bought a book in Welsh by Terry Pratchett, which is amazing.
The food is great. We do most of our cooking at home because it's cheaper. I have one vegetarian housemate, so most of our food is also vegetarian, which is not quite as tasty but a lot cheaper. Other than that, I've had a Cornish pasty, which is like a hot pocket, but much, much better. I think I would eat them every day if I could. I also tried a Welsh cake, which is kind of like a pancake, only better. The chocolate is fantastic. The yogurt here is also much better than American yogurt. I have been eating a lot, and British food is kind of fattening. However, I also have been walking at least 5 or 10 miles every day, so I think it's balancing out all right.
Walking the streets of Cardiff is an adventure. First, I keep thinking the cars have no driver when I glance over. Then there aren't really crosswalks and you just have to dart across the street. I think the tradition of scouts helping old ladies across the street must have begun in Britain.
So, there you are. Consider yourselves updated.
When I got to Cardiff, I found the landlord's office. It had a sign in the window with the BYU study abroad addresses. I am living on Dogfield Street. There was nobody in the office to provide directions, so my friend and I set off on our own. We asked several people in the area for directions, but Dogfield is out of the way, so nobody had heard of it. So, we wandered. Finally, we found a pay phone and called Tom, our teacher. He told us we were actually only a block away from our street, and then came to collect us and give us keys.
The weather here is completely different from Utah weather. We have had rain every day except today. However, the rain is different. Instead of raining steadily, there are cloudbursts. It will be sunny, and the next minute rain is pouring down in buckets. Ten or fifteen minutes later, the sun is shining again.
The buildings here are really, really old. The tile in our kitchen and bathroom looks like it's from WWII. Also, the shopping center is in the center of Cardiff, which means all the stores are in really, really old buildings. It is kind of weird, but cool, to see an old brick building with amazing architecture, and look inside and see a modern shoe shop or tattoo parlor.
We have Welsh conversation classes in pubs. We just go over the pubs, and there are groups of Welsh speakers who meet to chat every week. We join their chatting. I have found that I am much better at understanding other people than at forming my own sentences. I also think my Welsh will be much better than it is now by the time I come home. Today I bought a book in Welsh by Terry Pratchett, which is amazing.
The food is great. We do most of our cooking at home because it's cheaper. I have one vegetarian housemate, so most of our food is also vegetarian, which is not quite as tasty but a lot cheaper. Other than that, I've had a Cornish pasty, which is like a hot pocket, but much, much better. I think I would eat them every day if I could. I also tried a Welsh cake, which is kind of like a pancake, only better. The chocolate is fantastic. The yogurt here is also much better than American yogurt. I have been eating a lot, and British food is kind of fattening. However, I also have been walking at least 5 or 10 miles every day, so I think it's balancing out all right.
Walking the streets of Cardiff is an adventure. First, I keep thinking the cars have no driver when I glance over. Then there aren't really crosswalks and you just have to dart across the street. I think the tradition of scouts helping old ladies across the street must have begun in Britain.
So, there you are. Consider yourselves updated.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Hwyl Fawr
That means goodbye in Welsh. Yes, folks, tomorrow I am leaving the country. I'll take a 14 hour red-eye flight and then end up in London.
In the meantime, this last week has been pretty fantastic.
My family and I went to Lagoon. I thought I wasn't really a roller-coaster person, but it turns out I am a water-rides person. Rattlesnake Rapids and the log flume were amazing. I got drenched, but it was all good.
Josh and I went to Idaho Falls with our Aunt Cloe for our cousin's baptism. It was pretty awesome to spend time with them. Unfortunately, Emma did not recognize me or remember me. Ah well, it was still fun.
I went down to Draper to visit my former roommate. I used to call her my old roommate, but she objects to the connotations. Anyway, she is pretty much one of my favorite people, and it was good to see her.
I went to see Monsters vs. Aliens with Josh. Cheesy movie, good company...what more could I ask for?
Other than that, I have pretty much loafed around watching TV and reading.
See you all in 7 weeks!
In the meantime, this last week has been pretty fantastic.
My family and I went to Lagoon. I thought I wasn't really a roller-coaster person, but it turns out I am a water-rides person. Rattlesnake Rapids and the log flume were amazing. I got drenched, but it was all good.
Josh and I went to Idaho Falls with our Aunt Cloe for our cousin's baptism. It was pretty awesome to spend time with them. Unfortunately, Emma did not recognize me or remember me. Ah well, it was still fun.
I went down to Draper to visit my former roommate. I used to call her my old roommate, but she objects to the connotations. Anyway, she is pretty much one of my favorite people, and it was good to see her.
I went to see Monsters vs. Aliens with Josh. Cheesy movie, good company...what more could I ask for?
Other than that, I have pretty much loafed around watching TV and reading.
See you all in 7 weeks!
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