Life at Cambridge

Life at Cambirdge epitomizes the "work hard, play hard" mentality. Apparently, overachieving American students who participate in PKP have trouble coming to grips with this idea. Dr. Steinberg told us that we need to relax (yes, even American students can do it if they really try) because there is no hurry. I know a few people who should probably listen to this advice. Even though this is a summer programme, there is a great deal of reading to be done...or so the syllabus says. According to my Europe from 1890-1990 syllabus, tonight I need to read about 160 pages. In reality, we only need to "read what is necessary for you to understand the lectures." My Gothic Architecture professor has merely given us a long list of books to read at our leisure in order to supplement the lecture material. After being ingrained into the American system in which you are told exactly what to read and by when, the Cambridge system is a bit difficult to get used to. I enjoy the structure provided by the American system because I will be told what to do and I will do it for whatever day it needs to be done. The Cambridge system, however, provides you with much more freedom as a student. I do not need to read every single book on the list for Gothic Architecture, but instead I can choose a few that interest me most and use them in ways that will help to support the ideas I propose in my final essay. And if I'm reading for my European history class and I come across something I already know a great deal about, I can skip it without having to worry that I might be quized on some minute detail stated in that section. You are constantly treated as though you are an expert in whatever field you are studying and, therefore, you are always given the respect that comes with that level of knowledge.

Cambridge provides students with freedom in other ways as well. Unlike at PC, there are no useless mandatory floor meetings to attend, no parietals and no other innane rules that make you feel like a child. Basically, you are free the live however you please and the only thing you actually need permission for is a party, but permission is essentially granted automatically. The Cambridge system is unique and I'm sure I'll find out more about that tomorrow night when I attend the plenary lecture that Dr. steinberg is giving which is entitled "Why Cambridge is Unique".

On another note, I have met the woman that is responsible for cleaning my room. She is an adorable British woman who calls everyone "darling" and she is so nice. We had a lovely chat about Scotland and what I should see when I'm there this weekend. Tonight is our Scotland orientation and I'm thinking about signing up for the one day hiking trip in the Trossachs, but I'm not sure yet. I'm also going to see Braveheart for the first time at movie night tonight...it looks quite good and it's a must see before Scotland.

Cheers!

Well today was a great day. As I mentioned earlier, I have a great professor for my European history class. I also go to go to St. Benedict's (known as St. Bene'ts) and St. Botolph's churches to explore their salient features with my Gothic Architecture seminar group. After that I was planning on hanging out by the river for a bit, but I ended up taking a much needed nap. Then it was time to get ready for Formal Hall. We took a whole group photo (there are about 250 of us) in front of the chapel and then we had drinks ON THE GRASS. Definitely one of the highlights of the evening...everyone still seemed to be nervous about walking too far onto the grass. We then enjoyed a fantastic 3 course, candlelit Formal Hall in the Great Hall at King's. It was really nice with everyone all dressed up and waiters and all the PA's in their Cambridge robes. I do have a new goal now though...go to Cambridge so I can get robes and sit at the High Table in the Great Hall at King's. The High Table is where senior members of the college (in this case, the PA's) and fellows sit and it is located in one of the balconies that overlooks the Great Hall. After our fantastic dinner, everyone decided to go out so we went to a club called Revolution. On our way back to King's we met some King's grad students who are from the US so they gave us some useful information about applying to Cambridge for grad school. It was a really fun night but my feet are killing me and I have class at 9 so I really need to go to bed.

Dr. Steinberg

I just had the first lecture of my Europe 1890-1990 class. It was amazing. Dr. Steinberg is absolutely brilliant. It was the best lecture I have ever had (and I have had some very good ones before). Dr. Steinberg has taught at Harvard, Cambridge and UPenn. I wish I could type out an exact transcript of the lecture he gave because it was just fantastic. And we have one very big thing in common....we both HATE when people write in books. I have my Gothic Architecture seminar at 2 so I'm going to go sit out by the river until then. Expect a nice update about our first Formal Hall later.

Cheers

Keep off the grass

It is impossible to describe how incredible it is here. Today before dinner, as I was sitting at my desk looking down on the River Cam, I thought about Nick and Sarah doing their research at PC and realized that being here is absolutely surreal. This is what every university should be like. It is the most conducive environment to learning there could possibly be as long as you are very self motivated and not too easily distracted by the river, punters, fantastic food and incredibly gorgeous buildings that are centuries older than America. I live in Bodley's Court which is the only place in King's College where you are allowed to sit on the grass. It is a courtyard right on the River Cam and it is simply perfect.

I love the beauty and history that Cambridge has to offer, but there is one thing that I love more. There are signs that say "Private" all around King's and I love being able to ignore them and walk right through. When the college grounds are closed to tourists for the day it is an absolute thrill to walk up to the gate where tourists are trying to get inside or to take pictures from outside the gate, show my Cambridge University card to the porter and walk right in. It really gives you a sense of honor and pride to think that, though it is only for two months, King's is my college and I am a Cambridge student. It is a fantastic feeling.

It's also really enjoyable to sit on the benches in Bodley's Court (which is also private) and watch punters taking pictures of my building.

Today was my first day of classes as a Cambridge student. We had orientation in the morning in the Cambridge Union Society Debating Chamber. We are members of the Cambridge Union Society (CUS) for the next two months. The CUS was founded in 1815 when some students got fed up with the University telling them what things they could and could not discuss. The CUS is independently owned and operated by Cambridge students and any Cambridge student can become a member. It is essentially a haven for free speech and many famous individuals have spoken there including Teddy Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, the Dalai Lama and, my personal favorites, Ronald Reagan and Stephen Hawking (apparently he addresses the Union every other year). After this we had another short orientation in the Great Hall at King's and then had a library induction which everyone must attend before they are allowed to use the libraries. The King's library is beautiful and I'm hoping that I can sneak a picture of it despite the very large "No Photography" signs. After that we grabbed lunch at EAT (my new favorite sandwich shop) and ate by the river and then I took a tour of the city which was pretty unnecessary since I already knew where just about everything they showed us was located. After that I headed back to the CUS for my first class- Gothic Architecture. It was a pretty good class but the room was stifling and I was ready to fall asleep. We have seminar for that class tomorrow and we are visiting a few churches in Cambridge and next week we take a trip to Ely Cathedral. I have the first session of my Europe 1890-1990 class tomorrow and I'm really looking foward to it. We also have our first Formal Hall tomorrow night...5 course meal by candlelight and we get to walk on the grass before dinner! There are signs everywhere telling you to "Please keep off the grass" unless you are accompanied by a senior member of the college although I'm not sure who that would include. Of course all these signs make you want to walk on the grass even more. Plus it is perfectly manicured so you just want to run across it or lie down on it so everyone is looking foward to walking on it tomorrow (and maybe planning a covert nighttime operation to run across it when nobody is around). Here are some pictures for those of you who haven't seen them on Facebook.

My living room

View from my desk in the living room

My bedroom

The view from my bedroom

Cambridge!

Well yesterday we finally arrived in Cambridge. We took a train from King's Cross, but there was no time to get a picture at platform 9 3/4. Things have been totally nonstop since I got here on Thursday so the 45 minute train ride to Cambridge was incredibly enjoyable. Once we got here we went straight to King's College for registration. King's is too beautiful to describe. I don't think anyone can actually believe that we are Cambridge University students for the next two months and that we have the privilege of going to school here. I am living right in King's College. My room is fantastic (Check out the pictures on facebook). It is exactly what I wanted. I have a living room that looks out over the river and my bedroom looks out over a lovely courtyard. I can sit at my desk and watch people punt all day. I can't wait to give punting a try...even if I fall in the river it will be worth it. So after we threw our stuff in our rooms we went and did a little shopping and then I met up with Heidi at a pub to watch the England vs. Germany world cup match. It was incredible. The place was packed. There were two floors and a massive big screen tv. There were songs and chants and it was absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, England lost so I won't be able to have that experience again until at least 2014.

After the match I went and unpacked. I have so much storage space in my room. It's really great. After that we went to our Welcome Dinner in the Great Hall. It looks exactly like Harry Potter. The food is incredible...basically it's a 5 star restaurant and Ray (the PC cafeteria for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about) is a fast food joint. Then we went out and sat by the river until we had to go to walk over to the Cambridge Union Society which is where we will be having orientation tomorrow. I met someone who is very good friends with someone I know from PC. Small world. After that we sat out by the river some more and watched a drunk English student keep jumping into the river after every punt that passed by.

Cheers!

Wimbledon!!!

Most epic failure ever=oversleeping for Wimbledon

Yes, I overslept this morning. How could I possibly oversleep on the day I was planning on going to Wimbledon? Apparently I was more tired than I thought because I slept through several alarms that I had set on my phone and an alarm clock. So instead of going to Wimbledon in the morning, I decided to do a little sightseeing around our hotel. I took a walk through Kensington Gardens and saw Kensington Palace, the former residence of Princess Diana. I guided an Italian family to the Science Museum even though I had never been there. I then walked to Harrods and took a few pictures of it only because it is referenced in Evita. I continued my stroll and came upon the Victoria & Albert Museum (Sarah, you will be shocked to hear that there is a Grace Kelly exhibit there right now) and then walked over to the Science Museum. Of course I couldn’t pass up the Science Museum so I went inside and saw Foucault’s Pendulum and some other nice stuff. They had rather large models of many very famous ships, but for some unfathomable reason the Titanic was missing. I headed back to the hotel after that and met up with Jason and went to Wimbledon for the afternoon. The queuing experience was okay. I can’t say it was fun because we did have to stand in line for almost three hours, but I found out that they have something called a bacon roll here. It’s not as exciting as it sounds because it’s not real bacon, but rather it is Canadian bacon. Very disappointing. After queuing for three hours we finally got onto the grounds of the All England Lawn Tennis Club! Once we were in there I could not stop smiling. It was absolutely amazing, but very different from what I expected based on what I have seen on TV. We poked around courts 5-19 for awhile and then headed up to Henman Hill to watch Rafa on the big screen. I was rather annoyed by the three people I saw sleeping on the grass. Who sleeps at Wimbledon??? More importantly, who sleeps at Wimbledon when Rafa is playing??? Why would you buy a grounds pass for somewhere between £14-£20 and then sleep when there are literally thousands of people waiting in the queue to get inside and actually watch tennis? They were also taking up precious space and I really disliked them. On a more positive note, I was also within ten feet of Flavia Pennetta, Bob Bryan, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lindsay Davenport at various times throughout the afternoon. It was an amazing experience (but would have been much better if you were there, Nick! I’m thinking it might be a good graduation present for us next year). I concluded my Wimbledon experience (hopefully the first of many) by spending far too much money in the Wimbledon Shop (yes that means presents for some of you).

I have found that it is very easy to navigate my way around London (I’m sure Nick and Sarah would have a hard time though). I can’t say that I love the Tube, but it is far better than any subway system I have been on at home. It also seems like it is much more logically structured (and it is most definitely cleaner), but I might just feel that way because I am pretty sure that I have already spent more time on the Tube then on every other subway I have ever taken in the US combined. Tomorrow morning we head to Cambridge. I cannot wait to see where I will be living…I’m really hoping for a room with a view of the river. I also can’t wait to take a picture at Platform 9 ¾ :-)

Cheers!
Nicole

Mind the gap!

Today began with orientation stuff which was not as boring as expected. I learned that the only house in England that the Queen cannot enter is the House of Commons because she is not a commoner. After eating lunch with a few friends in Hyde Park, I took my first ride on the Tube as Nicky brought us all to the Tower of London. We were then left to our own devices and spent the afternoon exploring the Tower of London and taking a million pictures of the Tower Bridge from various angles. Apparently, the Tower of London must keep a certain number of ravens on its grounds at all times or, according to legend, the kingdom and the fortress will fall. I really enjoyed seeing the giant royal punch bowl which was about 4 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep. After walking around the Tower for a couple of hours in unexpectedly hot weather, we went to a pub and had a fantastic dinner (I had Bacon carbonara pasta…I’m sure Nick and Sarah will appreciate that) and watched some tennis. Then we walked around Oxford Street for a bit and I came back to the hotel to find out that Italy is out of the world cup and that I missed seeing the longest tennis match in history. I decided against spending the night camping out for Wimbledon tickets, but I am still going tomorrow and I could not be more excited. Rafa is playing tomorrow so I’m hoping to sit on Henman Hill and watch his match.

On another note, I have been having a lot of random reactions to being here. It still hasn’t really hit me that I’m in London. Today I almost felt like I was in England at EPCOT. I think it will sink in more once we get to Cambridge and start taking our classes. Also, I think London is very unique. On one hand it is a bustling city like New York or Boston, but on the other hand it doesn’t really resemble either of those cities in any way. The juxtaposition of medieval and modern is fascinating. You can be inside a building that is centuries older than the United States and look out the window to see a large, modern building that sort of resembles an egg (it’s apparently called the egg building but I’m not exactly sure what it is, but I think I knew at one point and just can’t remember). I am also a bit surprised at how different in is from southern Europe. I can’t really describe what’s different about it, but there is just a different feeling than there was when I went on my P2P trip. Oh, I saw a P2P group today at the Tower of London! It was quite exciting. I really need to go to bed now since I need to be out of the hotel by 6:30 in order to get to Wimbledon early enough to get tickets.

Cheers!
-Nicole

Cheers from the UK!

After some hassle and flight changes, I finally arrived in the UK today. I have managed to fall in love with England already. My connecting flight from Manchester to London was operated by bmi. The bmi crew wear adorable hats and are possibly the most pleasant people I have ever met. As we were flying over London, the first two distinct things I saw as I looked out the window were the London Eye and a double decker bus. After a ride on the Heathrow Express followed by a taxi ride, I arrived at our orientation hotel just as our meeting was starting and was pleasantly greeted by our Arcadia orientation staff member Nicky. The group that signed up for PKP through Arcadia is rather small...there are only ten of us, but it is definitely a good group. After our meeting Nicky took us all to dinner and then left us to enjoy the evening as we pleased. We all decided to take a stroll through Hyde Park which is right down the street from our hotel. It was wonderful. I should absolutely be sleeping right now but I needed to take advantage of my one free hour of internet access especially since my computer was having issues so I just got it to turn on. Tomorrow we have orientation stuff all morning then we are going to the Tower of London in the afternoon. Saturday is a free day so instead of exploring London (since we have a day trip back here with PKP) I'm going to Wimbledon (sorry Nick!)...I may even queue overnight and try to get center court tickets so I can see Rafa play!

Dive Bonaire

Well I have finally become a scuba diver. While I was in Bonaire I signed up for the open water diver course, had three great days of diving with my instructor, Bart, and a very nice Dutch couple and I realized that I absolutely love diving. I'm already thinking about continuing on to the advanced open water diver level which would require five adventure dives including deep water diving, underwater navigation and any 3 other adventure dives...I'm thinking maybe underwater photography, wreck diving and night diving.

On another note, I can't believe that I only have three days left at home this summer. I have so much to do before I head off to the UK on Wednesday. I have also decided that I'll most definitely be making a trip to The Netherlands this summer to meet up with the Dutch couple from my dive class. But for now I need some sleep because the next two days are going to be a whirlwind of preparations and other craziness.

-Nicole

From the Caribbean to Cambridge

After spending three weeks in Europe with People 2 People (P2P) in 2005, I knew I wanted to go back as soon as possible. Finally, 5 years later, I’m heading back to Europe- England this time- and, like every American who studies abroad, I decided to keep a blog. I am participating in the Pembroke-King’s Programme (PKP) at the University of Cambridge. I will be spending 8 weeks at Cambridge and taking three classes- The British and their Sports: Class, Gender and Identity, Architecture: The Gothic Experience, and Europe from 1890 to 1900: From National State to European Union- over the course of those 8 weeks. I’m particularly excited to meet Dr. Jonathan Steinberg who will be teaching my European history class. Dr. Steinberg supervised Prince Charles while Charles was at Cambridge and has had interviews with Admiral Karl Dönitz, King Juan Carlos of Spain and a secretary present during the failed attempt to assassinate Hitler. Oh yeah, he also once sat on a panel with Mikhail Gorbachev. With that said, I am absolutely honored to have the opportunity to study at Cambridge. Cambridge is the fourth oldest university in the world (after the University of Bologna, University of Paris and Oxford) and is, according to the US News list of Best Universities, the second best university in the world (second only to Harvard which, as most of you probably know, has always been my dream school). To have the opportunity to study at one of the oldest and most renowned universities in the world is a dream come true. Not everyone has the chance to pick up their lives for a summer, travel across the pond and study in such an amazing place and I am so grateful that I have been given that opportunity.

For those of you who don’t know how the Cambridge college system works, I’ll explain it now. The University of Cambridge is made of up colleges (the only US school that I know of that features this same college system is Yale). Each college is an independent, self-governing entity with its own property and income (yes, I stole that from Wikipedia). Every student must be a member of a college. Once a student is accepted to the university, they must also be accepted to a college and they may or may not get their first choice. Students live, eat, socialize and receive supervision (small group teaching sessions) in their college. Cambridge has 31 colleges. The Pembroke-King’s Programme is, as you may have guessed, run by Pembroke College and King’s College. I will be living in King’s College, which was founded in 1441 and is the home of the world famous King’s College Choir (and a very Harry Potter like dining hall). I will be living in a King’s College “set” which includes a bedroom and a small living room. The “sets” are part of the original college buildings so they have a uniquely Cambridge feel and some have great views of the river, but I won’t know exactly where I’ll be living until I arrive in Cambridge. I will be taking meals at Pembroke (check out the Pembroke cafeteria menu...http://thepembrokekitchen.blogspot.com/) and King’s college cafeterias and will have the opportunity to enjoy five Formal Halls (formal, three course meals) throughout the summer.

I will also be able to participate in uniquely Cambridge activities such as getting to go on the roof of the King’s College Chapel which is a rare privilege granted only to King’s College students! Also, everyone in the program goes on a four day trip to Scotland and a day trip to London. I also plan on doing as much weekend travel as I can, but, unfortunately, I won’t know my class schedule until I arrive in Cambridge. As I prepare to begin this once in a lifetime experience I’m excited, nervous, happy, scared, honored and humbled and maybe I already mentioned this- excited! I’m not entirely sure what to expect and I definitely wish I knew exactly where I’m going to be living and what my class schedule will be, but those are minor things in the grand scheme of things and I’m just happy to know that I will most definitely have somewhere to live and plenty to study.

But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. Before I head across the pond, I'm spending a week in Bonaire and by this time next week I will be dive certified!

-Nicole