Over and Out... of Cambridge

Well, kids, we’re back by popular demand.  The continuous stream of phone calls, letters, and smoke signals requesting updates on our lives has overwhelmed us, so we’ve decided to return to mass distribution to satisfy the informational needs of you, our dear families.

We last left you about a week before we finally packed up and left Cambridge.  Honestly, we can’t remember everything that happened that past week, but we’ll see what we can do.  We had one last formal hall in the beautiful dining hall at King’s College.  All the participants attended, and the dinner was great.  A centuries-old hall in King’s seemed an appropriate place to finish off our summer at Cambridge.  Some of Katie’s art was featured in an art show, and we enjoyed mingling with everybody before we all went our separate ways.

On Saturday morning, we took a taxi to Cambridge station, and frantically searched for another pair of travelers with whom to share a group ticket to London (I think we may have scared a few people away).  Later that day, we were able to meet up with Katie’s brother, Aaron, with whom we shared some deliciously spicy Sichuan cuisine in the heart of London’s Chinatown.  He was kind enough to put us up in a hotel for the night, and we needed the rest.  Jordan - ever the optimist - declined to pay the £15 fee to use the internet in the hotel, insisting that “flights never get cancelled.”  The next morning, of course, we learned the truth from the whiteboard at the end of Delta’s check-in line.  We’ll spare you the dirty details of our travel story; let’s just say we got extremely lucky and landed in Salt Lake three hours early and with a free flight in tow.  Sometimes things just work out.  Jordan, for the record, notes that his optimistic refusal to check his email on the morning of the flight may well have saved us a few days in an airport.

The first week back at BYU was an event in itself - we moved into our apartment on Monday (with the help of family - thanks guys) and began settling in.  When you live in a studio, we soon discovered, “settling in” means giving away or throwing away most of your possessions.  Jordan remains giddy about this happy turn of events, while Katie looks forward to the possibility of someday living in an apartment with a counter.  We got rid of a few boxes of clothes, a few boxes of books, some dishes, utensils, our chairs, couch, microwave, toaster, and table legs.  We procured a lovely, thin Japanese roll-up mattress for our bed, which folds up into a small couch-like object during the day.  We ditched the table-legs, but we kept the top for use directly on the floor.  Our apartment is simple, and we now eat our cereal in zen-like meditation.

Cambridge converted us to the idea of commuting via bicycle not of necessity, but of enjoyment.  Actually, it’s mostly necessity in Cambridge - there just isn’t any room on the roads for automobiles.  Nevertheless, we decided to continue our bicycle lifestyle here in Provo, and it’s been great.  We’ve been back for about a month now, and we’ve used the car perhaps three times (we’re still holding onto it while we see what biking in the winter is like).  On the past few Saturday’s, we’ve biked down to Utah lake, through the Alpine loop (from the top), and around some of Provo’s farmer’s markets.  It’s a great way to get around; we’d highly recommend it.  Since Katie started working for the Lindleys in Orem, she estimates having biked over 200 miles.  Impressive!

A few weeks ago, Jordan had a chance to fly down to Scottsdale, Arizona for a colloquium on “Evaluating the Idea of Social Justice.”  ISI - an intercollegiate student organization - and Liberty Fund co-sponsored the event.  It was a great experience, and Jordan had a great time mingling with students from tiny liberal arts colleges not unlike George Wythe, where he spent a few years studying before his mission.

Speaking of conferences, we’ll both be flying out to Princeton in about a month for a conference on Gender, Sexuality, and Marriage, and we’re pretty excited about it.  It’s being put together by an organization called the Love and Fidelity Society - a sort of academic network dedicated to defending religious principles in the public square.  We’ve been involved in the BYU chapter - the Fidelio Society - for a while, with some of the students who participated in the Cambridge program.  We got funding for one of us to fly out for free, and we’re using our JetBlue credit from the hurricane for the other half.

We’re sure there are things we’re leaving out, but we just wanted to shoot out and update letting the world know what we’re up to.  It’s been good to be see a lot family in the last few months - Amanda and Mary Ann stopped by a few weeks ago, and Jordan’s family blessed Gabriella last weekend up in Bountiful.

Well, we were sad to leave Cambridge, but we’re happy to be back in Provo.  We’ll keep you updated on all our adventures, and you’re welcome to stop by our cozy little apartment anytime!

--Jordan and Katie

P.S.  Sweet news - we got a copy of “Cambridge - 800 Years Later” signed by Sir Richard Dearlove for winning PKP’s Best Blog contest.  Hooray!

P.P.S.  Katie just began an amazing internship doing archival research for the Joseph Smith Papers project.  She’ll be commuting up to the church history library every Friday - we’ll keep you posted on the details.

Jordan's final exams caused considerable aging.

Relaxing in the British Museum

Aaron can see with his eyes shut.

A lifelong dream, finally realized - Karate in Trafalgar Square

Reliving memories

Hanging out with Gabriella

Pro Wrestling at the Latino festival!

Biking to Utah Lake

Katie likes swimming in glacial water.

"We like your... couch."

Caleb and Jordan, practicing Charleton Heston lines through clenched teeth.

Biking the Alpine Loop

Enjoying daylight donuts at the end of our ride

Sasquatch.

You didn't get the memo?  It's "grimace in the woods day."

I am grimacing.

What we have here is a lack of communication.