Life in a Castle

Seriously though, that's kind of what living in Cambridge feels like.  Every time we come back to our room, we have to pass through a large gate and pass by a bouncer in a robe.  It's entertaining.

This week has been lovely!  The first few days were confusing, but once the jet lag wore off we realized what an amazing place we happened to be studying.  So, the details: Katie and I are officially living in Pembroke college.  It's one of the older colleges, having been established in 1347.  The college system in Cambridge is different than, say, BYU.  There are 31 colleges in Cambridge, I believe, and each one operates almost completely independently.  An undergraduate would apply both to the University of Cambridge and the particular college he or she wished to attend, and would remain part of that college, both living and studying there, all throughout his undergraduate experience.  Each college has its own library, as well.  So, Katie and I are in Pembroke.  But as part of the PKP programme, we also have access to King's college, about a quarter mile or so up the road.  It's a beautiful college with a lovely library and a stunning chapel.  It's also right on the river Cam, where people pole themselves along in little boats.  It's called punting.  We have access to the King's library 24 hours a day and, although we've yet to use the privilege, there's something comforting about the knowledge you could have a 600 year old library all to yourself at 3 in the morning.

Our classes here are divided into two halves: the first month and the last month.  Some classes stretch over both months.  The two classes I'm taking (developmental economics and 100 years of spooks and spies) don't begin until next month, so I've been focusing solely on my supervision so far.  A supervision, by the way, is a method of teaching somewhat unique to Cambridge wherein a student proposes a topic of study and is given access to a member of the faculty with specialized knowledge of that subject.  They meet once or twice a week over a term and give individualized criticism and guidance.  (Incidentally, not all proposals are accepted--Katie had to try three times before they could find somebody with the knowledge she was looking for.  The student proposes, the college disposes.)  My supervision is on whether, and how, the economic development of China has affected the education of children.  I could go on, and I probably will once I've done a little more research.  If you're really interested, I'll have a rather long paper at the end of the month for you to read.  The libraries at King's and Pembroke, while impressive, are rather sparse when it comes to modern Chinese economic history, so I found the Asian Studies faculty library, and have been doing most of my research there.

Speaking of research, well, there hasn't been that much so far.  By the time we settled down here, it was time to leave.  We spent Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Edinburgh, the most beautiful city I think I've ever visited.  I really had no idea what to expect before we left, and Scotland had never been on my top ten travel list, but I would comfortably recommend a visit for anybody.  Walking the streets of Edinburgh is like walking through canyons made of 500 year old buildings, and since the city was built on steep hills and cliffs, there are beautiful layers of roads.  We would be walking along a street on what felt like ground level, only to look over the edge of a stony bridge and see that the building to the side of us extended another sixty feet down to the city below.  The nearby ocean means seagulls, and the extremely northernly location means the sun never quite sets.  When we walked back to our apartment at midnight it was still dusk.  In a way that's difficult to describe, Edinburgh feels to me like a city at the edge of the world.  That, combined with the feeling that the whole city is really a castle, made for a lovely little holiday to the north.

Along the road our bus stopped at a few castles and ruins, which were stunning.  I accidentally bought some alcoholic lemonade today at a castle in Richmond (don't worry, I gave it away!)  We returned home this evening, and we're ready for a week of good study.  

All in all, I've decided I love the UK.  So many of the other places I've traveled to have felt somehow less substantial than America, but England feels more so.  I can see reverse shadows of Australia everywhere, which is interesting to me.  Remember in the The Last Battle when the characters step out into reality and see the true forms of the places and things they thought they'd known all their life?  That's kind of what Great Britain feels like to me; like the rest of the world is an imitation.  There's a weightiness about this place, in everything from the architecture and the weather to the language and the money.  It's something to be experienced sometime in your life.  

We love you all, and hope all is well back home!  If you have questions you want answered, leave them in the comments or send us an email.  I'll throw some pictures on here as well, so you can see where we've been.  Have a great week!

By the way, Katie's thoughts on our experience so far: "So much chocolate, so little time."

This is us.  In front of a gate.  In Cambridge.  Somewhere.

At drinks on the lawn, before dinner.  Katie: "I like this picture of you."

Katie looking adorably British in front of Fountain's Abbey on the way to Scotland

"Be Prepared." I try to live by the scout motto at all times.  In Scotland, it even rains indoors.

Katie and I at Arthur's Seat base camp

Jordan has just finished flying.  His wings are still gently flapping.

Karate in Scotland.  Why not?

The first Mormon chapel in Edinburgh, built in 1377.

This is a street.

Dolly the sheep, and Jordan.  They're best friends.

A professional camera programmer took this picture for us, after messing around with all our camera settings.

The top of the Scott Monument.

The view from said monument.  To the left is Edinburgh Castle.

Katie in front of the Parthenon.