all that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost

"Whether the morning and evening of one day or of many days had passed Frodo could not tell.  He did not feel either hungry or tired, only filled with wonder."

-J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

True that my friends, true that.  It feels like I just got here yesterday, but then again, yesterday seems so long ago.  I cannot believe that all my Denison friends are on spring break right now.  I mean really.  That's halfway through the semester.  Indeed, I have turned in all but one of my essays that mark our midterms over here, and our oxford week, which seemed so far away, is now only a few days away.  How did this happen?  Probably while I was walking around filled with wonder.  

But we can't have too much reminiscing yet--there is still so much life to be lived here in Bath!  Here are a few things that I have always forgotten to tell you about British culture:

1.  They don't refrigerate eggs.

2.  They don't bag your groceries for you.  Which I forget about every time I go grocery shopping, so I usually end up looking like a doofus. 

3.  At cafes, drinks have two different prices depending on if you are "eating in" or getting "take-away."  Usually this is only a difference of about 10p, but still.  

4.  You have to pay 1 pound to get a shopping cart at the big Sainsbury's.  

5.  They call the revolutionary war the "War of Independence" and think of America as their big brother.  And when I say "they" I am referring to my roommate's high school class where she student teaches once a week. 

6.  Beth, our British friend, thought she could drive across the US in 6 hours. 

7.  They really love techno music. 

8.  Small children often have full on face paint on, for no apparent reason. 

9.  Cider is amazing. 

There you go.  Nine is my favorite number, so that fits.  Today I had my Worlds Beyond Oxford class and we talked about narrative (!), which thankfully is something I know A LOT about.  Did you know that Northern Lights is told completely through the eyes of Lyra, except for a two page section in chapter three?  Number one, this frustrates me, because I feel almost every writing professor I've ever had would have "flagged that up" (as my creative writing tutor would say), and told him not to do it.  Number two, however, is that he might have had a real reason for it, and that reason is to let the reader know that the narrator knows much more than he is letting on.  Which I still have a problem with, because, how rude.  Also, by titling it Northern Lights, it almost separates it even more so from his next two novels (they are very different from Northern Lights).  It's actually almost like a prequel to the real adventure--it just gives the background of Lyra, whereas the next two books include many more characters that complicate and advance the plot.  Titling it The Golden Compass would make it seem more like a series-- The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass--and I wonder whether or not Pullman meant for that to happen.  Hmmm.  I will now have something to ask him, if I ever meet him, anyways. 

Saturday night we ended up just going to hang out with all the Nunes people, and then headed over to The Porter later to have a pint (of cider and black, of course).  It had a really cool atmosphere--most of the clubs and pubs have cool basement areas that have lots of little hidey holes and caverns built for short people.  Holla.  This also had a few interestingly clad people.  There is a rather large hipster population in Bath... mainly hipsters that don't bathe regularly. 

Tonight then, Martha's family was here and took us out for Indian food, and it was SO GOOD.  I have found a new favorite thing, and it is called nan.  And this time, I also had chicken with RED PEPPERS.  Heaven.  ALSO I found Ben's Cookies AND Shakeaway today.  Family and Mclean, get excited.  Anyways, dinner was fantastic, Martha's family was so nice and so fun, and I had a great time.  Then Taylor got a mod at BC (which is really cool senior housing), so I went to OPA for a drink with her.  Good night.  All right, I hope you all are having a great spring break and enjoying your break to destress, because I know you all need it.  Hugs from England! I love you, blogosphere.

 PS  The quote "all that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost" is directly referring to Aragorn.  It was written by Bilbo.  But it could also apply to... you.  And me.  Hugs!

-LPRO