I'd rather be in the desert

Cheers! Hello again from Cambridge, which by the way has been a fantastic vacation. We've certainly had a great trip, and this leg has been a wonderful respite from our whirl-wind tour. Cambridge is beautiful and it is amazing to be here, but, honestly, I cannot wait to 1) see Benny and 2) eat SAN JOSE...that will def. be my first stop. After spending many a night in collective rooms, it has been great having an entire apartment to ourselves. We've been able to sleep in daily (and when I say sleep in I truly mean it, I don't think I've slept this much since weekends in high school). As far as activities, we have no had huge plans, but have remained thoroughly entertained.

For one, every morning begins with a delicious breakfast burrito, and a cup o' instant coffee I have Bambu, the vanilla alternative, that Stephen's aunt sent with us...delicious. Saturday began in this way, with some loafing around, and catching up on the most interesting SC news I've read in a long time (i.e. governor). We then ventured out of the apartment to the town in search of treats. Through our wondering, we found across from King's College, a great fudge shop with free samples, and not the kind of samples that are like a grain of salt, but the ones that make you feel like you've cheated the owner's of the establishment (you know, the kind where you have to kind of hide it when you eat it for fear other customers will see how big it is). Saturday we tried chocolate with chili fudge (tasted much better than I expected it to) after being persuaded by one of the workers to come in. We returned to the apt only to enjoy the amateur punters and their fight with the water, the daily duck migration to up the river, and Erin's twice daily search for the baby ducks. I saw them (there are three...and I have a hilarious video) the day we arrived and they have been missing since...frankly, I'm concerned. There's also an albino mallard in the bunch. Quite the diverse group on the Cam River. Also, adding to the scenery, are the extraordinary amount of British people who have yet learned the idea of discretion in what they wear. or what they say...at any time of day...or, for that matter, where they walk. There is no body lanaguage exchange about which way you're going to cross one another when walking down the street which results in several near collisions. But, it is still completely entertaining to walk down the road hearing their adorable accent (everytime we hear peope Steve comments about how he thinks he's in a movie scene haha). Also, whenever we're walking through campus, we see guys attempting to recruit people for punting. And my questions on the matter are: 1) if we see hundreds of people getting punting tours throughout the day, why do they still have to advertise? 2) How do they decide which employees punt and which hold signs and ask people in the streets (because, from our observation, it is always the same...there is no change in schedule)? and how are the guys in the streets not aggravated that they are not "good enough" to punt as I'm sure they have almost no luck in people actually agreeing when in the street.

Saturday night was extra exciting. It began with our usual meal of pasta, but it had a bit of stir-fry veggie in it as well. We sat down to eat it, discovered some bottles of wine that were in the fridge, we preceeded to drink some of that, and watch old Whose Line is it Anyway? videos on the back porch over looking the river. I know this sounds odd to our peeps back home, but unlike SC, it is not a 450 degree sauna at night here, so its actually more pleasant outside. We continued this for a long while, laughing loudly, and then ventured to bed. There are also huge spiders that sit on the outsides of the large windows in the living room (bc of the river I guess) that we watch occasionally. Steve looked up their exact information and, luckily, discovered they are not poisonous. Anyway, they are enormous and at least three are on every window. (Steve took this from the other side of the glass which is why it appears to be crawling on my face).

Sunday came and passed without any overly exciting details. We enjoyed relaxing, it was a pretty day but at times a bit overcast. Our "roomate" Bob directed us to a website that we could watch TV shows and movies for frizzle, so of course we did that last night, on the porch, and then went to bed a bit earlier.

Today, we woke up and did most of the same as we always do. After breakfast burritos, we ventured out on the town, and looked through the market. The market is always fun because there are some truly crazy stuff for sale, most of it will never be bought I'm sure. We also went into the mall, took a look at the stores, and of course bought some candy. I have been drawn to these little candy establishments throughout our entire trip, similar to a fly and a bug zapper, I can't help it. We even "happened" to go by the fudge shop again...unfortunately, no one was standing outside ushering people in so we had to awkwardly walk in as if we were interested in how they make it. After watching the guy stir, pour, and flip the still liquid fudge (ignoring the first offer for a sample), I finally snuck a treat of the vanilla caramel fudge. Twas fantastic...and the guy was pretty entertaining also. The guy pictured was quite outgoing, and since it was hot (for British people) today, he was singing the song, "I'd rather be in the desert," which was apparently his own creation, hilar. We then went to the grocery store, and bought some more groceries. This time, we got some chicken, ground beef, more salad stuff, and some taco mix wha?! Yes, we made tacos and they were delicious. We're also still drinking the flavored water/ginger ale/strawberry mix. It's so refreshing...makes me think I'm drinking something really special when in actually we bought all of those ingredients because they were inexpensive :)

Also, I'd like to make another note: My bangs have not been this long since before ninth grade when I initially got them. They are blending in with my hair...it is humiliating.