No exciting trips to report on this week. I must say though that it was nice to have a quiet week and be able to do a little studying…which is supposedly why I’m here :) Besides a few trips into town, the only excursion of the week was to Wollaton Hall, an Elizabethan mansion only a 15 minute walk from the University. The walk through the grounds to the hall was beautiful. I loved the autumn colors! The majority of the grounds have been converted into a golf course. Deer roam freely across the course and don’t seem to be bothered by the stray golf balls. It’s not rare to see a few deer in my backyard so I was content to just snap a picture and move on. To my friends though, deer were an exotic species. Deer (and squirrels) to Australians are like Kangaroo to Americans.
The exterior of Wollaton is very impressive and reminded me of one of the stately homes I’d see in one of my favorite Jane Austen films. I had expected that the interior of the home would be equally as remarkable. The Great Hall is one of the only rooms in the whole mansion that gave an idea of the former grandeur of the mansion. The rest of Wollaton has been converted into what one of my friends called “a dead zoo.” Officially the menagerie of stuffed animals is called a National History Museum. I have never seen so many stuffed birds, insects, snakes, porcupine, armadillo…the list goes on and on. I marveled at the stuffed giraffe, but I was perfectly happy to walk quickly past the rest of the poor animals.
And now for a few notes on Notts…
The Good:
Gregg’s: The hybrid of a fast food restaurant and a bakery. They serve delicious cheese and onion pasties and donuts for cheap. I’d choose that over McDonalds any day
Primark: All university students shop here. Cheap (yet trendy) clothes, shoes, bags, pajamas, jewelry, homeware. This place has it all!
The English Vocabulary: It’s so endearing to be called ‘love’ or ‘deary’ by the person who rings up your groceries.
Cheese and Cookies: No Kraft American slices here. Even the inexpensive cheddar is amazing. As for the cookies….Digestives, tea biscuits, and hob nobs have become a staple in my room. I’m contemplating brining a separate suitcase of biscuits home with me.
The Bad:
Where are the outlets?: All the dorm rooms I’ve been in have one group of four outlets (called power points) in a non central location. If I want to curl my hair, charge my laptop etc I’m restricted to a little corner of the room where the garbage can is found. Luckily I have a mirror in sight but most of my girlfriends don’t. Hot appliances + no mirror = danger!
Where are the vegetables?: The choices for sides are: rice, potato one, potato two, or plain pasta. If you’re lucky you get very undercooked carrots. Have the English never heard of a salad bar?
The Ugly:
The faucets: Instead of having one tap with a handle for hot and a handle for cold, all the taps in the halls have two separate faucets for hot and cold water. To wash my face I’ve had to develop a method of alternating between scooping cold and hot water and attempting to not burn myself. The hot water gets ridiculously hot.
The fire alarms: I will never understand why the Uni students find it amusing to pull the fire alarms at all hours of the night. It’s happened 9 times since I’ve been here so part of my bedtime routine has becoming setting out my fire alarm shoes, pants and jacket. I learned after the first time that standing outside at 3 in the morning gets chilly.
And this weekend: Bath…and the Jane Austen Center. I will be in heaven!
Love to you all,
Elisabeth
No comments:
Post a Comment