Before I get there, however, I must first talk about the wonderful treat I had to be visited by Christina for 2 days! Christina is a fellow Truman Scholar who I lived with this past summer, and she is spending this year as a Mitchell Scholar in Ireland. She is an incredible individual who is full of passion for our environment, and practices 100% of what she preaches. Most importantly, however, she is a dear friend full of warmth, love and an incredible calming effect. Just being around her for two days made me feel calmer about the exams rapidly getting closer and closer.
The first day we spent making dinner (Zucchini pancakes!!) and just catching up from the past few months. Then the next day we woke up and took a "running tour" of Cambridge. We had decided to go on a run together because Christina is training for a marathon, and so we decided to incorporate seeing the sights of Cambridge on the way. We ran through Jesus Green, across Magdalene Bridge, down The Backs, past Queens', and back through town past Kings, St. John's and Trinity. It was a beautiful run and when we got back we were shocked at how fast the time flew as we kept each other company and looked at the sights throughout the entire run. Definitely recommend that approach if any of you are looking for motivation to run. Find a friend to keep you company, or run along a beautiful stretch that provides new and interesting sights to see (Or, best, a combination of the both!)
We also had a chance to meet up with Dan, another fellow Truman studying here in Cambridge, and the three of us had a nice time talking about all the shinanagans of this past summer. I had forgotten just how much fun we really had during our two month Summer Institute in Washington DC..
Truman Reunion!
Finally, Christina and I did the walk to Grantchester... it seems to be the token activity if you come to visit me. So, if you want tea at The Orchard, stop on in! I am always game for the walk through the fields (and if in springtime, cows included), to get there.
Christina on the walk to Grantchester
Friday night I participated in the Robert Burns Dinner. Iain made haggis (brought directly from Edinburgh, Scotland), and Ian read the poem in his best Scottish Accent as part of the tradition of this very special Scottish Tradition. Robert Burns is a widely respected Scottish Poet who gets his own celebration every year in Scotland. He famously wrote a poem To Haggis that must be read... and at a certain line the preparer of the food stabs the Haggis with a knife.
Well, the ritual went off without a hitch, and I have pictures to prove.
It was.... this will shock you all... surprisingly tasty (it is, after all, spiced mutton), but at the same time, incredibly fatty! So, be warned all ye who may want to try Haggis... don't eat breakfast or lunch the day you are attempting to also eat this for dinner. Just take my word for it...
Ian reads the poem while Iain pierces the Haggis with the "sword"
The effects of Haggis, and perhaps a culmination of the political news of the week..
I couldn't stand up.
Finally, this Sunday was quite lovely as I had a day off from hitting the books (I wrote a law essay yesterday on the legal mechanisms available for prosecuting genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes... if anybody wants to talk to me about the U.S. and the ICC, feel free. I could talk endlessly about this topic). I spent the afternoon with Sister Missionaries teaching and then had the wonderful treat of going to Rob and Christa's home for dinner. Another couple, Verlin and Katherine, were there as well as a couple of other church friends. We had a delicious dinner and then played a few rounds of "Buzzword". Incredible Game. Go buy it and play it, you will never turn back.
Another week quickly approaches, and this one will again be mostly spent in the books and putting together a seminar presentation. Glad I have the West Wing to treat myself at the end of the day, and also to take me to an idealized political world as the real political world as it stands right now in the US is pretty disappointing. I have, as a result, blocked this past week's election in Massachusetts and the Supreme Court Ruling on campaign finance out of my mind, and am just hoping that somehow, President Bartlett (Martin Sheen) and his cabinet's brilliance can somehow morph into benefitting our real political system. We need it. And Fast.
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