I wrote the first part of this post when we were still in UK and I was sad thinking about all the things we would miss. I wrote the second part after I returned to USA and thinking about all the things I was happy to see.
Part I
Our time over here is coming to an end and I am beginning to be so sad about leaving this green and pleasant land.
Most of all we will miss Wolfson College--the definition of college is "an organized group of professional people with particular aims, duties and privileges." We love being part of this community and living in the midst of it.
Dining here is always a pleasure. A recent memo after the Brexit vote from our President said:
Currently we have students from 94 different nations at the College. Over 60% of our
students come from outside the UK, as do many of our Fellows. We are the most
cosmopolitan College in Cambridge, and will continue to be so in the future.
So one day I had lunch with a young man from Finland, a young French woman, two Americans, and a Brit who has taught in Iran and driven a streetcar in Russia. At one formal dinner, I met a young Chinese geographer with a big smile as he had just completed his final exams!(Undergraduate students at UCam take one exam after their three years here. Their grades are posted publicly, but for the last time as this will change after this term. ) He later emailed me a list of his favorite Chinese Restaurants in Cambridge as well as suggestions of what to order. His friend, a charming young man from Iran was also celebrating his final exams. He joked as he is number 600 on a list of people who are in trouble if he returns to Iran.
I knew a young woman from Bosnia writing about Shakespeare Reception in the nineteenth century, a young man of Italian and German background, having grown up in both places, studying tuberculosis; a handsome young couple from Latvia--she is studying law; he studies computer programing. We always enjoy talking with interesting press fellows who visit. And we especially enjoyed lunches with Tomasz from Krakow, and his very small and pretty designer wife Anita.
For the Michaelmas term we were friends with an American married to a Croatian who both teach philosophy in Zagreb. Here is an interesting museum I heard about in Croatia--https://brokenships.com. I was friends with Jayné from Oklahoma, an engineer working on design using psychology. Her husband, Ty, visited and we enjoyed a meal with them at the Blue Ball. I knew Marie a beautiful young French woman writing a dissertation on International law. I recently met a handsome young man from Gibraltar involved in legal negotiations in London about Brexit. I had lunch with Katie Wu, on a year abroad stint, studying material culture as an American lit history major at Harvard.
Everyday we met new and interesting people and enjoyed wonderful conversation. But we also have good like-minded friends from years past, senior members and visiting fellows like ourselves whom we will be miss. Lena, a visiting fellow from Jerusalem whom we got to know really well in 2006, once said to me that she had heard that the older you get, the harder it is to make new friends. But that is just not true over here as we meet and make new friends all the time.
My friend Marguerite brought me lilacs on my birthday!
Our British friends invite us to their homes and take us out on outings. They keep us informed of interesting things to see and do. We hope that they will come and visit us at 1432 Medway Road.
Kevin and Hugh--He is the Welshman who hosts the Taffia "after dinners" at his home. We are included because he says Kevin is a Welshman!
At a lovely lunch at Owen's and Jo's lovely home. Long time friend Bill from USA came also.
Carol and Brian taking us for a summer afternoon walk around Grantchester. We stopped briefly at this tiny steam railroad station.
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Nice memories of a picnic in Wolfson gardens with Sophie, and Jonathan Jake, Kevin, Eve, and Jim. Some of us sported mustaches!
Beatrice, Akira, and Lucy had a ball with giant flying frisbees!
And a Sunday afternoon with Susie at Wimpole Estate (Owned and restored by Rudyard Kipling's daughter).
We, especially Kevin, will miss the Karen Sparks reading room. It is full of books and a big choice of newspapers and journals plus there is a coffee machine. Kevin liked to check out the local paper here to see if they had published a poem that he submitted. They often did!
The college holds lectures twice a week, weekly music events, and formal dinners always delicious, collegial, and impeccably served, twice a week.
We will miss the English weather! I love the changes that happen daily. We wake up every morning to the weather app on my iPhone, trying to figure it out, trying to figure out what we need to wear, trying to figure out if it is day for a walk to country side or to the Arts Picturehouse which always has good films to see or the university library to browse the periodicals and have a tasty lunch. It is never too cold, but what I call crispy cold, and, in summer, you will need a sweater at some point. Of course, you often, or frequently, need an umbrella.
The really positive part about this is that my weather-watching husband now wants an iPhone! He loves my weather app!
We will miss ancient history that surrounds us-- we see it; we hear it. The television is full of intriguing historical programs not just in Britain but about the world.
We don't miss our stuff. We love being in a small flat and, if anything goes wrong, we just walk down and tell the friendly porters. Plus we have lovely cleaners who come in every week and change our linen and clean.
Nor do we miss our car--it is so freeing to be without a car. We walk among animals....
And lovely English daisies--this one is at John's remembering Lady Marguerite Beaufort who
founded the College.
With lovely skies above us.
We walk to our neighborhood pubs
And travel by British Rail which we love!
It is
We had lunch in the Tate Modern and I was able to see the newly opened and absolutely amazing Switch House. I took a selfie when I was up on the top--there is a restaurant here and a great view of London.
Part Two--Bathing in America!
We have been welcomed warmly by dear friends and neighbors, goodies on our doorsteps, huge hugs, It has been nice to catch up on interesting news around town. Its been lovely to go to Geos and Eggs Up and Miyos and to hear about new restaurants. We've already been to two movies at the NICK, another favorite place.
We are very happy to to be in our own home, especially our comfortable bed. And it is so good to see our stuff, especially our big TV (ours in UK was not much bigger than my laptop--we could hardly read the captions).
It is lovely to see my wonderful old things like this teapot--the top is broken--but it is perfect for this bright bouquet that Kevin brought home for me.
We are happy and so relieved to understand people--our American accent. We had difficulty understanding people in UK; partly because of our aging ears but also there is a massive variety of English accents and dialects from all over the UK and the world. We have sat and strained through conversations and lectures, and telly in an attempt to understand.
I am enjoying driving my beautiful Volvo through the wide streets, visiting Kroger and Trader Joes and Publix and Earth Fare and Whole Foods and Piggly Wiggly! I love pushing the big buggies down the wide aisles. And I am especially enjoying those tasty peaches and watermelons and butter beans and white acre peas, our summer treats!
I love walking around my yard, tasting the fennel and sage and my ripening figs, big and delicious.
The oldest and biggest tree in our yard fell during a June storm and ripped apart our beloved tree house. Below are two interesting photos. The first was taken in October 2015 when a flood toppled a tree against the tree with our treehouse but luckily missed the tree house. David worked long and hard to take the tree down and save the treehouse.
Then in June 2016, a huge thunderstorm knocked down a huge tree that knocked down our beloved treehouse. Again David worked long and hard to take both the tree and the treehouse down.
We are sad about the loss but it just opens the way for new projects. But it is too hot right now to start on an outdoor project but I love planning them, looking through the past issues of Southern Living.
Our resident rabbit is still around or maybe this is another but we do see him often.
So, yes, we miss Cambridge, but happy to be home. Both UK and USA are supremely wonderful countries--we are so fortunate to live in one and visit the other.
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