Stratford-Upon-Avon

Let's see, I last updated to the Sunday after Thanksgiving, which is 25 November. So, most of the time after that I was working on papers and reading and studying for exams. But I did take a couple trips and do some stuff around town.

On Monday the 26th, I went to Stratford-Upon-Avon. It was very pretty and there were way too many things to do and not enough time/daylight. I went to see Shakespeare's Birthplace, New Place, Nash's Place/Hall's Croft, and Holy Trinity Church. I got to Stratford-Upon-Avon at about 11am and then I went to Shakespeare's Birthplace and by the time I got out, it was already time for lunch! So, I found out about cheap places to eat and found a little sandwich place.

After having lunch, I went to see Nash's Place which was really interesting. Nash was Shakespeare's brother-in-law and was also a doctor. He had a really big house and I just wandered around in there for a while. I thought the kitchen was the most interesting place. It had a huge fireplace where you could cook all kinds of food. It gave the impression that the kitchen was definitely the warmest place in the house, which would be really nice in the winter time, but not really during the summer...

But after that, I headed over to Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare is buried. When I got there, there was a really nice old lady who I talked to for a while and then I wandered around the church and saw all the little monuments to Shakespeare. I got there a little while before they closed, so as I was leaving, they were locking up the gates and it was getting pretty dark. So, I headed slowly back to the train station. I stopped to see the river on the way back and take a couple pictures.

Then I got to the station and there were tons of kids there! It was jam-packed with kids who apparently had just gotten out of school. There were train attendant people who were herding the kids around. After a while a train came and took all the kids away. It was then that I figured out that I was a whole hour early! I was kind of disappointed but there wasn't much else to do in town and it was already dark so I just sat and waited.

The next day, 27 November, Laura and I met our small group from our Connect Group at Weatherspoons for dinner before our Connect Group meeting. It was a lot of fun to just get to hang out together for a little while. And of course, I had my classes on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 27th and 28th.

Being Back In America:
It's been weird because there are so many things that I got used to in England that are different here. I think in each post I'll talk about one. The first thing that sticks out is, of course, the accent. I have gotten used to hearing the English accent everywhere and being back in America has been weird. In London, you'll either hear the English accent or another language. By the end of my time there, I was used to that and would stare (or try not to) at any American who wasn't in my group because I didn't expect to hear it. So, coming back, when I hear an English accent or a different language being spoken, I don't really react, but when someone comes by talking with an American accent, I have to work hard not to stare.... I think I'm starting to adjust, but that was one thing that struck me that I was certainly not expecting! :-)