Today was my first day out on the water. First thoughts?
Coxing is so much fun! Saturdays have been unfailingly lovely in England lately (yes! even last weekend when we went into London) and today was no different. The day started with me running around trying to cash in on my apple protection plan (it's time for my computer's annual check-up), shopping for groceries in town, making/eating lunch and then treking off to the boat houses.
We started off with some basics and then when Caroline arrived, she put us on the ergs (rowing machines) to let us get a feel for what our rowers would be doing. Rowing is hard! And it takes so much coordination! I don't think Caroline was very impressed with my um..."skill" (or lack thereof) but that's why I'm not rowing :) Save my college from any embarrassment.
I do love coxing though. It's so soothing being out on the river and watching out for your boat. Learning how to be "like superman" (Martina - my teacher - likens steering to flying like the hero) is a lot of fun, especially when you're using a fairly large rudder. "Spinning" (where we turn the boat 180o) is also quite neat! I think most of all though, I just really like the people. I've never really been part of a team and though I'm only starting out and doing it for fun, I'm really grateful that God's given me this opportunity to do something completely new and so quintessentially "Cambridge" :) It's been a real blessing.
In other news, the annual boat race between Cambridge and Oxford is just a week away! I was reading up on it in the newspaper today and started to get all excited. During one of the last nights at hall, my housemates and I were joined by some Varsity Blues (the University team) and it was just so....cool! (to be completely geeky). The captain is from our college and most of the blues are national champions and olympians. It was kind of inspiring! (I'm SUCH a nerd). Check out the race here. While Cambridge has an overall lead of 78-72, Oxford has won the last 4 of 6 races. Here's hoping for a victory next Sunday! I can't wait to go into London!
This weekend has on the whole been really nice. Because I don't have to go home, work has been quite leisurely and the weekends even more so. I anticipate that things will pick up as the deadline nears but for now, it's just nice being with people, trying new things, and reading about new ideas (thinking about working on the Sidneian Psalter for paper II).
Those of us that are still in Cambridge this break got together to have dinner and play boardgames last night. What fun! We actually had a sit down dinner (with roasted shoulder of lamb, herb-mash, salad, sweet potatos, red-wine and lots and lots of candles). It was our very own "formal hall" at Grace's house! We were just missing the violin ;) To top it off, we made three types of dessert - sweet potato soup, black sesame glutinous rice balls (mmm..."tong yune"), and two kinds of Hagan-Daz ice cream (Strawberry Cheesecake and Cookies and Cream). It just a really awesome night of hanging out and good fellowship. Yay for relaxing at the end of the week!
Okay. Laundry time and better get dinner started on the stove! Aim to have a nice salmon fillet on the table by 7:00 before company gets here. 'Tis the goal. Have a great week everyone! 
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