-Tynemouth: The group of us Americans made our first trip last week to the lovely coastal village of Tynemouth. It is roughly twenty miles away from Newcastle and well worth the journey. By train, we traversed a great deal of residential area to meet our friend Kathryn at the train station, who then took us by car (which is still, for me, quite an unnerving experience--careening in an out of traffic all on the left side!) to meet our friend Mark, who then proceeded to take us to a small fish-n-chips shop because they believed it to be the best quality fish-n-chips in the area; and, to my knowledge, it was. We all ordered heavily battered cod and French fries, which, in American terms, is the said staple of the British diet. It was delicious and even though I could feel the calories and fat coursing through my blood stream, I managed to conquer the rather large pile of fried awesomeness. Oh, I forgot to mention, they also served complementary tea and buttered bread, which I thought was amazing, especially when the only beverage I had to resort to was hot, steaming tea to wash the battered fish down my throat.
After our meal, we proceeded to Tynemouth and walked around the priory, which is situated atop a promontory overlooking the North Sea. Everything was green, lush, and the waves of the North Sea, as I expected, looked dark, choppy, and capable of accommodating a multitude of viking ships. We walked along an extremely long stretch of stone pier that rewarded us with an old lighthouse at the end. Upon reaching the lighthouse, and being, perhaps, a quarter mile out into the ocean, a set of formidable rain clouds decided to migrate our way and relinquish their hull of cold rain upon our already freezing bodies. It wasn't until we returned to the priory, however, that a proper storm had chosen us as the day's victims. I couldn't have been more pleased, however, because dismal weather is, for me, ideal weather and only contributed to the sense of magic and wonder that I evinced from the ubiquitous stone architecture and rolling-green landscape. Three of our group decided to take refuge in Kathryn's car while the remaining three--Kathryn, Aaron, and I--chose to continue with our initial intention of running into the ocean. Yes, it was freezing and raining, but it made me, all the more, want to dive into that dark, ghastly water. We didn't actually dive, however. We pranced down a long flight of steps to a beach where we discarded our shoes and only dipped our toes into the breaking waves. But we did it with a great, looming castle over our heads. How many people can say that?
My experience at Tynemouth: remarkable.
-School: I've been in classes for two days and nothing, so far, strikes me as unusual or different from the American school curriculum or general student behavior. I'm enrolled in only literature classes, which everyone knows requires a good deal of debate and discussion. As usual, there is still a lack of response in the classroom when the professor prods us with a seemingly answerable question. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, everyone's human, but for some reason I was possessed with the notion that British students contained some superior amount of sophistication over me. In a sense, however, they do. When they are forced to answer questions, or merely discuss a subject, their manner is extremely sagacious and very tactful. They're well-spoken, unlike me, and carry a calm composure throughout their speech. Needless to say, their eloquence could also be attributed to how I associate the British accent with sophistication, aristocracy, librarians, and wizards. Who knows?
As I said, I'm taking all literature classes, which obviously require many novels to be read. I believe I've bought twelve already...yes, twelve (I just counted). Twelve may not seem like a lot (what am I talking about, of course it's a lot) but I have to buy even more. I believe there's yet seven more books waiting to drain the money from my poor, abused wallet. What's more, the novels are dense, thick, Dickens! Yes, Dickens. I've read Dickens but not like this. Two Dickens novels in one class, jeez. Dombey and Son takes on the appearance of a large brick. Evidently, my preconceptions regarding the British school curriculum were false. I foresee long nights of rigorous eye strain and hand-crippling writing (even though I type opposed to that old pen and paper nonsense). It's quite overwhelming already and I still haven't attended all of my classes yet.
-Food: Jeez, where to begin? Food in Newcastle is surprisingly cheap. I begin every morning with a crisp, warm, unhealthy meat pie from the delectable chain-bakery Greggs--of which my roommate informed me only existed since 2009 in Cambridge and has thence proliferated rapidly throughout England achieving the status as the fastest growing business in the UK. (It's recently been brought to my attention that Greggs has actually been established since 2005, but retains the same status no less).There are literally dozens in Newcastle and what's great is their low prices on the convenient little pasties and assortment of baked goods. For instance, this morning I bought a cheese, bean, and sausage pasty for only 95 pence (roughly $1.50), and that's actually one of their most expensive items.
Enough about Greggs, but only it's not enough! for I neglected to mention the relief I feel as I trudge along the dark, dreary, morning surface of Strawberry Lane only to be confronted by the warm luminescence of the Greggs corner bakery at the end of the street. It is quite comforting when I see that bright beacon of hope, redolent of warm dough and rich coffee, and I'm sure I'll have more great experiences there, especially tomorrow when I take advantage of their "two sausage rolls for 1.15" deal.
Moving on. I've also formed a new addiction to potato jackets. They're a staple here and quite a simple concept. Essentially, a potato is baked, split, lathered in butter, and then stuffed with basically whatever you want. Yesterday I had mine stuffed with chicken tikka masala. It was wonderful. I've seen them stuffed with tuna and cheese, beans and spinach, literally, whatever you want. Again, quite a simple concept that rarely exceeds three pounds, which is great for a student on a budget.
I'll move on to one last subject regarding food because even though I'll never tire of discussing my affinity for it, I believe I've thoroughly exhausted it for whoever's reading this. Pub food! The food in pubs is what you'd expect: greasy hamburgers, sausage and mash potatoes, chicken curry, strange varieties of meats doused in gravy, etc. The point I'd like to make is that this food, as well as the above, is cheap and awesome. Seriously, one rarely sees a pub meal for more than six pounds (perhaps eight or nine dollars).
-Walking: Quite an appropriate topic to follow the former. All I do is walk, but I won't complain. Merely walking here is such an enriching experience and a fun way to shed the excessive amount of calories I've been so carelessly accumulating. The city of Newcastle, as one of my professors noted, is "layered with history." To see this history--Georgian, Victorian, Medieval--as a palimpsest of various architecture is so uniquely rewarding that I have no complaints about my mode of mobility. I've always enjoyed walking, and the fact that I get to practice it even more in this beautiful city is quite a thrilling experience.
-Dormitory: I suppose another appropriate topic to follow the previous, only because it's due to my residence's location that I'm forced to do so much pleasurable walking. I believe I discussed, briefly, my dorm in the previous post so, to avoid being redundant, I'll spare another description of the interior/exterior of the building. Instead, I'll discuss the wonderful location. The building itself is literally across the street from the football stadium (of course I mean "soccer" but I'm attempting to condition myself to avoid looking like a complete ignoramus in front of my British friends). A block away--only not a block because they don't have blocks here, instead they have enigmatic labyrinth's that create shapes unknown to the human mind--rests Leazes Park. It's a beautiful, green park complete with a rather placid pond in the middle. Despite the lingering football stadium that imposes itself above the trees, the park manages to keep itself isolated from the city. Travelling far enough into the park, which I have yet to do, will, I'm sure, afford you a more reclusive feeling and a view without the stadium. I've been there, several times, to play basketball and simply walk around. There are lots of trees which occasionally form the borders of small meadows and magical looking groves. Near the back, or what I consider to be the back, exists a very sumptuous manor that reminds me of the estate in Jane Eyre, the one owned by Mr. Rochester. I've probably said more than enough about the park, sorry to belabor the subject, but might I share one more anecdote that takes place in the park itself? Of course I can. I was walking along the intricately laid pebble-stone banks of the beautiful pond--keep in mind this was my first time in Leazes Park so the ensuing event made it all the more magical--and a flock of, perhaps, seven swans wildly took off from the opposite side of the water and all, simultaneously, landed in front of me, skidding with their webbed toes to a complete stop. It was amazing.
The most advantageous aspect of living in my dorm, other than the park of course, is its location relative to Newcastle's city center. It is, literally, up the road. Any of my shopping needs can be quickly satisfied by a quick jaunt out the door. Also, surrounding my dorm are a range of various pubs and restaurants.
Overall, I lucked out on my residency placement. Some of the other dormitories, I've noticed, are quite far from the bulk of activity, but they have their own advantages as well.
-Campus: This will be my last topic in the post, my fingers just can't persist. It should have followed the "school" topic, as it's obviously related, but since I've already begun I won't copy and paste. The school campus is not unlike my campus at home, despite the integration of sixteenth-century architecture. Thus far, it has been quite accommodating and has been able to fulfill all of my needs. The recreation center, to which I refuse to pay the monthly fee, far trumps the one from my American campus. It is much larger and, from the looks of it, used more often. The library, to my delight, is open 24/7--an aspect of which I have yet to take advantage. The Student Union building is probably the largest building on campus. I believe it contains four stories, two of the levels hosting bars. Connected to it is yet another bar that surprisingly serves cheap food and beer. The Lipman building, the structure of which I've become most familiar, serves as the home to all of my classes. Being the school's humanities building, it is of course quite old but amazing at the same time. It consists of small tunnels and corridors that always prove to be quite adventurous obstacles in the process of finding my classroom.
That's all I can write tonight. I apologize for such an abrupt cessation. There is nothing witty or constructive left in my brain. It has to rest for it can only produce so many ideas. Until next time, hopefully later this week.
