Hughes Hall -- Week 2 in Cambridge (July 2-July 8)

Happy Independence Day!

I hope you all had a very happy Fourth of July. It was a strange and unique opportunity to be celebrating our country's independence day in the country we declared independence from, but last week we are all about the red, white and blue (I guess those are Britain's national colors too but you get the idea). Andy Zweber ('13) stayed up for most of the night July 3rd crafting the perfect American playlist to coincide with our day of grilling out and playing some yard games. It was a fun day in which we met a St. Olaf grad who is a rowing coach at Cambridge University and heard there were some Carls in town. However, in the British school system, a 'college' is usually referred to as a school that 16-18 year old students attend and a university is for students in our age group. Therefore, many of the signs in Cambridge aimed to assist us say 'Carleton University' because the idea of 18-22 year old students attending a 'Carleton College' is confusing. So when the Olaf grad heard of these Carleton University students from America he ventured to Hughes Hall to see if these were the same Carls that were his rivals going to college in Northfield.

Zweber shows off his American pride on the 4th of July

Early Monday morning we moved in to Hughes Hall before class started. The accommodations are great; everyone is in their own room that includes a sink and mini fridge. There are also shared bathrooms and kitchens so we can cook and save some money. Many on the trip have flexed their cooking muscles thus far and have made elaborate group meals that I can't even pronounce correctly. Others (such as Zweber and I) stick to boiling noodles and making dynamite ham and cheese sandwiches.We also found a gym nearby that gives us a summer membership for only 25 pounds. The facilities are tiny but it still provides a means of staying fit. 

Our new (and permanent) home in Hughes Hall

Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday were typical days in terms of class. We had double lectures on ECON 224: Multinationals on Monday and Tuesday in order to complete the necessary course work before Mike leaves. On Thursday we were introduced to Solomos Solomou and began his course, ECON 221: Contemporary British Economy. Solomou's style of teaching is a little different from Hemesath's in that Solomou's teachings are more lecture-based which is a typical trait of Cambridge professors and fellows.

Last week was a rare occurrence in that we did not have a planned excursion on Wednesday. This conveniently landed on the Fourth of July and, as mentioned before, we took advantage of the day by showing our American pride through celebrating with a barbecue. Some students spent Independence Day by camping out Tuesday night at Wimbledon in order to get good seats for Wednesday's matches. After suffering through repetitive bouts of rain and Michael Elder ('13) singing along to country music to pass the time, they were able to get great seats on No. 1 Court in which they were able to see the (previously) number-one ranked male tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, defeat Florian Mayor in the men's single's quarterfinals, among other matches.

Danny Geiger ('14) and Mike Elder ('13) posing in front of their tent.

Geiger, Elder, Katherine Greenberg ('14) and Katie Claiborne ('13) snapping a pic of their great seats. There have been rumors that you could see Elder falling asleep on TV (I don't think he got a great night of sleep in the rain). 

Over the weekend, we had groups of students go to Italy, Ireland, Stonehenge, Scotland, and some watched the Olympic torch make its way through Cambridge. I think I will make a separate posting about these trips so individual students can write and share pictures of their experiences this past weekend.

UP NEXT: Weekend trips (July 6-July 8)