England Makes Me Crazy

The title of this blog not to be confused with "England DRIVES Me Crazy" because that's not what I mean...I mean it makes me crazy and I do and say weird things...I couldn't sleep the other night, and I got to thinking about all the funny things I have said or done in the last little while since living here. To give you an idea of it, I will give you a few examples...

1. I have randomly said "Si" instead of "Yes" several times since I have been here (I am thinking maybe it's because my brain just computes this place as a foreign country, and I have spent quite a bit of time in Panama over the last few years)

2. When talking to a British person, I said "Willy's" instead of "Welly's" when referring to rubber boots you wear (the former term, in this country, refers to a man's lower region!)

3. I told someone I was just being a "Mole on the wall". What?!!!!!!!!!

4. I got on the bus the other day and the driver said something to me about the women getting off with her dog and I just said, "yeah" and laughed cause I didn't catch a word of what he said behind his accent. (it seemed to pacify him though).

5. When ordering a pot of tea, I got to the front of the line, and when the lady asked me what I wanted, I ordered in a strong (weird) British accent, "A po' of tea, please". Totally don't know what came over me. She didn't seem to notice though, guess my accent is improving!

6. I challenged someone to come to a conference in Nottinghill, when in fact the conference was in Nottingham (I get confused with names of places here...and I often think of the movie)

Those are just a few examples of me "coping" in a new culture...it makes me laugh. I am sure that there are even more that I have mentally blocked out.

Punting in Cambridge

As some of you have heard, we went to visit our rival this past Easter weekend. Cambridge. The city we almost lived in. Verdict: It's really cool, but I like Oxford better...and there are several reasons why I am so glad we moved to Oxford after all.

We stayed with my fellow staff (Tabby)'s family for the weekend, and even got to participate in the annual family easter egg hunt in the backyard. I love family traditions like this, and I am totally going to make my children participate in them, even in their twenties! I sucked at the hunt, blaming it on the fact that a) they were hidden by a rocket scientist, and b) I lack experience not getting to do the hunt every year.

We also saw our fellow Canadians...the only other couple we know doing a PhD, just like we are (Lorne & Kristin) so that was cool to hang out with Cdn friends.

We also went punting...the best way to see the colleges is by punting down the river and looking over the grounds. If you are wondering what 'punting' is, visit this site:

http://www.scudamores.com/cam/index.php

Here's some pictures from the weekend:

This is where we went to Church Easter Sunday. Pretty Old, Pretty Sweet!

The hunt...all looking in the same spot, rookie mistake.

The grand King's College in Cambridge

The famous 'round church' in city centre

Mindy attempts to Punt!

The Bridge of Harry Potter...oops I mean the Bridge of Sighs

Mindy Aechtner

Mindy Aechtner is back from her refreshing time in BC.

Mindy Aechtner loved spending time with her niece and nephew!

Mindy Aechtner appreciates home and can also appreciate being back in Oxford.

Mindy Aechtner forgot what a crazy town she lives in (and was reminded when she walked down the main street past the guy on a tightrope playing the violin).

Mindy Aechtner is unmotivated to get back to work.

Mindy Aechtner saw "W." last night and found it totally interesting.

Mindy Aechtner is going to Cambridge this weekend!

Mindy Aechtner is excited about her friends having their baby (yey for Andrew & Kristina) but sad that they missed the birth by a matter of hours.

Mindy Aechtner is having trouble thinking outside of facebook status.