Sunday, January 16, 2011

End of Homestay

We had our last day of homestay this morning and afternoon. Caroline made us an English breakfast- sausages, fried eggs, toast, bacon, tomatoes, and mushrooms (though I only had the first three.) Then we went to the bandstand for coffee/hot chocolate.



We were there for about an hour, then I went with Caroline to walk Beji and Adrienne stayed in. I'm glad I went on the walk, because I saw some gorgeous scenery:







After that, Caroline made us some delicious chicken and pasta and garlic bread. Once that was finished... it was time to go. Sad :( I really enjoyed Herne Bay and will definitely go back if I can.

Here are the pics I promised from Canterbury:







The nifty things I got while there:






And now for this weekend's random observations:

-Our host family really did have a cupboard under their stairs.

-Their bathroom was also carpeted.

-Pit bulls are illegal to own because they're only thought of as fighting dogs.

-Trailers (like the ones people live in) are called caravans, and even though there are collections of them, they're quite nice and are not considered trailer parks. It was apparently a fashionable way to live in the fifties.

-Their orange juice (or at least the kind we had) tasted like orange Kool-aid.

-No differentiation is made between Coke and Pepsi- it's all called Coke.

-The guy who makes crepes in the Canturbury shopping area makes them very well. Nutella and coconut... yummm.

-They don't have Groundhog Day here. Caroline was very entertained by our telling of what it was.

That's all for today, everyone!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I bet she would have loved hearing stories from many other things, LIke Goat races.

Mrs. Flury said...

Hi there, Rachel. I admire your colorful teapot and cup and would very much like to see them "in person" when you return to the Colonies.

As Groundhog Day is our wedding anniversary (long story), I've done a bit of research on the day. Ask around if anyone has heard of Candlemas Day. Evidently, the U.S. Groundhog Day sort evolved from Candlemas Day. Set part way through the winter, this was the day for some religious observations and one on which the priests blessed the candles for use throughout the year. I've also heard that folks, including both in households and churches, checked their candle supply to determine if they had enough left to last for the rest of the long, dark nights of winter. February 2nd was also the designated day for removing Christmas greenery from the home. And, lastly, there developed a legend similar to our Groundhog Day. I found this little ditty online: "If Candlemas Day is clear and bright, / winter will have another bite. / If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain, / winter is gone and will not come again." I'd be interested to know if your British friends have heard of any of this Candlemas information.

Yes, we watch the Bill Murray movie every year. It's a favorite. I guess it wouldn't make any sense in London, would it?

I look forward to reading your blog as soon as I get home every day. It's my treat to myself! Please touch my hand with yours so that I can be connected to some of that ancient architecture!

Stennous said...

Goat races-very funny. :)

Rachel, I am exceptionally jealous of the fact that you got to see the cathedral at Canterbury. So much history! Thomas Beckett, Chaucer, Henry II, and so much more! Like you said in your last post, nothing in America is nearly so old as it is in Europe, so we've got less history here.

I remember Mrs. Bradley "asking" us once in class, "Isn't England beautiful?" Before we could answer, she said, "The answer's 'yes.'" Looks like she was right.

You bought a tea pot? *sighs tolerantly* I guess it was exciting and cute or something, wasn't it? At least it's a British thing to get...

And I'm so glad that England has manly potato chips.

Rachel said...

Mom- true, though I've never actually BEEN to the goat races, so my description would probably have gone, "In my area, they do these goat race things and they actually, like, race... goats..."
Non-Bainbridge Amercans and English listeners alike: *cricketcricket*

Mrs. Flury- I shall show you my teapot when I get back! And my host mother had seen the movie Groundhog Day, but didn't know that it was an actual national holiday controlled by an animal, LOL. I'm glad you're enjoying the blog!

Stuart/codename- Canterbury was awesome! I didn't really know about Thomas Beckett until my friend Laura asked, "Who is this Thomas Beckett guy? He seems pretty freakin' important," and Adrienne (resident history major) explained it to us.
England is the most beautiful of anything beautiful. Our love affair continues.
Excuse me. My teapot is awesome and I plan on indulging in it tonight as we chat. So there.
See, you should come to England for the manly food. Their breakfasts are ridiculously large.

DivaDea said...

LOVE the teapot! What's lining the walls of the cute shop? I bet the people at Pepsi are frustrated.

Rachel said...

Alisa, the shop in the picture is a candy store that we calle Honeyduke's the entire time we were there. It was awesome!

Courtney said...

I would simply like to lend you support in buying a colorful teacup/teapot, Rachel. :) I believe you should punish Stuart by forcing him to have tea with you when you return and feel like sharing your adventures in person!

I am not sure about other countries around the world, but China is like England in the sense that their word for coke (可乐)is applied to both Pepsi and Coke. I have started wondering if the distinction is purely American...

And more importantly, I love the ocean scenery from your host family's area! I envy your view of the winding land and cliffs, it's absolutely gorgeous. The beaches in New England seem very tame in comparison... And also, Canterbury Cathedral makes me want to just find somewhere nearby and stare at it; the details in the architecture are so neat! I would really love to get the chance to see some of the European cathedrals; the Asian temple style was amazing to see close up, but the cathedrals were really built to be impressive, and that's obviously still the case today....

Rachel said...

Haha, oh my gosh, a tea party with Stuart sound just amusing enough to take place... even better with the whole Enscribe crew... the ideas in my head now are just amazing.

I guess technically, Pepsi and Coke are two different companies, so maybe that's the reason they don't make any distiniction- they see them as companies and not as actual drinks. Plus, they taste pretty much the same here, whereas in the States, I hate Pepsi because it's way too sweet so I will refuse it if offered. Neither drink is quite as sweet here, which I find to be a nice change.

Yes, Canterbury is awesome!

Post a Comment