Tuesday, 21 October 2008
Rotary in Preston
Tonight, Amanda and I went down to Paington, to visit the Preston-Torbay Rotary Club. We rode down with Peter Lowless, a local Rotarian at the Exeter Southernhay club. Also riding down with us were Julia (whose last name I dare not try to spell) and Sangmi Li (no promises that I transliterated that correctly) and her husband, Choi. Anne-Katrin Luther, the fourth Rotary scholar in the district, met us there. Anne has her own car, and was able to drive the roughly 25 minutes from Dartington herself. At the meeting, we had a lovely dinner (regular price £13.50 per plate) and heard the District Governor speak. Also, we saw the induction of three new members, including the club's first female member. After dinner, the Sergeant-at-Arms issued numerous "fines" to club members and visitors for "infractions" of various types. In similar fashion, the Exeter Southernhay club has a "Good News Box" which members put money into to celebrate good news. Speaking of which, my host counsellor's husband recently got a promotion. Admiral Stanhope will be taking over as First Sea Lord next year, which means he will be the overall commander of the Royal Navy. The position of First Sea Lord can be traced back to 1795 (then known as Admiral of the Fleet, which later became a rank), and was called "First Naval Lord" for a number of years before being renamed First Sea Lord in 1904. Interestingly, the holder of the office need not be a lord, despite the title. I suppose that's enough of a history lesson for one night . . . also, it's very late, and I have a busy day tomorrow!
Saturday, 18 October 2008
FIRE's Spotlight
One thing about the United States which I greatly value is free speech. That might seems trivial, but in Europe, speech is typically far more restricted than it is in the U.S. For example, in Germany, it is illegal to sing the first verse of the German national anthem or to deny that the Holocaust occurred. In France, it is illegal to make statements which "incite racial hatred." While these rules may seem reasonable at face value, they and others like them are often used to stifle independent thinking and can cause more harm than good.
I am proud that America puts very few restrictions on speech, even though I disagree with many things that people use this right to proclaim. Thus, it concerns my greatly that my university persists in enacting unconstitutional speech codes. For several years now, as a member of the Campus Freedom Network of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, I have closely watched the administration's efforts to make our campus more "accepting" by restricting unpopular speech, including its creation of tiny "free speech zones." In addition to being unnecessarily Draconian, these measures undermine the very purpose of a university- to promote learning through the free exchange of ideas.
If this issue concerns you as much as it concerns me, then I urge you to consider joining the Campus Freedom Network at '>http://www.blogger.com/
I am proud that America puts very few restrictions on speech, even though I disagree with many things that people use this right to proclaim. Thus, it concerns my greatly that my university persists in enacting unconstitutional speech codes. For several years now, as a member of the Campus Freedom Network of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, I have closely watched the administration's efforts to make our campus more "accepting" by restricting unpopular speech, including its creation of tiny "free speech zones." In addition to being unnecessarily Draconian, these measures undermine the very purpose of a university- to promote learning through the free exchange of ideas.
If this issue concerns you as much as it concerns me, then I urge you to consider joining the Campus Freedom Network at '>http://www.blogger.com/
Friday, 17 October 2008
Date Night
Earlier this week, Will and I decided that this afternoon/ evening we should go on a date together. Originally, we had planned to go on the "Forgotten Exeter" tour and then to a restaurant, but we decided to forgo the tour in favor of taking the longer "Forgotten Exeter and Tucker's Hall" tour next week.
Instead, we spent the afternoon shopping. Although I made it to England with plenty of skirts and trousers, I needed a few more shirts. We also needed a few household items, which we intended to buy from Woolworths. Unfortunately, though, Woolworths had a fire yesterday and has yet to re-open, so we will just have to wait. I am not clear on exactly how major of a fire it was, but it apparently caused the emergency sprinkler system to activate and thus required a massive cleanup effort.
Over the course of the afternoon, we wandered in and out of several shops around town before eventually ending up and the Oxfam store, one of several charity shops in Exeter. (The British Heart Association and Cancer Research UK are among the other organizations which operate charity shops in town.) Like the others, the Oxfam store is part thrift store, but it also sells Christmas cards, lapel pins, and a number of fair trade items to raise money to fight poverty. We bought several things we'd been needing- a sugar canister, a shirt for me, and a tray in which to put to coins that we want to keep. We might have bought a few more items of clothing, but the store was trying to close and needed us to hurry and check-out. They were quite nice about it, simply stating, "It's time for us to close, but we're happy to take you're money."
After finishing at Oxfam, we proceeded to the Cathedral Yard where a nice store, the Edinburgh Woolen Mill, was having a sale. I managed to buy two very cute shirts for a total of 8 pounds. Then, we headed over to the Ship Inn for dinner.
We chose the Ship Inn because it is our Lonely Planet Guidebook's most highly recommended pub in Exeter. It has a very nice atmosphere and claims to have been the favorite pub of Sir Francis Drake- though of course that is impossible to prove our disprove at this point. Nevertheless, the food there is quite tasty. Will and I both had three bean chili which, oddly enough, was served with Spanish rice. Afterwards, we stopped by Tesco and bought tiny strawberry cheesecakes for dessert.
All in all, it was a very nice day.
Instead, we spent the afternoon shopping. Although I made it to England with plenty of skirts and trousers, I needed a few more shirts. We also needed a few household items, which we intended to buy from Woolworths. Unfortunately, though, Woolworths had a fire yesterday and has yet to re-open, so we will just have to wait. I am not clear on exactly how major of a fire it was, but it apparently caused the emergency sprinkler system to activate and thus required a massive cleanup effort.
Over the course of the afternoon, we wandered in and out of several shops around town before eventually ending up and the Oxfam store, one of several charity shops in Exeter. (The British Heart Association and Cancer Research UK are among the other organizations which operate charity shops in town.) Like the others, the Oxfam store is part thrift store, but it also sells Christmas cards, lapel pins, and a number of fair trade items to raise money to fight poverty. We bought several things we'd been needing- a sugar canister, a shirt for me, and a tray in which to put to coins that we want to keep. We might have bought a few more items of clothing, but the store was trying to close and needed us to hurry and check-out. They were quite nice about it, simply stating, "It's time for us to close, but we're happy to take you're money."
After finishing at Oxfam, we proceeded to the Cathedral Yard where a nice store, the Edinburgh Woolen Mill, was having a sale. I managed to buy two very cute shirts for a total of 8 pounds. Then, we headed over to the Ship Inn for dinner.
We chose the Ship Inn because it is our Lonely Planet Guidebook's most highly recommended pub in Exeter. It has a very nice atmosphere and claims to have been the favorite pub of Sir Francis Drake- though of course that is impossible to prove our disprove at this point. Nevertheless, the food there is quite tasty. Will and I both had three bean chili which, oddly enough, was served with Spanish rice. Afterwards, we stopped by Tesco and bought tiny strawberry cheesecakes for dessert.
All in all, it was a very nice day.
Thursday, 16 October 2008
Good Stuff
Good day today. I got some studying done, applied for a few jobs, and worked on grad school applications. Tonight, I went to Tae Kwon Do and the International Hour (actually two hours). It was "good stuff" (more on that in a bit).
I'm currently reading Blenheim Preparation, an account of the events in the post-1688 wars (King William's and Queen Anne's) leading up to Marlborough's victory at Blenheim. There are another ten books waiting in line behind it, so I've got to finish it soon if I'm going to be ready on time!
Tae Kwon Do was a lot of fun; I'd forgotten how much I missed it! Even better was the International Hour, a meeting of (male) foreign students in Exeter. Tonight, it was me, a Chinese guy, and a French guy. We discussed British manners (none of us had a clue!), and talked a little bit about the financial crisis (we all have some background in economics). We also discussed the differences in British and American English (and barely scratched the surface). Perhaps the funniest part was when the Chinese guy asked the English host why he said "good stuff" so much (hence the title), to which the host had no good reply. Eventually, the best that could be come up with as an explanation was that it was intended to demarcate different topics in conversation.
I also learned the proper way to buy drinks at a pub, including the dynamics of the "hidden queue" that operates at the bar. In short, you are supposed to approach the bar, make a mental note of who is standing there already, and catch the eye of the bartender when, and only when, it is your turn. You do not hold your money in the air, call to the bartender, or knock on the bar, all of which are considered to be extremely rude, and might well manage to start a fight (not a good thing!), much like showing up in the wrong colours on the night of a football (soccer) match. Additionally, one person out of a group orders drinks for everyone, and the group members rotate who places the order for the round. In theory, this means that everyone will actually pay for their own drinks, but it, of course, doesn't always work out evenly in practice.
We also found some lovely Laughing Cow cheese (if you're not familiar with it, go to your local Tesco, Sam's, or Wal-Mart and buy some; it's delightful!) to go with our "cream crackers" (essentially baked, unsalted crackers). We first discovered this brand of cheese at Sam's one day last year, and have been in love with it ever since. We had previously eaten it with pretzels; however, since the object of cream crackers is to put cheese on them, we decided that there couldn't be a better topping.
You'll notice that Amanda finally made a post; it's a great story. Enjoy!
I'm currently reading Blenheim Preparation, an account of the events in the post-1688 wars (King William's and Queen Anne's) leading up to Marlborough's victory at Blenheim. There are another ten books waiting in line behind it, so I've got to finish it soon if I'm going to be ready on time!
Tae Kwon Do was a lot of fun; I'd forgotten how much I missed it! Even better was the International Hour, a meeting of (male) foreign students in Exeter. Tonight, it was me, a Chinese guy, and a French guy. We discussed British manners (none of us had a clue!), and talked a little bit about the financial crisis (we all have some background in economics). We also discussed the differences in British and American English (and barely scratched the surface). Perhaps the funniest part was when the Chinese guy asked the English host why he said "good stuff" so much (hence the title), to which the host had no good reply. Eventually, the best that could be come up with as an explanation was that it was intended to demarcate different topics in conversation.
I also learned the proper way to buy drinks at a pub, including the dynamics of the "hidden queue" that operates at the bar. In short, you are supposed to approach the bar, make a mental note of who is standing there already, and catch the eye of the bartender when, and only when, it is your turn. You do not hold your money in the air, call to the bartender, or knock on the bar, all of which are considered to be extremely rude, and might well manage to start a fight (not a good thing!), much like showing up in the wrong colours on the night of a football (soccer) match. Additionally, one person out of a group orders drinks for everyone, and the group members rotate who places the order for the round. In theory, this means that everyone will actually pay for their own drinks, but it, of course, doesn't always work out evenly in practice.
We also found some lovely Laughing Cow cheese (if you're not familiar with it, go to your local Tesco, Sam's, or Wal-Mart and buy some; it's delightful!) to go with our "cream crackers" (essentially baked, unsalted crackers). We first discovered this brand of cheese at Sam's one day last year, and have been in love with it ever since. We had previously eaten it with pretzels; however, since the object of cream crackers is to put cheese on them, we decided that there couldn't be a better topping.
You'll notice that Amanda finally made a post; it's a great story. Enjoy!
Job Search and Global Gathering
The first few weeks here in Exeter have been quite interesting for me. Unlike Will, I am simply a "tag-along," with no reason for being here other than to accompany him. This feels rather awkward at times, but I'm glad that I was able to come.
While Will busies himself with academic and athletic pursuits, my main diversion has been looking for jobs. I'm hoping to find a temporary position as a statistician or data analyst, or perhaps a job working with children. The search has not gone as quickly as I would have liked, but I am optimistic that I will have a position within a couple of weeks.
Beyond searching for a job, I've begun getting to know a few people. I recently began participating in a group for wives of international students in Exeter called the Global Gathering (http://globalgatheringexeter.blogspot.com/). The group is run by several British ladies and held at the home of one of them. About ten women make it to the two-hour meeting each week, and many of them bring their toddlers along. Today was my second Global Gathering meeting, and I had a very good time. We learned how to make delicious strawberry and raspberry tarts, and we got to eat them after we finished cooking.
Here are a few pictures of the preparation process:
Unfortunately, the group will not be meeting again until November 6 because Biddy Walton, the lady who hosts the gathering, will be spending the next two weeks in Morocco improving her Arabic. I hope I can continue participating at least occasionally; however, it is on Thursday mornings, so it is highly likely that when I get a job, I will have to stop attending the gathering.
While Will busies himself with academic and athletic pursuits, my main diversion has been looking for jobs. I'm hoping to find a temporary position as a statistician or data analyst, or perhaps a job working with children. The search has not gone as quickly as I would have liked, but I am optimistic that I will have a position within a couple of weeks.
Beyond searching for a job, I've begun getting to know a few people. I recently began participating in a group for wives of international students in Exeter called the Global Gathering (http://globalgatheringexeter.blogspot.com/). The group is run by several British ladies and held at the home of one of them. About ten women make it to the two-hour meeting each week, and many of them bring their toddlers along. Today was my second Global Gathering meeting, and I had a very good time. We learned how to make delicious strawberry and raspberry tarts, and we got to eat them after we finished cooking.
Here are a few pictures of the preparation process:
Unfortunately, the group will not be meeting again until November 6 because Biddy Walton, the lady who hosts the gathering, will be spending the next two weeks in Morocco improving her Arabic. I hope I can continue participating at least occasionally; however, it is on Thursday mornings, so it is highly likely that when I get a job, I will have to stop attending the gathering.
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
A Fat, Grouchy Archer
My archery instructor, Rob, referred to himself last week as "the fat, grouchy one." That said, he was very pleased with his group's progress tonight and is hoping to get us graduated off ahead of schedule. I also got some nice pictures of myself doing things wrong, as you'll see below. Prior to archery, my day didn't exactly go as I had planned.
I went to the Exeter Southernhay Rotary Club meeting this morning, as is becoming my usual for Tuesdays, and was called upon to give a brief introduction of myself. I was able to come up with something that apparently did the job, and several of the members talked to me afterward about their historical interests. I enjoyed that and got invited to visit the Topsham Museum with one of them.
After that, I had a lovely time in class (especially in the pre- and post-class discussions with my classmates), and then returned home to eat lunch and change clothes, as I was still in my dress clothes from the Rotary meeting this morning. I found, to my horror, that two of my three pairs of trousers had gotten holes worn into them, which forced me to go on a shopping spree. After much trying (and discovering that I'm quite fatter in European sizes than in American ones, because European sizes use bigger numbers), I was a bit grouchy, but I had managed to find four pairs of trousers that fit. Total cost for them: a little under £35! I found them at Marks & Spencer, of all places, which is a higher-end department store (they were on clearance). After that adventure, I went home for dinner, and then on to archery, thus making me a fat, grouchy archer, just like Rob. He'd be so proud!
By the way, I'm not just trying to sound British my using the word "trousers." There is an important distinction between "trousers" and "pants" in British English. In essence, trousers are an outer garment, and pants are an undergarment. I'm sure you can sort the details out.
I went to the Exeter Southernhay Rotary Club meeting this morning, as is becoming my usual for Tuesdays, and was called upon to give a brief introduction of myself. I was able to come up with something that apparently did the job, and several of the members talked to me afterward about their historical interests. I enjoyed that and got invited to visit the Topsham Museum with one of them.
After that, I had a lovely time in class (especially in the pre- and post-class discussions with my classmates), and then returned home to eat lunch and change clothes, as I was still in my dress clothes from the Rotary meeting this morning. I found, to my horror, that two of my three pairs of trousers had gotten holes worn into them, which forced me to go on a shopping spree. After much trying (and discovering that I'm quite fatter in European sizes than in American ones, because European sizes use bigger numbers), I was a bit grouchy, but I had managed to find four pairs of trousers that fit. Total cost for them: a little under £35! I found them at Marks & Spencer, of all places, which is a higher-end department store (they were on clearance). After that adventure, I went home for dinner, and then on to archery, thus making me a fat, grouchy archer, just like Rob. He'd be so proud!
By the way, I'm not just trying to sound British my using the word "trousers." There is an important distinction between "trousers" and "pants" in British English. In essence, trousers are an outer garment, and pants are an undergarment. I'm sure you can sort the details out.
Monday, 13 October 2008
Happy Birthday, Paddington!
The Paddington Bear books are a highly popular children's series about the adventures of a bear from Peru who is adopted by a family that finds him at London's Paddington railway station. Today is the 50th anniversary of the release of the first book. Both Google and Wikipedia may note of the anniversary on their front pages, and numerous shops have special edition Paddington products for sale. I think I am going to buy a little stuffed Paddington bear as a souvenir, either for me or for one of my cousins.
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