Day 92: Cambridge

(This is for Friday 28 November)

Friday after class most of the Honours Seminar headed out to Cambridge for class. Our professor went to Cambridge, so he was the perfect tour guide for our day there. We stopped for a pub lunch overlooking the river and then walked around a lot of the colleges. It was absolutely beautiful, and I'm glad we were able to see Cambridge at night. One word that really comes to mind is 'romantic'.

I'll hopefully get some pictures up soon, but I'm trying to find my card reader right now... it's got to be around the flat somewhere.

I think I liked Cambridge better than Oxford, but that's probably mainly because I learned so much about the University I wouldn't have learned if I'd gone on my own. I also feel like I have a much better understanding of what students are like there and what college life means. I think I would really like that style of learning, where intellectual and personal are so much more intertwined. The learning process isn't something confined as much to the classroom as it is in America.

After walking around, we headed to a historical pub where there were (I think) 12th century vernacular paintings on some of the walls. Also, the US Air Force was stationed near there during WWII, and before going out on their flight missions, they would stand on the tables and use candles to write on the ceiling messages to loved ones, their names, or short notes. You could still see the messages on the ceiling, though they were fading. Our professor said that as a student, it wasn't unusual for him to be sitting reading in the pub and then to see older men come in and just weep.

This was probably the best day trip I've made since being here, and it was a great experience to go as a class. It definitely helped me to learn more about the history of Cambridge and about my own intellectual pursuits and growth.