“It’s that you each, to shorten the long journey shall tell two tales on the way to Canterbury..." -- Chaucer

Last Saturday was spent in Canterbury and Dover with Canden. I decided that since Mandy and a few of the other girls would be in Scotland, and Olivia had to work, I should take a little day trip somewhere. Canden, always up for an adventure, agreed to come with me. She'd befriended this guy who went to the University of Kent, which is in Canterbury, and he agreed to take us around the town and then drive us to Dover so we could see the white cliffs.

It turned out to be an awesome day. I got up early and met Canden at Charing Cross station for a 10:00 train to Canterbury. We made there at 11:30 and met Adam on the other side. After the slightly awkward introductions - he and Canden had never really met officially - we walked down into town for fish and chips and then a jaunt through a cute, be it, campy, wax museum that told Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. After that, we ventured into the cathedral. Adam had graduated from university in the cathedral and hadn't been in it since then. It was really neat walking around with him, remembering his graduation day. It was so interesting to finally really hang out with an Englishman. He had so many questions about our culture "Do you guys really love peanut butter as much as I've heard...? What is it about sororities...?" And it was so nice to finally have a guide who could answer our burning questions "...What are those white jaggedy lines on the road...? What's up with those guys who wear track suits and Burberry hats...?" It was a great cross-cultural experience, and plus he was just a really neat guy.

After the cathedral, we got in his little green Peugot and drove 20 minutes to the cliffs of Dover. It was incredible. They really are white. The chalk in the stone is all over the bottoms of my shoes and stained the knees of my pants after I kneeled down. It was very windy and cold. But then, we were walking around on the side of a big cliff. It was too hazy to see France on the horizon, but Adam claims that on a clear night, you can see the lights of Calais and Bologne. I've posted some pictures below.

This is the inside of the cathedral, in the nave. It was so incredible. I always hear about how the gothic style is so verticle, how it has so much light and draws your eye straight up. It's no lie. I could not stop looking at the cieling.


The image below is of one of the stained glass windows. The whole place was full of them, but this one was especially beautiful, the colors were so incredible. I loved the crimson reds and the ultramarine blues. Absolutely amazing, but yet again, my meager attempts at capturing them on film does not even begin to do them justice:



Then here are the cliffs!






















On our walk on the ledge that runs along the rim of the cliffs, we came to a nice resting spot... don't worry there's another ledge about 5 feet below me!







The rest of the weekend was fairly uneventful. I spent Sunday night out with Canden and Olivia at a Hurricane Katrina fund-raising night at this bar/restaurant called the Big Chill House. Olivia and Canden met doing relief work there last spring break, so it seemed fitting that we should partake in their event.

This week's been pretty hum-drum. It's hard to believe I've been here for a month already. My internship really improved yesterday. I got to work with about 4 new people (as opposed to my usual group of 3) and I think I've finally really made some friends. I love the three I work with on a regular basis, but they're a lot older and not really interested in socializing with me. I think I may have finally broken into the main office area crowd. Sitting in the corner has really been hard. I haven't been able to meet people because the only time they see me is when I walk into the kitchenette to get more tea. I've started spear-heading some projects as well. Mags, my boss, has put me in charge of organizing an event in April with the new musical director. It's my responsibility to set up the whole event. Not too journalistic, but I get to write the invitations, so at least I get to use my skills there. I would really like to work more closely with the press team. I want to talk to my boss about maybe letting me work under them for a day or two, so I can see how it works to send out press releases and answer inquiries, etc. I'm still working up the courage, but I figure I should just ask, where's the harm? This trip is all about experiencing new things, doing things I've never done before or dreamed of doing. It's about branching out.

Anyway, this has gotten quite long. Promise to post more soon!

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