Libraries, Cheesecake, and Back Buckle Boots

I apologise for my terrible lack of blogging for the past month. Ive been quite busy getting settled here and once I actually started to get assigned work it seems I have forgotten about blogging. I’ve gotten very well acquainted with the library here in the past few weeks, I almost feel like I’m back at Holy Cross with the amount of time I’ve been spending there (or "here" as that is where I am posting this from...just a little break from some lovely essay writing).

So since my last blog I’ve actually started to get involved in things on campus. At the Fresher’s Fair I did the usual sign up for a million things that you will never go to because they all fall on the same day. But I have now whittled my way down to a few main societies that I will actually participate in: Gilbert and Sullivan Society (we’re performing The Gondoliers in February), ERASMUS Society (basically the European equivalent of study abroad), and most notably so far YUSnow and their racing team.

Ski racing in England is definitely a different experience, biggest difference....the fact that there isn’t snow. It’s been really fun so far though, once I got over the first initial shocks that:
a) I’m basically skiing on turf which isn’t exactly the fastest of surfaces and is really hard to get an edge in.
b) Three words: back buckle boots....I feel like a 3 year old again.

Manchester: Ski Rossendale

Edinburgh: Hillend

The people on the team are so much fun, and really nice to me (despite the fact that I'm American...). Once a week we go skiing on Wednesday afternoons at a dry slope in Manchester. We’ve already had two races so far, one Kings race in Manchester that was dual slalomn and another one called BUDS in Edinburgh last weekend. The trip to Edinburgh was too much fun. We took a mini bus up on Thursday night and spent three nights in a hostel, raced on Friday and Saturday, and came back home on Sunday. There was a ton of silliness, rain (Edinburgh is cold), a stolen banner, a ball that got disbanded before dessert (think masses of college students chanting “Where’s my cheesecake?” as they are kicked out of the building), and general fun. Probably my favourite weekend so far, and I’m really excited to go back to Edinburgh in December to tour it properly (camera/comfortable shoes/optional fanny pack) after getting a glimps of it throughout the weekend.

I’ll try to keep the posts more regular. Hopefully the fact that this is a lovely means of procrastination when I have two procedural essays to write will help.

Kat