Week 7 Recap by Niku Schreiner

The week started with high expectations and ambiguity as our schedules changed to accommodate our internships. Everyone was pleased to be rid of the three and half hour classes even at the cost of an evening class ending at 8:30 on Tuesdays. This left little time to prepare for a small fiesta for Nora’s 21st birthday consisting of breakfast for dinner. An abundance French toast, bacon, and fruit salad was enough to feed an army left many feeling satisfied and perhaps slightly bloated. The event concluded with the traditional happy birthday song and some tasty cake before it became necessary to run upstairs to finish/start a brief progress report.

Valentine’s Day coincided with a first workday at our internship of which everyone experienced riveting tasks such as net surfing, filing, and compiling lists of how co-workers like their tea. Everyone enjoyed the first experience at a British workplace even if the day started with breaking copier machine.

Falling into the work slump school slipped into the backs of our minds as we anxiously awaited the weekend. Friday was promised to be slow for the long day Saturday but few were inclined to remain steadfast. This made for quite the trail to arrive at the train station in time for the planned trip to Cambridge but everyone made it and several opted for the mid morning nap on the train.

The first stop was lunch at Pizza Express on Jesus Lane. The restaurant was found with some difficulty; we were surprised to not find a typical example of a pizza joint but rather a classy eatery where one could choose from a list of gourmet personal pizzas. Once satisfied with our lunch many wandered around Cambridge finding the copious amounts of low-quality bikes puzzling because of the well-known wealth of the many students at Cambridge. A small market located near the heart of Cambridge provided most of the essentials and a few more. Watches, wooden puzzles, and ox hearts could be found on display. Little time was allotted to wander, as a group tour was next in the agenda.

It was pleasing to find an exuberant woman to lead our exhibition through Cambridge and describe to us the finer details and habits of the 31 colleges. The first stop was a description of student attire, which describes not only the college that the student attends but also tells of their status in sports. Next was the King’s College Chapel that really emphasized beauty of 15th century gothic architecture. The entrance consisted of the dragon of Wales across from the emaciated dog of King Henry IV. The University was beautiful although the grass could not be trodden upon unless one is a senior member of the university. Many similarities could be drawn between Cambridge and Lewis & Clark including the fanatic rowers sacrificing a portion of their sanity. Our guide was nostalgic for the days where the well-trimmed males dominated the river, where now it was filled with Amazonian woman.

Finishing the tour, many decided to leave because a long night was allocated for the celebration of Nikki’s birthday. Dinner and preparation took until the late evening of 11 o’clock but intentions had been made to stay until closing of 7am. The renowned club Fabric consisted of three separate dance floors with amazing lighting. Although we arrived as a group people, we became engulfed by the crowds and it was nearly impossible to keep track of one another. Many decided to leave early (3am) while other decided to stay to the bitter end. The result of the party made Sunday a true day of rest and unproductivity, allowing people to be cognitively ready for a new week of excitements in London.