The R is for Rugby and the U is for Unite!...

The rugby team!

Hello all! I have been so busy recently I have not had time to write a blog post!! As you can probably guess from the title of this post I will indeed be updating you about rugby, amongst other things. I am still having a blast playing for the team, all of the girls are really great! I have played in a few games so far and it is so nerve racking! I am still trying to get the confidence and aggression to actually full on tackle someone, but I am slowly getting there. I recently started grabbing at people and ripping the ball out of their hands, which is a big improvement for me! We have not won a game yet, but that is because the team lost seven experienced players and was moved up in to a harder league this year. Most of the girls on the team are new, so even though we have not been winning we have been putting up a good fight! The twins on the Dickinson program that are here play rugby as well and started tackling people in the last game. It was EPIC, if I do say so myself. We built up a lot of aggression because the girls we played would grab our necks and choke us to try and "tackle" us and unfortunately did not have the best sportsmanship. But what can you do.. other than tackle them harder?

In addition to rugby, I am involved in the American Studies society and the school newspaper, Concrete. I have not yet been able to write for the paper because the meetings in which they give out assignments have been during my classes so far and, because of my schedule, I have not had time to research and write the remaining articles. I plan on talking to someone in the exec board to see if it is possible to write about things from an American perspective, hopefully giving me more leeway in my writing. The American Studies society has had a social, which was fun, but other than there have not been any meetings yet.

Some friends and I at the Canaries game!

Last week a few of my friends and I went to a football game for Norwich's team, the Canaries, where they faced Aston Villa. It was a reserve game so it was relatively empty, but for three pounds we managed to have front row seats right at the midfield line. Of course, us being Americans, we were the loudest ones there, but it was awesome to see all the families come and shout chants during the game. It was similar to how Americans would act at a baseball game. The match ended up in a tie, but it was still very exciting and entertaining to watch.

This week there was a beer festival in Norwich. Of course my friends and I went to check it out, and we were SO glad we did.. it was a very interesting experience! It cost four pounds to enter and then you could either pay eight or 13 pounds and receive tokens for beer and a pint glass. There were a large variety of different beers, ales, and ciders: each one had an interesting name, such as "I Can't Believe It's Not Bitter," along with a number between one and ten on the bitterness scale and symbols to show if the drink was fruity, amongst other things. Attendees could use their tokens to get either a 1/3 pint, 1/2 pint, or full pint of the different drinks, and, if one wanted, they could ask for a taste of the drink before they committed their tokens to a decent amount of it. There were some locals there who have been volunteering there or attending for over ten years! It was in an old church, St. Andrews, and it was filled with mostly older men. Everyone was very nice and was VERY into the tasting.. these Englanders are all about their drinks, let me tell you!! We ended up staying there for a few hours and were able to sell back any tokens we did not use for our money back, a good strategy in my opinion.

The day after attending the festival, my Dickinson professor had a few of us over for dinner and it was PHENOMENAL! His wife cooked us a five course meal: pita and hummus, Greek salad, chicken, bean, and cheese enchiladas with green beans and roasted peppers, five different cheeses and crackers, homemade creme brulee, and coffee and tea. It was all very delicious, and it was nice to have a decent home cooked meal instead of my usual peanut butter and jelly (or jam, as the Brit's call it) sandwich.

Currently, I am sitting at my computer anxiously awaiting for it to be 1 a.m. Why, you ask? Because a few friends and I are going to COPENHAGEN!!!! It should be a lot of fun! We are flying there and are arriving at 9:30 a.m.. We are most likely going to nap for a while and then meet up with a fellow Dickinsonian who is studying in Copenhagen. On Saturday, we plan to shop and meet up with my friend from home who is studying in Copenhagen as well before going to Sensation White, a huge event in Europe where everyone attending wears white and listens to live DJ's. It should be so fun! We will then finish up our trip on Sunday by taking a tour of the Carlsberg Beer Factory before flying home Sunday night. It should prove to be an eventful trip!

Rugby, School, and a Vega Reunion

My group at Cromer

I'm finally starting to get adjusted to life in Norwich even though I am always busy! Despite the fact I only have class once a week, I am very busy with the newspaper, rugby, and other activities I am getting involved in. This past week for my Dickinson class we were split up into groups and had to go to different areas outside of Norwich. My group went to Cromer. It reminded me of a touristy beach town, full of arcades, little shops, and restaurants. It was on the coast and no one was really out and about, probably because it just started getting to be chilly here (as opposed to the 80 degree weather we had this past week).  Also this week my friend Chloe's parents came to visit and took a bunch of us out to dinner on Thursday and Friday. We went to Cafe Rouge and the Last Wine Bar and the food was absolutely delicious! I haven't had that many food babies in a looooooong time. On Saturday I went back to London with two other girls to do more research for the papers we have to write for the Dickinson class we took in London and I met up with one of my friends from Camp Vega who is studying in Italy and happened to be in London that weekend! We met up for lunch at an Indian food restaurant on the infamous Brick Lane and went to Camden Market for a bit, amongst doing research for my paper, of course. It was really fun and great to see her again.

Olivia and I on the tube! V for Vega!

Two rugby girls and I at a social

I started playing rugby here and so far I love it! I am not very good as I just started playing it a week ago, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Being someone who grew up playing soccer (or football as the Brits say) and lacrosse, two sports where you can't even nudge someone without getting in trouble on the field, it is very hard for me to get my head around the fact that I am supposed to tackle people. Luckily, we have two coaches, two boys who play for the boys rugby team, that help us out in practice and give us tips on improvement. So far I have rolled both of my ankles and hurt my knee. Typical. My team captain keeps joking that she'll have to spend time in the A&E (accident and emergency, not the channel) room a lot and keeps saying that if that happens on the bright side unlike in America, being treated there will be free. Mom and Dad don't freak out, I'll do my best to ensure this doesn't happen.

Tomorrow I have an interview for a job on campus! If I get it I will be inputting data into a computer twice a week from the phoneathon students participate in the night before. This is when students call old alumni asking for donations. I really hope I get this job; it would be nice to have a little extra pocket money so I can actually shop and be able to do more activities and go to more events here. Wish me luck!