A Wardrobe Away from Narnia

Some days you find yourself riding a train through the English countryside next to the ocean, eating a brownie, listening to Christmas music, drinking tea and reading a good book. This is a good day. And this is how my day began yesterday. I fully expected that when I arrived at the station, I would find myself at some grand estate, then a hide-a-seek game later I would be having tea with Mr. Tumness. Instead I found an excited Jan picking me up and then taking me through a surreal journey to the world of Peter Grimes.

Aldebrugh is where Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears called home and eventual laid themselves to eternal rest. I likewise laid myself to rest, but thankfully not eternal, and after a wonderful day which included a concert, fis and chips, a sappy Christmas movie, and thought provoking conversations with my favorite Irishman, but not necessarily in that order. And earlier that day Jan said something quite fun: "I don't want you to take offense to this, but sometimes you sound like Michael Jackson." Never been told that before! Unfortunately, she was not talking about my singing voice.

Rewind to one day earlier. I was exploring Cambridge, take 2, only this time with 16 excited Americans and 1 not-as-excited Englishwoman. Since I had already been to Cambridge, my enthusiasm was at 80% instead of its usual 180%. One amazing art gallery and a sleepy train ride later I found myself back in London. I met Jan and Den, then went ice skating. I don't get paid for my work with Orion, but I definitely do get some perks! Ice skating beneath the London Eye, I got tips from my Italian friend Onofrio. "I'm pretending I'm royalty," He would say as he raced laps around the rest of us. While he transformed from a Russian Prince to a Belgium ambassador, I became more and more comfortable in my skates.

Then up the London Eye, at night, as romantic as you could possibly imagine, except for the romance part. Afterward, sushi, my first in months. I failed in my attempts to use restraint as I gorged myself on conveyor-belt delicacies. Then on to salsa dancing, and then several long bus rides home. The best part was I made friends. The worst part, I do not know their names.

Then off to Adlebrugh. But I've already said that. This an experiment in backwards, disjointed writing--please indulge me. Speaking of writing, I've realized that people are still reading my blog, but now comments are normally shared in private. My suspicion is that you don't want to be associated with my ramblings. Brave soul, I dare you to publicly comment!

Life continues to turn and shift, and though I can hardly say I have things figured out, I can say I'm in a better place. A glance at the date reminds me that I only have 3 weeks--how fast it has gone!