Elevenses (tea time)

We here at YWAM are fanatical about tea breaks. In fact some of us now know the precise ratio of tea-to-sugar-to-milk while others are developing strong bonds with certain bicycle, Disney, Egypt, and green-colored mugs. Others still, have realized that they are biscuit dunkers, not biscuit nibblers.

Even though we're each learning something different during tea time, we've all learned together, through trial and error, to let our beverage of choice cool before sipping by suffering the mouth-burning consequences.

Doritos

Ah, it is Friday, which means it is time for some fun.

I've taken a picture of our kitchen and highlighted a few familiar products with not-so-familiar British-English names. And just to fill the picture out, I highlighted a couple other familiar products to illustrate the fact that the English are indeed quite similar to Americans.

Henry

This is Henry, our hoover. I am not making this up, that is really his name and he really does have a face. As you can see, he's a little shy, so I often have to yank him around corners, through doors and over his own cord, but all in all, he is an excellent vacuum. Hopefully you'll see more of Henry in the coming days. (Henry the camera-shy hoover. Hey little guy!)

St. Albans Cathedral Photos

Here are the pictures that correspond with my thoughts on heidischermerhorn.com about the St. Albans Cathedral that my group visited last Saturday:
This is the back of the church (this is the second time I've uploaded pictures in reverse order; sorry!) which is a smaller chapel-like area. In all I think there were at least half a dozen smaller chapels there. This is the prayer room (a lot of candles are found in Catholic churches! Here you could donate money to light one if you wanted) where a service was being held just to the right of the candles.
As we walked through the church, we were stepping on the past--this grave is from 1715!)
The nave (main area of the church) is the longest in England. Notice the painting on the left-hand column--that's from the 13th century!
Just a shot of the outside. It was pretty chilly, maybe 40 degrees, but sunny and not a drop of rain!
A few friends walking through the graveyard. The church is just to our left.


Really old stuff! I think these might be the bricks used to build part of the church from the old Roman colony ruins of the area.
And another sunny shot of the beautiful exterior

Magpies

Here's a picture of one of the magpies that visit The Oval. Turns our they don't travel very far from their birthplaces, so chances are I've been seeing the same one or two these past couple of weeks. They in the crow family and I think of them as the kinder, gentler sibling to crows, probably because of the crow invasions I experienced every winter at Iowa State They get in trouble like Blue Jays, by eating other birds' eggs, but don't seem to be as aggressive. In sum, they're fantastic! (Sir Henry Magpie tromping around on the soggy ground)

Good things happen over coffee

In the week and a half that I've been in Harpenden, I've tried 7 different coffee blends and just haven't found that one special blend that I can say "now that's a good cup of coffee."

Now on one hand, I'm content with English coffee, after all, it is a big part of my English experience and it is pretty fun to order when I'm out. (Every restaurant gives you a biscuit with your coffee--very touching). But, on the other hand, for the mornings that I make coffee at home, I think "wouldn't it be great to have a slice of home while I consider England my home for the next 3 months?"

Therefore, if you feel led, feel free to mail some American-packed coffee beans my way. A vanilla-hazelnut specialty blend, cheap grocery-store brand morning blend, leftovers from your pantry, Maxwell House, whatever!

(coffee this morning: sure I can stomach it, but why stomach coffee when there's good coffee to enjoy?)

In return, I'll mail you back or hand deliver upon my return some coffee-related English snacks or accessories for you.

You can mail coffee, and general correspondence for that matter, to me at the following address:

Heidi Schermerhorn
2008 January DTS
Highfield Oval
Ambrose Lane
Harpenden
Herts
AL5 4BX
England

English Squirrels

The weather is really finicky here, so Saturday morning I took my coffee outside to determine how many layers I should wear and there in the leaves it was: my first English squirrel.


Odd how now that I've seen one, I've seen about a dozen more. Ironically, it turns out two people on our base have permits to carry guns to hunt squirrels and pigeons. You either love them or hate them I guess.

In other news, for some reason www.heidischermerhorn.com has gone haywire. I'm looking into it and hopefully will have it up and running again soon. I suppose this is a good time to explain my plans that if both websites are working from here on out, this (blogger.com) site will be for photos that go along with my updates on heidischermerhorn.com (it is much faster to upload pictures to blogger than doing it by hand on heidischermerhorn.com) and other miscellaneous commentary, while heidischermerhorn.com will be where I post things that are a little more in depth about why I'm here, what I've been learning, and things like that.

I have plenty of updates to pass along so stay tuned for my essay on St. Albans Cathedral, Ye Old Fighting Cock, and park-dwelling English ducks and birds.

No One's Gnome

Take a look at the picture of "the oval," central campus, and you'll notice the first gnome that I've seen on this trip by the trunk of the tree in the foreground. I was initially very surprised that a gnome would be out in the morning, but with all the rain and constantly damp ground, I can now see why they'd want to be outside in the day this time of year: perfect harvesting weather and in general, a great view of the whole base that they're responsible for.
Even thought it is winter here, it does not mean things aren't growing or are in a semi-permafrost by Minnesota standards. No, sir! The majority of plants are already budding or pushing through the dirt. There are plenty of pansies and violas growing and plenty of greenery, keeping green.

English Coffee

Making coffee in the morning means making coffee...for me and only me. Everyone else demands tea in the morning. Oh well, it is a burden I gladly bear, if only to make strange-tasting coffee. I can't tell if it is the coffee that tastes a little off or if it is the "partially-skimmed" milk that is as thick as paint that I add. Either way, here's a little tour of making coffee in the morning. Eventually I'll get some pictures on here of each of us enjoying our warm beverage of choice.

Harpenden, England

Hi, Everyone!

Here are a few photos from the first hours of being in England. Enjoy!
On our way to downtown Harpenden. The walk is pretty nice, kinda like the weather. Nice.

We're at the grocery store now. Holy biscuits, look at them all!!
Pints! Of Milk!
Two Americans overwhelmed by the produce selection. A Brit proudly showing off the produce selection.
The Queen hanging out with George and friends.

A few parties for the road

My friend Brynn hosted a going away party for me last Saturday. It was fantastic because I played Nintendo Wii for the first time and it rocked so much, I was sore for 3 days afterward. Saturday night was an all-round good time with great cheese and great friends!
And last night I hung out with my friends from work one last time. I'll miss the seasonal decorations, and my coworkers a little more. ;o)