England - its glories in the first week
Spires of learning
Samantha Sigmon
Issue date: 10/8/08 Section: Lifestyles
The house is attached to all the rest and is gray and bricked. Looking out from it, one can see thousands more government houses just like it, a literal maze of separate linking existences. Haverhill is a town for young mothers, Laura said, when I point out that I have never seen so many buggies clogging up one town before. It's true, like Laura, the mums lugging the whining toddlers around are almost exactly my age. I can't imagine being in her position, but she literally is a super hero with these kids every day. One or more is almost always screaming "mummy!" at every minute.
Last Sunday, Laura, Dan, Sam and I dressed up and went to this "posh" place in Cambridge to eat. Passing by all the colleges lit up at night was the most beautiful place I've walked through in my 20 years. Past the spires of Kings College and the Tudor-style Queens College and the white St. Johns College and the round medieval church and the huge cathedrals with armies of history's finest carved in stone guarding the structures from time itself.
Tuesday night I saw my very first real football match. We watched a championship league home game, right below the top premiership league, in Ipswich. The stadium, holding about 30,000 attendees, was buzzing with life and anticipation. Football is the opposite of American football in that it is such a fast paced game. The clock never stops; if you blink, you literally can miss something great. A few Carling beers and explanations later, we won the game and celebrated at a pub with some more English ale.
Every day is packed with English events that Dan and Sam graciously show me. So here I am, unafraid in England, getting fifty pounds for every hundred dollars and loving every second of the screaming children, the slight poverty and the cold windy rainy gray days. England is America turned on its head; America is England turned on its head. This traveler will never get weary of England's distinct charms. Bring more of it on, England!
Samantha Sigmon is a columnist for The Arkansas Traveler. Her column appears every three Wednesdays.
Last Sunday, Laura, Dan, Sam and I dressed up and went to this "posh" place in Cambridge to eat. Passing by all the colleges lit up at night was the most beautiful place I've walked through in my 20 years. Past the spires of Kings College and the Tudor-style Queens College and the white St. Johns College and the round medieval church and the huge cathedrals with armies of history's finest carved in stone guarding the structures from time itself.
Tuesday night I saw my very first real football match. We watched a championship league home game, right below the top premiership league, in Ipswich. The stadium, holding about 30,000 attendees, was buzzing with life and anticipation. Football is the opposite of American football in that it is such a fast paced game. The clock never stops; if you blink, you literally can miss something great. A few Carling beers and explanations later, we won the game and celebrated at a pub with some more English ale.
Every day is packed with English events that Dan and Sam graciously show me. So here I am, unafraid in England, getting fifty pounds for every hundred dollars and loving every second of the screaming children, the slight poverty and the cold windy rainy gray days. England is America turned on its head; America is England turned on its head. This traveler will never get weary of England's distinct charms. Bring more of it on, England!
Samantha Sigmon is a columnist for The Arkansas Traveler. Her column appears every three Wednesdays.
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