reading & richmond: catching up with friends

On Saturday, I took a train to Reading, England, a town about half an hour west of London.  My friend Angelina had invited me over for the weekend.  I hadn't seen her since freshman year of university, when I attended Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia.  Randolph partners with the University of Reading, and sends a group of study abroaders to England every year.  They even have a couple of houses twenty minutes away from campus for their students to live in.  Had I stayed at Randolph College, rather than transferring to Westminster for my sophomore year, I'd probably be living in one of those houses right now!

So, Saturday morning I took the tube to Paddington station (which took some manuevering of routes: several lines were closed or partially closed for maintenance)  and rode from there to Reading, where Angelina met me at the station.  We hung out at her house, and I said hello to some other Randolph students who I knew from freshman year.  I helped Angelina decorate for a house party taking place that night--Star Wars themed!  We went all out, nerds that we are, and made each room into a different planet from Star Wars.  That night, everyone from the two Randolph houses plus some guests came over for the party.  There was lots of tasty food: chicken kebabs, hamburgers ("Hans" burgers...:) chocolate mousse, and more, compliments of Jill, the Randolph crew's house-mother, who lives in a small flat attached to the house.  I ate way too much food--gotta take advantage of homemade goodness when I can!  Some people went all out with costumes.  Costume parties here are called "fancy dress" parties: the first time I heard that, I thought I was supposed to turn up in a formal gown! It was nice to see everyone again, to hear what they've been up to and how Randolph College is doing.  When people began to be partied out, we watched some of the old-school Star Wars movies, which I hadn't seen in way too long.  The next morning was very laid-back: we slept in, had some breakfast and just chatted and caught up some more.

That visit brought back so many memories from Virginia.  Sunday morning, in that small house in England with only six Randolph students, I could still sense that culture of courtesy, care, and just general classiness that surrounds the women (and now men) of Randolph College.

However, I can't help but compare my study abroad experience with the setup of Randolph's study abroad program.  I'm grateful that I am living on campus, with British students, rather than off campus in a house with students from my home university.  I feel I'm getting a more "authentic" experience this way--there's not that sense of detachment. 

After lunch, I caught a train to Richmond, to meet Robin, one of the Eurolearn coordinators, and some other Eurolearn students at a little restaurant called the Giraffe.  The trainride was about an hour long, which was nice and relaxing.  I've decided train is my favorite way to travel.  It's so much nicer than the tube, where everyone seems so grey and depressed.  Plus, you get to look out the windows!  It was good to hear what everyone had been up to since we all parted ways after the Bridging Cultures program ended in September.  Most of the other students are here only for a semester, and so have been trying to squeeze in all their travel plans.  I'm glad I'm here for a year and have more time to go places and plan things--plus, I feel like I'm just now really getting settled. 

It was a good weekend!  It's nice to take time away from busy London every now and then.  I will definitely be seeing more of Reading--especially since more of my Randolph friends are flying over for spring semester!

Angelina & I: Reunited in England!