The Bournemouth 7s festival was a pretty fun event. Some of the people there were to play rugby, while 90 percent of the 30,000 people there showed up to listen to some music and get hammered, and that includes some of the rugby teams. There was also some really great food, like the burger made of kangaroo meat that was so unlike other burgers I've had in England, or the chicken burrito with guacamole and jalepenos.
We played three games on Saturday and won one. The game we won was against the Overdressed Pandas, a team with the greatest jerseys I've ever seen. In the background were red flames, while a transformer-like robot was riding on a red-eyed and vicious Tyrannosaurus Rex with a screaming panda on its shoulder. They were incredible and I wanted to trade my shirt for one of theirs. But we scored two tries against them and held them scoreless. We certainly exceeded expectations by scoring, never mind winning. It was a great feeling to win, one that certainly deserved a snakebite (beer and cider with some red-colored juice).
Our other two games were losses that looked typical of a group of guys who have either never played rugby, or haven't in a few years. The first game was a 57-0 loss to the Batmen, a team dressed in black, Batman logos and capes attached to the socks. There were about seven semi-professional players on that team, and they came out to knock some skulls around. By the third game of the day, however, they had slowed down by a fair amount, mostly because of the amount of alcohol in their systems.
By far the most odd game of the day was between one team dressed in nothing but water wings and thongs, G-strings or briefs, while the other team was dressed in overalls or costumes. There was one guy dressed in a kilt who carried around a beer bottle the entire game. That would be an odd game to play in, for sure.
That day reminded me of being on the cross country team in high school, in that we spent all day at a meet, huddled in the shade of a tree, waiting for our turn to play. And in the meantime, we screwed around and had a laugh. While the results weren't fantastic, it was so worth it. I learned a new sport, kept in shape and grew some more. After school finishes and I get a job, I'd like to keep playing rugby.
My family and I made the trek to London today. I'll say right now I'm so happy they got to see my favorite city in the world, the one where my greatest memories were made. They were able to see why I describe London as a chaotic mass of humanity. But they were only there for one day, so they saw but just a tiny fraction of the city. I dragged them through masses of people in the Camden Town Stables, a small but incredibly dense marketplace with the feel of a flea market. And of course, since there were five of us, all of us just refused to stay together due to getting distracted by something shiny or tasty.
This was my dad's first time in a truly big city. He compared the amount of people to Disneyland. It was his first time having to pay 30p to use a public toilet. He's never used a metro before. I think my family were deeply grateful to have a guide with them, as they'd be completely lost if I wasn't there. But now that I think about it, that's what my mom likes to do. She has a knack for being at your shoulder one moment, but then completely vanishing the next minute because she got distracted by something else. She strolls and takes it all in. She's not walking to anywhere. Rather, she's experiencing everything along the way, and if she gets lost, so be it.
We ate street food, like the falafel wrap in Camden Town or the mutton curry we had near Waterloo Station. It was all incredible, with just a little bit of spicy bite to it. I dragged my family through the underground maze known as the Tube, and to St. Paul's Cathedral, where a Swedish organist was filling the dome of the cathedral with deep, haunting bass that somehow reached the inside of your chest, like how a dragster in a drag race does. Five years ago I stumbled upon a service inside this cathedral; I was stunned at how big it was. I had never seen anything like it. While it's still pretty incredible in present-day me's point of view, I've seen better. The Duomo di Milano has ruined all other cathedrals for me.
I was able to show them the neighborhood I lived in during those months with the British Studies Program with the University of Southern Mississippi. I showed them a small taste of that city, and after 10 miles of walking today, some of them want another day there. Success.
As a side note, after being a guest on Couchsurfing adventures, I'll play the host to someone this week. This guy comes from Argentina, and it'll be another opportunity to practice Spanish.
27/5 - I (and the rest of the family) are back from France. It was their (beside mom) first time in France, and a place where the language isn't English. The language barrier is definitely awkward. Plus, it was another change in currency, this time to the Euro.
While I'm known for winging it, I don't usually wing it to the degree we did in Cherbourg. We got to the ferry station in Poole without having bought a ticket, reserved a place to sleep or rented a car. Since that wasn't my idea, I lost my cool on the ferry, and I made it known to my family I was losing my mind. And for that, I later apologized, because as we all know, these things tend to work themselves out in the end. We eventually snagged a hotel room outside of Cherbourg, and from there we drank some truly delicious beer from Strasbourg in the bar and later ate dinner. I had cheese and wine for dessert, and that might be my favorite French food. I admit it: I like stinky and strong cheese.
We rented a car the next day. This way we were able to see more of the countryside and try to decipher French freeway signs. I rented the car, and this time I didn't have a huge fee slapped on because I'm not 25. But when I got in and started the engine, I had an oh-no-that-might-be-an-issue moment when I looked down and saw the car was a manual transmission. But all was well because I drove stick for a year before coming here. It was easy. And really, driving stick is more fun.
We explored the small villages and sights associated with World War II. These include Sainte-Mere Eglise, Pointe Du Hoc and Utah Beach. I've seen all of these places before, but I'm glad my dad was able to see them and geek out. He's a WWII buff. It was also fun to drive around narrow countryside lanes that lead through tiny villages and the coastline. It was another quick, yet meaningful adventure.
I mentioned earlier I'll host someone through Couchsurfing. While on the ferry back to Poole, Anna called me and said the guy was already in Corfe House and staying in their flat!
What?!
I initially thought he got there early, and I was kind of ashamed my friends were keeping an eye on him for me. But it was a massive coincidence. Anna (who was also in France the last couple of days) was on the same bus from London as this guy. So they were talking, and she found out he was going to Corfe House. She helped him get here and, along with Symeon and Emmanuel, kept him company until I got there, smelling of beach and sweating from the quick walk from the ferry station. The situation is fine, and I'm glad nothing bad happened. Symeon and Anna had absolutely no problem with it; they both told me that's what friends are for. I'm sure this guy is good with just having a place to stay for the night.
His name is Joel. He's from Argentina. He just graduated law school and now he's traveling around Europe. It's a massive backpacking trip which will take him north through the UK, south through Ireland, through Scandinavia and eventually into Russia, a place where he doesn't need a visa just to visit like Americans or Europeans do. I think this is the beginning of his trip, this stop in Poole.
We've been speaking Spanish, and also talking with Stella. She didn't know I could speak Spanish at the level I do. But even in this short amount of time, I feel more comfortable speaking. And as for Joel, he's staying in a place where he's able to meet a lot of new people. It's a pretty cool situation. But this made me realize I have some awesome friends who have my back. They know I'm not in some sketchy situation and I wouldn't do anything to screw them. And honestly, that is such an amazing feeling.
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