Lakes, Mountains, Rocks, and the Views and Activities that accompany these things - by Rachel Neer

I have words for this weekend:
Stunning. Breath-taking. Beautiful. Lovely. Amazing.
I have more words for this weekend:
Cold. Wet. Windy. Rainy. Dreary. Cloudy. Foggy.
And one more list of words:
Restful. Relaxing. Sleep. Good company. Laughter. Leisure. Rugby.

This was how I spent my time in the Lake District this weekend. We arrived earlier on Thursday night than we had expected, but that just gave everyone extra time to get things in order and go to bed. A few of my roommates decided that they were going to hike to the top of a mountain to see the sunrise the next morning, which would have been fun…but they set their alarms for 5:15 and there was no way that I was getting up that early. I told them to have fun and went to sleep.

The next morning, after breakfast, I walked into Ambleside with Lindsey, who was waiting for her friend to arrive that afternoon. It was cool, but not cold, and sprinkling, but not rainy. The town was a nice size; it reminded me of my hometown, only a tad bit larger and more touristy. We walked back to the hostel and ate lunch inside, where it was not near as cold but the view of the mountains over the lake was absolutely amazing. After lunch, as it was cold and rainy outside and I had no desire to hike in that, I settled into an armchair with crayons and Sudoku puzzles. An hour or so later, Amanda joined me. We decided after another half hour and no sign of the people that she was waiting for that we would take a walk. Walk we did, on the sidewalk along the side of the lake. When we got back her friends arrived, and they took off.

At or around that time, Stefanie came downstairs with reading of her own to do. A few of her friends showed up in time for dinner, and so we went and ate Chinese in town. We talked and I got to know some of the people that I have spent two months with just a little bit better. Whilst it was cold and rainy, nothing stopped us from having good conversation and a bit of laughter on the way back to the hostel.

Saturday morning after breakfast we all went our various ways to do various activities. The weather that morning didn’t look too promising at first, but we were fortunate in that as soon as we got to Langdale the rain stopped. That morning I had signed on to go rock climbing…in all reality, the climbing the mountain up to the rock was the harder part of the journey.

Rock climbing was fun, but like everything else that weekend…it was cold. Holding onto a wet rock for dear life in the sub-zero temperatures without gloves was a little frustrating at first, but eventually people got used to it. I made an attempt at the easier of the three courses and that was good enough for me. I didn’t make it all the way to the top, but I did make it a good deal of the way. Past that, I was content with watching and offering direction and encouragement from ground-level. Sometimes that has to be someone’s job, and I was fine with that. I had good fun with my feet firmly planted, after I tried my own hand at the different paths that I could take up the sheer face of the rock. The sheep walked by and watched us as well…we always thought that sheep were stupid animals, but these sheep knew who the smart ones were, and it wasn’t us. So that was the general consensus, at least.

We ate lunch on the bus on the way back to the hostel that afternoon. I had shortbread in my lunch, which made any part of that morning that was cold and wet worth it. That afternoon I finished a puzzle that a group of us had started the night before…it was a humorous picture of London that all made sense after the endless hours that we have spent on British Studies in our time here. The puzzle finished, I rewarded myself (and probably everyone else) with a warm shower and clean clothes. I headed downstairs where Matt was watching the rugby game of Wales vs. Ireland that had come on minutes before. He was joined by a few students and several others who were staying in the hostel with us, which made for good company.

Since I don’t understand much about rugby at all, I chose to sit and pretend like I knew what was going on, asking Matt the occasional question or two when it came to mind. I finished several Sudoku puzzles, some of which may not be readable now because I was working them left-handed. I was quite comfortable in the chair, and my right hand, if moved, would make me uncomfortable…so I learned to write with my left hand. Somewhere after the second rugby game (England vs. Wales), I fell asleep. I woke to hear stories of sinking kayaks and muddy hikes and climbing up waterfalls, three things that I was really glad I didn’t do.

Naps aside, Wales beat Ireland and, in a huge upset for England, Scotland took home the victory. Several were upset over that, seeing as we are in England. Matt missed almost the entire England vs. Scotland game because he was taking a nap himself. That seemed to be the theme of the day…but after rigorous activity in the morning, it was probably deserved for everyone.

Dinner that night was at the hostel for me, since I just didn’t want to get cold and wet again. It was nice to stay “close to home,” as it was, and to do things with people there. Several rowdy games of cards were played, ones that could easily rival the card games played on Friday night. After several rounds of cards, though, we moved into the Quiet Room and began another puzzle which, unfortunately, did not get completed. It was a hard one to do. The company was nice, though, and we listened to Guy and Matt read us bedtime stories. Alex and Mariel read to us from an encyclopedia of words to know that was published in 1965. Their librarian/teacher voices helped us to learn a lot that night.

Sunday we left the hostel after breakfast…we drove through some amazing scenery on our way to lunch in a small town still in the Lake District (which is where we were…I’m not sure if I’ve said that just yet). Lunch at a café left time for general wandering about with Lindsay and Jamie, two other people whom I haven’t gotten to spend near as much time with this semester as I would have liked. Shortbread and gingerbread accompanied Jamie and I on the way back to Harlaxton, which didn’t take as much time as we thought it would. I returned to dinner, group meetings, and papers to outline…which was fine, because I’ve learned that sometimes I like having things to do.

No matter how many times I leave Harlaxton to travel, it always feels good to be back “home.” There is always a mini sigh of relief that escapes me when I see the manor in the distance. I counted this morning, and there are only 7 more weeks left…only 5 of those will be able to greet me on Sunday nights with a view of the manor. They say that time flies when you are having fun. I may have to agree on this matter.
Next weekend: London for a day (I love field trips!), then Ireland. I’ll let you know how the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are next weekend!