Hi Blog, It's Been a While

Well, I feel sheepish. I haven’t updated in a really long time. And that is really mainly down to the fact that I literally have not had the time. In the time between my last post and this one, I have written two essays, one 2500 word story, studied for and taken a final exam, and traveled to Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, the Cotswolds, York, Bristol, Bath (again), Dublin, Paris, Venice, Rome, Berlin, Nuremberg, Neuschwanstein, and Munich. And I’m about to go to Prague next week and probably Edinburgh at some point. So I have a lot of catching up to do on this thing! I do have to say that everything has been incredibly fun and wonderful, and I feel so lucky to have experienced and seen everything that I have.

First things first… My Aunt Kim came to visit me in late March. Since she lived in the UK for a few years, it was great having her here to navigate around as we toured the countryside of England. She rented a car, picked me up from my house, and we set off to Stratford-upon-Avon. It was a really cute town full of blooming tulips and thatched houses. Our first order of business was to find the house where Shakespeare was born and go for a tour. I really loved it. They had the house made up exactly as it would have been in the 1500s, even down to the furniture, and they had dressed-up guides in most of the rooms explaining facts about Shakespeare’s life and the era. The garden in the back was really beautiful, and the coolest part was they had dressed-up actors walking around who would randomly start performing excerpts from Shakespeare’s works. We stopped and watched a girl and guy perform from The Taming of the Shrew. Then someone started calling out requests from other plays and they both just started performing scenes from these plays right out of memory. That would be such a fun job…if you had a really good memory for that kind of thing and were good at acting…which I am neither…but still.

Actors in Shakespeare's garden

After that we stopped at a tearoom for afternoon tea and scones. This is going to sound silly, but that was my second cup of tea ever in the UK…mostly because I’m a heathen and like Coke better than tea. But I discovered a love for it on that trip, probably because of the sheer number of times we did stop for afternoon tea. It really perks you up, and not just because of the fact that I put on average about 20 spoonfuls of sugar into mine. Also, scones with clotted cream and jam might be the best thing the Brits have ever done for the world. The tearoom was really cute and Shakespeare-themed, with his quotes painted in gold all over the place.

Stratford-upon-Avon

That night we bought tickets to see Richard III. As you might imagine Shakespeare plays are very popular in Stratford and supposed to be really great. I can say with certainty that it’s true—I really loved the play and I wasn’t sure I would, since Richard III isn’t really his most lighthearted work. Inside the theater it was built something like it would have been in the 1500s, with tiers of wooden benches. The actors were really wonderful. It was a really long play—I think it went from 7 to 11 or something like that. Definitely worth it, though!

That night we stayed in a bed and breakfast my aunt had picked out. I’ve never stayed in a B&B but it was this adorable house in the countryside and—best of all—it had sheep. It was lambing season so there were lambs chasing each other all over the place. Our second-story window even looked out onto them and we could hear them bleating in the morning. There was also a white horse and two or three very friendly cats roaming around. I kind of went nuts trying to take pictures of everything…as I usually do. The homemade English breakfast—fried eggs, bacon, sausage, tea, and toast, always toast—we were given in the morning was also worth the price of admission.

LAMBS!

The next day we visited the house of Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare’s wife. The main thing I remember about that is a very informative lady explaining the huge stone fireplace in the main room and all the tricks of using it for cooking back in the 1500s, which was basically a whole day process. Makes me thankful to have microwaves. I also remember going to the gift shop at the end and having to fight my way through a horde of tourists who were all talking really loudly. I couldn’t think why they annoyed me or why their voices were so jarring until I realized they were all American and I hadn’t been around that many Americans together in a while. Now I kind of know where they get the “loud American” stereotype. Anyway, after that we visited the church where Shakespeare is buried with his very cool epitaph of “Good Friends, for Jesus’ sake forbear, To dig the bones enclosed here! Blest be the man that spares these stones, And curst be he that moves my bones.”

Anne Hathaway's house

We left Stratford and drove to Warwick because I’d mentioned wanting to see a castle. A few people had warned us that Warwick Castle had turned more into a tourist trap than a historical place, but it was still really cool even though there were some cheesy elements. Once you get inside castle gates they had it set up something like a Renaissance fair, with people in pseudo-medieval costumes walking around and souvenir stands set up. Luckily you could still walk through parts of the castle itself like the great hall and everything. Also one room randomly had all these wax figures of King Henry VIII and his wives set up for no particular reason, but it was interesting. They also had shows on every so often, like jousting, hawking, and so on. We caught the trebuchet show. My dad would have loved to see it. The guy put on his little performance and talked about how dangerous it would have been for the people operating this thing; two men have to run in this huge wheel to work it and if they tripped they would have been dashed around inside the wheel. Then they had the trebuchet hurl a rock. After that we caught a falconry show, even though it was actually eagles (and an owl!) that he used instead of falcons.Two were American bald eagles. Also, we saw a wedding party later in the day heading toward the castle for the reception. The bride and groom went through the gate in a horse-drawn carriage. Can’t imagine being able to get married in a castle from the 1100s.

In Warwick we also stepped inside a beautiful old cathedral and Aunt Kim started talking to the lady who worked there. She was very distinguished and had an upper-class accent. My aunt asked why some of the statues on tombs got to wear crowns when they were only earls and not kings, and the lady explained that they were coronets and that nobility could wear them. Then she got a bit uncomfortable and very reluctantly said something to the effect of, “I don’t mean to brag, but my husband is one of the lesser nobility.” Apparently on her wedding day her mother-in-law gave her a diamond coronet to wear (but she stressed that she couldn’t keep it since she had only married a younger son). We wanted to ask more about who her husband was and what his rank was, but we didn’t want her to consider us “vulgar Americans” so we just thanked her and left. That taught me it pays to talk to people…I would have just thought she was just an average person working at a church, but she was nobility. Pretty cool.

After Warwick we headed out to the Cotswolds, which is a string of beautiful old villages all located near each other. They look very cozy and authentic. Plus they have funny names. We visited Stow-on-the-Wold (you can’t make this stuff up), Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter (really), and Bourton-on-the-Water. All very beautiful. The first and last ones were a bit touristy, but still neat and full of friendly people. As you can imagine these trips encompassed more afternoon tea, more scones, more sheep, and more gorgeous countryside.

It was a really relaxed and fun trip, and I’m grateful to Aunt Kim for taking me around. This post is already running long, so I’ll leave it here for now. Stay tuned for details on my Easter break trip and my Germany trip!

Springtime in England

The weather this past week has been unremittingly gorgeous. Blue skies, sunshine, in the 60’s. I love it. It’s funny how the British get on nice days…all the girls start wearing shorts even if it’s still a bit chilly and everyone just goes out on the field near the LRC to laze around. I went on a picnic the other day and some guy behind us was by himself juggling. Then I looked around a little while later and he had strung some rope between two trees and started tightrope walking. We acted like he was a weirdo but I think we were all just impressed.

Anyway, I’ve got most of my big assignments out of the way as far as schoolwork goes. On St. Patrick’s Day weekend I went to the St. Patrick’s Day parade in London. They had a huge stage set up in Trafalgar Square with live music and stands selling Irish foods and knickknacks. The parade was a bit random but still it was cool to be there, and we were right in the front.

This last Saturday I went on a day trip to Wales. We went to the town of Brecon, which is in a beautiful area known as the Brecon Beacons. I thought the landscape would be harsher and more mountainous but the Beacons are these huge, gently rolling green hills. There were sheep grazing all over and lambs chasing each other around, as well as horses and foals. We had to stop for a while to watch some lambs playing in a field. They are adorable (incidentally, they are also delicious in kababs).

Everywhere you looked it was just like a postcard or a page from a calendar. Amazing. The town of Brecon was nestled right in the midst of it. Brecon had the remnants of a castle as well as old stone bridges and cute shops. All of the signs in Wales are written in both Welsh and English—and some not even in English. I also saw several signs with “Meredith” on them, since that is a common last name in Wales. I wonder if they were any relation to me, since I have ancestors from Wales with the last name of Meredith! I meant to get a picture of one of the signs for my mom, but I didn’t get a chance to. Anyway, we ate at a nice—though overpriced—pub in Brecon called the Puzzle Tree. I had Welsh sausage and mash, and it was very good. I really wanted to overhear someone speaking in Welsh but alas, I didn’t. But it was really worth it because Wales was beautiful. I thought it was hilly around Hatfield but now I realize it’s practically flat here in comparison!

My Aunt Karen and I are still trying to work out the final few details for our trip, booking train tickets and the like. I can’t believe how close it is! I still have a lot to do. Anyway, I probably won’t have a great many interesting things to say before then. March has been insane...wonderful but insane, and I’m starting to think April will be the same!

Baths at Stonehenge, Baths in Bath

Last Sunday I went to Stonehenge and Bath. Not too much I can say about Stonehenge. I think my view of it was slightly soured owing to the fact that the weather was horrible when we went. It was cold and sprinkling when we waited in line for tickets, and by the time we got up to Stonehenge it was icy and pouring. That wouldn’t have been too bad but for the horizontal gusts of wind that constantly buffeted us. I couldn’t hear the person on my audio guide so I gave up trying to learn fascinating facts about Stonehenge. The other bad thing is you can’t walk among the stones anymore; they have a little path you have to view it from. We stayed long enough to snap a few pictures and then hustled back onto the bus. I was drenched from head to foot…it felt like I’d taken a bath fully-clothed. It was cool to see, but I wouldn’t make a second trip there!

Then another hour and we were at Bath, which is a beautiful city with Roman ruins and plenty of Georgian architecture from the 1700s. We took a city tour starting at a cathedral that had been built by Henry VII in the 1500s. The tour was really interesting but again the weather was not accommodating. It was cold and gusty and at one point it started hailing. Our poor tour guide…I think he could tell our attention was wandering, especially since none of us had eaten. Anyway, we saw the Circus, a collection of beautiful old houses where Nicolas Cage apparently used to live, as well as the Royal Crescent. Lots of cool stories about how they used to have duels on the lawns and how the city was the Las Vegas of its day—all these lavish parties and gambling halls. It was cool because a lot of the streets look so much like they might have centuries ago. Apparently one of the streets we saw was used to film 18^th century London scenes for that Vanity Fair movie.

We wandered back through the cute little streets to Sally Lunn’s, a restaurant in the oldest house in Bath (built in the 1600s) that is famous for its Bath buns. We actually ended up eating in a pub beside Sally Lunn’s, but oh well. I wanted something traditional so I got a steak-and-ale pie and mash (aka mashed potatoes), which was delicious and exactly what I needed to warm up. Outside it cleared up and a rainbow came out. The weather seriously went through all the seasons that day…spring, winter, and then it got warm and sunny. Guess England isn’t so different from Kansas, after all.

The Roman baths were my favorite part of our time at Bath. The museum is amazing. They have tons of Roman artifacts, including skeletons and burial stones and old accounts. And the Roman baths themselves are really beautiful. The hot springs were first used by the Romans and then later became very popular as a resort for royalty and nobility in the 1700s. You could tour the ruins of the bathhouse and temple the Romans had built. Their spas were set up very similarly to modern ones, with changing rooms, massage rooms, saunas, etc. The hot springs themselves were really neat. You weren’t supposed to touch the water but Andrea and I did when the attendants weren’t looking. It wasn’t really hot, just lukewarm—pretty much exactly like bathwater. They also had people dressed as Romans walking around and I guess you could talk to them, but they went on break before we could get over there. There’s authenticity for you. Anyway, we spent several hours there and before we left we flipped a coin into this pool in a Roman room called the frigidarium and made a wish, which is apparently what people have been doing for centuries. It was very cool!

Other than that, I haven’t been up to too much. March is going to be my crazy busy school month. I finished one 2,000 word essay this weekend but I have two more due next week. Yuck! One nice thing is the weather has been improving. It was almost in the 60’s today. I’ve noticed it has been getting rainier, but oh well. The nice days and warmer weather make up for it! The other week Tom came in and bullied Chelsea and me into getting ready early and going out for a walk because the weather was so nice. I’m glad we did, especially as we ended up doing one of my favorite things—eating—at this around-the-world cuisine place at the Galleria.

In my spare time I’ve been trying to help my Aunt Karen plan our Eurotrip over my Easter break. She, my mom, and cousin will be visiting. We are spending some time in England—London, Bristol, the Cotswolds and maybe Bath, then on to Dublin, Paris, Venice, and Rome. All the flights are booked and a couple of the hotels…we are still working on booking the rest. It is a lot of work and I haven’t planned anything like this before, so we are helping each other out! Before that, in late March, my Aunt Kim will be visiting as well and touring some of England with me, so I’m looking forward to that too. And I found out one of my best friends will definitely be visiting the first week of May, so I’m stoked for that. We are going to visit Germany if possible. I am just trying to enjoy the time I have. It is moving incredibly fast. I can’t believe it’s already March! Where is the time going?

Westminster Abbey and Randomness

On Saturday I went to London, not with the Family but with my friend Courtney. It was a beautiful day. The weather here has been improving steadily and apparently it should keep warming up. It was perfectly sunny and blue-skied and warm in the sunshine. We went to Westminster Abbey and got inside this time. It was really beautiful. Our tour guide was Jeremy Irons…or at least he was the voice on the audio tour haha. The architecture was amazing, of course, but the coolest part was seeing where all these famous people were buried in these incredible tombs—Mary Queen of Scots, Edward Longshanks (who I mostly know about from Braveheart), Oliver Cromwell, Geoffrey Chaucer, and way more who I can’t even remember right now. Plus all the people in the Poets’ Corner—Jane Austen, all the Bronte sisters, Keats, the Shelleys, Ben Jonson, John Dryden, George Handel, a huge sculpture of Shakespeare…they even had actors like Laurence Olivier in there.

I got to see the tomb of Elizabeth I, which was cool because I used to read all these books about her. Apparently her death mask was very lifelike so I sort of got to see what she looked like (she wasn’t a looker). Her tomb is right over her half-sister Queen Mary’s, which is funny because they didn’t get along well in life…well at least it doesn’t seem like they did given that Mary had Elizabeth imprisoned while she was queen. Hmm. There were also a lot of tributes and sculptures that Elizabeth I had made for people who she favored who died during her reign. So many people are buried there, including random people you’ve never heard of. There was one enormous sculpture that was really chilling; it was of a man trying to shield a cowering woman from this skeleton rising up from below who was hurling a spear at her. Apparently this was something a man had had made after his young wife’s untimely death in childbirth. I also saw the oldest door in Britain, which is in the abbey and apparently from the 1000s. Lots of cool stuff!

That was the only “cultural” thing we did for the day. After that we went to Paddington Station because she wanted to get a Paddington bear. Then we went to Brick Lane to hunt down this fish and chips place someone had recommended to her. It took forever to find including a lot of wandering around and getting slightly lost and having to ask directions, but it was SO WORTH IT. It’s called Poppie’s of Spitalfields and it was the best fish and chips I’ve had. You can get it takeaway wrapped in newspaper, but we sat inside, which is set up like a fifties diner. Their chips—fries—were so good. Yum. It’s kind of pricey but you do get a huge piece of fried fish. I’m going to be craving that again soon!

That place is in kind of a hipster-y area so that was interesting. We checked out a vintage shop across the way. It was super lame. Everything in there looked old and worn and it was way overpriced for used stuff! Anyhoo. Then it was off to Oxford Street for some shopping. We went to Primark, a popular store that has cute stuff for really cheap...kind of like a mix between a Charlotte Russe, Rue 21, and Target. I got a skirt for 3 pounds. Not too shabby. After that we went back to Hatfield, had a long wait for the bus to the Forum (I—hate—buses), and got back relatively early.

On Sunday I planned a trip to Asda with Andrea and Zed, but it closes at 4 on Sundays. Lame. So we trolled around the Galleria and ate at a Chinese buffet where I ate way too much to be allowed. Then last night I made the best macaroni and cheese in the entire world (Red Leicester cheese = delicious) and Tom put out this huge fancy spread of baguettes, all these different types of cheeses, and wine. So he, his girlfriend Katie, Enda, Cameron, and I sat and had a very French meal.

It has been pointed out to me that I talk a lot about food in my blog...and I’m doing it again...whoops. I guess my priorities are pretty clear, huh? Anyway, I am going to Bath and Stonehenge on Sunday. (Wonder what I’ll get to eat there?...)

On a different note, I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, so now that I’m essay-free (for a little while at least) I’m going to compose a list of British words/phrases that I hear a lot. I knew some of them, but some I had no idea about. So here goes, in no particular order:

Biscuits = cookies, but only a certain type. For instance, Chips Ahoy would be called cookies, but shortbread things or stuff that you’d have with tea are biscuits.

Chips = French fries, but again there are some differences. They call the things at McDonalds fries, but everywhere else it’s usually chips. I think maybe the really thick ones are called chips and the thin ones are fries…still trying to work it out…

Fit = attractive

Boff = attractive/good

Nice = same basic meaning but they use it way more than Americans do, and I feel like it usually refers to something that’s more like good quality/delicious. A lot of times they use it to describe a food that tastes really good. Like, “Those biscuits are quite nice, aren’t they?”

Bruv = short for ‘brother,’ like ‘bro.’ Sometimes certain London accents make the ‘th’ sound like ‘v,’ so ‘broth’ becomes ‘bruv.’ I really want to start using it but I feel like people might start looking at me funny. Yeah, bruv! (Or, if you see someone you really like, bruuuuuvaaaaay!)

Well = very (“I was well jealous!”)

Bare = very (“Oh he was bare cool!”)

Proper = very (“This room’s a proper mess!”) (They have a lot of words that mean ‘really’ or ‘very’ now that I think of it)

Innit = I initially thought it was just “isn’t it,” but it can also be used for emphasis (“Mate, we need some more food, innit!”)

Ladybirds = ladybugs

Hoover = vacuum (used as a noun and a verb, like “I need to do the Hoovering”)

Washing up liquid = dish soap

Full fat soft cheese = cream cheese (that’s what it’s called on the wrapper, anyway. Why all the adjectives? Why not call it cream cheese??)

Spirits = liquor

Sausage dog = wiener dog/dachshund (I love this one!)

Take the mick = make fun of (“You takin’ the mick, mate?”)

Take the piss = make fun of (much different from take a piss, as I’ve explained to one of my American friends)

Pikeys = Irish hooligans…kind of like gypsies…still not totally sure about exactly what they are

Other funny things: a lot of times they pronounce A’s differently than we would. Usually almost the opposite. For instance, for the word pasta we pronounce it ‘paw-stuh.’ They say ‘past-uh.’ And for nachos they say ‘naa-choes’ rather than ‘naw-choes.’ I’m probably not explaining it very well but oh well. It’s really weird and I keep getting corrected for saying these words “wrong.”

For the record, words I’ve had to explain: jerk, jetlag, sketchy, Sketchers (as in the shoe, which they don’t have here), college (here ‘college’ is more or less the same thing as American high school; while Americans use college/university interchangeably, here they only use university or uni for short to mean the stuff after high school). I’m sure there are plenty more I can’t think of right now, so the list might grow at a later date.

Birthdays, Castles, Pancakes, and Chocolate...Sounds Like a Good Time

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote, it seems like. Mike’s birthday party was a blast. We successfully surprised him, which I didn’t think we could pull off. That day Grayson and I went to Asda and bought some snacks, drinks, and a cake (the others paid us back later). My fingers almost fell off from carrying all those bags back to campus, but it was worth it! Then later that night I went over to the other campus, Dehav (where he lives), and Zhen (or Zed, since she is adopting the nickname Tyler gave her), Grayson, Andrea, and I waited with his flatmates. I have to say Mike has the sweetest, coolest flatmates. They decorated the kitchen for him and everything.

We started making the food and setting everything out, all the while anxiously checking out the window to see when he’d get back. He was so flustered when he walked through the door and we yelled surprise—he doesn’t really like anyone making a fuss over him. Then he just immediately went back to his usual self—rushing around giving people drinks and food, making sure everyone was accommodated, at his own party! Funny. At some point Andrea and Mike’s female flatmates—Becca, Phoebe, and Steph—insisted on straightening my hair, so I was rushed off to Becca’s room. I had a girl on each side of me with a straightener. I felt like quite a celebrity. The girls were thrilled, but the boys weren’t as excited by the hairstyling endeavors. They eventually came out of the kitchen to find us and I distinctly remember Phoebe’s boyfriend saying in disgust, “Is this what the night has come to?” Haha. Anyway, they did a good job. Of course, with all the damp in the air it was curling by the end of the night, but oh well.

Then we walked to McDonalds where I had my first English “Macky’s,” as they call it. (“Do you want to have a Macky’s?”) It’s good…not the same, though. The McChicken is really different. It’s more just like a big chicken nugget with bread and lettuce and then the mayonnaise is sweet. The fries were good though, and we can get a free burger or McFlurry by showing our student ID. Win. Anyway, when I got back I was treated to an unusual sight—most of my housemates sitting on the floor of the hall, having a chat. This also includes two housemates from The Upstairs—I barely ever see anyone who lives up there so it was a big deal. So I finally got to talk to Ollie and Steven, two housemates who I rarely see. They are both pretty nice. Ollie is a self-confessed recluse so I guess I won’t be seeing him much. Tom, Cameron, and Chelsea were there too, so we had a long talk…or mostly Tom monopolized the conversation talking about stuff that annoys him because that’s what he does… Yeah. They complained about the Polish at length. Apparently the English think that the Polish come in and steal all their jobs and whatnot. It was really kind of interesting/entertaining to listen to.

What else? On Wednesday I went with the Family and some of Andrea’s flatmates to the Forum, which is the night club on campus. It was fun because they play plenty of American music too. I met some new people, including a Scottish guy with whom I got into an argument about the Revolutionary War. The other night I also got into a debate with some people over Native Americans. I have no idea why I’m so interested in discussing American history lately. Or why so many British people think they understand it better. Hmm.

Anyway, when I got back to my house that night, I ended up getting lectured on the Notting Hill Carnival by Tom. This is apparently a festival in London in September in which people just go completely insane for two days. He kept showing me videos of policemen beating unruly drunks, and despite all this he was still trying to convince me that it was a good time. Huh, thanks, but I think if I were there in September I’d still pass.

On Saturday I went to Windsor Castle. It was very cool. We got there in time to see the changing of the guard. Their uniforms are gray. I always thought they were red but oh well. Anyway, I wish I could’ve gotten pictures of the inside of the castle, but alas, they wouldn’t let us. We saw the Dollhouse and toured the state apartments, which were the best part. You know you’re among grandeur when you stop being impressed after seeing the 15^th gold and crystal chandelier that’s taller than you are. After a while they just become old hat haha. There was also a photograph gallery celebrating all the years of the Queen’s rule, which has been going on since 1952! Apparently she loves horses, so there were many pictures of her riding horses and a lot of pictures of her with her beloved Corgies. One thing I’ve learned about the royal family here—they love their dogs! There was a huge statue of Queen Victoria in Windsor Castle that included her beloved dog looking up at her adoringly. Anyway, the only weird thing about the photo gallery was that they included a picture of the Queen meeting Lady Gaga. So glad that is how we Americans are being represented! (That was sarcasm, if you can’t tell.)

Anyway, the other cool thing was that the Queen was in residence while we were there! We actually went up to one of the workers (who wear navy-and-red cape-like garments…it was pretty sweet) and asked if they ever get to see/talk to the Queen. She said not usually, but every year at Christmas the Queen gives all of her staff a gift. Everyone has to stand in a line while she walks in, and if she comes up to you and chooses to speak to you personally, you have to call her “Your Majesty” the first time you address her and “Ma’am” after that. Anyway, we ate some delicious Cornish pasties for lunch—I’m addicted to those things—and had a pretty good time.

Tuesday was Pancake Day, a lovely tradition in the UK in which the celebrants…well…make and eat pancakes all day. My housemates and I were going to make pancakes that night, but everyone was running errands and it got to be too late so they called it off. I despaired of ever getting any pancakes, but the next day Enda popped his head into Chelsea’s and my room, saw that we were here, said, “Lovely” and then left without further explanation. A few minutes later he and Tom came in with plates of pancakes they’d made for us. It was really nice. They weren’t American-style pancakes though…Here they make them more like crepes. They’re thinner, wrapped in a roll-type shape, and filled with something. Enda put Bailey’s ice cream in mine. It was really good!

I think I paid them back because I shared some of the candy Mom sent over from the US. They are really enthusiastic about American chocolate. They’d never had Reese’s PB cups before…proof that this country is backward and savage… It was funny because the black wrapper around the outside of the Reese’s really puzzled them; you could tell they weren’t sure if it was part of the candy or not. I really considered letting them bite into the wrapper before I nicely explained that you have to peel it off.

(Oh, and in case you’re thinking, gee, it doesn’t sound like she is doing anything school-related over there—well, in between all this I managed to write a 2,000-word essay for my History of the English Language class. Booyah.)