Haggis with a Side of Spam

To begin this week's blog, I would like to clarify a point from my previous post. No fewer than three readers have pointed out an apparent misuse of the word cheeky. Upon further discussions (and some brief Googling), I have come to learn that cheeky can have multiple meanings. While the traditional definition of cheeky is someone insolent or wittingly snide, the British - and mainly the younger generations - have adopted a slightly different definition. In fact, this secondary definition does not have the inherently negative connotation of the traditional definition, but rather errs to the positive side of neutral. Nonetheless, my previous definition also needs a little refinement:

Cheeky. adj. 1. Displaying insolence or irreverence. 2. Someone or something deemed superficially good but exhibiting qualities of naughtiness or feigned innocence. A guilty pleasure.

As one can tell, the second definition is sort of a twisted version of the first, so while the connotations are oppositely polarized (positive/negative), the definitions are actually somewhat similar. Lest I digress into etymology, shall we call these definitions sufficient for our purposes? Thanks to all for raising the red flags - I now have a better understanding of the word myself.

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This past week has been rather full of excitement, and I daresay that the remainder of Hilary Term (yes, the remaining three quarters of it) will be jam-packed with action. If all goes well, you will totally get your money's worth from reading this blog.

Last Saturday, I had the fantastic opportunity to catch up with an old church friend here in Oxford! Mr. Watters - who co-led Potomac Baptist's youth program for several years with his wife - was in the middle of a business trip to London. After eating at the tasty "Fire and Stone" pizza restaurant, we walked the grand perimeter of Oxford, stopping in Keble, Magdalen, and Christ Church colleges to enjoy the scenery. I really enjoyed getting to see him again, since I have not had the chance to do so for several years.

On Sunday I went to an Anglican service in Keble chapel with a couple other grads. The choir and organ were beautiful, but it was quite sad that the service was attended by fewer than ten people! After the service, the priest invited us into the SCR (Senior Common Room, i.e. the fellows and warden) for a glass of wine before dinner. I hope to attend these 5:30 services more often; as I do, I will comment more about the facets of the Anglican church as compared to Protestantism.

Monday was yet another busy day. I hosted the first Acland food night of the term, featuring two types of chili, cornbread, cucumber salad, and tiramisu. It was particularly fitting (though admittedly coincidental) to make mom's chili since it happened to be her birthday. It was a huge success - 8 quarts of chili disappeared in under 30 minutes! The cornbread and tiramisu were also highlights of the evening, the former because of its non-existence in Britain (I brought a mix from the US) and the latter because it was just delicious. The only thing that was not perfect was that due to a time restriction, I did not let the custard cool/thicken completely before pouring the tiramisu... so the lady fingers floated. Oops! Now I know for next time. On a marginally unrelated note, I learned that my dance partner really likes to bake, so I have since engaged in a confectionary trading system. I receive cupcakes (chocolate, choc-peanut butter) in exchange for tiramisu and pumpkin choc chip cookies. That seems fair, right? Good thing we dance 10 hours per week!

Wednesday's excitement consisted of Burns Night. Robert Burns was a famous Scottish poet, particularly known for one Address to Haggis. To celebrate, it is evidently traditional to serve said terrible beasty - a sheep's stomach stuffed with minced heart, liver, and lungs - for dinner. I understand that the meal usually begins by reciting the Address to Haggis and dramatically cutting open the steaming, boiled stomach when dictated by the poem. Mercifully, Keble Hall kept the Address but chose to merely set before each of us a scoop of non-descript purplish-brown meat mush, filled with small white chunks resembling (but definitely not consisting of) finely chopped garlic. In spite of its unappealing appearance and contents, I actually kind of enjoyed it. The haggis had a nice spice which gave it a fairly decent flavour. My British comrades did say, however, that while it was "recognizably haggis," a significantly higher quality haggis is standard elsewhere in the country. The other nice part of the meal was the cranachan, a whipped cream-based dessert filled with raspberries, honey, oats, and (supposedly) a touch of whiskey. It was really good.

What's the best way to follow up a little haggis? A lot of SPAM! Or, perhaps I should say Spamalot! This Tony Award winning musical is "lovingly ripped off from" Monty Python and the Holy Grail and was showing in Oxford's New Theatre, on tour. All the great subplots were written in, including the Knights-Who-Say-Ni, the Trojan Bunny, the Dark Knight ('tis but a flesh wound!), and the Holy Hand Grenade. Believe it or not, the plot was even sillier than the original movie, thoroughly satirizing Broadway and the entire genre of musicals. Perhaps the best part was that even the actors were caught up in the show, breaking character once or twice, unable to contain their own laughter. 

So that, in a nutshell, was Hilary week two. I mentioned before that the action will not cease this term, so here's a teaser of coming events:
-Dance competitions in four of the next five weekends (Sheffield, off-weekend, Bath, TBD location, Blackpool)
-A visit from NCSU Caldwell Fellows Alum, Kayla, who has been teaching English in Lyon, France this year
-Keble MCR music night in February, playing cello alongside guitarist Luke and banjoist (?) Vincent
-Planned musicals: Les Mis and The King and I
-A trip with the Clarendon Scholars to Stonehenge and Avebury on March 11
-A conference in London on 15 March followed by St Patrick's Day weekend in Dublin with a friend from last year's Belize Trip
-A visit with NCSU InterVarsity Christian Fellowship friend, Kaylee, who just arrived in England for a semester study abroad in Bath

CULTURE CORNER
Random tidbit, also following up from last post: remember how I was commenting on the interesting people here in Oxford? As it turns out, the other American in my civil engineering lab was NCAA's Female Athlete of the Year in 2010. Apparently, she's going pro in something other than swimming :-)

Words of the Day:

stash: n. any article of athletic clothing consisting of a team logo, the athlete's name, the university name, and probably an sponsor's name/logo. ex: Last weekend, I received my dance team stash, consisting of a hoodie and joggers.
kit: n. see stash. ex: The kit we ordered for the team is embroidered with everyone's names. 
joggers: n. sweat pants or track pants, not to be confused with simply pants, which refers to someone's underwear.

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Finally, on a more serious note, I'd like to dedicate this blog to my grandfather. Over Christmas holiday, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. The surgery removed a one foot long section of his colon. While the surgery was initially successful last weekend, his health has since declined. Currently, he is being held in a medically induced coma.

Grandpa has always been an avid reader of this blog and a constant supporter of my travels and my academics. During this time, I ask for your prayers not only for him, but also my parents, my aunt, and my grandmother. Thank you.