Hello, all! If any of you have been reading the news lately, you'll have noticed that London (and southern England in general) received quite a surprise from good ol' Mother Nature this week, consequently throwing the universe into a state of shock and the transportation system into mayhem and madness. This turned out to be a good thing for Royal Holloway students, as all Monday classes and several others throughout the week were cancelled so as to allow for participation in new activities like snowball fights, snowman-building, and massive consumption of hot chocolate (there may have been more practical reasons for the class cancellation, but we'd like to think our professors have a sense of humor).
The fun started Sunday night, when I looked outside the window to see snowflakes dancing through the air and a dusty white covering on the ground. Sarah and I decided that in the grand scheme of things, snow means more than homework, so we ran out to join in the general frolic (as it turns out, the British students were just as excited as we were since it snows so rarely here; in fact, the only ones not heartily impressed were other Americans from northern areas of the country, as well as my friend from Switerzland). After making snow-angels in the parking lot behind my flat, we relocated to upper campus in search of new snow patches unsullied by footsteps ...
Also, note to future self: When it comes to snow, don't be an idiot - balancing shenanigans of any kind will only leave you sprawled on the ground, in pain and feeling sheepish (kudos to Sarah for managing to capture me on film in mid-slide):
Also, note to future self: When it comes to snow, don't be an idiot - balancing shenanigans of any kind will only leave you sprawled on the ground, in pain and feeling sheepish (kudos to Sarah for managing to capture me on film in mid-slide):
Thankfully, the rest of the night continued relatively spill-free, and the next morning I awoke to find a campus transformed by snow and ice into what can only be described as the most magical of wintry fairylands. It's really incredible how snow changes a forest landscape - no longer green and lively, it becomes a mysterious place of white-laden brances and absolute stillness. Here's what I saw as I made my way to class:
While walking past the lamp-post I kept expecting Mr. Tumnus (as portrayed by James McAvoy, of course) to step up with his umbrella and invite me over for tea; unfortunately, despite the woods' Narnia-esque appearance, he didn't comply. But no matter - it was eleven in the morning and I was standing in the snow, class-free and ready to play. Sarah and I had fun making deep footprints in the parking lot before settling down to the most important task of the day: constructing a snowman. Lame Texans that we are, we had some trouble rolling the snow into a ball (oh all right, laugh - there you go, get it out of your systems now ...), but eventually we managed to get the job done. Meet Emo Bob, snowman of the 21st century - while you may be tempted to classify him as a bunny rabbit, he's actually rather avant-garde and stands complete with mohawk and pipe:
That afternoon we walked back up to upper campus, getting pelted with snowballs all the way (apparently it's nice to attack random people as they walk by). Meanwhile, just to spite the weatherman's sunny reassurances of clear skies later in the day, it started to snow even harder. Woo hoo! I realized that technically this is only the third time I've seen snow in my life, and certainly the most of it, so celebratory antics were kind of inevitable:
It's Friday evening now and most of the snow has already melted, although it's continued to come down in flurries throughout the week. I've also made the acquaintance of snow's evil twin, slush, and found that it really is just as brown, icy and irritating as my friends from the north claim. I had planned on going into London tonight for a concert, but alas, the weather decided to deteriorate throughout the day and my friends and I chose not to risk it (as interesting as Waterloo Station is, spending the night there on account of halted transportation just doesn't really appeal to me). However, I'm long overdue for a cozy evening in front of my window with a book (albeit one for school, but we'll just overlook that) and a cup of tea, so I don't mind too much. Hope you all back home are having as much fun as I am this winter, and I look forward to regaling you with more stories in the near future (London reports coming soon!) Cheerio from merry England!
