Day 1, 2, and 3*

* long live the Oxford Comma

Brown, quaint, and the left-hand side.

Those were the first thoughts I had when I looked out my plane window at the surroundings of Heathrow Airport upon my landing. It was completely different from the scenery I had left in Philly.

All the houses were brick with brown roofs and I was excited to see the red double-deckers making their way around a roundabout.

Once we arrived at Cambridge, I was pleasantly surprised. I was assuming that the area around the university would be more like the countryside, but it is more like a town with lots of shops and restaurants packed in the middle of the town.

All the CME students went out for dinner as a group at The Eagle, the pub where Watson and Crick first announced their research in DNA.

iPhones don't work so great at night... you get the idea though.

I ordered a steak and ale pie with chips (fries) and a Pimm's and Lemonade. (Lemonade is actually more like a sprite here.)
Most people ordered a Fish and Chips entree and cider since it was a lot of our first times in a pub and we didn't know what to order - we're such noobs.

Teresa and I went shopping around the town center on the first day to see what it was like.

Sainsbury's is the closest grocery store (much like Shaw's or Acme) and Boots is the local pharmacy. They also have a large mall with a few department stores inside (John Lewis is a lot like Macy's). We were excited to see some familiar ones like H&M and Zara and also this one (kind of):

I'm pretty sure they sell the same things as T. J. Maxx...

The market near Lions Yard. There seems to be merchants here everyday.

I didn't actually get to see my own college, Clare College, until my 2nd day here. I live in the Colony, which is Clare's off-site housing for 2nd and 3rd years, so I never really got a chance to walk down to Clare because of all (and I mean all) the CME orientation meetings.

But when I finally got to see Clare...

...it was spectacular.

This is one of the gates into the second part of Clare's site. Tradition is that if you walk through the middle gate at anytime during your Cambridge career, you'll be cursed with bad marks (grades).

This is the view of the Cam River across Clare Bridge. Since Clare's the second oldest college, its bridge is apparently a popular tourist site.

A view of the neighboring King's College court.

The entrance into one of Clare's gardens.
Clare takes special pride in its gardens and they are well-maintained. They will be closed soon for the cold weather, so I wanted to get peak before that happens!

The garden sits by the River Cam.

People punting along the river.

This bridge is on my way to the Colony where my room is. Also a great view :)

I'll try to write another post soon about International Freshers orientation and meeting my neighbors (and put up more photos), but all in all, I like it so far!