Sunday

Today, we took a trip out to the Peak District, which is to the west of us slightly. In the morning, we attended an Anglican service, which was actually pretty fun. It's like Protestant doctrine with all the Catholic frilly stuff. So, kind of fun. All the people were extremely friendly, and insisted that we stay for coffee afterwards. People were interested in hearing about where we came from and all that jazz. We toured a large mansion/castle that dated from Elizabethan times called Haddon Hall. It was pretty cool. Cooler still was the early music group that was playing a bunch of different Renaissance instruments. We had a similar group at Luther last year, and it was really cool. Anyways, the bulk of the day was a 6 mile hike through the Peak District, namely Stanton Moor. I don't really know how to describe the terrain and unfortunately, I forgot my camera to document it. I can assure you though, it was quintessentially English, and very very beautiful. England, as a result of all the rain, is a very green country. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the farms are also all split up and divided by various fences, be it stone, hedges, or streams. Our hike took us over, around, and through all of these obstacles. Hiking here is a big deal, except it's called rambling. There are a ton of "public footpaths" that go everywhere. Probably the most footpaths per capita than anywhere else in the world. Part of the earlier mentioned walking culture. So it was fun to get out and go hiking for a while. We ate dinner at a pub in a small hill town, where I had my first real fish and chips of the trip, along with some really strange white Belgian beer. We all came back to the flat, and spent most of the night trying to figure out classes and such, as registration is this week. Tomorrow is also this big information festival for university activities known as Fresher's Fayre. I hope to get a good handle on the musical organizations I want to audition for. A schedule conflict prevents me from being in the top wind ensemble, so I am going to focus my attentions on the orchestra, the jazz ensemble, and the brass band. I'm really bummed about not being able to do concert band, as the Luther Concert Band is such an integral part of my normal college life. More incentive to get back in next year, I guess. But seriously, it's time to get in a band or something. In addition to music, I'm planning on joining the softball team. Yeah, for real. I bought a brand new Rawlings glove back in the States, and think it'll be a fun thing to do. Especially since I haven't played ball since 5th grade. I'll also join some other "societies": maybe the wine club, or the football supporters club, or any number of stuff. More details on classes later on. Some people have been asking for a ground address. So, here it is, and I'll also include my cell phone number, if anyone is interested.

Aaron Nyquist
67 Homefield Road
Nottingham
NG8 5GH
England

Cell Phone (from United States) 001-079-6003-9380