California Dreamin' and Georgia Peaches

I met a friend at an old pub on Monday night, the Royal Oak. Instantly, it was like we weren't  in a city made up of primarily students. The other people in the tiny room were all at least in their 40s. Some looked like they'd been drinking since noon, but others had just arrived to enjoy the live music that Royal Oak is known for. A grumpy-looking man showed up and started playing guitar in the corner, very unassumingly. But the crowd quieted down (except for a rowdy guy who tried to sing along and then was harshly yelled at by the singer that it was not his song), and the grumpy-looking man belted out California Dreamin' in this really great bass voice. It was a bit ironic. I was bundled up in my wool socks, scarf, ski jacket and Wellies (rain boots). But it was also one of the most authentically Scottish moments I've had. He also sang a bunch of songs that my friend and I didn't know at all, but that the crowd sang along to, so those must have been Scottish.

When the guitarist went outside for a break, a group of 70 year old men, once again with no introduction or warning, started singing in a Barbershop Quartet style. Their harmonies probably sounded better 50 years ago, but their enthusiasm was impressive. They sang Moon River and a song about a womanizing man and his "Georgia Peaches". I guess most barbershop music just got exported out of the US...

Speaking of California Dreamin', running in the pouring rain and screaming wind is only fun for the first mile. It does make you run faster, though, imagining the hot shower that awaits you at the end!

I discovered that a classmate of mine, from Northern California, also loves Jeopardy! She was extremely jealous that I'd been to a taping, and says meeting Alex Trebek would be a dream-come-true. She always picks a favorite contestant and cheers them on loudly, and her roommates just don't understand. She also plays Bananagrams with her family, but they've stopped playing with her because she always beats them. Sound familiar? She's pretty cool.

This McDonald's commercial from India makes me wish that beef was outlawed in more countries, because their stuff (McAloo Tikka!) looks much better than ours. We watched this in our Global Englishes class, to point out that "I'm lovin' it" needs no translation.

Last night was our much-anticipated crepe party! We had ten people here, with the French girls leading the action.

It took quite a while to prepare, and we were starved by the time they were ready, so the huge stack disappeared very, very quickly.

The French girls ate theirs slowly with a fork and knife, while the Brits and Americans were on their seconds already, eating with our hands mostly. And the dessert crepes, with peanut butter, Nutella, jam, and sugar, were amazing.

Brie, cheddar, ham, bacon and mushroom for toppings... yum.

Here's a terrible video of us in action.

(Sidenote to my family- I'll figure out how to make them, and we can have some for Christmas. Also, when deciding who had to do the dishes, the French girls knew "Nose goes!"!!!!! It's universal.)