“Once there was a way to get back homeward…”

Ok so the farm doesn’t have any cows. We’ve got horses, cats, dogs, peacocks, and roosters but no cows. I did however go to an industrial milking plant just up the road and my god was that an eye opener. I spent 3 hours standing around in about an inch of cow poo and found out that because of mad cow, England does not have an export market for a lot of its beef so usually, when the farm owner’s cows birth male calves, they are just shot and incinerated because they are not worth the amount of money it takes to transport and sell them. I got to hang out with the baby calves for a while though, which would have been more fun if I didn’t know that they would be slaughtered soon. Zeno tried to buy one, but we reminded him that there was no room on the bus back to Heathrow for a baby cow. So ultimately, I didn’t milk cows, but I did see them get hooked up to milking machines. Yipee. I really love where I am living right now. It is soooo beautiful. I live on a small farm outside a town called Withiel. The town is tiny. It has no store, no restaurant, no pub, no post office, nothing. Just a village hall and a small farms and houses. The landscape is so hilly and green, neatly carved by hedgerows everywhere. I walk 40 minutes to and from school every day. Its about 3 miles, some of which is through a really beautiful patch of woods. The only pair of shoes I wear are my Wellies. (gollashes…i have no idea how to spell that.) They came in very handy at the dairy farm! I love being able to slosh around in the mud. My poor flip flops have sat in the same spot unused for quite a while. I live in the Barn, which is really cozy and nicely renovated. I’m staying with Daphne, one of the girls on the trip and have had so much fun getting to know her. One night when our host mom was out we cooked curried quorn and chickpeas for ourselves and drank a whole bottle of wine. Lots of fun. My host sister took us to the Cornish coast last weekend and that was just too amazing. I’m doing my best to photograph everything. I really love all the animals except the stupid peacocks wake me up in the morning. We have a kitty named Squeek who lives with us in the barn. He is the sweetest cat and he sleeps with me every night, but he drools a little bit. I drool too though so we get along really well. It’s gonna be rough to leave him. This has been a tough week for the IHP kids. One of the girls on the trip, Thea, left the program on Thursday because apparently the curriculum and the group setting weren’t quite right for her. Plus, our ecology professor is supposedly ill and had to go to London for the rest of our stay in Cornwall. I’m not sure what the deal is and when or if she’ll be back. We are all a little confused. The volume of work for Cornwall is ENORMOUS. I had no idea how much stuff we would have to do, and balancing it with spending time with host families has been really hard. Janet, my host mom, is vegetarian though and she makes us some awesome food. We have reeeeally long dinners and good conversations, so it’s kinda worth it to flake out on my work. I leave for Tanzania in less than a week and I can hardly believe it. This last week in Cornwall will be fun but hectic, especially since I’ve got to make time for Halloween festivities! I will probably write again before I leave for Tanzania, hopefully. Mom! I can’t believe you cut your hair!!! If someone sees her soon will you please send me a picture! Next thing you know mom you are gonna have one of those old lady hair cuts!!! Dad! I’d like to preemptively apologize for the size of the phone bill! Its ugly I know. Everyone who is reading this, try to help dad keep his cool when he gets the statement. =) There is so much more to tell but too little time. I’m doing really well and your comments keep me going every day!!! I love you all soooooooooooooo much. With love from Squeek! Andie Gersh

Today is my final day in Cambridge and I am really excited about going to Cornwall.  We have a 7 hour bus ride at 8am.  I’m not thrilled about leaving my homestay though.  I really love it here.  While other kids are complaining about their houses, I’m eager to get home and hang out with my host family.  I’ve spent a good deal of time with my homestay brothers these past couple days, and they crack me up.  Pat, the mom, (good name for a mommy =), says I remind her of her daughter Caroline.  I think its because she would definately be inclined to buy a giant bag shaped like a shoe.  The shoe has gone over really well in Cambridge I’ll have you all know.  We’ve even had Chinese tourists stop to pose with it. 

I’ve learned so much in Cambridge even if most of the trip was “@ss time” and we all know that @ss time is the last thing a Finley @ss needs.  =)  Time to get away from the city and go live on a farm for a couple weeks!  I’m already sick of wearing the same 4 shirts everyday but I have been really good and haven’t splurged or bought anything new, especially cuz England is robbing me of all of my money.  I hope I don’t have to milk cows or anything.  Or maybe I would like to milk a cow….

Lots of English Countryside Love,
Andie G

Before I start talking about Cambridge I have to address the absolute ridiculousness of my weekend.

About half the group went to London this weekend.  We were staying with one of the group members, Zeno (who casey leigh knows well =)), from England and he is a little bit nuts so we weren’t really sure what to expect other than that we would be sleeping in a “marquis” on the lawn.  So we headed off.  Traveling in a group is the most obnoxious thing ever.  It took us hours to get from Cambridge to London.  I actually miss the T.  We get to Zeno’s incredibly beautiful house in Richmond and as we walked into the backyard, candles were lighting our path to a giant green tent lined with oriental rugs and brass lanterns.  The walls were lined with patterened linens and space heaters.  I couldn’t freakin believe it.  I only wish I could show the pictures. Zeno’s dad is Edward (Teddy) Goldsmith, founder and editor of the The Ecologist magazine and he is friends with everyone from Vandana Shiva to Mic Jagger who lives down the street! No I didn’t get to meet him…boo.  He is extremely well-known and also happens to be the founder of our program.  Zeno’s mom served us juices with vodka, bloody marys and lots of wine, got us pizza, and we spent the evening talking with Teddy G about all the books he wrote.  Absolutely insane.  I want to move in.  On Saturday we toured around London.  The National Gallery was awesome.  It was like they tore out the pages of our art history book and hung them up there.  We checked out Picadilly Circus and Camden Town in the evening.  Excellent time, especially because we broke in to smaller groups. 

Saturday night, aka the most amazing night of my life, 2 other girls and I dressed up in Zeno’s mom’s clothes and went with him to his godfather’s casino, one of the ritziest casino’s in London.  This place was like nothing I’ve ever seen.  Wood carvings, statues, gold and antiques covering everything.  Our attendant, Pascual, gave us everything we could possibly want, food, champagne, chocolates.  It was glorious.  The three of us were like Dolce and Gabana from head to toe.  Zeno got up to £500 and then lost it all, but I was at all interested in getting in volved in that.  Again, I can’t wait to share the pictures.  That is the way to experience London.

I also bought a giant bag shapped like a high-top sneaker for £18, but I won’t go into that now.  I hit up Westminster Abbey on Sunday.  Breathtaking for sure.

My host family is the best.  They have 3 kids in their twenties and they live in a little row house with an awesome dog, Alfie, and the fattest kitty, Murphy.  They feed me very well…pretty much nothing but carbs, and sugar but they are so cool and laid back.  My host father is a truck driver with tatoos and an earing.  He got so drunk last weekend.  He dropped his serving of potatoes in his wine glass and then fished it out and ate it.  When I came back downstairs after getting ready to go out he had fallen asleep at the table.  He is hilarious.  My host brothers operate fork lifts and are very nice and my host mom is so sweet.  I like Cambridge a lot but I’ve almost been killed on my bike like a thousand times.  I really don’t like the left side of the road thing.  I’m not becoming acclimating to that well.  We are in class a ton.  Lots of “ass time” as they say, but classes are interesting and the lectures are good.

I gotta get home for dinner but I’m having an excellent time and I am learning so much.  Don’t hesitate to send those letters! 

So much love,

Andie Gersh

I’m in England!  Driving on the wrong side of the road and everything!  Turns out that we got here a day early so we are staying in a Comfort Inn in Hayes until we head to Cambridge in the Morning.  My last days in D.C. were excellent.  The last night we went over to Congressman Jim Kolbe’s house (R-Arizona) and grilled him on immigration and trade issues.  He got so defensive he started squealing.  We were also delighted to meet his ‘partner’ Hector from Panama.  We now understand why even as a Republican he is a strong supporter of immigration rights.  A few days earlier we had a panel lecture at the World Bank from the chief something-or-other for the Latin American projects at the Bank, Ulrich Zachow(?). What a slime ball.  Lots of fun though.  I’m totally exhausted from the plane ride.  We tried to get a beer when we got in this morning but turns out they don’t serve it before 11.  Thats just silly.  There are so many other amazing things that we’ve done that I don’t have the energy to give credit to…that and we are headed out to the pub!

Thank you family for all your sweet comments.  I love you and miss you guys so much.

Hugs,

NandieBee