City of Angles

Hello folks!

As most of you know, I'm safely in Bath and have been for a few days now. The most difficult part of getting here was going through security at Logan International Airport in Boston...apparently I just look like the kind of guy who would have explosives residue on his hands (which they "randomly selected" to test me for) and razor blades in his carry-on. I promise, I am not. The 6'6" NSA man with the gun needed some convincing, however. After that, I sailed through my flights, meeting at least half of the programme on the plane from Newark to Bristol, and then had a lovely taxi ride through the British countryside from Bristol to Bath. If any of you think that driving in The States is precarious, you have obviously not traversed the narrow cow paths of the British countryside with a burly English bloke. He was having a jolly good time watching the American boys hyperventilate as he weaved through the streets and went through roundabouts on the left.

Representatives from the programme met us at the train station and bussed us to our lovely homes. (I shall take this opportunity to state that I live at 29 Northampton Street, Bath BA1 2SW, England. Please send any paper mail to this address. If by chance anyone feels motivated to send any (non-ticking) packages, they may be addressed to me and sent to: Nelson House, 2 Pierrepont Street, Bath, BA1 1LB, England.) My house is a beautiful 18th century Georgian structure on a hill above the city. I am right up the road from a portion of Bath called "The Royal Crescent," which currently contains a residence of one Nicholas Cage (I say the Brits can keep him). My house has 4 floors, the second of which contains my bedroom, and houses 8 students. We even have our own little garden in the back! I will post some pictures when I get the chance.

For the past few days, I have basically been put through the paces by ASE Bath (my academic institution) with a rigorous orientation schedule. My fellow students and I have been orientated on everything from culture, to academics, to travel, to community involvement. On top of all this, we have to write 4 "diagnostic papers" (one for each class) that are basically just long essays on a general topic to give the professors (or "tutors" as we call them) an idea of where we all stand academically. At first, I was mildly annoyed by the inconvenience...but then I realized that I am taking 4 classes I am genuinely interested in: One on Shakespeare, one on writing short fiction, one on science and religion, and one poetry writing tutorial. As I was completing my diagnostic paper on Shakespeare today I realized how happy I will be here. .

Bath is a very fascinating and complex city. Lots of winding, cobblestone streets and pubs, and posh shopping destinations, and such. I will be filling you in with many of the details throughout the course of this blog, but I have learned so much in the past few days that I don't want to b(l)og [<--notice the pun] you down with too much all at once. Here is one of the most interesting facts, however: every building in Bath (with a slender few exceptions) is constructed from what we call "Bath Stone," and following the stylistic parameters of 18th century Georgian Architecture. Bath stone is a pale whitish-beige color and comes from a nearby mine. If you don't build your house out of Bath Stone, you don't get to build a house in Bath. Period.

After a few awkward moments asking for directions, I have managed to get a pretty good handle of the city. I walked across it almost in its entirety this evening on the way to and from a meeting, and I must say that it felt glorious to let my legs stretch out and tackle the hills and cobblestone alleys. It was very quiet and the wet pavers glistened in the dim light of the street lamps. As for myself, I am quite excited, un-jet-lagged, and ready for whatever this semester has to throw at me. You can expect many more interesting blogs than this one when I get the chance to fully form my thoughts. Until then, keep on keepin on, and know that I'm doing my thing here in the City of Angles.

Things to look out for:

1.) My professional description/rating of some of Britain's finest cuisine.

2.) Pictures from out and about Bath

3.) And somewhat later...an update on the trip to Stonehenge I will be taking on Sunday! Go Druids!

I can't call myself a "Wandering Wordsmith" in this post because I didn't smith you any good words, so I'll just bid you good night.

Your Friend,

Eric Kozlik