The Bad Brittanic Blogger

I have to apologize for not blogging with greater regularity over the previous two weeks, but the end of my first term at Cambridge has been filled with fun, assignments (Yes, I actually do work), and more bicycle accidents (Yet, I submit that this accident was not my fault either). So, I will work my way through an eventful few weeks where the university meets the mighty Cam.

Sunday, November 20
For fans of college basketball, I have been playing for the combined college team of Clare College and Trinity Hall; however, this day is fresh in my mind as I suffered through the first tie ever in the game of basketball. In the UK, you can in fact tie a basketball game. I found it worse than losing; however, I have rediscovered my love of basketball, partially because I it breaks up the monotony of running and particularly because I am much better than I was in high school. Coordination and strength really do matter. However, I find it disappointing that there are only about 5 courts in all of Cambridge which are shared with other sports like indoor ultimate Frisbee, netball, badminton, and volleyball. Basketball is second-tier.

Monday, November 21
I attended the tremendous March Rotary Club with Mona and Jenny, my two able Rotarian mentors. As one member of the March club put it: "You must make terrible trouble given that you have two chaperons for this evening. What have you done?" March is in the marshy, Fenlands area which was made arable by a significant drainage system. In fact, the town used to be a de facto island. The town is about 29 miles north of Cambridge. By coincidence or by design, it was "Ladies' Night" at the all-male club, so I had to be on my best behavior. I could not have asked for a better crowd of people. The meeting was an evening long event, commencing around 7 with cocktails followed by a delicious 3-course dinner. In one corner, they had displayed the Stars and Stripes with the Union Jack, but I was assured that the Jack was larger than the Ensign. The club asked if I would speak for 30-45 minutes. Given the magnitude of this engagement, I prepared an epic 80 slide PowerPoint. I started with the following line: "When I was asked to speak for 45 minutes, I thought to myself: Where does one begin? So, I decided to start at the beginning of history. July 4, 1776 (Flashing a picture of the signing of the Declaration of Independence). My humor had its desired effect: I was jeered. For the people of Kinsman, Clarence Darrow was a recognizable character. When I spoke of the Scopes-Monkey trial, one Rotarian quickly asked if he was the inspiration for Spencer Tracy's role in Inherit the Wind. The PowerPoint was quite massive (83 pictures), but the March Club was up for the challenge even after dinner. I had been forewarned that many questions would follow. True to form, I was aggressively questioned, which was a welcome change. In the question and answer session, I spoke about the Somali pirates, economic development strategies in Ohio, the future of the VSTOL F-35 or "jump jets," and the future of my role in Rotary. At the conclusion of the evening, it was already 10 pm, but I would gladly have stayed another hour visiting with the Rotarians of March and if they are willing, I would gladly ride out to them for lunch when the weather warms as I found them to be both friendly and engaging.

Thursday, November 24 (Thanksgiving)

For the first time in my life, I went to lectures on Thanksgiving Day and for the first time in 5 years, I only had one Thanksgiving dinner. Given that I did most of the cooking on Wednesday, I had a relaxing day of preparation. I spoke with all of my family en masse and updated my Great Aunt Joyce on England. I also prepared a feast for 15. While I could have invited strictly Americans, I decided to invite my diverse group of friends and introduce them to a 12-pound turkey (with a bacon garnish on top), 1-kilo of my mother's cranberry salad, 10-pounds of mash potatoes, sweet potato casserole, 2-kilograms of corn, two pumpkin pies, and two loaves of bread worth of stuffing. It was a taste of home, having stolen the recipes from my mother. For my first time cooking for so many, I was truly surprised. Dinner was set for 6:30 and I had filled the table by 7 pm. All in all, we had individuals from Pakistan, Croatia, Ghana, Belgium, United Kingdom, Romania, and Mexico. For many, it was their first go at Thanksgiving and they were surely up for the task. During dessert, I had everyone go around the table and tell what they were thankful for this Thanksgiving. I am of course grateful for all of them as I could not have asked for a better group of friends who could make my first Thanksgiving away from home quite wonderful. They even did the dishes!

Friday, November 25 (Black Friday)
Since the Christmas season and decorations appeared before Halloween, Black Friday was just like any other day. In the evening, I attended formal hall, which was followed by Ceilidh (pronounce kay-lee), which is a traditional form of Scottish dancing. Fortunately, it was quite vigorous dancing and even a novice like me could quickly get up to speed because each song was preceded by instruction. The dancing is so vigorous that I was sweating profusely; however, I hydrated well on ginger ale (alcoholic). If line dancing and square dancing is half as fun, I may take it up as a hobby.

Saturday, November 26
Playing the late basketball game, we took on Jesus College and smashed them, 51-11. Playing with a short rotation (2 on the bench), I was worried. 40 minutes of basketball is a lot without a real half time or substitution. Our victory allowed us to end the season at 3-1-1 and allowed us to move up into the premier division for the spring term. While I am home, I will most definitely require a pair of high-top shoes. We also finished with the number one defense in the entire league.

Sunday, November 27
 I have very fond memories of grandfather, John Semenuk, and perhaps, I should capture his story on the blog at some point. For those of you who know him, his story is inspirational. His tireless work ethic, his patriotic fervor, and his selfless pursuit of a better tomorrow for everyone that he loved was contagious. While he passed away in 2007, his spirit lives-on and was instilled within his daughters (my mother and aunt) and his 5 grandchildren (a lawyer, 2-teachers, a nurse, and myself). While some people teach you lessons and values, my Pop-Pop, as I affectionately called him, taught me a hard-nosed way to live life. He taught me to outwork others and that this in itself would yield success. He never had to verbalize this message. It was evident in his entire life through every action.

Wednesday, November 30 (My Birthday)
I decided to go for a walk on my birthday, and I found myself on Parker's Piece, where the national public sector, pension-strike rally was in full gear. Unfortunately, they would not allow me to make a birthday speech, but their passion was evident, if not radical (Che Guevera flags/ Hammer and Sickle Flags were in abundance). I found this quite unique and ironic as these were professional civil-servants from teachers to paramedics to nurses (healthcare is fully nationalized) to secretaries. These symbols of "the people" represent repression rather than freedom. While each entity has an independent union, they all converged. I have to admit that my exposure to such combined action is limited, but I can see how violence can erupt. Anger and frustration begets more anger and frustration. When the order to march was given, I departed as the police converged on the area. Fortunately, on this day, no violence erupted. In the evening, I organized 9-holes of pub golf, which proved to be quite fun and successful. Each of the 9-pubs had a specific drink and a par (the number of sips required to finish that drink). Even on my birthday, I was badly beaten. We started with a group of 6, but we soon grew to 25 or so as we approached holes 4 and 5. Given that it was St. Andrew's Day, golf seemed quite appropriate. I also received awesome birthday wishes from my beautiful girlfriend and niece.

Thursday, December 1
I attended my first Christmas party of the season at my English friend's home. It was all quite fun. I thoroughly enjoyed the mince pies and mulled wine as well as the company of quite a few Brit's. Mince pies unlike the American equivalent are individually made, about an inch in diameter and are filled with raisins and a wonderful caramelized sugar. I much prefer them to the full slices of mince pie that I sampled in the states. Blah! Mulled wine is heated and spiced wine, which was quite delicious given the condition of my stomach from my birthday night. I also discovered "Christmas Crackers," which contrary to their name are not actually edible crackers. Instead, they are toilet paper tubes, covered in wrapping paper, that are then pulled apart to create a loud "cracking sound." Each one contains a small "toy" and Christmas crowns.

Friday, December 2
My fun continued with a wonderful Romanian dinner cooked by my good friend Gruia, who I will be visiting in Romania in the coming days. The meal was stupendous and filled with great conversation. I look forward to many more dinners with my dear friend, both in the UK and in Romania. Afterwards, I went to a "From Russia with Love" themed poker party, complete with white-Russians (a drink) and black-tie. Ironically, we played Texas-Holdem. The event was hosted by my friend Ali Digby at the Queen's College President's lodge, which was quite historical and beautiful. It is the oldest building (1460) on the Cam River. (You can see pictures of the evening under the photos tab). While I was only intending to stay a few hours, I played until 3 am, splitting the pot with a Londoner and knocking out Baron Eatwell, the President of the College.

Saturday, December 3 (Mill Road Winter Fayre)
As part of the Cambridge Rotaract, I helped set-up and work the booth for the Mill Lane Winter Fayre. While the Rotaract Club is a fledgling organization, its most dedicated members James Sheard and Rachel Peters put a lot of work into the organization. In combination with the Siena Rotaract Club, the club is working to raise 500 pounds, 800 dollars, for a shelter-box, which is a box utilized in disaster relief operations. Each box contains a tent for ten people, sleeping bags, mosquito netting, tools, water treatment tablets, water collection bags, ponchos, and various other necessities. With our friends from Sienna, we sold cookies (biscuits in the UK) and handmade beaded jewelry from the UK and Italy. All in all, we raised 300 pounds in donations and sales, which was quite the feat given our non-central location. I was complemented by the Italians for aggressively pursuing every passer-by. Eye contact has a way of inducing guilt and social responsibility. The fayre (Yes, it is spelled in Old English) reminded me of the Portobello Road scene in Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Street performers, street side vendors, international foods, and community organizations were all active participants. The road was closed for over a mile. I enjoyed some Tamales on my quest for quality Mexican foods. It was delicious, but I regretted it later.

Sunday, December 4
I attended a 3-course luncheon at the Varsity Hotel in honor of the Sienna Rotaract Club. I quite enjoyed their stories and experiences and very much look forward to visiting their club in the coming year. I was also fortunate enough to witness (as signatory) of the twinning agreement between the two clubs, which joins the two entities and encourages both visits and joint ventures. Fortunately, they were all adept English speakers. Nonetheless, my Spanish allowed me to decipher the roots of many words, which made me feel less inadequate, given their command of my native language. The friendships that evolved give me access to a new world, Tuscany and its cultural centre of Sienna. I look forward to visiting and continuing to build this unique bond.

In the coming days, I will be visiting Romania with my friend Gruia. While my initial plans fell through, I am grateful for his invitation to visit and explore his country. Tomorrow morning, I fly to Timisoara, a city in Western Romania near the Serbian border. From Timisoara, I will travel via train to Craiova in Southern Romania, near the border with Bulgaria, and then onto Bucharest, the capital. From there, I will join Gruia and his tourism students on a trip into Transylvania to visit Old Saxon villages. We will then return to Bucharest and hopefully visit Constanta on the Black Sea before I return to the UK next Thursday.

I will be back in Ohio and Rotary District 6650 from December 17 to December 30 before I return to the UK.

30 Day Challenge

    When I was washing dishes this morning, I turned to TED for entertainment and solace. TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Per usual, I clicked on the Global Issues tab on the left hand column and then randomly selected a talk. Today, I met Sasha Dichter from Acumen Fund, a microfinance fund. Microfinance provides financial services for the impoverished in developing countries. These financial services include the provision of small loans to the poor in order to fund small businesses. More importantly, Mr. Dichter took a challenge. He decided to give to any charity or individual who asked for money over the period of 30 days. For him, it changed the way he raised capital for his firm. His methodology became people-centric. It was no longer about the return or the dividend. It was about the people who were in need. With any sort of leap, you must take risk. The risk is that the homeless man or woman on the street uses your money for drugs or alcohol, but what happens if the converse is also correct? What if that spare change fed the person for the day or gave them that little bit more that was needed to give them hope.  The risk is that the charity has inflated pay for employees and lucrative bonuses, but what happens if it is meager and lean?  I tend to gamble on the side of humanity, compassion, and trust. As Mr Dichter says, giving on the street does not preclude you from donating to a homeless shelter or a charity that you know is lean. True philanthropy is about risk taking. Today, I begin my own 30 Day Challenge. From now until December 16, I will give to anyone who asks, whether on the street, at my door, on the phone or in the mail. However, I am extending the challenge. I will then budget that amount for donation each month, and what I do not give on the street, I will give to charity. I challenge you to do the same. It is not a competition. You compete only against yourself and the very inhibitions that prevent you from being more generous.

See Sasha Dichter's TED Talk:
http://www.ted.com/talks/sasha_dichter.html

TO YOU FROM FAILING HANDS WE THROW THE TORCH — BE YOURS TO HOLD IT HIGH!

Yesterday, I rode the 4.5 miles out to the American Cemetery, which is just outside the Cambridge corporation limit. While Friday was Veteran's Day in the U.S. and Armistice Day in the UK, the Sunday following the eleventh day of the eleventh month is Remembrance Day, which is the equivalent of Memorial Day in the U.S. Given the occasion, I thought it was quite time to go and pay my respect to the U.S. fallen, who never made it home. For 3,812 sailors, soldiers, marines, and airman, this scenic field is their final resting spot. Each grave is marked as they are at Arlington, while the magnitude is smaller, the contribution is the same. They represent the cost that was paid in both World War I and World War II to protect our mutual way of life. I found the Wall of the Missing even more sobering. On tablets stretching over one-hundred yards, 5,127 names are etched. They represent the young men who perished in the Battle for the Atlantic and in air raids into the heart of Axis-Europe. Their remains were never recovered and lie in some unknown grave. As I walked along the wall, I read the names and paid distinct attention to the volume of 2nd Lieutentants and Ensigns who died before their time. The following quote runs the entire length of the Wall of the Missing:


THE AMERICANS, WHOSE NAMES HERE APPEAR, WERE PART OF THE PRICE THAT FREE MEN FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THIS CENTURY HAVE BEEN FORCED TO PAY TO DEFEND HUMAN LIBERTY AND RIGHTS ALL WHO SHALL HEREAFTER LIVE IN FREEDOM WILL BE HERE REMINDED THAT TO THESE MEN AND THEIR COMRADES WE OWE A DEBT TO BE PAID WITH GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THEIR SACRIFICE AND THE HIGH RESOLVE THAT THE CAUSE FOR WHICH THEY DIED SHALL LIVE ETERNALLY.


On Remembrance Sunday, the wall was decorated with wreaths from around the U.S. and the U.K. As I walked along, I read the messages, messages of solidarity between the two nations. If anyone doubts the special relationship between our countries, they should have observed the throbs of Brits who came to pay their respects to American allies who fought and died before they were even born. I would argue that you would not find this type of observance anywhere else in the world. Next time I go, I hope to take other American student so that they can see the cost of freedom that has been paid by people no older than we.

Plight of the Poor Blogger

Due to my poor blogging performance over the last few weeks, I decided to update you on the last few weeks, which have been quite active and busy.

Over the past few weeks, I have engaged the Cambridge Rotary Club in various instances. On November 2, I attended the District 1080 Ambassador Welcome Evening, which was quite pleasant. Here, I met the other Ambassadorial scholars from throughout the District as well as the Cambridge Rotaract President, James Sheard. Each Ambassador briefly introduced themselves to representatives from the various clubs in the district As one could expect, I have a few follow-on events scheduled. After the event, I joined Alexander McKinnon from Darby, Australia, for Cruel and Tender as well as a few beers at the ADC Theater. 

On Friday, November 4, I organized a resistance effort to oppose my exclusion from the graduate student formal dinner at Clare College. At Cambridge, colleges often conduct "swaps" where students at one college go to another for their formal dinners. On this evening, many of the stalwarts at Clare College could not get tickets to the event. So, I organized a revolutionary event in the Spirit of 1776. We held an informal-formal dinner at La Margherita, which was English-Italian and surprisingly delicious. I unknowingly wore a gray shirt and black trousers, which permitted me to match the waiters. After the event, we "occupied" the college bar, demonstrating our disgust with the 1% who actually received tickets.

On Saturday, November 5, I was quite glad that I shed my beard and long hair as I met the senior leadership of the 48th Air Wing Operations Group from Royal Air Force Base Lakenheath. The 48th Air Wing includes U.S. Air Force F-15 squadrons and an HH-60 helicopter squadron (rescue) that support activities within U.S. European Command. The 48th Air Wing has been operating in the European theater since 1952, but Lakenheath has been under U.S. operational command since 1948 as part of the Strategic Air Command, a critical arm of strategic deterrence during the Cold War. It may seem illogical that a butter-bar Ensign would hang around with a group of Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels from a different service; however, one of my Navy compatriots, Will Murray (USNA '10) is studying at Downing College where the senior U.S. Military officer in Cambridge is also studying. As a consequence, he invited me to a lovely 5-course meal as an extra seat became available. I found the event quite wonderful and genuinely learned a lot from these highly experienced individuals, who seemingly have been at the tip of the U.S. spear for the last 10 years. One of the interesting results of prolonged conflict is the diverse experience of individuals in all services. Many of these officers had served as individual augmentees in either Iraq or Afghanistan. The night came to an end at the Eagle, which has been a popular pub for U.S. Air Force personnel going back to World War II. In the back taproom, 70-year old graffiti covers the ceiling and U.S. military patches cover the walls.

On Tuesday, November 8, I rose early and gave a short introduction to the Cambridge Rotary Club at their breakfast meeting. Here, I met Mona who will provide me with transportation to the various clubs. Mona is an ortho-dentist, who is originally from Norway. I gave a cursory introduction, but the meeting was such that I will surely be asked to present again. The meeting also afforded me with the opportunity to learn a little more about the Rotary Club and its activities. At the meeting, the club provided funding for a charity that works to increase financial literacy, budgeting, and debt consolidation for the heavily indebted. Like in the U.S., the collapse of the housing bubble left many common folk reeling. The organization works to support 60-65 individuals who have accrued nearly 750,000 pounds silver (1.2 Million U.S. Dollars) worth of debt. The service is in high demand.

On Thursday, November 10, I attended the Cambridge Rotaract meeting at nearby Anglia Ruskin University. Rotaract in Cambridge is in its infancy, but it is really trying develop and grow itself into a social force. Currently, the body of the organization is almost entirely students.  It will be unique to be part of its development in the coming years. Currently, the group is starting to volunteer with Cambridge Food Cycle. Each year, the UK food retail industry sends 1.6 million tons of food to landfills. 1/4 quarter of this food is estimated as being fit for consumption. FoodCycle raises awareness of food waste and food poverty by reclaiming good food to make delicious, nutritious meals for people in need.  In addition, the Rotaract will have a booth at the upcoming Mill Road Fayre. At the event, the group will be selling homemade necklaces and bracelets to support homeless survival packages. If you know of a strong Rotaract club, I would love to talk to their leadership about recruitment and fundraising. 

Cambridge Ambassadorial Scholars Welcome Evening

Picture from the Scholars Welcome Evening in Cambridge.

 Left to Right:-Myself, Outgoing District 1080 Ambassadorial Scholar Samantha Gale (UK), Jacob Cox (USA), Cambridge Rotaractor James Sheard (UK), Simon Prigent (FRA), Mackenzie Wehner(USA), Russ Burgin (USA), Yuichi Ishida (JAP), Alexander McKinnon (AUS).
                                                                       

Picture Tab

I am adding and modifying portions of the blog. Please check out the "Photo" tab to see the images of my first month on the ground.

Cruel and Tender

Cruel and Tender is a contemporary version of Trachinae, Sophocles’ immortal tragedy. Replication is often difficult, particularly when integrating contemporary events and criticism. The Trachinae chronicled the relationship between a warrior, Heracles and his jealous wife, Deianeira. In the grandeur of conquest, Heracles takes a city in order to seize a mistress. When word arrives home in the form of the mistress, Deianeira is jealous of the younger woman. In an errant attempt to re-win his affections, she receives a mystical potion that will rekindle his love for her. Tragically, the mystical potion is actually poisoned. In an act so familiar in the work of Sophocles, Deianeira commits suicide and Heracles dies suffering, yet aware that Deianeira committed this act out of love.

In this rendition, the setting and period has changed. The far-off conquest and conflict is replaced with the War on Terror, Heracles is now a modern General. His wife is Amelia, a pretentious, jealous, and perhaps even desperate socialite. While the General is off in Africa, her discontent for the War and her husband grows. When he sends back a two Africans to live with his wife, Amelia must decide whether the young girl and her apparent son are a mistress and an illegitimate child or refugees. In a seemingly weird gesture, Amelia sends a pillow to her husband, which knowingly or unknowingly is poisoned, perpetuating the recreation of the tragedy in modern terms.

The plot in general requires a significant suspension of disbelief, which would otherwise be more or less accepted in the deterministic, mythical, and even mystical Grecian form. First, Amelia sends her son to find his father in the war zone. Second, chemical weapons are mistaken for a nuanced love potion. Third, the direct participation in war crimes by a senior officer is rather close to the improbable given embedded media outlets. Fourth, the modern, professional military would not permit refugees to come home as spoils of war. While the analogy is not lost, it is weakened by these plot weaknesses and anachronisms. Ironically, Crimp’s criticism is of the civil-military divide is accentuated by his own lack of knowledge.

These weaknesses do not entirely hinder the recreation of the tragedy. The chorus is insightfully replaced with the shallowness and comedic relief of three housekeepers. The setting takes place entirely in the bedroom, which sets the desolate mood and highlights the centrality of physical conquest. The unfinished walls, exposed to the frame, depict the destruction of the home. With a flashlight, Richard (Michael Cotton) replaces the soothsayer of the tragedy, illuminating the real identity of the young girl. The mutual catharsis of the General and Amelia is powerful; the tragic value is real as the General, through his action, has destroyed the very thing that he nobly sought to defend. He has become the terrorist: destroying a city, conquesting a young woman, and driving his wife to insanity.

Amelia (Megan Roberts) commands the stage in this performance. Her monologues were well-delivered and well-received. She captured the full-gamut of emotion that is experienced by the military wife. The chorus (Matilda Wnek, Kesia Guillery, and Ailis Creavin) enhanced her performance by highlighting both the separation of Amelia from society and society’s separation from the War on Terror and the rest of the not-so suburban world. The General (Lawrence Bowles) did not initially impress. Foreshadowing implied that he was already an invalid, yet he appears strong on the stage. As his hysteria rises in the final scene, The General recaptures the character, but it was almost too late. Serving as the foil to Amelia, Laela (Nys Joseph-Mitchell), the young mistress, delivers a pithy performance in her stage debut. If the play was a bildungsroman, James (Jack Parlett) masterfully captures the coming of age of a young man, whose father remained in permanent abstention. The dynamic of the character could only be captured by such a performance. Jonathon (Phil Howe) wonderfully depicts the villainous and antagonistic role of the government, which sends its men and women to fight and to kill, yet abandons them. Jonathon plays the politician to perfection, enjoying the fruits of the forbidden tree made possible by the General. As a rule, the cast was superb.

In all, the performance was excellent. As one can imagine, the play is difficult to execute. The cast and crew put forth an excellent effort, but were ultimately constrained by Martin Crimp’s inability to understand and deliver a realistic product. His valid social criticism is hindered by his own lack of information and understanding of political and social reality.