The past few days have been pretty chill, well at least not post-worthy since I don't really have any pictures to describe what I did. I probably could have split this post into two since the first event (the proposal!) is actually from two nights ago, but I was too lazy to since it got so late that night.
Anyways, some of you might be thinking....what the heck? a proposal? aren't they too young? Well, let me explain the system. I may have mentioned my college parents to you at some point, but basically when you enter Cambridge as a fresher, you are assigned college parents, who are second years (or third years) and one of whom is studying your subject. They are your go to for any advice or help you may need. It basically creates a close knit family environment here. Your family away from home. I like to compare it to the Big Brothers slash Big Sisters in the Greek system. Anyways, you also have grandparents and siblings as a result. Proposals generally occur during Michaelmas Term and then there is a Wedding Hall during Lent Term to officially "wed" the couples. It's a pretty big deal. Also, when they guy chooses who to propose to, its supposed to be someone outside of your subject (i.e. major) and someone you wouldn't actually end up dating.
A couple days ago, proposals started occurring, putting pressure on all the guys to ask someone before everyone was taken. My college brother, James, decided to propose to Charlotte (another one of my friends) on the Bridge of Sighs (pictures shown earlier). It was pretty hilarious actually because she said no at first since she was extremely shocked and still taking everything in. And then James reassured her that he meant not in real life, but in terms of the college parent system. She said yes after he got onto his knee, but we were all very worried for a second. Andy Chen, one of James' friend, took a video recording of the whole thing while I was the paparazzi and family support...
People actually plan some pretty grand proposals. The one I hear about the most is one guy who put up a giant poster on the Bridge of Sighs saying "Marry Me" and then took the girl punting. It's essentially prom all over again, but I guess they don't have prom so they go all out for this instead. My college dad proposed to my college mom by writing marry me onto balloons. Anyways, James' idea was pretty cute as he got a delicious cake saying "Will you marry me?" and the traditional gummy Haribo ring.
Today was another pretty chill day, but I tried to make it a bit more interesting. I only had one class, so on the way back from class, I finally caved in to going through all the different stalls in the Market Place. I got some lunch from this noodle stand, which didn't taste very good, but I was starving so that didn't really matter too much. My favorite was the candy booth!
So many different colors! And their names are pretty funny too - strawberry pasta or blueberry cables :P It wasn't too expensive either so I picked up a few bags :D
They have so much at this market place. Hopefully at some point I can get an aerial view of it. They have antiques, puzzles, toys, clothes, and even some fruits and vegetables! The best part of this stand is that they have a huge variety of fresh juice - pomegranate, carrot, watermelon, and the traditional orange of course.
After lunch, I spent the rest of the day in my room, working hard on the two essays I have to finish in the next two days. We'll see how that goes... Obviously I procrastinated as much as possible :( Anyways, this picture was originally upside down trees, but I corrected that to make it look a bit more interesting... I really like all pictures that are reflections on the water, somehow it makes the subject of the picture look cooler...
That was my break for day, so now back to work :(
That's actually a really cool tradition. Think you can keep drama to a minimum?
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