I’m finally caught up!! Today I just got back from my favorite thing that I’ve done since I came to London. And I’ve done lots of pretty awesome things so that means this was GOOD. I know I keep saying it, but I really wanted to get to know the UK well after this experience, and big part of that was getting to spend some time in the British countryside. You always hear about how nice it is, and while London is great, that is not the way that the majority of the country lives, and I really wanted to know what it's actually like to be British!
Enter a program called HostUK. It’s basically a charity where people across the UK open up their homes to students studying abroad who want to experience daily British life. They really try to match you based on the experience you are seeking, and I have to say that I don’t think my match could have been any more perfect. Arcadia ended up paying my application fee and travel fees so it was even better that I didn’t have to pay a penny for the experience! I was matched with Rosie and John, a retired couple (although they were seriously in the best shape!) who live in the village of Appleton, about 10 minutes outside of Oxford. I corresponded with Rosie about travel plans, and she picked me up at the Oxford car park station; I could already tell that she was the sweetest person.
This is kind of weird, but being in a car was almost a little of an emotional experience haha. Not like I was going to burst out in tears, but I realized how much I miss having a car and having the freedom to take long drives and go wherever I want whenever I want! Of course I’ll get home and miss the tube like crazy 
But it is weird to think that I haven’t been in a car for over 2 months, especially when it’s normally such an integral part of my life! And then there’s the matter of how I was sitting in the “driver’s seat” but there was no wheel because they drive on the left side of the road!! I definitely had to get used to that – making turns is especially weird!
But it is weird to think that I haven’t been in a car for over 2 months, especially when it’s normally such an integral part of my life! And then there’s the matter of how I was sitting in the “driver’s seat” but there was no wheel because they drive on the left side of the road!! I definitely had to get used to that – making turns is especially weird!
From the station, we made a quick trip to the nearby town of Abingdon (which happens to be one of the oldest towns in England) because she had a couple errands to run there. Then we drove into Appleton, and her husband John met us at the front door; he had a fresh pot of tea ready for us! I knew already that I was going to love this so much. We sat around the table with our tea and pieces of fruitcake (it wasn’t that bad, but I like normal cake better ) while they quizzed me about all things me, and Oklahoma. When we had finished with the tea, they took me on a little tour of their village which ended at this beautiful church. Their village is exactly what you would picture when you think British countryside village; it was so idyllic!
) while they quizzed me about all things me, and Oklahoma. When we had finished with the tea, they took me on a little tour of their village which ended at this beautiful church. Their village is exactly what you would picture when you think British countryside village; it was so idyllic!
When we got back to the house, John immediately made a fire – they do this every night without fail and it will go until we go to bed – so cozy!! John and I sat in the sitting room and chatted while Rosie cooked supper and yummy smells drifted from the kitchen! I learned that John was quite the wino, and we enjoyed some of his favorite red wine with *crisps* around the fire until dinner was ready. John used to be head teacher (aka the principal in the US) at a school in southern France for around 20 years! Imagine having a cottage in south France and getting acquainted with all of the good wine He also has quite a passion for history (he and his wife help with a yearly issue uncovering things about the history of their town) and it was so fun getting to talk to him about everything!
He also has quite a passion for history (he and his wife help with a yearly issue uncovering things about the history of their town) and it was so fun getting to talk to him about everything!
And as if it could get any better, when dinner came out, it was a beautiful filet of salmon that they had apparently bought from a woman who gets fish fresh from the coast and drives a van inland to sell it! It was delicious!! Along with the salmon, we had steamed broccoli and butternut squash and mashed potatoes. That meal is literally my love language. And white wine was served as well When we finished the food, Rosie went back into the kitchen and came back out with a cheese board, biscuits (crackers), and mince pies. I learned that every meal was always followed by something sweet which is definitely something I can get on board with!! They informed me that Friday night dinners are usually pretty extravagant like this, as a celebration for getting through the week! We gradually transitioned back to sitting room for coffee and BBC news – so British!!
When we finished the food, Rosie went back into the kitchen and came back out with a cheese board, biscuits (crackers), and mince pies. I learned that every meal was always followed by something sweet which is definitely something I can get on board with!! They informed me that Friday night dinners are usually pretty extravagant like this, as a celebration for getting through the week! We gradually transitioned back to sitting room for coffee and BBC news – so British!!
Before I went to bed, I was told that weekend mornings were started with tea in bed, so I would hear a knock on my door around 7:30 and that would be my tea! How cute is that!! I also had some reading material to take upstairs with me; for some reason my European ancestry had come up and John, being a devout historian, had given me a book called “A History of the Scottish Peoples.” I actually did get a little bit into it because I do enjoy European history!! He had also given me a “very well written” book about the American movement West; he thought I would recognize a lot in it! I took a hot shower, cuddled up in bed with the books, and was then off to sleep.
As promised, around 7:30 there was a little knock on my door and Rosie came in with a platter that had a mug of milk tea on it and a little container of sugar. I think I could start every single day like this! (And I did while I was there!!)
Breakfast was at 8 (every meal had a very set time, they were definitely creatures of habit and structure!) and we had a very traditional meal of porridge and golden syrup. With more tea of course. Much like dinner the night before, just when I thought we were done, more food came out! This time it was toast – apparently this was very typical for them. You would butter the toast and then put either homemade marmalade or honey from their neighbors who kept bees. Even the bread was homemade; they have their own bread maker and I can say without a doubt that it tastes sooo much better homemade!! In general they tried to eat everything homemade/homegrown; the village has some allotments that people grow their own veg on and theirs was hugeee. Every day John would go to the allotment to get the produce for the day’s meals! They were also very mindful of sustainability practices – they didn’t have lights on if they didn’t have to, they never threw food away, etc. It was definitely a good reminder that we all can do a little to help out the environment, especially in its current state!
Our plan for the day, was to start out the morning in Oxford, then we would come back to the house for lunch, and spend the afternoon on some walks in the countryside. That evening there was also a local community choir that John used to be a part of that was putting on a concert, and we were attending. I had already been to Oxford, but just for a few hours and it definitely left me wanting more, particularly the museums, as we hadn’t had a chance to see them at all.
Rosie and I drove into the outside of Oxford and then took a bus into the city center. From there we headed towards the Covered Market, because it had been closed when I went there. It has all sorts of grocery stands and different unique shops. In particular this cake shop looked really yummy, and the detail on the cakes was amazing!
We also walked around the backside of the Bodleian Library; we couldn’t quite figure out who these faces were supposed to be!
A little bit further was the Pitt Rivers Museum. The front section of the museum is all about natural history, showcasing lots of dinosaur and plant fossils.
We looked through there for a bit, and then Rosie pointed out that there was a back section dedicated to Archaeology and Anthropology. This seemed much more interesting to me so we took our time walking through this section. Pitt Rivers had acquired this massive collection of “things” from different cultures, and they were sorted in the museum by use. So you could look at all the textiles together, or the baskets, or the lamps, or the pots, or the masks, or the jewelry, etc. I spent a lot of time looking at a section about clothing of the Arctic peoples. It’s amazing to me how they don’t freeze and how they’re able to maintain a civilization up there! Most of their clothing was just reindeer fur, but apparently they also used seal skin and intestines to make parkas! Ew! Another section had a bunch of Japanese theater masks; the expression of the face and the way it looked was supposed to tell you about the character. Particularly, if a woman’s hair was painted neatly on the mask she was supposed to be young, but if it was painted more disheveled you would know that the woman was old and probably grieving. Upstairs I also really enjoyed looking at all of the different dice and card games that different cultures enjoyed – there were some early renditions of the 4 suit cards we know today. The medicine section had samples of different herbs and rocks and listed what they were thought to treat.
We were probably in there for an hour and a half and I know that I could have spent much longer in there looking at everything and reading about where everything was from. Very interesting, and I loved how things were sorted by use so you could compare between cultures.
We had accidentally spent a little too long at the Pitt Rivers Museum but we still needed to see the Ashmolean Museum so we quickly headed over there, picked a floor, and spent about 20 minutes on it. We picked the floor about “East meets West.” Think the Silk Road trading routes and then some little exhibits on different cultures and religions of the East. I tend to gravitate towards things concerning the Western cultures and their history in museums so it was good to mix it up a little bit! Another museum that I will definitely need more time in the future at. But both the Pitt Rivers and the Ashmolean are free so you can come back as many times as you want! If you’re in Oxford that is
We caught the bus back to the car and then drove home for lunch. Lunch consisted of Cornish pasties (think beef stew inside a flaky pastry crust). They were delicious and of course these were homemade too. I was pretty amazed as Rosie told me how she makes her flaky, buttery pastry dough. From scratch. I wish I had the time to put that much effort into my food that I eat here because homemade tastes a million times better! As you can probably guess, the meal was accompanied by tea, and was followed by a bit of glazed lemon layer cake that had been made for Rosie’s birthday the week before. So yummy.
We finished up lunch and then almost immediately headed out again. This time all three of us were going out, to the countryside in search of a good walk. They had decided to take me to a place called “Vale of the White Horse.” It’s a hill out in the country that actually has a chalk horse built into the side that dates back to Celtic peoples. On the top of the hill is an old Celtic fort (covered with grass now, but the form of the outer and inner walls is definitely still there, separated by a huge ditch that was probably some type of moat). The site is part of the English National Trust, and there were many people out enjoying the beautiful day. I actually really lucked out with the weather while I was there; it was sunny with blue skies every day! But that meant that it was also, as the weatherman put it, “bone-chillingly cold,” and especially being up on that hill, the wind was almost a little bit painful!
I never actually got to see the whole horse from the hillside, and it’s hard to make it out up close. The thick part is its back, and you can kind of make out the front and back legs. Take’s a little imagination but actually I saw pictures of it later from far away and it really does resemble a horse!
but actually I saw pictures of it later from far away and it really does resemble a horse!
The general consensus was that we were all pretty cold, but we still wanted to enjoy the rest of the beautiful day outside. We ended up driving to the meadow that had a paved pathway stretching through it that made its way to the Thames, and then to a lock, where I was educated on the functions of a lock It was still pretty cold, but the wind was much better, and the sun was starting to set so we had pretty candy colored skies to walk by!
It was still pretty cold, but the wind was much better, and the sun was starting to set so we had pretty candy colored skies to walk by!
My host family was veryyy active, but I really liked how in general, most people that live out in the countryside tend to be outside more doing things like going on walks. There are lots of different little paved paths like the one we went on everywhere, as well as National Trust sites for people to explore. Although these types of walks couldn’t really be passed of as “hikes,” they’re still very nice and scenic. I want to bring this culture to the US; just the desire to get into nature and move your feet a little bit!
We headed back to the house and Rosie disappeared into the kitchen to cook dinner. John made up a fire and we settled down in the sitting room to watch the New Zealand-Wales rugby match. I had never ever watched rugby and knew nothing, but by the end of the game I had caught onto the rules. I also gathered that New Zealand is the best rugby team in the world and that a loss for them is kind of like a win for everyone else. While Wales put up a good fight, they didn’t stand much of a chance! It really baffles me how there is not a single piece of padding worn for all the tackling they do – I don’t know how people don’t get hurt more often!!
There were really tempting smells coming from the kitchen and finally it was time to come in and eat. We were having lamb on a bed of rice, served with broad beans, which I had never had before, but were actually pretty good, especially when mixed with the rice and sauce from the lamb! I told them how we never really have lamb in the US (I think I’ve had it like once in France before coming here) and found out that its kind of a staple here! We had more tea with the meal and finished off with some chocolate biscuits.
After dinner, we had tickets to go to the choir concert. They had different tables set up for people to sit at and enjoy little snacks. I really enjoyed the concert; I think they normally have a much older Baroque repertoire, but this concert was much more modern, featuring Handel, Gilbert and Sullivan, short and entertaining madrigals performed in duets, and a West Side Story medley! One of the pieces, called the Hippopotamus Song, was apparently a well-known classic that the audience was supposed to sing along to, so I just sat back and laughed while everyone sang, “Mud, mud, glorious mud!” It was a really nice evening!
When we got back home we transitioned back to the sitting room; it was time to catch up on all the premier league football match results from the day. This was John’s preferred way of figuring out how games had ended; any time the news mentioned sports on the TV he would mute it, and he wouldn’t check the newspaper for the scores haha. This way I guess he could be surprised! Apparently it was going to be a very one sided weekend for football with the exception of Chelsea and Liverpool, but Crystal Palace (were at the bottom of the standings) did pull out an exciting win! I realized we do this with college football!! These game highlights were stretching on into the night and I knew that the next morning was going to be the same early morning so around 11 I decided I “couldn’t hang” and headed up to bed. I really don’t know how they do it – they were literally up until midnight or later every night and then got up around 6!!
These game highlights were stretching on into the night and I knew that the next morning was going to be the same early morning so around 11 I decided I “couldn’t hang” and headed up to bed. I really don’t know how they do it – they were literally up until midnight or later every night and then got up around 6!!
Sunday morning I was woken up with tea again, and breakfast was museli, followed by the 2nd course of toast. I was told that breakfast was always either museli or porridge; they gave up the traditional English breakfast a while ago because it was too much food for just the 2 of them. That was fine with me because they were already incredibly spoiling me with all the rest of the food!!
The next item on our agenda for the day was Rosie’s Quaker meeting. John had previously jokingly said that he had not “been sorted” but I think Rosie went to this meeting in Abingdon every week. Obviously I have never had the opportunity to go to a Quaker meeting and probably never will again, so I was really curious to see what it was like! John was kind of joking with me about it talking about how its just silence and how he once revised an entire essay during one of the meetings hahaha. I didn’t really take him that seriously though so I was a little suprised when that’s exactly what it ended up being. Complete silence. The agreed upon time to start was 10:15, but basically as soon as you got there, meeting started for you. There were about 12 other people there, and we all sat in chairs in a circle. There were pamphlets on each of the chairs that were called “Advices and queries.” This seemed to be sort of like their doctrine; it contained different advices for living your life and different questions to ponder and reflect upon while you were silent. If you felt so compelled to share with the group what particular advice stood out to you, or how you could apply one of them to your life you could; we had 3 different people share during the hour (it really startled me the first time because I was not expecting it). I took my time reading through the entire pamphlet to pass the time, but I was kind of disappointed when I looked up at the clock and only 15 minutes had gone by. I also didn’t really know when exactly this would end. I didn’t know if “1 hour” meant 1 hour, or anywhere between 45 minutes to 2 hours!! However, at 11:15 2 “Elders” shook hands which signified that the silent part was over. The next part was kind of a “sharing time” where you could tell the group what stood out to you if you really wanted. This was kind of interesting (I believe they called it inspirations) because you get to hear how other people have resolved in the past hour to do better and in a way it is kind of an inspiration to others. When it was clear no one else was going to share, they did announcements and then enjoyed some tea and coffee. I think the worst part for me was not necessarily the silence, but just sitting still for an hour! My feet don’t touch the ground when I sit and I just could not get comfortable!! But I made it It may not have been my preferred method of worship, but it’s always good to experience something new!!
It may not have been my preferred method of worship, but it’s always good to experience something new!!
When we got back to the house, John had just about gotten our Sunday Roast ready! We feasted on a really nice silver side beef, roast potatoes and parsnips, mashed celeriac, and leeks in a white cream sauce. (John couldn’t believe I’d never had leeks before and wanted me to try them before I left – he said that leeks in a cream sauce was very traditional!) And of course with our meal, we enjoyed another nice red wine! For dessert, homemade apple crisp with custard!! Sunday Roast happens every Sunday in their home; they just rotate the type of meat they use. They asked if Sunday is kind of a special day for food in our house… well… we order Chinese takeout after church religiously??? Hahahaha.
There were some woods in the village that had a path going through them that people either walked on for fun, or to get to the other side where there was a bus stop. However, parts of the path were incredibly muddy, like the thick mud that ruins your shoes and you get stuck in. John was heading up a volunteer activity that afternoon to build a boardwalk across the muddiest parts of the path. Rosie and I were going to go “supervise” for a little bit but ended up getting roped into a little bit I got to use a sledgehammer to drive some posts in the ground woo!!! I also hammered some of the boards into the frame. A little bit of me will be in Appleton forever!! However, the original plan had been to pop over to Blenheim Palace (Churchill’s childhood home) to walk around the grounds for a bit, and we were losing hours of sunlight so Rosie and I hustled over to Woodstock, the town that the palace is in. It was sunset when we went, which actually made it even nicer! I also thought the town was very charming; I didn’t actually manage to get any pictures of the homes in Appleton, but the ones here look pretty similar, and you can image the town on a slightly smaller scale.
I got to use a sledgehammer to drive some posts in the ground woo!!! I also hammered some of the boards into the frame. A little bit of me will be in Appleton forever!! However, the original plan had been to pop over to Blenheim Palace (Churchill’s childhood home) to walk around the grounds for a bit, and we were losing hours of sunlight so Rosie and I hustled over to Woodstock, the town that the palace is in. It was sunset when we went, which actually made it even nicer! I also thought the town was very charming; I didn’t actually manage to get any pictures of the homes in Appleton, but the ones here look pretty similar, and you can image the town on a slightly smaller scale.
We made it just in time before it got dark, and then drove back to Appleton to have tea! And not just tea for drinking, but everything else that comes with “tea.” Rosie explained that typically for dinner on Sunday nights after such a big lunch, they typically just do a small tea snack/dinner around the fireplace to “fill up any little holes after lunch.” But it was anything but a little snack. Rosie had casually whipped up some scones, with toast and little toast finger sandwiches. She also cut up some fruitcake and brought out her lemon cake as if we would still be hungry!! I may have overindulged a little on the scones with the jam and cream, but I have a very limited amount of time to appreciate it while I’m here! I accidentally took too much jam and cream for myself and they said I had to finish it off so I had to eat it on a piece of toast – no food wasting around here!
Rosie had to go to a meeting, but I was very pleasantly stuffed and John had said that there were a few programs on tonight that they always watched; Sunday night was their big TV night. So with the fire going, we first watched Countryfile (a show exploring different things in the UK countryside) which was then followed by what I think is their favorite show, Blue Planet. It’s kind of like the Planet Earth series, except that it’s just about the ocean. All of the videography is actually really fascinating and they even spend the last 10 minutes of the show talking about how they got the shots for that particular episode. Our favorite part about this night’s program was this whole section they did on an octopus – those things are smart! When it got attacked by a shark, it would stick its tentacles in its gill so it couldn’t breathe anymore and the octopus could escape. If it was out in the open, it would also completely cover itself in this armor of shells so the shark couldn’t find it!
John said that after Blue Planet, they always watched this particular “social drama” he called it called Howard’s End (based on the book). It was kind of funny to sit there and watch it with him as we commented on the different characters (“Oh I really don’t like him.” “Well he clearly isn’t going to tell her then.” ) We both agreed that it was really well done and he told me I was going to need to figure out how to continue watching it so that I would know how it ended!! When the episode was over, John and I had stimulating conversation about British politics (he explained all the different parties to me!) and of course discussed Brexit which he is whole-heartedly against It’s always nice to talk about this stuff to just give me a greater understanding of the place I’m in!!
) We both agreed that it was really well done and he told me I was going to need to figure out how to continue watching it so that I would know how it ended!! When the episode was over, John and I had stimulating conversation about British politics (he explained all the different parties to me!) and of course discussed Brexit which he is whole-heartedly against It’s always nice to talk about this stuff to just give me a greater understanding of the place I’m in!!
The next morning (yesterday morning) it was sadly time for me to depart. They sent me off with a jar of homemade jelly as something to remember Appleton by and John even gave me the Scottish book They drove me to the station and we departed with hugs. (*tear*)
They drove me to the station and we departed with hugs. (*tear*)
As I said before, I had the most perfect match and got incredibly lucky with them. They were the kindest people and they really did treat me like an honored guest and showed me everything about British daily life that I had been wanting to see! It really almost felt like I lived there, sitting around the fire in the sitting room at night, and it was really nice to be in a cozy home for once instead of my flat. I feel like I just can’t say enough about my weekend and all the little things that happened and the conversations we had, but to sum that up I am so so so incredibly thankful that I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with them, and so grateful that they wholeheartedly opened their home up to me this weekend. Definitely my favorite experience so far!!!
Thanks for reading!!
-Katie 
Katie, a senior Biology major, is spending the Fall 2017 semester studying Health & Society at King's College in London through Arcadia University.
Read more from Katie at https://katientheuk.wordpress.com/
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