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Losing a stone

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

Upon reading the title of this blog post, we will immediately be able to separate the Brits from the non-Brits.  The non-Brits are probably wondering if I have parted ways with a pet rock or possibly a painful medical condition.  The Brits will likely immediately grasp what has actually happened: I am now 14 pounds lighter (lbs not sterling).

By American and British standards, I am not fat.  I don’t fear swimming suits and usually shop in the petite section of stores.  By Chinese standards, I should have my own moons or at least an exclusive zip/postal code.  I have watched my weight slowly creep up through the years and fretted over it, as most women do.  But I’ve never actually done anything serious about it.  As everyone who reads this blog knows, Dan and I love food and cooking.  I was never willing to give up my food obsession for a chance to slim down.

Then on the 1st of August, I stepped on the scale and was shocked to see the numbers flash up at me: 150.  That was how much Dan weighed when we first met, and I never thought that I would be in Dan’s weight range given that I’m a full 10 inches shorter than him.  When I have calculated my BMI in the past, I’ve always been in the normal weight range, but now I was firmly in the overweight range and a few days later, I reached my heaviest at 154.  It was time to take charge.

The dieting industry is a $60 billion industry in the US.  Globally, it’s closer to $500 billion.  There are a lot of options out there, so how was I supposed to choose the right one?  Here were my rules for choosing a diet:

  1. The diet had to be free because I’m too cheap to join a program
  2. I wanted to see progress reasonably quickly
  3. I had to be able to eat with Dan and other people socially
  4. I did not want to give up all the foods I loved
  5. It should not unnecessarily complicate my life nor be difficult to implement/follow

With those in mind, I started to look around for diets and read up on theories of nutrition.  One day, a brochure came through our door that was advertising the Harcombe Diet.  I didn’t know anything about it, and the program was pretty well-guarded online.  I went to the local library (see rule #1 above) and checked out the book that Zoe Harcombe published on this diet.  It laid out her ideas about what causes cravings and why we overeat.  Surprisingly, they were not psychological reasons but physiological reasons, which I liked but did not 100% believe, but the first phase was only 5 days long during which you should see fast weight loss.  What I liked about it was that it very clearly laid out what you could and couldn’t eat AND you could eat as much as you wanted.  For breakfast, I ate a lot of bacon and eggs and stopped drinking orange juice and eating toast.  I did that for a week, but it violated rule #3 and to an extent, rule #4.  However, I did see some weight loss within a short time frame (about 2 lbs in those 5 days), and I found that once I got rid of the unhealthy foods that I used to crave, I stopped craving them.  For that reason alone, I’m glad I tried this diet out.

I decided to try the Weight Watchers plan next.  There is actually a ton of information online so without joining or paying any money, I was able to figure out roughly what I needed to do.  I made a spreadsheet to keep track of my weight and my points intake (I used the old points system even though WW has moved onto PointsPlus and ProPoints).  I used their formula to calculate the points per meal and downloaded a couple of widgets for my Macbook.  If I could get the nutritional values from the packaging, I could calculate the points pretty easily.  If I was cooking or going out to eat, I estimated the points using other people’s lists or this recipe analyzer.  I quickly learned to avoid paninis, nuts, and vast quantities of cheese!  I was very conservative on the number of points to be aiming for every day.  Based on WW’s formula, I should be aiming for 21 with a weekly allowance of 35 (more if I do physical activity like play tennis or walk Siena).  I’m often closer to 18 or 19 although on average, I have 20 points a day.  I started this diet on August 15 and have now officially lost 14 pounds (or a stone) from when I first started the WW plan.  Things I like about this plan:

  • I can eat whatever I want but I am learning to control how much of it I eat
  • I can easily eat with Dan & friends and can now estimate points for meals in restaurants
  • There is a lot of flexibility so I will let myself enjoy meals with friends on the weekends but be very strict during the week
  • It’s essentially calorie counting but simplified into the points system
  • Due to the popularity of this program, there are a lot of online resources for WW, from low-points recipes to websites telling you how many points are in chain restaurant meals
  • WW sells low-points products in most supermarkets, and I have tried a few which are adequate for breakfasts/lunches
  • It’s easy to do on my own without impinging on my time
  • It’s actually kind of fun keeping track of the points and my weight loss

As many people will tell you, WW is mostly about portion control.  I realize now that I’m fine to eat just one serving of my or Dan’s delicious cooking, and I don’t need any more than that.  Because of the Harcombe diet, I now eat yogurt every morning for breakfast.  In the past, yogurt has made me gag (and it still occasionally does), but I found that Rachel’s Greek style honey yogurt is very palatable and particularly nice if you add fresh berries (o points).  The bonus is that Rachel’s is an Aberystwyth company, very conscious about organic and environmental issues, so I’m doing something for the local economy, the environment, and my body!  I stopped drinking juice and have eased up on the potato chips because they no longer taste good.  Now that I know the plan is working, I am very motivated to keep at it.  We’re heading back to the bay area in a few weeks, so I know we’ll be eating lots of yummy food then!  But I don’t have to stuff myself, and I can reward my progress by buying some new clothes that fit me!

P.S. If you’re wondering why a stone is 14 pounds, blame it on the silly imperial system!

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Posted in Adjusting to Wales, British ways, Helpful Tips | 2 Comments »

Love one another

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

Tonight in Welsh class, I learned the Welsh word for “humane”. It is “dyngar” which is made up of “dyn”, meaning “man”, and “gar”, which is a variant on “caru” which means “to love”. In Welsh, being humane means to love your fellow men and women.

Isn’t language awesome?

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Sportsmanship and the Rugby World Cup

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

Living in Wales has led me “discover” the sport of rugby union. As Wales’ national sport you can find it on television often and whenever the national team plays you can listen to the commentary in either Welsh or English. With a lack of baseball, basketball, or (American) football, it is the one sport and team I can rally around with my neighbors and co-workers.

2011 has brought the quadrennial event of the Rugby World Cup. Now that the pool stages are done and the quarterfinals about to begin, I have become more uneasy by the lack of sportsmanship I perceive in the tournament both by the various players, teams, and the IRB. I will forgo discussing the various sportsmanship issues on both the player level (eye gouging) and team representative level (ball switching), there are always bad apples in every sport. Instead I will focus on the greater issue of team sportsmanship and the failure of the IRB to promote an opportunity for all nations to compete equally.

The World Cup (soccer/football) has groups of four. Each pair of teams in each group either will play simultaneously or consecutively with no precedence in the order of the play. The RWC has five teams in each of the four groups meaning that one of the teams in the group has a “bye” during the round robin group phase. This in itself leads to one team sometimes having played one more game than their opponent. In a full contact game like rugby, this can lead to an advantage by 1) advance scouting, 2) less likelihood of injured players, and 3) a team being generally “fresher” than an opponent. I will not quibble about an extra 12 or 24 hours, but, for example, New Zealand this year had 7, 8, and 8 days between matches. Samoa, on the other hand, had 4, 7, and 5 days between matches, and the USA had to play twice on three days rest. This unbalanced schedule did not go unnoticed.

The IRB and RWC2011 intentionally scheduled the “better” teams with more breaks between matches. This approach contributes to a self-fulfilling prophecy of the self anointed best teams advancing to the next round. No, I don’t think a balanced schedule would have propelled my Eagles to a quarterfinal berth, but if the bias is built into the schedule how can you say that the tournament is designed fairly? No one is complaining about the seeding system, just that once the field is set, equality should ensure a legitimate winner. Perhaps RWC2015 could learn from some of the suggestions floating around the internet (like here, here, and here).

Unlike every other sport I have followed, the RWC does not reward points for simply winning (or drawing), rather, the nature of the win or loss and determine the outcome. In the RWC you can get a bonus point for either scoring four or more tries or a bonus point for losing by seven points or less. While I can understand wanting to reward teams for losing “close” and, perhaps, adding excitement to the end of a match as one or both teams try for a bonus point, the concept of bonus points does not sit well with me. Why do we play the game? To win the game. Head to head competitions, played in variable conditions and in various venues, allows too much chance to determine bonus points. A game in heavy fog, pouring rain, freezing cold, all affect the final scores of the game, usually offensively more than defensively. A win is a win, a loss is a loss, why the need for bonus points? (Aside: NHL, don’t think I am not on to you either!)

While my first two criticisms have been directed at the format and structure of the RWC, the last two things I want to bring up relate to team behavior. Both comments relate to things I have seen by multiple teams so I am not trying to signal anyone out. First, if you accept the bonus point system then I can understand a team well on its way to victory to continue pursuing its fourth try of the game. What I don’t understand without the tag of poor sportsmanship being applied is the continued drive to score after both the bonus point is assured and time has expired (see New Zealand v. Japan, and Wales v. Fiji). The game is won, no need to humiliate your opponent further nor risk injury to your team. Apparently I am not the only one who has encountered this.

Finally, I am going to wade into a highly charged debate over the haka. I will not, however, go into the political correctness of whether or not the haka is offensive to Maori (or equivalent dance/chants of the other South Pacific island nations). I will address the use of the haka in light of sportsmanship. For those unfamiliar with the haka, it is a rhythmic dance/chant performed by the New Zealand rugby team just before kickoff. It typically involves both teams lined up facing each other with the All Blacks performing the dance in front of the opposing team. According to the all-knowing wikipedia, it has been a part of the All Blacks rugby team since 1906.

Many sports teams have a moment before games where they huddle/dance/chant/sing, but these are typically done either in the locker room before coming on to the field or in a team circle without regard to the other team. Also, I can understand/appreciate the singing of anthems or traditional team entrances put on by the home team. These are all “pre-game” and are generally reserved for home fields. They don’t apply to visiting teams nor national teams at international competitions (NZ performs a haka at both international competitions and as a visiting team), with the obvious exception of the national anthems. Furthermore, there should be no pump up measures directly toward the other team.

I would go as far to say that should the haka be performed by the players toward the audience to get them fired up, I would have no problem with that. But sanctioning the haka and forcing the other team to just stand there is a bit too far. If the haka is allowed to go on, the other team should be allowed to ignore it, stare it down, turn their backs, do their own dance in return. The Australian women’s team was even fined for moving too close to the haka once. To add insult to injury, Kiwis have felt disrespected if their opponents would rather not be disrespected themselves. And I didn’t even touch on the throat slitting.

As the RWC heads to the knockout rounds, I will watch the games but I will feel a little less engaged and may cheer a little less than I would have only a few weeks ago. I would like to players to respect the game and each other a little bit more. Who knows? It may allow the game to grow.

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Blueberry vs. Blueberry

Monday, August 1st, 2011

Yesterday, I caught part of Barefoot Contessa on TV and decided that even an incompetent baker like myself could make what she was making onscreen: a blueberry crumb cake.  After all, the prep time is only 8 minutes!  Off to the store to buy ingredients!  When I came home, we decided to take Siena for a walk and phoned up T&C to bring along their dog to join us.  Half an hour (and one cow herding incident*) later we all met for a walk around The Arch.  Going around the nearby forest, C recently spotted some berries bursting there, so we brought along some cartons to collect our pickings.  I assumed we were picking blackberries because even though it is still quite early in the season for them, we have already seen a few eager blackberries in the hedges around our neighborhood. I was very surprised to find out that the berries we would be picking were actually wild blueberries, ones with purple juices!  The first time I had plain blueberries in this country, I insisted that this fruit was not a blueberry but a grape.  Blueberries in the US have a deep purple juice that can stain your teeth.  Hence my confusion upon eating these impostors.

Cultivated freakishly large blueberry (looks like a grape) on left, wild laughingly small blueberry on right. Voters in a taste test (Dan and myself) liked the cultivated ones better.

The walk took us up and down hills and the berries ranged from teeny tiny to small.  Soon enough, we were all stained purple from the berry juices and even the dogs were eating the blueberries off the branches.  A couple hours later, we went home with our spoils, and I was happily baking in the kitchen Barefoot.  8 minutes prep time?  I suppose if someone washed, cut, measured, sifted, and laid out all the ingredients, it would only take 8 minutes.  It took me closer to 30 minutes to prep, but I guess that is why she is on TV and I am not.  Despite my track record, this cake turned out rather tasty!

Yummy blueberry crumb cake... not one crumb left at the end!

I learned some very valuable lessons: 1) picking blueberries is hard work, 2) not all blueberries are created equal, and 3) once in a while, I can actually bake something yummy.

*the incident with the cow herding is as follows: 5 minutes into our drive, we encountered about 20 cows on the road ahead of us going further down the road.  Their farmer was holding up the traffic while waiting for the stragglers to come out of the field.  All of a sudden, we see a straggler cow head toward us.  After some frantic arm-waving, the cow was convinced to go the other way but then ran back into the original field.  Another farmer with a switch eventually emerged with the cow and then chased it down the road to join the others.  Their destination field was a quarter mile down the road, so we watched the farmers running after the jogging cow.  We laughed as the entire scene unfolded.

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The Sports Event of the (next) Year

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

The image that shocked the design community (and not in a good way)

For those of you who have been living under a rock, the 2012 Olympics are being held in London in about a year.  Another benefit of living in the UK is that we were able to enter the lottery for tickets at an early stage.  The process is finally complete and apparently only 700,000 out of almost 2 million people were awarded tickets.  One of the questions on the application was “What country will you be supporting?”  We were wondering if there was any strategy to answering this question.  Would they want as much British support as possible?  Would they want a diverse crowd with fans supporting all different nations?  Would they favor countries that had a high chance of getting a medal?  We weren’t sure so we split the difference.  On one of our applications, we put USA and the other application, we put Uzbekistan (you could submit one application per Visa card).  Whatever the algorithm, it worked, because we got tickets!  In the 2012 Olympics, we will be seeing:

  • Archery (individual men’s elimination round)
  • Beach Volleyball (elimination round, one men’s match, one women’s match)
  • Gymnastics (finals and medal ceremony for men’s floor and pommel horse and women’s vault)
  • Handball (women’s preliminaries)
  • Water Polo (men’s preliminaries)

Perhaps the Uzbekistan application had a slight advantage because the events we got with that application (gymnastics and water polo) are solidly sold out whereas the events with the USA application (archery, beach volleyball, and handball) all still have tickets left.  Or maybe the country has nothing to do with it because the only events that Uzbekistan are competing in are the women’s high jump and the men’s cycling road race, and we were unsuccessful getting any track and field (athletics) events.  We were also unsuccessful in trying to get tickets for the opening ceremony (no surprise there), swimming, and diving.  We’re excited to be a part of the fun next year!

In adoption news, our additional documents are heading to Uzbekistan as I type.  Everything finally came back to our coordinator yesterday, and he shipped them off.  Now we wait to hear back about final approval.

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Posted in Adoption, British ways, Holidays and Trips | 6 Comments »

British “Summer”

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

I try to check the weather pretty frequently as it affects how we do our laundry, walk Siena, play tennis, mow the lawn, and other activities. The following is pretty typical of what I see when I log onto MetOffice for my 5-day forecast.

Sunny!  But windy!

The sun is coming which means Aber is beautiful!  Siena gets a long walk with sunblock on her nose, and it’s a great day to do our laundry. Grab a windbreaker, though, because it will be very windy! Visibility: Very Good.

Hooray for all!

Overcast.  Typical.

It’s not sunny, but at least it’s dry!  Siena gets a nice walk, and it’s probably a good day to play tennis because we won’t get sweaty (no sun, lots of wind). Visibility is Excellent.

This could be anytime of year

Drizzle.  But not really that much.

I usually can’t even feel this precipitation.  Yes, it’s technically wet, but the drizzle just hangs in the air.  It’s barely noticeable, and Siena doesn’t even mind walking in it.  No need for a brolly.  You may be surprised to learn that visibility is still Very Good.

It is not sprinkling or raining, but like a misty, foggy feel that is more wet.

Light Rain. Good for the garden!

Ok, so it’s actually going to rain.  It is a light rain so just wear a raincoat.  That puts a damper on plans to eat lunch outside, but it’s okay because now we don’t have to water the garden.  Visibility is downgraded to just Good.

The kind of rain that is used in romantic comedies.

Heavy Rain.  Blech, stay at home.

We knew the summer couldn’t be sunny all the time.  Ah, well, it’s a good time to make soup and catch up on shows recorded on the DVR. Siena will need somebody to hold the umbrella over her when she goes potty.  Raincoat plus brolly for most of us which will reduce our visibility to Moderate.

Will need to wear Wellington boots the next day

Transition weather.

Oh, okay, slightly weird, but I’m going to stay optimistic.  The weather during this time is either transitioning from sunny to rainy or rainy to sunny.  Either way, it’s only a little rain and the sun is always welcome to shine on Aber!  Visibility is back up to Good.

It's kind of cute when you think about it

Can’t make up its mind (it=weather OR MetOffice)

Huh.  This is really confusing.  It is pretty rare to have sun with torrential rainpour.  I guess I should wear a raincoat and sunglasses? Contrary to what you might think, it does not alternate between sunny and rainy when the sun goes behind the clouds.  Both are happening simultaneously.  Visibility is back down to Moderate.

This weather is confusing even when I'm in it

They’re having a laugh or the apocalypse is coming (they=MetOffice OR G-d)

A little bit of everything.  Better to give up and stay in bed, Siena can take herself out.  But don’t worry, the visibility is back up to Very Good (?!).

If they could fit snow and hail in that icon, they would

 

A little bit of everything

So there you have it.  A typical forecast for the summer.  Please note that rarely does the actual weather coincide with what is predicted. For example, right now, it is about 10am and the sun is not out and there is no heavy rain or wind.

This week's weather forecast

 

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Posted in Adjusting to Wales, British ways | 2 Comments »

A letter to the snow-impaired

Sunday, December 19th, 2010

Dear residents of Aber,

In the past two and a half years of living here, you have made my experience abroad a genuine delight.  I love your accents, enjoy the community spirit you maintain, and appreciate your friendly help when I have needed it.  Thank you for making my transition to Wales such a pleasant experience.  It therefore saddens me to have to point out to you a major flaw that is not only incomprehensible but embarrassing: your inability to cope with snow in the winter months.  This winter is the third we are spending in your lovely town, and it is the third winter that we have seen it snow.  Perhaps it is no longer a fluke.  Perhaps we should anticipate snow every winter.  As hardy midwesterners, we have been through our fair share of snowy winters.  Where we come from, we don’t measure snow in “centimetres”; we measure it in feet.  I am pleased to present an early Christmas present from us direct to you, an FAQ list about coping with the snow.

1) When is snow a crisis? Snow is a lovely occurrence of nature that reminds us of the circle of life.  The dead and white of winter contrasts with the vibrant green spring.  2 inches of snow does not warrant comment, and it certainly does not warrant closing down schools. 4-5 inches of snow should not shut down an entire university.  Talk to me when there is 2 feet of snow on the ground.

2) What should I wear in the snow? Snow can only occur under certain meteorological conditions.  To simplify, it has to be both cold enough to snow and warm enough to snow.  As with other weather conditions, your clothing should keep you comfortable.  Unless you are extremely hot-blooded or have copious amounts of body hair, you should not be baring your midriff and wearing heels in the snow.  Girl wearing only tights on your lower half, we saw you in the cafeteria on Friday and were shocked on multiple levels.

3) There seems to be snow on my car.  Does that mean I can’t use it? Amazingly, cars are capable of operating in all sorts of weather,  including snow!  Also amazingly, snow is neither immobile nor permanent!  If there is snow on your car, get rid of it!

4) Okay, I have mentally prepared myself to drive in the snow.  What tools do I need to make this possible? There are a couple of implements that are useful for getting your car out: an ice scraper (if you have one like ours, it comes with a brush; if not, then get a brush) and a snow shovel.  I know we’re in a bad economy here, but these tools are only a few pounds each.  The shovel should be used to clear out a path to your car, on your entire driveway, and any other pavement/concrete spaces around your house.  Do it early because the longer you wait, the worse it gets.  The ice scraper is the best tool to get snow and ice off your car.  It is more effective than using your credit card, an aerosol de-icer spray (which is also bad for the environment), or boiling a kettle of water to pour on your car.  Also, don’t use a food tray as a shovel; that must be hell on your back.

5) Using your recommended method of an “ice scraper”, I have managed to scrape a 10-inch wide hole in the snow on my windscreen (windshield).  That should be good, right? No, you must do the whole car.  And by whole car, I mean all the windows, the mirrors, and the metal surfaces.  It is dangerous to only see out of a 10-inch hole.  It is also dangerous not to brush off the snow from your hood (your bonnet), the top of your car, and your trunk (your boot).  If you don’t brush off the snow, it can fly off while you’re driving and startle other drivers by throwing a bunch of snow onto their clean windshield that their lovely husband spent 10 minutes clearing.

6) How do I know it’s safe to drive out there? In theory, the county should have salted the roads in preparation for inclement weather and then plowed the snow off the streets continuously once the snow actually hit.  That doesn’t mean that you should immediately park on all the cleared parts thereby making it inaccessible for the rest of us.

7) But I swear I saw the salt truck out there a few weeks ago when no snow was forecast.  And I haven’t see any snowplows in my neighborhood. What happened? Yes, I saw that salt truck a few weeks ago, too, when there was only cold weather predicted, not snow.  I can only guess that it was practicing for the real thing.  And you haven’t seen any snowplows around your neighborhood probably because the one snowplow that the county owns is busy plowing the major roads and not realizing that people live in neighborhoods that also need plowing.  I have no explanation for the county’s bizarre policies.

8 ) All this snow is stressing me out!  What can I do??? Get over yourself or go hibernate.

Sincerely,

Your friendly snow-experienced midwesterners

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Posted in Adjusting to Wales, British ways, The Town of Aberystwyth | 7 Comments »

1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

One of the great summer traditions in rural Wales is the agricultural show.  These shows are a lot like county fairs in the US except, well, smaller.  Sure they have the Royal Welsh (State Fair equivalent) and the Aberystwyth and Ceredigion County Show (county fair equivalent), but the town show brings it to a new level.  As we see these fairs advertised on a weekly basis we figured we should go check one out.  We found ourselves with a free Saturday last weekend so I suggested we attend the Capel Bangor and District Show.  I heard about it from a couple of my co-workers who talked about showing their horse and racing their dog.  Racing their dog!?  Did I need another reason?  Our Facebook post announcing our intentions brought out a crowd of four others (and another two we ran into when we arrived).  Most importantly though, is we brought Siena.

The Show took over a hedge-edged field with the center portion dedicated to showing horses.  There was a tent which housed the prize winning fruits, vegetables (giant leeks!), and flowers. There were two inflatable moon bounces, a row of old cars and tractors, and the occasional odd stall of some handicraft.  After a quick orientation we found a cleared area tucked back behind the tents, moon bounces, and tractors where the dog show was just commencing.  We decided to forgo Siena’s entry in the purebred categories and focused all our energy in the novelty categories.

The first category we entered Siena into was Best Conditioned Dog.  Her very first competition!  IAC led her out with practically every other dog around (about 15-18 in total).  She was inspected by the judge but unfortunately she didn’t make the grade.  Undaunted, we next entered Siena in the Dog Over 12 inches category.  With fewer entrants and the small dogs out of the way it was time for Siena to shine.  Once again she presented herself beautifully and the judge brought out two dogs but spent a long time deciding on third place.  She kept looking between Siena and another dog.  The tension built, the handlers were on pins, the judge was faced with the toughest decision she would have to make that day, and Siena was oblivious.  Unfortunately, the judge chose the other dog but still called Siena and me out to the winners circle to award us with a Highly Commended (i.e. 4th).  Siena had done it!  In that instant she became an award winning dog.  I am discounting the Slowest Vizsla and Quickest Peanut Butter Eater (2nd place) awards she won at the Vizsla Club of Northern California Rescue Picnic in 2007.

Siena's first rosette, Highly Commended for Any Variety Over 12 Inches

If we stopped here we would have been happy with a Highly Commended, but like Siena’s desire to get peanut butter out of a Kong, we didn’t want to stop until we got it all.  The next class we entered was Best Veteran (dogs over 7 years old).  We trotted out beaming with pride.  She finished 2nd (the winner being the oldest dog in the field)!  We felt we were on a roll.  Siena was enjoying the excitement of her fan club (there were up to 8 of us now) after each win.

Next up, Best Rescued Dog.  IAC led Siena out to the ring to join the handful of other rescue dogs.  The judging here was a little more strict, each handler had to tell the judge a little about the history of the dog and the rescue.  This delay only heightened excitement and shot the nerves.  With Siena being 2nd in line we had to wait in anticipation as the judge examined each of the other dogs in turn.  Once finished, the judge strode back down the line of dogs and immediately went in front of Siena and declared her the winner!  It took 7+ years for Siena to be an award winner, it only took 30 more minutes to become a Champion!  A red ribbon, not blue, emblazoned with 1st now proudly hung from her collar.

Award winning dog with the best handler

With one more class to go we decided to press our luck.  The crowning class of the afternoon would be the hardest of all to win, one open to every dog there that afternoon.  We liked our chances, it was the class Siena was born for.  It was the only class I had heard about before coming to the show.  It was Dog That the Judge Would Most Like to Take Home.

The entrants filled the ring, the line of dogs wrapped around one side and started filling in the next.  There was a Dachshund, CKCs, Border Collies (i.e. sheep dogs), lurchers, terriers, labs, and mutts of all sorts.  Siena would have her work cut out for her.  The judge, tired from a long afternoon, examined every dog one last time as the sun began to approach the top of the surrounding hills and the rain heavy clouds cast a threatening pall on the wild valleys of west Wales.  Siena stood patiently as the penultimate dog in the line waiting for one more chance to melt the heart of judge.  The judging finished, the winner is called out. A small dog, no!  2nd place is called, another small dog!  All of Siena’s charm and good looks could still not shake the judges deep seated bias toward canis minimus.  Just as I begin to lean over to explain to Siena that life is not fair, I see a judicial finger pointed at me accompanying a voice which says, “Come out.”  Seconds before I have to give “the talk” to Siena about life and its injustices, I am swinging up to elatedness and a 3rd place finish.  Siena completed the cycle, a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in her very first dog show.

We walked around light as air for the rest of the show.  We came and we cleaned up.  Siena took all of the award winning with excitement and happiness but did not let her achievements go to her head.  She was still interested in sniffing and playing with some of the less ribboned dogs and was a very gracious winner.

After the dog show our group tried to catch the displays of the award winning vegetables and flowers.  Unfortunately the tent was closing and all of the produce was being packed up.  Nevermind that, our entrepreneurial H. used that as an means to purchase the prize winning (giant) leeks for only a pound, and H. and M. sweet talked some florists into giving them some of their beautiful flowers.

The final event of the whole show was the dog races.  Most people are familiar with greyhound racing around a track, some may even be familiar with Flyball (which I would love to see as the next Olympic sport), but county show dog racing involves a vaguely furry animal looking thing tied to a string connected to a motor.  The official riles the dogs up by taunting them with it before releasing it.  Once released, the fake animal thing is pulled quickly by the motor along the ground down the length of the horse ring as the dogs chase it.  We have considered entering Siena in a race just to see but when they were walking the animal like thing up to the starting line we realized that probably wasn’t a good idea.  All the dogs around the ring, the lurchers, greyhounds, terriers, etc. were barking and straining to get this furry thing with a tail.  The owners held them back as best they could.  Siena lifted her head to see what the commotion was about, saw nothing of interest, and lowered her head to go back to sleep.  Today was not the day to introduce Siena to racing (also see above about her winning the Slowest Vizsla award).

The show was quite fun with a group of friends, we saw prize winning sheep, a sheep sheering contest, and a family which takes horse riding very seriously.  All in all it was a good afternoon out and gave us more proof that Siena is a wonderful dog.

Siena displaying her rosettes/ribbons

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Posted in Adjusting to Wales, British ways | 2 Comments »

Rites of summer

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Two momentous events happened in July: the first cohort from Aber’s Psychology Department graduated and my friend, S, got married to D in a lovely wedding in the East Midlands.  Both were festive, exciting days and full of fun cultural observations for Dan and me!

On the surface, graduation is pretty similar to what I’ve seen in the US.  There is a procession at the beginning (usually Elgar), students get called on stage, and people leave with a degree conferred upon them.  Some things that were different:

  • the local dignitaries are invited so the mayor came in her mayor bling, the councilmen, etc.
  • the names are announced by the Deans of each Faculty and the degrees are actually conferred by the Vice-Chancellor; each time the Dean goes up or descends from the podium, they have to acknowledge the VC by lifting their cap and the VC acknowledges them back the same way
  • there is strictly no cheering, whistling, tossing of mortar boards, or other celebrating during the ceremony (everyone is warned not to do this beforehand); after each group of students is announced, there is some quick clapping and then the next group comes on
  • no diploma or even diploma holder is handed to the students; it comes in the mail later
  • the students came on stage in groups and when each name was read, they nodded at the Vice-Chancellor
  • each group of students was escorted from their seats to the stage by marshals who are dressed differently and carry walking canes (like walking sticks). According to history passed on from R, these sticks used to serve a purpose. Back in the day, they would announce the student’s name along with his degree classification which was the first time the student knew what his final grade average was.  Sometimes, they would be so outraged at the results, that they would try and rush the presiding officer, so the marshals would have to beat them back with the sticks. Now it is just ceremonial, as the students find out their grades online the week before.
  • when the students come on stage, they always have their backs to the audience; their parents never have an opportunity to get a frontal picture of them (I snuck these with my phone)
  • every kind of degree, Bachelor, Master, Doctoral, gets treated in exactly this fashion with pretty much no deviation

This local dignitary wears his tri-cornered hat and fur-trimmed robe

The student nods to the VC, the marshals flank the group and note the stick

Students come up in groups, VC acknowledging with his hat

Congratulations to our first graduates!

10 days later, we drove to a small village in the East Midlands called Ketton to attend S and D’s wedding.  Before we get to the wedding part, allow me to rave about the sights we saw along the way, such as the village of Rockingham, home to the Rockingham Castle (continually occupied since its construction 900 years ago) and Welland Viaduct set in a beautiful romantic valley (which floods regularly in the winter and spring).

Rockingham Castle from afar

Approach into the little village of Rockingham

Super cute thatch house in Rockingham

Welland Viaduct is the longest masonry viaduct in Britain at 1.2 km and 82 arches

These were just icing on the wedding cake, though.  The wedding itself was beautiful!  The church was over 800 years old, and the first vicar retired in the 1200s.

The sky turned from gray to blue just as the wedding began

The groom’s father is a methodist minister and was an integral part of the ceremony.  We sang an opening and closing hymn, and as we learned before, the kiss came in the middle of the ceremony.  The church was packed full of people decked out in their best outfits, and I even adorned a bird in my hair as women do here for weddings.

Oops, an elegant bird landed in my hair

We walked a short jaunt to the house where S grew up.  It is an amazing house with huge grounds, including a waterfall, pond with ducks, and bountiful garden (some of the wedding food came from the garden!).  Two big tents were sent up, and we dined in style.  First, paella was cooked in huge paella pans and then afterwards a hog was roasted (vegetarians, avert your eyes for this one).

S & D bring a bit of their adopted Spanish culture into their wedding

After the recent NYT article about pig roast, I was ready to try this sumptuous snack!

The evening’s festivities were interrupted when Dan was stung on the foot by a bee/wasp/horsefly of some sort.  There was an inverse relationship between the amount of pain he was in (almost none) and the fuss and attention he received (a lot of attention by a lot of people).  Nevertheless, we pressed on and joined the happy couple in dancing to some groovy tunes.  What a fun and memorable wedding!  Congratulations S & D!

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Posted in Aberystwyth University, British ways, Holidays and Trips | 1 Comment »

British amusements (or bemusements)

Monday, July 19th, 2010

I know we’ve been making you jealous with all of our traveling, so here’s a post back to cultural observations.  A few that I have found amusing or bemusing.

1) Remember those coin operated rides in front of supermarkets?  From what I remember, they usually fell into two categories: animals (tigers, dinosaurs, etc.) or vehicles (space shuttles, the Batmobile, etc.).  I was shopping at my local supermarket today and discovered that the Brits don’t waste their time with such frivolous fantasies.  Who wants to ride a dinosaur when you can sit by the side of the road and catch people speeding?

Teaching kids to stay on this side of the speed limit

2) The Brits may be speaking English longer than any other people, but they sure do it in funny ways!  There is a theory of teaching English that says that people will learn about grammar by using the language, which is the pedagogy implemented around here.  Some of my British friends claim never to have learned what a noun, verb, or preposition is in school.  Okay, so maybe I can be a stickler sometimes (I studied Psychology and English and now lecture and research the Psychology of Language, so I admit I am language-obsessed), but how do these sentences sound to non-Brits?

  • “I was sat in the lecture when the game was on.”
  • “He was stood in the queue with his friends.”

Dan and I find the use of the past participle in place of the gerund (aka the present participle, and no, I didn’t have to look these terms up) like fingernails on a blackboard.  Yet, we hear it all the time, from colleagues, students, people on TV, everyone.  It is the equivalent of saying “She was watched the news over dinner” which probably doesn’t sound correct to anyone.  We have tried to get to the bottom of this usage, but have either come up with blank looks (“What’s wrong with saying that?”) or something about it being a regional colloquialism.

3) I can’t remember if I mentioned before that my university is officially bilingual.  Everything (well, almost everything) is done in Welsh and English.  Even though not all classes are taught in Welsh, we are supposed to do most of our official correspondence in both languages.  This policy includes emails (if you send me an email when I’m away, you will get a bilingual auto-reply), letters, and phone calls.  Click here to check out my current answering machine message.  I can just about make my way around the shops in Welsh and have composed about a dozen Welsh emails to various people, but it still takes me a long time to get the (very long) words out!

We’ll get back to traveling stories soon.  Dan’s next post will be about our adventures in Oxford and Stratford-Upon-Avon!

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