Canterbury: The Town

'Ello! It's 5:19 PM in Canterbury and 12:19 PM back home. I just got back from a day of shopping in Canterbury. I was supposed to go to Dover today, but the trip was cancelled because it's snowing. Not that there is a copious amount of snow here or anything; it's just that the British cannot handle having any amount of snow on the ground. It's been snowing all day, making me fully aware while walking around that my snow boots from high school are no longer cutting it. By the end of things, my socks were very nicely and roundly water-logged. So, R.I.P. Totes, it's been a great ride. Hello, Peppermint boots. I also got milk today (WOW!) and soap (OOOOH!).

The main entertainment today was going to see The Canterbury Tales, a house filled with mannequins that tell the stories contained in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. You walk around with a little phone held to your ear, and a man reads abridged versions of the stories as you look on mannequins doing the deeds in the tales. I did not know that the stories were so raunchy! I mean, dang, Chaucer, ingest some saltpeter. The most interesting story told of a knight who, as punishment for rape, must find out what women really want and then report back his findings to the queen. Asking around, he finds women have all different desires. (Duh.) Finally, he comes across an old, magic gorgon who promises to tell him the one, true answer if he keeps a promise to her. He agrees, not knowing the promise. They go to the queen, and the hag tells the queen that all women want power, sovereignty - to wear the pants in their relationships. The queen nods, and the knight is forgiven. He turns to the old woman, and she says he must marry her to fulfill his promise. Ah, curses! Wretched fate! She explains, however, that she can make herself sexy with her magic if he wants, but she will probably cheat on him if he chooses this option. Option number two is that she remains ugly but faithful. He goes, "How about you decide?" Because women want power in their relationships, right? He's granting her that. And she goes, "You chose the right one." Then, she becomes a sexy lady who is faithful to him always. It's a nice story, except for the fact that the knight is a rapist. So.

Tonight, I'm going to dinner at Rutherford, one of the dining halls ("canteens") on campus. There's no meal plan here, so I've been eating out a lot, and I need something healthier. Hopefully, they'll have, like, carrots and chicken tonight. Then, I need to finish my readings for my Victorian history class. We're learning about Dickens right now and how he's considered the quintessential Victorian. I need to work ahead tonight as well because I'M GOING TO LONDON THIS WEEKEND! I'm leaving Thursday night and coming back Saturday night. I don't have any classes on Fridays, making travel easier. I'll be staying in a hostel and seeing some of the main sites: Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, Big Ben. I'll definitely post something here afterwards with pictures. Thanks for reading, and good night!