Let's do this Dick Clark style

Why I Love Christmas

"I love Christmas because my mommy and daddy give me lots of fun toys and we get to celebrate the birth of Jesus." --That's the Sunday School answer (and in that order). And to some extent, that reason is still very true. But recently, I've been really thinking about what Christmas means, now that I'm somewhat of an adult. Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year, partly because it's not just a holiday but an actual time of year. The entire globe begins celebrating at least a month in advance, if not earlier. And I realize that's probably because we're a sales-oriented species, but I love the idea of billions of people anticipating the excitement that is Christmas. I personally love everything about it. I can handle the fact that I go two inches per hour in the mall parking lot if it means I come home to the smell of apple pie. I can bear the lists of books that people simply shove in my face at work as long as I can bask in the glow of my Christmas tree in the corner. I love Christmas. But I think the biggest reason I love it so much is because it is a sacred day, in terms of both religion and seclusion. It is a block of a full 24 hours that I get to spend with the people I love, no excuses. Nobody can back out of Christmas. There's no interruptions or previous engagements. And then you add in the fact that everyone is simply, selflessly giving. There's genuine thank yous flying around the room every five minutes. People like being loved and loving back. That's what I love so much about the idea of Santa. It's nice to think that there's some mysterious, generous person out there who lives to give us gifts and spread joy and love. I may be taking this too far, but to some extent I feel the idea of Santa is simply an embodiment of God: a kind Spirit, whose existence we often question, who genuinely cares if we're naughty or nice...just an interesting comparison. So if God is Santa and Jesus is Jesus ('cause he's already in the Christmas story), I'm pretty sure the Holy Spirit would have to be Rudolph.

I'm sorry, but we already have a George.

I'm thankful for international differences. I'm glad I'm a strong American woman, and I think that I'm appreciating that more when it's not taken for granted. I'm not saying that I was ever denied respect back home, but here, it's assumed (to some extent) that I'm stronger than I really am. And I love it. I love having to live up to it. But I'm getting off task. The point was that I love that I have something to distinguish myself amongst my colleagues (besides being a strong American woman). I love that I can make fun of them for calling it "Mary-o" instead of "Mario" and that I know what real barbeque sauce is. At the same time, I love hearing about all these great indie films and how to brew the perfect cup of tea. Their take on politics certainly is interesting. There's generally a much more liberal tone, which is great when it comes to being more accepting of people but takes its toll on moral values. But I'm really enjoying these breakroom conversations. I guess you could say that I like being unique, but I think it's more than that. I like that I come from a background where children are beaten over the head with the idea that you can do anything you put your mind to, cheesy though it may be...that I come with a fairly reasonable sense of self that will then allow me to revel in these little differences without feeling insecure or out of place. Sure, there are times when I feel like an idiot for saying "bucks" instead of "quid." But at the same time, I refuse to end every sentence with "Cheers" or say I'm going to "the loo"...that's just ridiculous. But I appreciate their ridiculousness...and continue to enjoy my own. I love the perplexed looks I get when I motion for someone to pound it or make a "your mom" joke. I mean, they understand what's going on, but they never expect it. It's so amusing. Several times now, my fun-loving supervisors have asked if I would help with some little project and literally do a double-take when I sarcastically reply "No." It gets 'em every time. The only problem is that I'm going home over the holidays, where my extremely old jokes will be greeted with the usual disgust rather than surprise. O, to be appreciated for my lack-luster comedic skills! But it's cool getting to work alongside the Average Joe, people that are just like me but not. It's like Bizarro-world or something. Next thing you know, I'll be addicted to tea instead of coffee, use Celsius rather than Fahrenheit, and drive on the left-hand side of the road.....

(with Christmas music playing in the background)

20 days and counting until we're back in the states.....

Easy Caramel Apples

As Emily mentioned in her last post, I made some amazing caramel apples over the weekend. The recipe is very simple, and judging from the fact that I didn't screw it up, it's guaranteed to work =)

Caramel Apples

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 stick butter
6 apples

Sidenote: I know it seems odd that it calls for honey, but it adds very nicely to the final flavor.

Combine cream, sugar, and honey in a medium sized pot over low heat. Once thoroughly mixed, add butter in chunks.


Slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Be careful on this step, as if you heat it too quickly, the butter separates out as small flecks on the surface of the caramel. If you see this happen, turn the heat down a bit and stir quickly but smoothly until the butter disappears. I took 30 minutes to get it to a boil, so grab a book or something else to do while you stir.

There's a swirl of butter at the 12 o'clock position.

When it looks like you're getting close to boiling, the caramel will be steaming and smell really good. Get a shallow bowl and put some cold water in it; we'll use it to test the caramel.

Take a small amount of caramel and drop it into the water. Swirl it around with your fingers to cool it off, and then pick it up and try to make a ball with it. You want caramel that's soft, but still strong enough to hold it's shape so that it doesn't fall of the apple. If you make a ball but it loses its shape quickly, keep it boiling a little longer. If it holds its shape, you're done!

Turn off the heat, and take one of your apples. You'll need to skewer it with something, but anything will work, even a fork. Dip the apple in the caramel, and use a spoon to scoop caramel all over the apple, covering it completely. Hold the apple vertically down so the excess caramel drips back in the pot, and spin the apple slowly to help it cool.


Once it's just about finished dripping, move it to a sheet of foil or wax paper to let it harden. I found it helpful to put the apples down while there was still a good string of caramel hanging down: it would create a little pool that kept the apples upright. Let the apples cool to room temperature, but don't put them in the freezer to speed up the process. That makes the apples mushy, and people, only the caramel should be soft.

Finished product

Now, if you're lucky enough to have leftover caramel, it's a great snack by itself. I took the extra and poured it out on parchment paper, and stuck it in the freezer. It's a great chewy caramel candy.

Feel free to make your designs more interesting than mine.
I tried to be fancy and got bored.

Enjoy!

Yay for Food!

For some reason, I am way excited about food at the moment. Maybe it's the season or maybe I'm just hungry, but nonetheless, I feel it's about time I devoted a blog to this great love of mine. Last night I came home to caramel apples. Matthew apparently captured the entire process on his camera, so hopefully he'll have a blog up soon sharing the sugary bliss. And today, I'm making my mom's Italian Lentil Soup, which is a lot of fun to make since it basically starts out looking like just a bunch of vegetables in standing water but turns out as this amazing soup, perfect for a cold day like today.

I spent a good chunk of the morning figuring out all the details of our Thanksgiving feast. I am going to attempt to make a turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, corn casserole, green beans, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and the infamous Ribbon Jello. Though this may seem like a lot of food for only two people, Matthew and I gave a lot of thought to it and decided we'd rather have Thanksgiving left-overs for 2 weeks than 2 days. I mean, who wouldn't??

Reasons why this seems to be taking up so much of my brain power right now:
1) It's rather interesting trying to plan for Thanksgiving when you can't really make one giant trip to the grocery store.
2) There's a lot of pressure since this is our first Thanksgiving as a married couple and therefore my first turkey. :/
3) I'm not even sure I'll be able to find cranberry sauce or pumpkin for my pumpkin pie or about seven other things that I'll be needing.
4) I planned for all of these sorts of meals when registering for our wedding, and let's just say it's a bit off-putting when you find yourself with only 3 saucepans when all your lovely casserole dishes are being put to good use as they sit in boxes back home.
5) At first I didn't think I'd mind not having Thanksgiving since it wouldn't be the same without friends and family (which it won't), but now that we've taken the time and effort to actually celebrate it, I'm really excited about it. I think it'll be fun. Plus, it's probably the first time that Matthew and I will have a day off together for about 3 weeks now. And what better way to celebrate than with loads of food and the promise of chatting with everyone via Skype? Let's just say I have a lot to be thankful for.

Let It Snow, Baby, Let It Reindeer

Winter became official for us here in Cambridge early this morning. As I was getting ready for work, I heard it start to hail, but a few minutes later it turned into snow. That's right, folks. Get excited. We're talking snow here. I. Love. Snow. I love watching it fall, I love playing in it, I love the crunch it makes when I walk on it, I love the way it makes my hair freeze, and I love the way it only sticks to half of a roof. So even though it only fell for about 20 minutes (and only stuck to things for about 30), I loved it. I am so excited about the snow-potential that this first early snow has created for the rest of the winter. Plus, snow can only add to the Christmas anticipation. The thought of our trip home is guaranteed to bring a smile to my face, even without the expectation of snow... :)

sidenote: I was searching YouTube for a nice, simple clip of Charlie Brown in the snow, but instead, I came across this clip to the left and thought it was too good to pass up.

The Cavendish

Well, this is my first shot at blogging. Emily's wanted me to post for so long, we've actually moved past nagging to resignation. Physics-wise, things in Cambridge are going well. I work five days a week, and most of my time lately has been spent on training. I'm required to attend three lectures a week that are supposed to familiarize me with condensed matter research at the lab, and outside of that, I'm pretty much left to my own devices.

The big thing that I've been working on for the last few weeks is cleanroom training. Researchers in the Semiconductor Physics group (SP for short), develop their own semiconductor devices in the cleanroom. So, what I'm being trained to do is take a wafer of GaAs, cut it down to a certain size, and pattern various structures on it, like wires, gates and contacts. These are extremely small: the one I'm currently working on is a wafer chip 1 cm by 1 cm, and I've etched sixteen different devices onto it. So it's very precise work.

I've gone through around 20 hours of training so far, and have another 20 to finish up before the end of term. After that, I'll be fully authorised to work on whatever research project comes my way. (Amusingly, I was given a security card to access the cleanroom in my welcome-pack).

One of the post-docs is taking me through training, and it's interesting to watch how very careful he is with his sample chip. One scratch or ding, even from just setting it down to hard on the counter, can ruin several week's worth of effort. The wafers are grown on site, and cost a ridiculous amount of money to make.

So that's all I'm really doing at the moment, apart from reading, which apparently never ends. I've settled in well at the lab, and I managed to get some nice pictures while the weather was still good.

Just outside my building. Would be a great spot for lunch, if the weather was warmer.


That's my building on the left. Notice the ducks moving into attack position.

Outside some of the lecture hall is a little museum of physics. This exhibit, which extends around the far corner, is made up of annual pictures of every group of researchers at the Cavendish since 1896.

For example, here's a close-up of the group from 1982:

Remember, remember...

A few weeks ago, Matthew and I celebrated our first Guy Fawkes Day. And though they might seem similar, let me tell you, Guy Fawkes Day fireworks are way different from Independence Day fireworks. Rather than picnicking on a warm, sunny evening passing the time with friends and family while you wait for it to get dark, the Brits stand in pairs in the middle of park in the freezing cold and mud, hoping it doesn't start raining again as they watch fireworks that are partially hidden by clouds. Needless to say, it was weird. Whilst I was having flashbacks of The Happening, I kept hoping the fireworks would form into an encircled "V." We did end up watching V for Vendetta when we got home. (Sidenote: we did some Guy Fawkes history, and we think the movies may have lied to us yet again. But I'm going to poll the people at work to get the cold hard facts. Stay tuned.) And of course, since Guy Fawkes Day is the last British holiday before Christmas, we followed suit and put our tree up the next day.

And since I have been typing this, Matthew has handed me a cup of cocoa, but not just any cup of cocoa...it's Nutella cocoa. All you Nutella lovers out there can simply imagine the joy of epic proportions that is in my mug. And for those of you would have not yet encountered the pleasures of Nutella, my condolences.

Creative Titles Are for Losers

Wow. Lots to catch up on. First of all, I have a job. (Yay!) I'm working full-time for Borders (don't tell Barnes & Noble). So far, they've basically just had me lugging books around the store, but hopefully this next week I'll be getting into more of the stuff I'll be doing permanently. Also, I plan on bringing up the subject of vacation time this week so we can finally work out dates and flights for Christmas. On that note, I cannot wait for our trip back home. I'm realizing that going "home for the holidays" has a whole new meaning when you're actually living elsewhere. And with the added bonus of now having two families and twice as many people to see (three times including all our friends from Baylor), it is really going to be a blessing just to sit around and waste time with everyone. Also, I can't remember the last time I didn't work over the Christmas holidays, so that'll be nice. Matthew and I went looking at Christmas trees yesterday. There's this great deal at Marks & Spencer, and we decided it'll go up the day after Guy Fawkes Day since that's the last British holiday before Christmas. :) (If only they had the sales as well...) Needless to say, we're looking forward to Christmas. The weather helps, too. Last week it was freezing (literally), but it was great. Apart from having to deal with an apartment without central heating, I love the cold. It's been cold and cloudy and wet, and though I hear this could last for a good 6 months, I don't see myself tiring of it for awhile. As for today, it was wonderfully gloomy. I met Matthew in town for lunch, found Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (the adult British version!) for only £2.50, and came home and baked cookies. ...a pretty nice day off. Other big news in the lives of the Beneshes: we found a way to watch The Office and House!! We're still in the process of catching up, but soon we will be able to "oo" and "ah" and speculate on what's going to happen right along with you. Plus, the site offers full seasons of other shows we don't watch but have always wanted to. Our entertainment needs have now been met. Who needs to actually make friends? :) By the way, we have now been here over 6 weeks, which is 3 times the length of those traveling in The Holiday, and not once have we been approached by a friendly ex-boyfriend's co-worker or a famous elderly neighbor or a friend's drunk brother. I'm starting to lose faith in movies...

"Autumn Leaves"

Last night, Matthew and I picnicked in the park, and it was lovely. We sat on the grass at Jesus Green and watched people ride by and watched this guy play frisbee with himself for about half an hour (good thrower, bad catcher...the cartwheels were quite good, though). And we were simply surrounded by nature, gorgeous nature (and this guy who desperately needed a boomarang). It seems that suddenly, within just the past week, fall has arrived. The trees are turning beautiful colors and the air is crisp. And unfortunately, I'm used to this weather being around Christmas, so I'm a little time-warped.

And then we fed the ducks.

And then this afternoon we took a walk along the river Cam to this little town called Grantchester, just south of Cambridge, and had "cream tea" (which is actually tea, plus scones with clotted cream and jam) in the middle of this orchard where apparently Virginia Woolf and other famous people used to go all the time. But the whole trip was gorgeous! Just classic British countryside, overcast skies and everything. It was wonderful. Like something straight out of a Jane Austen novel. It makes me want to go home and practice my penmanship.

If you have some time and are in the "fall" mood like me, check out this video on the left...

Which brings us to tonight's Word...

So, we've officially been here a month. Some things are getting a lot easier: I no longer feel as though I will be trampled and left for dead in the middle of the grocery store. I've even been complimented with questions for directions (which, unfortunately, I can only give about half the time). But at the same time, I am still very much in a different country. I've recently learned that it has been a very long time since I've ridden a bike and that I have a tremendous fear of narrow roads with lots of traffic. And it's getting harder to sit at home and do nothing while Matthew enters his exciting new world at the University, full of regular schedules and new acquaintances. There are good days when I find several new jobs for which I can apply, but there are also bad days when my most exciting task is checking every hour to see if the laundry has dried. But this recent milestone of our adventure (if you can call a month a milestone) has brought to my attention that this is a very temporary time of my life. If a month still "feels like yesterday," how will I feel in 6? or 36? I don't really know how to explain it, but there's some sort of comfort in the fact that I have a very limited amount of time to enjoy this country, this city, this lifestlye. It calms my fears of not being able to find a tube of Pilsbury biscuits and not knowing exactly how to mail a letter. These are minor adjustments to a much bigger life experience. And I'm glad I get to stumble my way through the cobblestoned streets of Cambridge whose names change every 20 feet. I'm glad people laugh in my face when I don't understand that a "CV" is just some fancy Brit lingo for a common resume. I'm glad I have to jump through hoops just to watch basic American television. Hey. I'm a foreigner. And that's tonight's Word.

The Apartment

Hello friends and family, we're alive! After fifteen hours and three forms of traveling, we finally arrived in Cambridge and laid eyes on the smallest flat imaginable. Such is our new home. But over the past few weeks, we feel we have settled in quite nicely. The flat is about 300 sq. ft. and fully furnished. Our bright green front door opens on the side of the building to a small hall dividing the bathroom; to the immediate left is the shower, and to the right is everything else, housed under the stairs to the flat above. (I'm surprised Matthew doesn't have to duck.) Through the "hall" and to the right is the living/front room. We really enjoy the light we receive from the front window that looks out onto the street and the large mirror above the mantel; keeps things looking bigger. But the gas fire is nice. If you turn left from the hall, you will be in our kitchen, fully stocked with most everything we need. The fridge is tiny, meaning we're constantly buying milk, but everything works well. The kitchen also houses our washing machine, which lives under the sink. This is why the sink is sitting on top of the counter and also why I need a step-stool to do the dishes. From the kitchen, you move into the bedroom, which has a wardrobe and closet full of shelves. And through the french doors lies the most glorious aspect of the property, the garden. And with the weather being as nice as it's been, it really is lovely. There's a paved area with table and chairs surrounded by lots of green and a shed in the back, without which we would have no place for our luggage or to lock up our newly purchased bicycles. And that's our flat. We bump into each other a lot, but it's nice to be able to talk to each other from any room. We'll see how much the rooms shrink as the days move on...