The Big E

Every September in Massachusetts, an all American carnival comes to town. Now compared to the fair we get back in Clitheroe, this was more like a day at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, just with more food. A lot more food.

Rather than going with the University on the tiny little yellow school bus, Jon and Connor volunteered to drive Erik, Hongi, Stefanie, Sofia (Spanish), Cristina (Spanish), Evan (USA), and myself to this weird and wonderful land. The Big E seems to be a mix of pretty much everything, with companies setting up stalls to advertise their products such as whirlpools, furniture, pots and pans, art etc. As well as pubs, burger vans, rides, games, and history. It is pretty much everything thrown together into one giant pot and stirred up. I found some American Cider called Harpoon and began to sample that, despite the huge price tag, yet found novelty in the fact that it was my first drink here served in a pint glass, albeit advertised in ounces. 

Erik goes to town with the Hammer whilst I sneak
past to stand out of the way.

The food stalls reminded me very much of going to Old Trafford. I never laughed as hard in my life as when I last went to watch Blackburn Rovers against Manchester United. I must have heard every accent except Mancunian  Everyone was armed to the teeth with Man Utd shopping bags, and there was an entire street full of these American style burger vans. Just replace the US flags with Irish tri-colours. 

This is also where we met the good old stereotypical American. At the gate you could rent mobility scooters, the only difference here is that they aren't exactly aimed at the elderly. Everywhere you looked there was a massive American sat on one of these eating a dustbin lid full of nachos, crisps, chips, all covered in melted cheese. It was almost as if you paid for the tray and you could fill it as much as you want, as long as it stayed on the plate. I've never seen food piled so high. Erik and I wanted to take our picture with one of them, but we chickened out. 

Erik & I beat up Hongi

After Jon, Stefanie, and Sofia went on a couple of rides, Erik, Jon, and I competed in the hammer game. I don't know what else to call it, but it's that game where you get a big hammer, smack the base and try to hit the bell at the top. Lets just say, that I didn't exactly excel at this particular game, getting about a quarter up the pole. Erik won getting about two thirds of the way up, whilst Jon just beat myself. We did however win inflatable Boston Red Sox hammers. Oh the fun I had hitting people on the head. 

Now there is a very happy chappy

Whilst there I also ran into a furniture company showing off their wares. I must admit that I got quite excited and took a look around inspecting the work with a trained eye. I must admit that it wasn't that bad at a cheap price, although I could tell where corners had been cut. Still, for the price, it was bloody good stuff. I thought that my geekiness was at an all time high, but then I came across an old fashioned Cabinet Maker surrounded by old fashioned tools. I was like a kid in a sweet shop. I was happy as Larry looking at all the tools and once we got talking, I could have stayed there all day. Also, you could tell that he was a master craftsman because he had half a finger missing. Technically, until I lose a digit, I'm still an apprentice. 

You can take the geek out of the workshop, but never the workshop out of the geek

On the way home we decided to have tea at Hooters. Now personally, I thought that this would be more of a pub for lads to watch sport and ogle the barstaff. How surprised I was to find families eating with their children in more of a restaurant atmosphere. There was a lad who had just turned 16 who was surrounded by the staff as they sung Happy Birthday and covered him in 'I Love Hooters' stickers. I think I know where I'm going for my 25th. I did like how there were televisions everywhere playing sport, although I was surprised at how little of the Ryder Cup was shown. Only one TV in the corner showed it, and that kept flicking over to something else, whilst the others were all devoted to American Football. USA were winning at the time too. No-one has seemed to bat an eyelid, whilst when I go on Facebook, everyone back home is over the moon, even those who don't follow golf. Odd.

Erik & I with the Hooters Staff

This weekend Erik, Stefanie, Hongi, and myself are going to Washington DC for 3 days. We've checked the weather and once again, it looks like I'm topping up on the sunburn. 

P.S - Finally Steve Kean has done the honourable thing and walked, although I'm now worried as to who Venkys will get as a replacement. 

White Water Whale Of A Time

My Eyes Might Be Closed, But I Know Exactly What I'm
Doing Here

CCSU In A Rare Attack

So my trainers are wet and my sunburn has been topped up, but what a fantastic day White Water Rafting. I've never done it before, and to be honest, I wasn't expecting to have half as much fun as I did. It's too bad that England is so cold because I would really like to do it some more. The bus drive to Massachusetts was about an hour and a half, but unfortunately for Erik and I, the seats were built for children. Now, I suffer back home on public transport, but this was just silly. We're both sat there with our knees touching our chins and the couple in front of us would have been better situated in a private motel room than on a crowded bus. There and back. Once there, we were split up into rafts of 6 and allocated a guide who would sit on the back, steer and order us to paddle forward, backward or rest. Due to our size Erik and I were made to sit at the front of the raft as this is where the paddling is most effective. We sat on the edge of the raft and wedged our feet into the side to help support us and stop us falling out. I can happily say that I survived the entire trip inside the raft. The trip was really good, starting out with some level 2 and 3 rapids before moving up to high level 3 and level 4. Sitting at the front resulted in an absolute soaking and a bumpy ride, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

The School Band Play Before The Game & At Half Time

After a huge BBQ thrown in once we had showered and changed, we made our way back to Connecticut. Absolutely shattered I somehow fell asleep in my confined space on the bus, my head leaning on the seat in front of me, hopefully disturbing the annoying lovey dovey couple in front.

Half Time Dancers

The day before the rafting trip, I went to see my first live American Football game. It was the University's team and to be honest, they aren't very good getting well and truly beat. What I found strange about this experience though was firstly, how big University sport is over here, and second,  ow different the support are in comparison to football back home. A large number of people left at half time when the score was 0-21. I've seen Blackburn Rovers 3-0 down against Arsenal in the first 10 minutes but stayed to watch the full game. Also, they don't exactly sing. The only chant I heard was the University's chant of 'C...C....S....U' over and over and over again. They don't seem to have any creativity or humour in their songs like football fans back home do. The opposition players were yards away from the student support, yet there wasn't the slightest bit of heckling from the crowd; No teasing, nothing. I think I was the only one to shout during the game when two players began to fight after partaking in handbags for the past couple of plays. What I also found funny was that game day happened to be random weather day, where it decided to hurl it down with rain for five minutes every so often. The crowd was more animated during these minutes of rain than at any point during the game, with umbrellas being put up and shirts being placed over heads. They really need to go and sit on the front row at Ewood and see how it feels.

After the game, the winds picked up and the rain came down a bit more consistently with tornadoes being reported 2 hours away in New York. I later learnt that Erik told his mum about the tornadoes scaring the life out of her. He failed to mention that they were in New York.

A funny thing that I've noticed here is the irony in America's attitude towards butter. They don't seem to butter their bread when making a sandwich. When I asked why they don't, they responded in all seriousness, 'Butter is unhealthy for you.' At first I thought they were joking. I think they're ignoring the fact that they are on their third cake in a matter of minutes, butter is hardly going to make it worse.