As it turns out, I've been scheduled to have one "non-work" day a week while I'm at BT. Ok, to be fair, it's not like I'm not working, but I have one a day a week where I go talk with academics (at places like Cambridge) or meet people in other parts of the company (in such dull places as London), etc. instead of hanging around in Martlesham being productive (although I'd like to believe that I've gotten some good ideas for my project via my academic socializations).
That was the motive behind Cambridge trip 1. Cambridge trip 2 was equally as amazing, if not more so. I met with someone from the Engineering Design Center (EDC) who does inclusive design (user-focused design), and it seems as though Cambridge has a really fantastic program in that area (grad school...?). I met with a social anthropologist, and we talked about online social networking, which was fascinating (I also got an unofficial tour of some of the colleges at Cambridge, which was great). The MIT CME (Cambridge-MIT Exchange) students are still in Cambridge, so I ended up meeting with two of my friends for lunch at The Cow (a pizza restaurant in central Cambridge). It was so great to see MIT people and discuss the differences b/w Cambridge and MIT with people who have gone to school at both. I took a few more pictures that I'll upload soon. I think I'm going back next week to talk to YET MORE cool people. Tragic, I know.
In other news:
I've almost gotten myself killed here several times because I look the wrong way before I cross the street. I just can't get used to driving on the left half of the road, so of course I was petrified to try driving myself. Yesterday, Jude and I took his (nice) car out to run errands, during which he was making fun of me for not being able to drive manual transmission because "I'm American" (I'm also "the crazy Yank" and "the colonial"). I explained that I had learned to drive on a manual and could drive one just fine, thanks. Well, he didn't believe me, which leads us 10 minutes later to a parking lot where I demonstrate that I can, indeed, drive stick. However, at one point I accidentally got onto a semi-public road where I did not demonstrate my ability to drive on the left side of the road...or shift at all well with my left hand (it's really hard, as it turns out). Anyway, no one is hurt or dead but I don't think I'm going to try driving again any time soon (of course I've been officially banned from so much as looking at the driver's side of Jude's car but that's to be expected).
This weekend I'm going to Norwich to go boating!! It's supposed to be a GORGEOUS weekend (today is warm but not hot and not a cloud in the sky, which bodes either well or horribly depending on how optimistic you are). I'm so excited! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures for everyone!
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