Answer: the world may never know. Somehow, four of us (three engineers plus me, because although I supplied the screwdriver I was of no engineering help) couldn't manage to screw the handles on the lids of the pots Ada bought from Asda. I'm pretty sure that something was wrong with the pots . . . in the end we had to leave them loose because we were beginning to strip the screws. But my, does that pocket knife screwdriver come in handy. However, the incident with the pots brought us together as a suite once again, and we had a several-hour bonding session over topics ranging from religion to explaining to me what mechanical control systems are to the differences between the US political system and the Ugandan/Nigerian political systems (I think we barely scratched the surface of that one). We really get along marvelously well; I'm so happy about it. Ada, who seemed shy at first (which may have, in part, been due to embarrassment over causing the fire alarm that ended up introducing her to all of us), has turned out to be a doll; if Nithya couldn't move in, at least we got someone just as nice.
For those of you who know me well, the following statement will come as something of a shock - I ate an egg based product that night, too. Ada decided that she was going to cook an omlette and that I should have some (probably as a thank-you for the screwdriver or something), and I didn't have the heart to tell her that I don't like eggs. As it turns out, neither one of us had actually made an omlette before and Carlos ended up doing it for us (and it's probably a good thing, because we were planning to put carrots in it but he decided that probably wasn't a good idea). However, I did eat some of the omlette, and actually liked it. It even contained onions! I know, I know . . . pretty big step. I think it helped that it was a very thin omlette. But I would be willing to eat one again (although truth be told, I'd probably leave out the onions). I also ate my first fish and chips on Sunday, when Carlos and I went out in search of lunch. I'm not sure it was genuine, though, as it wasn't served on newspaper. But I daresay I'll be having it properly soon.
In other fun an exciting news, I'm going to London on Friday :) It was a very spur-of-the-moment thing - my friend Andrew from Elmira is studying in Ireland this year and he's taking a school trip to London this week, and he has Friday free to wander. Last night he Facebooked me asking if I could work it into my schedule, and it turns out that I could manage it. We're both really excited about it, and I can't wait to see the city. Buying tickets online was incredibly easy as well, and even though I don't have a railcard yet it only came to 51 pounds, round-trip, which isn't bad at all. I thought it would be prudent to find the station today and pick them up from the dispensing machine, and I'm glad I went to review the territory beforehand, since navigation isn't one of my strongest areas. I think I will be taking a cab home, though, 'cause it's not in an area that I'll be wanting to walk back in at night, and my return train doesn't get in until 12:30 am. It was a nice walk in the daylight though.
On my way back, I found Chinatown as well. The brochure that I got from Manchester before I came made it out to be this enormous bastion of Chinese culture situated in the heart of the city, with teeming crowds, etc. Well, it may be a bastion of Chinese culture, and it is situated in the heart of the city, but I'd hesitate to call it enormous. It looks to be about the size of the Grand Union parking lot, and the teeming crowds were three little old ladies and a lost 50-something year old man spinning around with a giant map. I did see the "famed" Chinese Arch, though, which is cool. And the restaurants down there are, I have no doubt, truly genuine Chinese restaurants. I stopped to read the menu for one . . . it advertised several items that are no doubt traditional because I don't think they really cater to typical British tastes. Included were slices of gently fried bull stomach, stir-fried duck tongues, shredded or sliced jellyfish with Chinese herbs, and for the really adventurous palate, sauteed sheep's bowel. Mmm-mmm good. They also offered a dish called "Glutinous Rice," and I'm not entirely sure what that is but it looks to be more my speed, although I would try the squid dishes that were listed.
That about sums it up for recent activities, but I'm sure that come the weekend I'll be regaling you with tales of my London adventure :)
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