This weekend I went to Penrith, England for a family homestay weekend. I really didn't know what to expect, but it turned out awesome. Two other American students and I stayed with a farmer named Eddy and his wife Jane. Eddy picked us up in his little tiny white car at the bus stop. I soon realized that I'm still a conditioned American when I walked up to what I thought was the passenger side seat on his car, only to realize that it was the driver's side. Everyone laughed, but I was forgiven. When we got to his house, we met Jane, who had pasta bolognese and sticky toffee pudding hot and ready for us.

We woke up the next morning, ate hot breakfast and listened to Eddy talk a little bit about his life, house and some local history. Eddy had lived in Penrith his entire life and was born in the same 12th century house that we were staying in. The house and land that Eddy was responsible for all belonged to Lord Lonsdale, who allowed Eddy and Jane to rent the property from him. Lord Lonsdale still lives in a picturesque castle about five miles away from Eddy - and the land, castle and various other estates will be passed down through the royal family for the foreseeable future.

Besides lords and ladies, Eddy explained that the village of Penrith was home to the last battle between the Scots and the English, and the site is commemorated by a small plaque on the side of the road...

Saturday brought a huge adventure. Another host dad drove us around to see a beautiful waterfall. We took a motorboat out on a lake and ate leek and potato soup afterwards. We saw William Wordsworth's grave, where Beatrix Potter lived and went to a stone circle built by ancient Celts in 1500 BC. It was absolutely spectacular. After going castle sightseeing we returned home and ate dinner, and then accompanied Jane to a little make-up party. I'm not much of a girly-girl, but there was tons of candy and cakes and smelly lotions so we all had a good time.

Today Eddy took us around on quadbikes, or four-wheelers, to see the entirety of "his" land and sheep and the facilities associated with owning them. I ended up driving around - and it was probably one of the most fun things that I've done here. We blew straight through fields of sheep, and caused giant sheep stampedes. The scenery was fantastic, rolling Cumbrian hills in the distance, patchwork farmfields and pasture in the foreground, and thousands and thousands of sheep.

Now I'm back, school starts tomorrow - in the studio from 9:30AM to 5:00PM!

peace,
steph