Life Without a Car
Well after several weeks of frustration, I have finally moved out of the hostel and into a townhouse, or as they call it here, a terraced house. Sofia arrived from the States last Monday and we got the keys on Tuesday morning. The house is unfurnished, which has meant a lot of expenditure that I wasn’t exactly planning on. You forget how much you need in a house until you are starting from scratch again. It’s been interesting to say the least and exhausting to say the most, trying to furnish the house without a car. We walk into the town center on most days and after the first evening of trudging home in the rain with our arms full of shopping bags; we have since taken the bus home when shopping. There is one bus that actually stops almost at our front door, which leaves the town center every half hour until 5:30. After 5:30 it only goes every hour, which of course we found out the hard way; sitting at the bus stop for 55 minutes, when we missed the 5:30 bus.
If we are not shopping, we usually walk to and from town and the University, which is about 3 miles round trip, not including all the back and forth in town. I’m hoping to be super fit with all this walking! I don’t have a set of scales yet (they are on the shopping list) but I hope I have lost a pound or two.
So not having a car is a new experience. The last time I didn't own a car was 15 years ago, when we lived in Costa Rica. Buying furniture took a 45 minute walk to an industrial park and back again. Luckily they deliver! And trips to Sam’s Club are definitely out. Besides not having a car, our fridge is smaller than the one I had in my college dorm room, so buying food is pretty much a daily occurrence. This is not a problem since we walk past several groceries stores, 2 bakeries, and 2 green grocers on the way home. We also have a corner store at the end of the block, which is open until 9pm. What a novelty, being able to walk to buy milk, eggs, a newspaper etc! I love it!
So I promised on Facebook that I would tell you what a dongle is. A dongle is a receiver for a cel phone signal that transmits wireless internet service. So you can get internet service without being hardwired into a phone or broadband. The downside is that you are charged for bytes of service. Right now we have 2 GB for one month. We’ve used up half of that in 3 days! Lucky for us, but more for them, we can “top up” anytime. Eventually we’ll be able to get regular broadband, but without having any credit we’ve had a hard time getting some things set up and that was one of them.
Our internet and phones are pay as you go. I walk past the phone store every day on my way in to the University, so that is easily handled. Getting the house was a bit more complicated. In the end I had to pay for the whole 6 month contract in advance plus a month and a half of security deposit! Well at least I don’t have to worry about paying the rent now for a long while. (We’ll just have to get used to eating ramen noodles!)
My classes at the University are very interesting. This past week I turned in formative essays on value-led conservation philosophies and comparing local windows to methods described in historic texts. I also did a presentation for the class on The Soane Museum’s Stained glass collection in relation to Gothic Revival architecture and the Romantic Movement. http://www.soane.org/. In basic glass handling and conservation we have been experimenting with manual versus chemical cleaning methods for stained glass. We use ultra-high powered microscopes to determine which methods are working best versus which are damaging the glass in the process. To get an idea of how this applies in the field, check out this article about a British art conservator. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/oct/24/british-restorer-lost-giotto-masterpiece. The program she started in was similar to my program, but focused on regular painting as opposed to painting on glass, which is the focus of mine. I’m not assuming I’ll be famous one day, but you can imagine the possibilities of where this could all lead.
So that’s me caught up for now. We are off to the library to pick up our Library/York cards, which get us into the local attractions free, and then to the newly refurbished Yorkshire Museum for an afternoon of browsing. http://www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk
All the best to you and yours,
xoxo Clare
