Day 117, 3 May: Tea and Crumpets at Booton Hall

Norfolk Terrace, UEA, Norwich, Day 117. Tea and Crumpets at Booton Hall

Booton Hall, an elegant house, was in the middle of the English countryside, large lawn out the front, pond to the side of the driveway, shrubbery right along the exterior outline of the house. Two dogs made quite a frightening welcome as one followed the taxi into the driveway and the other greeted us at the side door getting out.

       This was the home of Jill Buch, the one whose generosity has enabled me to study abroad. Along with me were the other Buch scholarship winners Sierra and two UEA British girls bound for Berkeley next semester/year, Sandie and Emily. Eleanor Crawford and Monica Popp and Matthew Daines consisted of the professionals in our party of seven. Eleanor is in the treasury at UEA, Monika is the programme officer of the UCEAP (Univ. of California Education Abroad Program) London Headquarters, and Matthew is Director of Development (Europe) involved with study abroad programs and close friend of Mrs. Buch. Standing in the doorway to greet us was the smiling and elegant Jill Buch, adorned fashionably in Cal (nickname for UC Berkeley) colours of blue and gold.

Emily, Sandie, Jill Buch, Me, Sierra

      Once inside and out of the miserable cold and rainy weather, I immediately picked up on the smell of ancient books and musky air around us. Old discoloured and antiquated photographs neatly fitted on the walls. It reminded me of my grandparents’ place up in a small town in Trinity county in California. We dropped our coats down in a small alcove beside the corridor and proceeded into a grand room with a fire pleasantly warming the scene. One of the dogs followed us inside and while we sat ourselves down on the couches and chairs, he sat at our feet and wagged his tail endlessly. He provided good entertainment whenever he rolled over onto his stomach.

       The first part of this afternoon was spent in discussion, how Jill began the scholarship within the last ten years to create a legacy for her late husband Alan Buch (a Berkeley alum). She grew up in England and they met in America. Soon the discussion shifted to how Sierra and I enjoy our time at UEA and in Norwich, and what advice we can give to Sandie and Emily as they journey off to Berkeley in the fall (which we are too). Once we are back on our home campus, Sierra and I plan to spread the word about UEA, since it definitely wasn’t publicized when we chose the uni, for our own reasons. One good reason why UEA is a really good uni to study abroad in is the location—outside of London makes the study abroad experience a lot more financially feasible and the English countryside has a certain charm that excessive tourism would spoil. It’s nice to have time to reflect and study without feeling perpetually caught up in thinking of travel…because with so many train stations and airports in and around London…I might have not been able to help myself. For the good and the bad. Oh but the second reason why UEA is legit: the newest Doctor Who, Matt Smith, is a recent graduate of the drama department at UEA.

Crumpets and Tea

      After a time, tea was served and I have to say, this was definitely an experience I will remember. This was a proper English tea party. I was excited. I had my cup and saucer in hand…and I definitely, though subtly, raised my pinky as I tilted the cup to drink. Just to do it, you know. After all the tea was served, a cover went over the tea pot and I found it quaint with its pastel-coloured design.

      Then came the crumpets. There were ones with melted cheese on top and ones plain. I tried both, of course, and now can say I’ve had tea and crumpets. Contrary to belief, British students do not normally have crumpets with their tea. But they do have a lot of tea. Next were the salmon dish, the cut-up sausage rolls, the mini cucumber sandwiches, and a double-decker plate of small desserts. I loved it.

      The adults left the room after a time to have their own discussion while the four of us (Sierra, Emily, Sandie, and I) talked. All of us but Sandie are English majors, so…it might’ve looked a little pretentious with our tea in hand and talk of the virtues of T.S. Eliot in the scheme of British modernism…but we had a lot of time, so the topics ranged from English to Cal football (Go Bears!) to the recent banning of the UEA rugby team due to havoc caused in past years and even to the closure of the music department at UEA and the notion of pursing journalism and/or writing as a career. Oh there was plenty of the ‘Is this American stereotype true?’ as well. And vice versa.

      By five o’clock it was time to leave. The afternoon tea had lasted from 2 to 5, so it was a pleasant and relaxing way to spend the middle of the day before my first exam. I had spent my morning in a flurry of excitement over getting back coursework/essay marks for my two English literature modules and I pulled off grades for both with which I’m satisfied. By night, I got back to studying-guitar-playing mode. I ended the night nervous for the first exam I’ve had to take since December.

Our Whole Group (with Monika, Eleanor, and Matthew)