Day 2 in UK (Cambridge in June)

I don't know, but for some reason I am starting to remember my week in UK vividly. Maybe it is because I'm reading my friend's blog, and maybe it's because I interact with some of Cambridge students who are studying at MIT this year. Right now I am telling myself why I had not done CME when I had a chance last year. I have had my reasons, but I think the fun that I would have had in Cambridge had I been there for one year greatly outweighs my reasons for not going. So my reasons for not going were: lack of Computer Science classes (Cambridge isnt well known for Computer Science, and CME is intended more for EE majors). Second reason, perhaps the most important one was that I wasn't sure I'd be getting the same services I get at MIT. Many of you know what I am talking about.
So a friend of mine who is in UK right now for one year of CME (Cambridge-MIT Exchange) seems to be having a great time. Cambridge students do not have lots of work, or at least it does not appear so cause they do not have hard deadlines for psets. What do they do all the time? Party? perhaps. One thing I can say is that almost everyone is active in some sort of extracurricular activities. I used to do some of the extracurricular stuff at MIT such as being a photographer for the Tech (student newspaper), and being on UA Committee on Student Life. However, my coursework at MIT has drowned me in psets, leaving very little time to do everything else. I bet students in Cambridge have much more free time than MIT students. Poor Cambridge students at MIT!

I spent the entire second day of my UK time in Cambridge visiting various colleges.
Yang is a really good host, showing me around the University and its colleges.
We started the day with a breakfast in the largest bar in Europe -- The Regal. It is an old cinema theater converted into teh bar. Inside you feel like you are in a 2-story tavern (the indoor space spanned 2 floors with a spiral staircase) The food was nice and decently priced. British Pound is very strong against US Dollar, so while things do not seem to be expensive in UK (the prices seem to be the same), considering the nearly 2:1 Pound to USD ratio, makes everyihng so pricey. For example a 5 GBP food entree is actually not $5, but nearly $10. I actually found out that I spent too much money in UK, almost 1.5 more than I originally intended to spend just because of the exchange rate.
After the breakfast we visited colleges. I visited Trinity, King's and St. John's colleges. These three are the wealthiest and most famous colleges in Cambridge. (for those of you who are illiterate with Cambridge system -- Cambridge students go to lectures together in departments, but they get tutoring and supervisions in their respective colleges. Students apply to colleges, and upon acceptance they live and study in their college. Colleges are pretty independent of each other (or so it seems), each having its own bar and facilities. Professors are also affiliated with colleges, so a professor who is a fellow at a college is mentor to students in that college. Some of you might wonder whether Stephen Hawking's fame makes him a fellow in Trinity or King's colleges, but he actually is a fellow in a lesser-known college - Gonville-Caius College.

Hmm, so I think I have seen some of other colleges as well, but the three I remember most are Trinity, King's and St. John's. Passing through the gate of Trinity I could not help but notice the college's founder, King Henry VIII staring down at me. I got a chance to visit Trinity's chapel. It looks really nice inside, and there is a sculpture of Sir Isaac Newton. He is a Trinity alum and also served as a fellow in this college. Trinity has some other notable alumni like Sir Francis Bacon among others. When I stood before the Newton statue, I felt like this place was magical -- so much talent has originated there. It certainly felt powerful. I guess somewhere on Cambridge campus an apple hit Newton in the head and made him conceive F=ma. That must have been some sort of magical apple. I have not seen a single tree on Trinity campus (at least on the city of Cambridge side of the river). Colleges like Trinity and King's have buildings that surround a large courtyard. The grass in these courtyards seems to be sacred -- no one is allowed to walk on it, and signs "KEEP OFF THE GRASS" are everywhere. Grass is everywhere, but trees can be found on the other side of the river as Trinity campus appears to encompass both banks of Cam river.
When I was in Cambridge, it was during the final exams (Tripos) period. I had timed my arrival to UK to coincide with Yang's last tripos, so that I would not interfere with his studies. However, some students were still studying and taking exams while I was there. This is why many colleges did not allow visitors at the time. They were closed to the public. However, I was a special vistor -- so Yang could actually get me into the colleges (he has friends in these colleges). I tried not to look like a tourist, even though I had a great urge to take many pictures inside the colleges. I only took few photographs, and at times when very few people were around. However, I found out.. some of the nicest views of the colleges are from the river, and you do not need to get access into the college campus in order to take pictures -- just take pictures from the boat on the river (I don't remember if Trinity's courtyard actually faces the river, but King's really does).
St John's has a really huge campus. It has buildings on both sides of the river, and there is one really famous and pretty bridge connecting some of the buildings. It is the Bridge of Sighs (sort of like the bridge of the same name in Venice). Unlike the other bridges, it is the indoor roofed bridge. There was another unique bridge across the Cam -- the Queens' College bridge. It was built with wooden planks arranged in such a way as to form a really weird truss. Rumors are that the original bridge was build by Isaac Newton, and he used some sort of a complex truss that no one was able to figure out. It was a wonder that his bridge actually was stable. later some people tried to replicate his work and disassembled the bridge and assembled it back. However, no one was able to assemble it the same way, so current architectural design is slightly different than that of Newton's.

We tried punting. Yang was a student at Magdalene College, which is right on the Cam river. In Cambridge most of colleges (especially older ones) are located on the Cam (a small river that runs across Cambridge). Most of them have their own punt boats. Some of you might wonder what the punting is. It is not grunting and punting in response to some menial task. It is not rowing either. So, punting means pushing the boat with a long pole against the river's bottom. Cam river is pretty shallow almost everywhere, so it is easy to use the river's bottom to propel the boat. The boat is very flat and long (more streamlined). The punter stands on the back tip of the boat and pushes the boat against the riverbed using a pole. The same pole is used as a rudder to steer the boat left or right. Yang was punter for most of our tour of colleges on the river, but I did try punting more than once. It was a little scary because you know that with electronic equipment on me its very crucial that I do not fall into water. I am not afraid of water at all -- I don't actually mind getting soaked once in a while, as long as my hearing aid and cochlear implant are tucked safely in a dry place. However, I wanted to hear the sounds of Cambridge, so I did not take them off.

The City of Cambridge is a really beautiful town. It has a medieval look. Most churches in teh city were built in gothic style. Many of the college buildings were also built in gothis style, especially chapels. Some of the colleges had buildings from Elizabethian era (sort of like a castle tower with 4 spires at corners). The university itself is spread out in the city, and there are no distinct campus boundaries. Each college has a self-sustaining campus which is bounded by either buildings, walls, or fences. Most colleges close their gates in the evening, so to get inside, you needed to have the key, and the only way you could have a key is if you are the resident of the college. I guess this is really inconvenient to visit a friend in another college. Both you and a friend would have to meet outside in the city (a very popular meeting location is in the King's parade, just outside the King's College main gate). This is unlike MIT where your ID card can get you into some of the dorms.

Pictures of day 2 are online in my photoalbum