Last weekend I packed up my not so little overnight bag and headed out of London with the other UCL students on my program to participate in a weekend home stay with a British family. UCL students were put into groups of two so that we would have a buddy with us at our home stay. Kathy, a girl who goes to Smith College in the U.S., and I were paired together.
Our home stay was in Surrey, a county just 40 or so minutes outside of London. The huge nerd inside of me was REALLY excited to be going to Surrey because, as some of you may know, that's where Harry Potter's Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley live. Luckily, my home stay was not with the Dursley's, but the Scalans: Tony, Diane and Harriet.
Harriet is seven. She laughs as much as she talks and was rather excited to have her picture taken.
For twelve years the Scalans have been opening their home to international students, but we were only the third set of American students they have hosted.
Diane told us that Harriet had never been so excited to meet and play with students before.
"That's because they speak my language, mum," she explained.
Diane takes care of young children out of her home so she has a play room stocked full of every board game and children's book you could ever imagine. Our first night there, Harriet insisted on playing Monopoly Junior. When she saw that I was beating her, she started flicking all of my little green houses off the game board and into oblivion. She was vicious, I tell you.
Harriet also explained to us that Winnie the Pooh was her favorite Disney Character, that she loves High School Musical (which she really wanted to watch, but luckily I talked her out of it and thus I continue, unscathed, in my refusal to watch those movies!), and she has a hamster named Bobby who Kathy and I saw trying to escape for his life Saturday night.
I also saw Happy Feet for the first time. I found it a bit strange...
Though I was only there for two days, it was very interesting to see the interactions of this particular family, and just to hear the way they spoke to one another.
It was also incredibly nice to be in a house. We slept in the attic, a very comfortable baby blue colored room with six beds (two singles, a set of bunk beds, and another single that is actually a trundle) where Tony and Diane always put the students that stay with them. We ate cereal and tea for breakfast and Diane made us an INCREDIBLE roast dinner on Saturday night. Roast beef, a ton of fresh veggies, Yorkshire pudding and roast potatoes. Yum.
One thing I really got a kick out of while eating there was Harriet's use of the word "nice." Instead of asking if something tasted good she would ask, "Is it nice?" I tried to imagine my cousins asking me this when they were younger, but simply couldn't.
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