Vive la rugby.

This weekend I got swept up in rugby fever. My friend Matt (from the house) and I made a day trip to Cardiff on Saturday just for fun. Matt's Welsh, so he was a great tour guide. We knew when we set out that the World Cup of Rugby quarterfinal between France and New Zealand would be going on that evening and that things were going to get a little crazy in town, but I wasn't expecting the place to be mobbed before noon by thousands of rabid fans in crazy outfits! There were French and New Zealanders all decked out in team apparel when we went to Cardiff Castle first thing, and by the time we came out total madness had descended upon the city. We were surrounded by French fans wearing berets and chicken heads (very confusing at first -- our French housemate later explained that the cockrel is the official symbol of France) and wielding baguettes, and Kiwis with black-and-white painted faces and wigs and wearing an alarming amount of spandex. After stopping to have a Cornish pasty on the street and watch everyone, we wandered down to Cardiff Bay and saw the new opera house and assembly building. All really pretty and impressive. By the time we got back to the city center, the fans had overtaken all the main streets that had been full of traffic earlier. The pubs had long ago overflown, and huge crowds were drinking and yelling and singing in the streets. We got some fish and chips and stood by and watched it all, then headed back to Bristol just before game time. Such a fun day.



The term has now officially started! We had our first Mass at the chaplaincy on Sunday night, followed by a buffet and drinks downstairs in our bar, and I had my first Latin class yesterday. I am quite pumped to get to read some of the Confessions and the City of God under the direction of a really accomplished Augustinian scholar. Greek starts today -- cross your fingers that I remember any.

In other news -- I made the BBC! Check out this link to an article on BBC Bristol featuring a picture of some of us handing out tea and cakes during Freshers' Week.

Also, new pictures are up! Click here for shots of Freshers' Week and Cardiff.

That's all for today! Happy week!