England or Something: Halloween Extravaganza

Last weekend I met up with a Marshall Scholar, Nick, who lives in Cranfield. It is a former RAF base located in the middle of nothing (near Milton Keynes) and has a 3,000 person university focusing on business and aerospace. Our plan was to drive in his car to Cambridge, then to London, then to Oxford to visit all the scholars and attend each of the colleges big Halloween parties. It was an adventure but also a painful reminder that I don't have the enthusiasm for partying that I had during undergraduate school.

Cambridge was the same as it has been for the past 800 years, but it was great to visit the Marshalls there again. Oxford was a very similar place. It is beautiful, old, and perhaps a little grittier than Cambridge. The schools have the same pristine look, but the stone is much more weathered and things just seem a little grayer and dirtier. The parties were fun and rowdy, and the drives through the countryside made me realize how rural England really is. Nick and I are also thinking about teaming up to make a product to help out NGOs working in slums...more to come as it develops!