On Friday the 12th I went on a small field-trip for my Philosophy of Biology class. We set off from Annapolis harbour at around 10am on a 100-year-old old skipjack , and headed into the bay. At first the wind was cold, but soon enough it settled down and we had one of those warm November days I’ve almost grown used to over here.  We were really there to have a nice boat trip, but we also got to learn a fair bit about the history of oyster dredging on the Bay, the history of the Bay in general, and the ecological problems facing the area today. We helped hoist the main sail, pull up the oyster-dredging equipment, and wash off and sort the oysters. Later on I had a go on a set of binoculars, and then had a lie down on the deck in the sun. After all this we went to a restaurant near the harbour and all had some oysters. Watching people have raw oysters for the first time is always fun.

Later on, BAM (Ballroom at Maryland) had an early Thanksgiving Dinner at a few of the veteran members’ house. Everyone was asked to bring something, and being the Thanksgiving virgin that I am I wasn’t equipped to whip up a pumpkin pie, or a bowl of yams, so I decided to be a jerk and make a curry. It actually went down really well, though it was extremely spicy for the non-asian BAM members who tried it. I guess it was nice for people to have a bit of a novelty dish there; especially because we had more than a few (albeit delicious) pies, and more than enough turkey. It was all really great, and I ate, like most people, too much. I also met some nice people from BAM I hadn’t really encountered before, due to my newcomer classes not overlapping with their higher-level classes. My early impression of Thanksgiving has been wholly positive, and I can see no reason yet why I can’t just bring this holiday back with me to England. Thanksgiving is delicious.

I’ve really been listening to Sufjan Stevens’ The Age of Adz over and over again in the past few weeks. I really think that it’s some of his finest stuff, and it tops off a brilliant run of releases over the last year. To me he’s certainly the most interesting and innovative musicians around that I’m aware of. I’d recommend his new album to almost anyone.