{"id":5037,"date":"2014-01-11T08:36:59","date_gmt":"2014-01-11T16:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/?p=5037"},"modified":"2014-01-12T08:34:33","modified_gmt":"2014-01-12T16:34:33","slug":"chronicles-nick-haddad-january-11-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/chronicles-nick-haddad-january-11-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"The Chronicles of Nick Haddad – January 11, 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nick Haddad currently serves as the C.S. Lewis Foundation\u2019s Assistant to the Warden for The C.S. Lewis Study Centre at The Kilns. Before moving to Oxford, Nick served the Foundation as an intern in our Redlands office, as well as received his B.A. at Belmont University in Mass Communications. As a part of his time spent at The Kilns, Nick has agreed to write a series of blog posts regarding his experiences to give our readers an idea of what it is like to work and live in the former home of C.S. Lewis.\"Kilns\"<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

I had an interesting conversation with a friend regarding how a lot of Brits are confused as to why many Americans love moving or really want to move to the U.K., especially when Americans have that \u201cwhole big country\u201d to live in.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been asked this question before, and honestly I do not have a good answer. For me personally, the U.K. is a place of adventure and unexpectedness, which I\u2019ve come to realize I thrive on.<\/p>\n

I want to take a moment to reflect on my time living in Oxford and the Kilns thus far, as I begin a whole new phase of my time in England.\u00a0 Some things will require an explanation; others are pretty straightforward.\u00a0 So, I present to you the top 5 things I\u2019ve learned in my first two months in Oxford:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Some American foods are hard to find in England.<\/p>\n

I had to find this out the hard way when, despite my best efforts, I couldn\u2019t track down grape jelly anywhere in this country.\u00a0 Turns out it has to be especially imported and is seen as a rare treat or an \u201cAmerican delicacy.\u201d\u00a0 I still wonder how they make PB&Js in England.\u00a0 And I don\u2019t even want to think about tracking down real bacon.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1975\"<\/a>2.You can never predict what will happen on Cornmarket Street in Oxford.<\/p>\n

For those of you who haven\u2019t visited Oxford, Cornmarket Street is one of the more popular strips in the city center and is basically a row of shops, restaurants, and, most importantly, street entertainers.\u00a0 From folk bands to masked men banging on garbage cans, to illusionists balancing on nothing, the street is a cultural haven for unique sights, people-watching, and plenty of radical stories to share with friends.\u00a0 A must-stop when visiting!<\/p>\n

3. Americans stand out like a sore thumb.<\/p>\n

I have no intention at this point of being down on Americans, but I finally get the stereotypes that so many other countries point out about us Yanks.\u00a0 We\u2019re noticeably louder, we\u2019re quite opinionated, and we\u2019re very comfortable with standing out in a crowd.\u00a0 But there is also a good side to standing out so much:\u00a0 We smile at people for no reason.\u00a0 I know this sounds goofy; but, at least for me, when walking down a street and passing someone, I will casually smile and give a nod.\u00a0 This is not<\/i> the norm here.\u00a0 People have given me looks of deep confusion and surprise.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been told that the English usually don\u2019t casually smile at strangers in this country.\u00a0 But, apparently, they really enjoy it, and I\u2019ve been encouraged to keep smiling and nodding. It definitely makes my American nature stand out, though.<\/p>\n

4. Under no circumstance should you leave your drapes open when living at the Kilns.<\/p>\n

We will get many tourists or on-lookers that stop by outside the Kilns and take pictures or just admire the house.\u00a0 They usually stay outside the property and mind their own business, but others are a little more daring.\u00a0 During my second week at the Kilns, I was in my room after taking a shower and only dressed in my \u201cunderclothes.\u201d As I look up, to my surprise, I see a face smashed against my window, looking right into my room. It was an elderly woman who just wanted a peek into the Kilns but got a bit more than she bargained for.\u00a0 I don\u2019t believe I have seen her since.<\/p>\n

5. I will always call the Kilns\/Oxford home.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I don\u2019t mean this in the absolute sense of \u201cI\u2019m going to live\/work here forever.\u201d But, even though I have only lived here for two months, there is great comfort in this city. It\u2019s almost funny because Lewis himself once talked about the good feelings and kind spirits that lived in the Kilns and, strangely enough, I feel that way too.\u00a0 A lot of people who come to the Kilns talk about a feeling of ease when they enter the home.\u00a0 Living in this on a day-to-day basis just makes life more comforting.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been asked what is next after the Kilns, and I do not really know. But living here, in this place, is something truly amazing.\u00a0 I can\u2019t really explain it fully, but Lewis left behind a loving home, and I couldn\u2019t be more thankful for that.\u00a0 I know my work here is temporary, and I\u2019m reminded of that as I look at the calendar and realize it\u2019s already almost halfway through January. But while I\u2019m at the Kilns, I\u2019m going to do everything I can to make this memory one to really hold close for life.<\/p>\n

I do want to take a moment to formally thank all my friends and family who are supporting me in this insane adventure.\u00a0 I literally couldn\u2019t be here without your love and support.<\/p>\n

And, I best be off!\u00a0 I\u2019ve got a lot of work to do in terms of getting back into European life after visiting the States for Christmas.\u00a0 Who knew that I would miss a proper tea so much?\u00a0 Until next time, this is Nick Haddad, signing off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nick Haddad currently serves as the C.S. Lewis Foundation\u2019s Assistant to the Warden for The C.S. Lewis Study Centre at The Kilns. Before moving to Oxford, Nick served the Foundation as an intern in our Redlands office, as well as received his B.A. at Belmont University in Mass Communications. As a part of his time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,27],"tags":[602],"class_list":["post-5037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-the-kilns","tag-the-chronicles-of-nick-haddad"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Chronicles of Nick Haddad - January 11, 2014 - Living the Legacy of C.S. 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