Shabbat at Cambridge

Well, the Jewish Society here finally held an event. We were invited to Cambridge University for Shabbat dinner. I hadn't had a Shabbat dinner in ages, so it was really exciting. Five of us set for a two hour journey to Cambridge.
When we got there, we went to the Orthodox service. I actually felt more comfortable davening the Orthodox service than I did the Progressive one for the High Holy Days. It was much closer to what I was used to.

Afterwards, we had Shabbat dinner. There were easily 80-100 people there. It made me feel like I was back at my home school for Shabbat dinner, and despite not having been to one for over a year, I really started missing my school Hillel. The food was delicious, and the company was great. ironically enough, I ended up talking to three Americans. One was in the Air Force and he was stationed outside of Cambridge. He was from the same area I was. The other two were 20 years old and were hitchhiking around Europe for the year. They were so cool. I traded email addresses and hopefully we can meet up somewhere during our travels.

During the dinner, there was a lecture from a Cambridge professor. It was intense and controversial. He talked ostensibly about Jews in the United Kingdom (and the United States, to some extent) are allowing the Jewish community to desintegrate by not learning more about the Holocaust and not going to Israel. It definitely made me think about my role in the Jewish community.

Lastly we went to their "house," I guess you could call it. It was pretty well hidden, and it was like a big game room. The stuff they had in their was amazing: a wide-screen plasma tv, a pool table, a massage table, and a lot of comfy pillows. It was quite impressive.

So, when we left at midnight, you would think that was the end of our excitement. But no!

Well, first of all, we got somewhat lost on our way home. (Don't ask me how, but the British road system is quite confusing to me, especially with all their roundabouts.) Anyway, once we got back on the right track, the battery on the little car we were in started to fade. It died on the side of the highway, so we got out of the car so no one coming down would hit us. We stood around in the cold and told jokes and waited to hear from the tow company. Meanwhile, our driver had realized he had a friend who was a doctor in King's Lynn, the next town over, and God bless him, this man came out at 3 AM, picked the four of us ladies up, and took us back to his flat so we wouldn't have to wait in the cold. When he got a call about an hour later that the tow truck wouldn't be there for a few more hours (I kid you not-because there was an accident and the only tow truck was occupied), we got a taxi to take us back to school, another 45 minute to one hour ride. We didn't get back to school until 5. I'm writing this at 4 pm, and I have been up for maybe 2 hours. It was a long-ass night, but I had a good time. It beat my normal Friday night itinerary, so it was worth it.
That's it for now. I should go do some work.