Cambridge - Day 1 of 2 | Dr. Q's Paparazzi: Shaking the boat and going with the flow | by Sabrina Gubbels-Wingo

 Today we began our visit to Cambridge with a punting tour! Our group of 16 loaded onto two boats with our lovely guides to travel down the River Cam on a historic adventure. As we rowed down the river, our tour guides told us about the history of the buildings, some still standing since being built in the 1600's! We found out that Cambridge University was founded by escaped scholars who had been accused of murdering a woman at Oxford. Naturally, the scholars decided that once settled in Cambridge they would start a rival University to Oxford in rebellion of their criminal accusations. Thus, a centuries long feud began. 

Then as we began to learn about notable alumni like Stephen King and William Wordsworth, two passers-by surprised us by taking a photo of Dr. Q. It was quite random! As we made our way down the river away from our photographing assailants a group of school kids from Spain grabbed our boat, rocking it and begging for help. They were stranded in the river you see. Unlike us, they did not have a tour guide and had only rented a boat, a sorry mistake on their part. We helped the best we could (although our tour guide was having none of it). In the end, we learned that value of public politeness and going with the flow (literally, because we were on a river.)

We then applied this lesson on the streets, as we began to notice that because they drive on the left side of the road in the UK they also walk on the left! We found it much easier to get around the city by keeping this cultural difference in mind. Overall, our first day was very educational both from a historical aspect and from a social aspect! We are looking forward to our day tomorrow, stay tuned!