Fire and Blasphemy

Last Tuesday I walked into Circus Soc and it was virtually empty and slightly boring. Then this girl Jenny came in to annouce that everyone in Norwich who could do anything with fire was meeting at Castle Meadow (over by the castle, obviously) and that we should all go. Aside from the fact that there was an accident on Erlham Rd. and we had to get off the bus to walk, it was a good night. Every manner of juggling and spinning and "object manipulation" was represented. So was, I expect, every manner of chemical alteration. Most people were drunk, and I'm sure more than enough of them were high on something or other. When combined with fire, this is both dangerous and amusing. At one point two guys had out six fire juggling pins and were trying to juggle between the two of them. They were far too drunk for it and kept dropping the pins and hitting each other with them. At the end of the night, one guy decided to spin three sets of fire poi at once. It looked impressive, but the guy nearly set himself on fire. Luckily there were no casualties.
But the most important part of the story is that I got to spin fire for the first time. I took it easy, didn't experiment too much. I really should perfect my technique before I try anything too fancy, but the opportunity arose and I couldn't help myself. It was exhilarating. It's really not too difficult once you get used to the weight change between fire poi and practice poi. Even Matthieu gave it a try. Stephan got to show off his fire staff skills with actual fire, for once, and was quite good, even if the back of his white t-shirt was covered in singe marks.
Eventually it was getting late and we all decided to go home. Stephan was going to give us all a ride back to campus. Pawel, who admitted to being drunk, had at least one hit of something that wasn't tobacco, and smokes like a chimney, got up to leave, but, instead of walking toward to car, stumbled over to a tree near the toilets, about five yards away. He stood behind the tree for a few minutes, then stumbled to the toilets and disappeared. I've seen him drink before, but I don't think I've ever seen him drunk. Stephan tried to assure us that he would be fine and that we should leave without him, but Matt and I were worried about him and insisted that we wait. What if he had passed out in the bathroom or something? So Matt went to check on Pawel and was roughly asked to go away. Stephan then tried, came back, and told us that Pawel wanted us to leave without him. He would catch up. So, reluctantly, Matt and I went with Stephan and Alex to the car park where Stephan had his car, but the gate was locked, so Stephan and Alex had to walk around the block to the other gate while Matt and I waited for Pawel. It was really cold and we spent the time together shivering on a bench and complaining about how stupid it is to get drunk. Ha, I've found a kindred spirit.
Pawel never showed up, but since he lives a stone's throw from where we were waiting, it's not as if he needed a ride. Stephan was kind enough to text me later telling me that Pawel had made it home safely. So Stephan drove me back to the Village and I went to bed.
I woke up the next morning feeling sick, since I had spend the night in the cold and rain, but it was worth it. I can't wait to spin fire again. I'll just have to remember a sweatshirt.

The rest of the week went by without much to document. I have been struck, though, with how little Biblical knowledge Brits have. I know that it's a very secular country, but twice in the past week I've had to explain Bible stories that are referenced. And I'm not very religious. I barely remember anything I was taught in Sunday school. One night we had this bizarre theological discussion in my flat. At some point, someone mentioned the Burning Bush, and Corie asked, "Wait, is that from 'She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain'?" It turns out she was thinking of the movie The Three Amigos, but still. I had to explain how Moses was wandering in the desert and came upon this burning bush that told him he was to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Now I'm some theological expert because I can remember Bible stories and explain the basic beliefs of the world's major religions. Then, in my Medieval Writing (a class that, you think, would require people to have a basic understanding of Catholic doctrine), it was only me and the other American girl in the class who knew the story of Rebecca and Jacob tricking Isaac into giving his blessing to Jacob and not Esau. And the other American girl didn't quite know how to tell it, so I had about ten people staring at me, dumbfounded, as I tried to recall a story I haven't heard since elementary school. Even if you're not religious, don't these stories come up enough in popular culture in some form or another to warrant their basic understanding? Especially for literature students. I constantly bemoan the fact that I haven't read the entire Bible, and I intend to, since SO much of literature is based on it, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

With that thought in mind...

Last night I went with Chad, Leah, and Lauren Deitz to meet LitSoc to see the Reduced Shakespeare Company do The Bible, the Complete Word of God (Abridged). I was a bit late meeting them for the bus because Alex Geiger has come to visit, and I was in Chris's room catching up with her. I'm surprised we weren't horribly late for the show, after leaving campus a bit late, we got terribly lost getting from the bus stop to the Norwich Playhouse (even though it's a straight shot...we just took the wrong road). The show was really good, although it wasn't quite what I expected. There was a lot more improvisation than I had anticipated, which made it part show, part stand-up comedy. It also had a bit of randomness to the jokes that reminded me of Family Guy. I did appreciate, though, all the local humor and research they used in the show. Several times they made fun of Suffolk (we're in Norfolk, and there's a pronounced rivalry and prejudice, particularly between Norwich and Ipswich). They also brought out the 10 Rejected Commandments, which included "Thou shalt not elect a president of inferior intelligence...twice..." and, my personal favorite, "In London, thou shalt not take the village idiot and elect him mayor." Oh, Boris Johnson. There was even a Sarah Palin joke in there somewhere. You could tell who the Americans in the audience were.
After the show, we went into the adjoining bar. The drinks were expensive and I didn't like their selection, so I restrained myself, but other people got a pint and we stood outside and talked for a while. We stood in our characteristic LitSoc circle for a while, but then the Dickinson people formed their own little circle. I stayed with Siobhan, Hannah, Sam, and Max talking about...what else? Food. Unfortunately they confirmed my flatmates' assertion that eating Jell-O (which they call jelly) and ice cream together is perfectly natural..."It's more natural than birth," my flatmate Kristy assures me. But I've been promised that if I try jelly and ice cream, and eat baked beans on toast, they'll try a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Anyway, around 10 the Dickinson kids wanted to leave, so we bid adieu to our fellow LitSocers and headed for the bus. I got back to my room, realized that I had barely eaten anything all day, made some instant rice, watched the first part of the most recent presidential debate, and fell asleep.

I have no plans for today. So far I've eaten breakfast and written this blog. Terribly eventful, I know. I think I'll do some reading, maybe outline my Medieval Writing paper, and hopefully spend some time with Alex Geiger tonight. Tomorrow I have Circus Soc in the evening, which, as always, will be amusing. Monday night there's another LitSoc Pub Crawl that I'm looking forward to.