~ Sceopellen ~

It’s been a while, hasn’t it… Oops. As usual.

Finally finished my application to Toronto, which will be submitted, clean and shiny, tomorrow. Unfortunately, the transcript has taken quite a bit longer than I would have wished, and thus may have to be sent separately. Silly university-administration-people! The courses i’ve picked sound amazing:

RLG245Y1

Religions of the Silk Road

LAT100Y1

Introductory Latin

SMC441Y1

Old and Middle Irish

FAH424H1

Studies in Medieval Book Illumination

SMC358H1

The Medieval Book

SMC406H1

Mediaeval Seminar II

ENG402H1

Special Studies in Old English Poetry

I only hope that i’ll be allowed onto the advanced courses, which is a mabye. I TRULY hope so! ALthough most of the course I have picked are 400 level and entry via tutor permission, so it’s quite likely i’ll be rejected from some of them.

To start off my year of travelling, i’m also planning a trip back to the Camino to Santiago de Compostela. I don’t really understand the draw, but something keeps pulling me back there. The sheer beauty and history of the place I suppose, and the rather bizarre routine of starting to hike in the dark at 5am, watching the sun rise and reaching a little village in time for the bakery and cafes to open. Wild horses, ancient legends, blisters, severe discomfort and the joy of being completely cut off from the technological world. Seriously, there is nothing more wonderful than coming to the realisation that one can only travel as quickly as one can walk. Every journey does not only begin, but continues with a single step. I don’t think that concept can truly be understood until there is nothing else to experience.

So, in an effort to learn from last time, during the exam revision breaks I have been researching rather bizarre items, and writing kit lists!

A nice hiking bag: Plasma 30, lightweight and designed for weekend hiking (even though i’m going for about a month and a half - but one doesn’t need 30l for a weekend!)

A headtorch (no more rattling the in the bag at 5am!): Petzl E Lite, weighs next to nothing and is about the size of a tic-tac box.

One set of shoes: Merrell Chameleon 2’s, with the slits in the side (hopefully fewer problems with heat and blisters).

One bar of savon de marseilles: both for washing self and clothes - the ancient way of doing things, and far better than carrying soap and fabric wash, full of chemicals!

A polar buff: for the cold mornings - had this for absolutely ages!

There’s much more I need to dig out of the woodwork from last year and I am seriously trimming the things I took. No sleeping bag or mat, but rather two sleeping bag liners. Soap solution above, a lighter bag, lighter shoes, a lighter and better torch, and a slightly better first aid kit (which is desperately needed) with salt and bicarbonate of soda. There’s other stuff too, but i’ll post a proper list nearer the time! I’m also looking into getting a mini-post-exam-reward, in the form of a small music player of some sort to keep me occupied. World music was the one thing which, rather ironically, I missed badly in Spain. I found I didn’t care about phones, computers, books, or even hot showers, but the lack of music was quite a large void.

Must go, will post further tomorrow on the multitudionous adventures! xx

P.S. People are STILL finding my site via “Beowulf bed warmer”. I am still confused.