HOST

Last weekend I went on a two-day trip to Scarborough on the coast of North Yorkshire. The trip was sponsored by NYU and HOST UK, an organization that pairs tourists, especially international ones, with host families for a weekend. At first glance, the arrangement seems sketchy, but HOST does background checks on the families and ensures your safety. Everything worked out well, and the weekend was quite interesting.

I was paired with an elderly couple who have sons in Australia and Leeds, England. However, they host international students, for both weekend visits with HOST and long-term stays for semesters. While I was there, two Spanish boys and two Norwegian boys were in the house. Since the Icelandic volcano blocked all UK flights last weekend, their Chinese daughter, in their words, who is studying in the UK, was delayed in her arrival. Obviously, their service is very interesting, and I haven't heard of anything like it in the States. Even though the couple rarely leaves the UK, the entire world passes through their walls, and they're very much in tune with current events, in a tangible way that few of us can be.

One interesting point that came up in conversation was the relationship between the UK and the US. The husband insisted that tons of Asians passed through his walls, but few Americans came. He couldn't understand this fact in light of the special relationship (In many British people's minds, a special relationship exists between the UK and US. However, I'd never heard of it before I came to the UK). He was right to point out that most Americans never leave the confines of London to enter real England.

The Italian Garden near the southern shores of Scarborough. The several gardens located on the hills were pleasant. On Saturday, my host family pretty much gave me a map and told me to explore. I started on the southern shores and made my way northward.

One of the arcades opposite the beach. I'm not sure what it is about beaches that attracts trashiness (both trashy people and the trashy sides of normal people), but it affects the British as much as Americans. The rest of the town didn't resemble a beach town with cheap restaurants or small summertime houses, but the beach certainly had resemblances of Seaside, NJ. Instead of burgers and fries, there were fish and chips. Instead of dartboards and knock-over-the-moving-target, there were Dave and Buster's-like games in the multiple arcades. Granted, there weren't as many came-straight-from-the-gym-to-show-off-my-muscles kind-of guys, but I'd have to wait until July to get a fair comparison. As you can tell, I was surprised by this atmosphere. However, I guess people are people and cheap, trashy enjoyment is cheap, trashy enjoyment, the world over.

The remains of Scarborough Castle. Originally settled in 370 as a Roman signal station, this piece of land has changed hands many times. It juts into the North Sea and offers a clear view both inland and out to sea. For this reason, it has been prized among kings and rebellious legions. The castle was built in the 12th century, but the three-story keep pictured above was added by Henry II later in the century. If you go to Scarborough, you need to visit the castle, both for its history and its views.

St. Mary's Church from the castle. From that vantage point, it seemed to be the largest church in Scarborough.

Anne Bronte's grave near St. Mary's Church. I actually didn't know who she was at the time, but there was a sign pointing to it so I took a picture. In case you're in my position, she was a British writer of two novels and a volume of poems. Her sister Charlotte wrote Jane Eyre, and her other sister Emily wrote Wuthering Heights (Thank you, Wikipedia). I'm not sure where their graves are, but I'm assuming they're elsewhere since the sign only pointed out Anne's grave.

On Sunday, the husband took me for a drive into the country. For a town with 50,000 residents, it's amazing how close it is to farmland. Traveling into the North Yorkshire moors, he explained that many people hiked for days in this national park, especially come summer.

Rocks in Robin Hood's Bay. On the drive, the husband gave me about an hour to explore the bay while he walked one of his dogs in the hills. The bay was fantastic, even though it's a decent drive from Scarborough. There were some great pictures of the beach, the rocks, the surrounding hills, etc. There were a good number of people walking around, admiring the natural beauty. There was a ton of dried seaweed on the beach, it reminded me of tumbleweed from cartoons.

I found a makeshift staircase cut into one of the surrounding hills. I didn't have too much time to explore, but I climbed the hill. To my left is the fence for one of the farms, and to my right is the beach. Although my camera couldn't really capture the different depths of the beach vs. the hill, it was really quiet and gorgeous up there.

I doubt anyone is going to visit Scarborough, but this post is my attempt to convince you to travel outside London, Edinburgh, Dublin, etc. when you come to the UK. Obviously, there wasn't much to see in the town after two days, but the people I met offered their actual perspectives on Americans, London, government, etc. It's definitely worth a weekend, and I'd highly recommend HOST for the trip.