As I walked out of the sports centre, which had temporarily been converted into a large testing hall, I breathed a sigh of relief. I had just finished my last final exam and it was time to celebrate. I was pleased to be finished with the process of exams and papers and could suppress the thoughts of impossible exam questions and a crash-and-burn type failure.
Of course, I had taken my last final during the first half of the exam period, so most of my friends did not share my renewed optimism on life. Instead, they barricaded themselves in their houses, only venturing outside to make a quick Tesco run. However, I was determined to celebrate—or at least get out of my house.
I think it was my continual assurance that they would do well on their exams (though it is more likely it was my constant nagging) that finally got them out of the house for dinner. It was the last dinner with everyone before most of them boarded flights headed for home. Of course, we couldn’t decide where to eat. As usual, I suggested Nando’s, a Portuguese restaurant (which is now in the U.S. in Washington DC on 7th street). It was suggested that we ate somewhere “English” and that we should go to the old town area in Hull.
While walking and looking around, I noticed something that I had forgotten. There is a narrow street called “The Land of Green Ginger.” I remember during my first week in Hull that I had gone on a tour and the tour guide had stopped just under the street sign and pointed upward saying, “that’s a funny name isn’t?”
When pressed for its meaning he just stopped and said that nobody was really sure of the meaning or where it had originated. Many people believe that it is either named after a family that lived in the area or that this was a region where ginger was bought or stored. When asked why the people of Hull kept the name of the street, the guide simply replied “why not?”
Walking a bit farther down The Land of Green Ginger, we finally arrived at the George. The George is a pub that is everything that you would imagine an English pub to be. The dark wood, the exposed wooden beams, and fireplaces all add to the cozy atmosphere of the place. Of course, another cool part of the George is that it claims to have Hull’s smallest window. The window was historically used as a lookout for stable boys and those taking care of the horses of the guests. This window is in fact really small and I’m not sure if I would be able to see anything from it, but I guess that it worked.
Of course after dinner there was a series of goodbyes—or more like a bunch of see you laters. Though it was still finals week, I was able to get my syllabus for next semester and get a few books. It now appears that my break is officially over, and it’s time for me to do some work.
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