So a quick update on some exciting things we have been up to recently, also, 5 bonus points for each pop culture reference you get:

VICTORY

Firstly, we have made some new friends since arriving and we were invited to join them at a local pub quiz at an Irish bar called Mulligans. Unfortunately, many of the questions were on American history, American geography and TV shows from the 80’s – so were not able to contribute that much to the team. Cat did however get a fantastic question right namely;

Q 1// Which US president got stuck in the bathtub so insisted a bigger one be installed that could fit four people? (Answer at the end of this post)

Luckily for us, the pub quiz had a skewed points system so the final (and supposedly most difficult) question of the quiz was worth double your total points for correct, lose all your points for incorrect and you could opt out from answering and leave your score intact. The question was;

Q 2//In the cult film Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino, who performed the song Jungle Boogie?

Considering ‘You Never Can Tell’ from this film was our first wedding dance and it was the first date me and Cat went on (to see the film), we knew the answer. As no other teams did, we went from 7^th place to first in one question and won the quiz for our team!

PIGS

In other fun news, we have found some interesting things in shops around town. The best example of this is a life-size pig grill shown below (with me for scale). It’s true what they say; everything is bigger in America.

Makin’ Bacon (well done if you get that game reference!)

SNOW

Being English, we of course must comment on the weather here which has got pretty cold all of a sudden. It’s between about -6 to 15 Celsius most days and we have had our first snow – although we are told to expect much more snow and colder weather early next year.

We’re walking in the air

We’re floating in the moonlit sky

TRAINS

So I might have had a falling out with a train…

My cycle route to work passes beside train tracks which run right through Fort Collins (and were in fact here before the city). As the tracks run down a main road, the freight trains must go at around 15 mph and sound their horn loudly at each junction.

So there I am last week, cycling home and I hear the train coming in the distance. So the traffic lights at the junctions all turn red and I wait, with a little traffic behind me. As the train comes closer its horn gets louder and louder. It’s difficult to put into words just how loud this horn is, maybe like being at a Disaster Area concert.

Now I’m at the lights with my fingers in my ears to dampen the sound and as the train comes level with me, our junction turns green so cars can go straight on. As I take my fingers out to quickly move away for the traffic behind me the horn goes off and almost knocks me off my bike.

Cat says I have a fear of trains now (Siderodromophobia), but I just wanted to say this to warn people that come visit us: I hope you like trains!

PS/ Answers are William Howard Taft and Kool and the gang