Day 5/Canterbury and Departure

C fixed us a delicious breakfast of toast and jam before dropping us back at the bus. He said that he had chosen to host us not for the money or out of obligation, but because he had five adult children out in the world and would want someone to offer them shelter for the night in a similar situation. M, our chauffeur, relied on his extensive English experience to organize a day trip for us to Canterbury, famous for its Cathedral and Chaucer’s bawdy pilgrim tales. We did lots of shopping at souvenir places, bought 30p postcards instead of paying 10 pounds ($15) to tour the Cathedral, and bought a novelty birthday hat for K who was celebrating his 19th birthday in a foreign country. A pagan parade passed by, promising a large gathering of local Wiccans and fairies in a few weeks. The profs had tea at Tiny Tim’s Teahouse, which has trapdoors in the bathroom in case of fire. We then went to Folkstone to catch the train again as the ferry workers would be on strike for all of Easter weekend. My wonderful colleagues gave me a travel pillow for all of my future voyages and much fun was had by all. About 10 pm, M found a Top-40 pop station and cranked up the tunes. Within two minutes, the lights were on strobe and the kids were dancing and drinking in the back of the bus. This lasted about 15 minutes before everyone settled in and watched a film. I caught a ride home with one student, opened my door at 2 am and was surprised to find all of our kitchen furniture in the hallway. My housemates had thrown an Easter party and I was the first one home that night!