In response to all the people hassling me about posting...

Wow. I haven’t updated in a long time. Sigh. This is going to be long. I'm going to break it down into readable chunks.

Day 31, 25/9/09
Trip to Insch! Well, first I had Dynamic Cell (boring) and Immunology with lab (pointless – the literally had us looking through a microscope at blood and lymph node tissue. I mean seriously, are we in 5th grade?). I was going to have an issue in that my lab was supposed to go till 5, and my train for Insch left at 5:20… essentially, I wasn’t going to be able to do both, and since my homestay was a mandatory part of my study abroad experience, I had to change my lab. Luckily, I was able to switch to an earlier lab group and make it to the train on time. The train was way smoother than I was expecting. It didn’t even jolt around when we were stopping. I talked with Becka on the way there, which was nice. She has some crazy (literally, mentally unstable) roommates. It was a 4 hour train ride to Aberdeen, then we were supposed to take a pre-hired coach (= bus) to Insch. We were instructed to “Look around for Whyte’s Coach”. We didn’t see anything when we got off the train, so the group of us (there were 10 of us total) went to the exit/parking lot. Problem was, the parking lot was undergoing construction, so we had no idea where we should wait. We stood outside where a few other people seemed to be getting picked up for 10-15 minutes, tried to contact the Coach service, and were on the verge of sending people back into the station when this guy showed up, saying he was our driver. Apparently, someone inside told him there was a group of confused Americans outside, and he figured it was us. So, he takes us back into the station and we eagerly watch to see where we were supposed to have gone. It seems that “look around” translates to “go up the stairs, cross the sky bridge, walk through a parking structure, go onto the street behind said parking structure, and walk down the street until you see your coach.” Yeah. Anyway, we drove to the head-lady’s house (we were staying in 4 different houses in Insch and there was one family that was coordinating it all) where most of the families were there to greet us. The family that I was staying with, along with Meg and Christina, were not there yet as Greg (the husband) and Maureen (the wife) were at a Rotary Club event that was essentially honoring Greg (the chapter President), so they were a little late. We got homemade pizza and cucumbers from their garden for dinner, so it was all good. Maureen finally pulled herself away and she took us back to her farm/house. First thing I saw when we arrived: CAT. Orange, cuddly, fluffy, male (he can be forgiven) kitty cat! His name is Chutney and he used to belong to Gary and Maureen’s son, but came to live with them when he moved. I ended up sharing a room with Christina, who it turns out has a cat that looks very similar to Chutney, so we kidnapped him for the night. He slept on Christina’s bed, which made me sad, but let me cuddle him in the morning.

Day 32, 26/9/09
So, I managed to not talk about the other ferocious beasts at the house. There’s Skipper the parrot, which I pretty much ignored the entire time. The other two girls are apparently terrified of birds, which was amusing, especially as you had to walk by Skipper’s cage to get into/out of the house. They have a huge Scottish deerhound named Harris, after a Scottish Island, who is as tall as my waist and likes to grab hold of your wrist and drag you to the front door (we had words), a Collie/something else mix named Gaia, who was SO sweet and very old (she reminded me of Roxy), and a little Cairn terrier named Morris (my dad’s name) who was a little grumpy but sweetened up with time. They also had a Shetland horse named Caswick (I think, I’m not sure, it sounded like “cass-ick” but they mainly called her Cass) who was 29 years old.
So, on the first day I woke up with a sore throat. NOT HAPPY. Meg got me sick. But since we were both suffering from a cough we stopped by a Walmart-like store and got Strepcils. Strepcils are like cough drops, but they taste nasty (like black licorice). We then went to the Glenfiddich distillery, where they make whisky. It was in Dufftown, which has 7 distilleries all together (‘Duff’town with lots of alcohol? I thought I was in a Scottish version of the Simpsons). It had a really bizarre pool/reservoir in front of it with multicolored noses floating on top. It was… interesting. The distillery was kind of nice because the yeast smell reminded me of home/Scripps, but the whisky smell was a little overwhelming. At the end of the tour, we got to try some whisky. I… am not a fan. I don’t like the “burn your throat out” feeling. Alas, I must not be Scottish (though, fun fact, the Scots were big fans of French wine until it became too expensive, and that’s when they started making their own alcohol, which led to the popularity of whisky). After that we found out that Dufftown was having a whisky festival with a pipe band event, so we headed towards the sound of bagpipes. There were over 200 people playing bagpipes and drums, all lined up like a marching band. They sounded so beautiful, way different from the tinny music coming out of the shops on the Royal Mile. We hung around there for a while before heading off to Huntly Castle. It was nice, and they had some amazingly well preserved fireplaces, but… I’ve just seen so many castles here, it’s getting a little overwhelming. After that, Maureen invited all of us back to the house for tea. She had fresh made scones and brownies with cream cheese baked in, as well as some type of cranberry bread. It was lots of fun and very yummy. Maureen then took us on a little trail through the woods across from their house… woods, it turns out, that they own. She literally said, “Any land that has trees on it, belongs to us.” Yeah. Maureen also baked us a cottage pie for dinner and then we watched the UK version of “Dancing with the Stars” (it’s terrible here, as well) and a bit of Merlin (ugh. As someone who is somewhat familiar with the legend, it made me want to cry). We then headed over to the main lady’s house for a bit of a get together. Essentially, the grownups tried to get some of the boys (who had started drinking of their own volition) totally wasted. I just enjoyed the free chocolate and tea. We played that game, it’s like Taboo, but you only have to avoid using the word your team is supposed to guess, not a bunch of other ones too, and it got… heated. It was frankly ridiculous. Also, no one on my team could guess “ham sandwich” (seriously? I was all “meat from pigs, you put it between bread and cheese”). We got home pretty late and so decided to sleep in the next day.

Day 33, 27/9/09
The other people decided to wake up early and head to the coast, but we wanted to chill, and so did a couple of local things. First we went to see the Maiden Stone, which I had already seen, but it was interesting to find out that I had been so close to them without knowing it. We then went to the Bennachie (the local mountain range, pronounced “ben-a-HEE”) information center. It was cute, but clearly meant for kids. It turns out that the center used to have a totem pole in front… confused, I asked if the original settlers of the area had also carved totem poles like the Native Americans… awkward silence. I have seen so many incidences of American culture being transplanted over here, in ways that really don’t make sense. Most actually have to do with the Native American cultures. It’s really weird. Anywho, we then went to the Loanhead of Daviot Stone Circle. It was made between 4000 and 5000 years ago, probably as a place for observing the moon or to guard the entrances to tombs. There was also a cremation cemetery next to it that was probably set up around 3500 years ago. The cremated remains of 32 people were found there. It was rather peaceful. Maureen was talking about how many found it spiritual, which I didn’t quite tap into, but it did hold a sort of ancient calmness, and I had great respect for the farmers who managed to drag these massive stones to the top of the hill. Meg and Christina… did not feel this way, apparently. They were climbing all over the place and making fun of the cultural significance of the site. It was, at least in my eyes, disrespectful. Meg also was asking if this place was used for religious purposes “or, you know, by witches and stuff”. Upon informing her that Wicca was, in fact, a religion, she responded, “uh, I guess you could see it that way.” Mentally, I thought, “hmm, a group of people coming together to celebrate a higher power, something they pray to for guidance and aid? You’re right, not a religion at all.” I restrained myself. After that, we went back to Maureen’s for a quick lunch before heading back to the train station. I had a hard time saying goodbye to Chutney.

Day 34, 28/9/09
Monday sucked. I had Structures and Functions of Proteins (SFP) lecture and tutorial. The lecture was fine, though the current lecturer is so completely disorganized. The tutorial… ugh. It was all on amino acids, which I did not have any time this weekend to study. It was painful, and I didn’t say anything, so next tutorial I have to be ready. Growls.

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Day 23, 17/9/09

I met with my Director of Studies today to sign up for classes. It went… okay, I guess. I have very little faith in my DoS. She was telling me about things she could do, but then qualified it with, “well, I’m supposed to be able to do this, if you want me too I’ll have to check it out.” UGH. Also, we couldn’t get in contact with the course secretary who would tell me why I had not been approved for the class a few months ago, since it did not conflict with my other classes and I am qualified for the class. The one lady we could contact said that she really didn’t think there was any reason why I wouldn’t be able to take the class, so I signed up for it and emailed the course secretary (side note, he still hasn’t emailed me back, and it has been 5 days). I was kind of depressed after that, and also having homesickness issues, so I laid low for the rest of the day.

Day 24, 18/9/09

Today I went on a tour of the Scottish Parliament. So – the system is kind of weird. Things that have to do with, say, education and health, go through the Scottish Parliament. But things that have to do with national security and policy must be dealt with at Westminster. So… it’s somewhat confusing. The building is also… interesting. I don’t really like it, but I can appreciate it for its architectural value. After that, it was sadly too late for me to visit the zoo or this farm that supposedly had a cat, so I decided to just head back to my room. I did go a new way back to Pollock Halls, and I saw some interesting places I could go for lunch (if I’m ever up near George Sq – not likely).

Day 25, 19/9/09

I climbed up to Arthur’s Seat! It was harder than I thought, mainly because there were stairs. What kind of self-respecting mountain has stairs, I ask you. It was worth it for the views, though. Afterwards, I was really tired, so I came back and rested. I was also starting to get a sore throat, which made me less than happy.

Day 26, 20/9/09

I had a sore throat when I woke up, so I decided to stay in and drink lots of water.

Day 27, 21/9/09

No sore throat today! Woot! Still going to take it easy, though, just in case.

Day 28, 22/9/09

First day of class. Wore a skirt! I was rather adorable, but of course it was the windiest day we’ve had yet. The Dynamic Cell (the class everyone was warning me was SO difficult, “Seriously, people have failed this class”) seems rather… easy. Sigh. It is slightly distracting that my lecturer sounds like the priest from the Princess Bride. At least there isn’t much opportunity to say “twu wove” (true love) in a cell bio class… Immunology was frustrating in that online it said the class started at 2, but in reality it started at 1:30, so I was half an hour late. Luckily, I only missed the “Don’t Plagiarize!” part of the lecture. It seems fine enough. I couldn’t understand a thing that one of the lecturers was saying, but luckily that was the only lecture he was giving. We then had to get our pictures taken so that the lecturers can actually recognize who we are. (Also, I keep on saying “lecturers” because the term “professor” is actually reserved for a higher class of educator and I’m not sure who is who yet.) I don’t know anyone in Dynamic Cell, but my friend from the Butler program, Abby, is in my class so I’m pretty happy. She’s the only other truly sarcastic person I’ve met so far. I enjoy her greatly.

So, my first impression of Edinburgh as a student? Dog poop. It’s everywhere. Seriously. People do not pick up after their dogs. I literally have to walk with my head down in order to make sure I’m not stepping in mess. I almost did a couple of times, but luckily the smell alerted me in time. This? Does not make me happy.

Day 29, 23/9/09

I was SO worried about Wednesday’s. The schedule online says that I have the Dynamic Cell from 10 to 5, but thank the gods it turns out that I only have to show up early a couple of weeks for tutorials, class itself is only from 1-2, and then some weeks I will have lab from 2-5, which is totally doable. Phew. Dynamic cell is seeming easier by the day, though I do have a test in two weeks…

Day 30, 24/9/09

Proteins proteins proteins! UGH. So, first problem: class starts at 9. This wouldn’t generally be a problem, but the King’s Buildings (where all of my classes are) are a 40 min walk away (30 if I rush). Since they are pretty strict about being late, I don’t want to leave any later than 8:10. I also want breakfast (hey, I’m paying for it, I’ll take it), but the dining hall doesn’t open until 7:45. End of story? I have to wake up far earlier than I want to. I have also calculated that I walk about 2.5 hours every day. Who needs the gym?

But I digress. Structure and Functions of Proteins (SFP) is counting as my biochem requirement at Scripps, so I need it. The problem is that I am totally unprepared for this class. I walk in the first day and the lecturer says that he’s not really going to talk about the slides today since it should all be review. It was brand new material for me. Mainly it was that I needed to memorize the names, abbreviations, structures, and chemical properties of all of the amino acids, which has never been required of me. I also needed to know all of this by Monday, which was essentially going to be impossibly as I have a family stay in Insch this weekend. I’m kind of panicked, but I think if I put in a lot of work I will be okay… maybe…

Now I am officially caught up! WOOT!

Day 22, 16/9/09

Well, today I went and signed up for several societies (or at least for their mailing lists… the University *requires* that they charge a £3 fee for membership, how ridiculous is that?) including the ballroom society, swing dance society, traditional Scottish dance society, women in science society, scientific writers society. I don’t think I’ll keep up with all of it, but at least I’ll try. I then went to the Royal Museum of Scotland where they have a “Discovery of Spain” which goes from Goya to Picasso, but mainly focuses on the interaction of the UK with Spain. I got a post card of El Greco’s “Lady in a fur wrap” as well as John Everett Millais’ “Souvenir of Velázquez, which I completely fell in love with. She just looks so hauntingly sad. There is another one of St. Francis of Assisi, “St. Francis in Meditation” by Francisco de Zubarán that I really like too. I need to find a print of it though, there wasn’t one in the shop. I then walked around and bought laundry detergent, then came back and got my internet fixed!!!!!!!!! It turns out they didn’t put in a splicer or something, that all doubles are supposed to have. Whatever, it’s fixed, and now I can talk to all my amazing friends!!! Now I am going to head to dinner, then come back and read all the information packets they gave to us…

Oh, and as I was walking home today I saw a café that advertized “California Coffee” – I may have to check it out.

Another massive post, but I'm caught up!

Day 13, 7/9/09 – Edinburgh

Oh, so I forgot to mention that on the 6^th we watched this really cool show called “Waking the Dead” – not as good as CSI (or how CSI used to be, at least) but still very entertaining. Has anyone in cyberland heard of it? Anywho, we are in the Amaryllis Guest House in a huge room – it has a queen, two twins, and a bunk bed. It’s really nice that the owner is willing to potentially sacrifice £100 to allow us to stay here (25 per person on the bunk bed, 2 nights).

Anyway, today we went on a “Tale of Two Cities” tour put on by the National Trust for Scotland. It explored/explained how the New Town (N and W Edinburgh) grew out of Old Town (S and E). Essentially, there has been something where Edinburgh Castle sits since the time of the Roman Empire. In more recent history, at first it was only the castle, but then a town began to build around it. The Scots, having no idea how to build towns in the 1100s (they only had villages, and many of the clans were nomadic to some degree), got the Dutch and French to come over and tell them how to build. The entire town (also, interesting note, they use “town” here they way we would say “city”) was built for defensive purposes, with narrow wynds (side streets that connected main roads) and closes (dead end side streets), buildings built tall instead of wide, and narrow staircases connecting the different levels of the city (it being built on a rather steep hill). Edinburgh was fought over for 300 years, only being taken once by Robert the Bruce when he scaled the cliff face at night. So, originally on the North side of the castle, the cliff fell straight into a lake called the Nor (North) Loch. This was the only source of water in Edinburgh (other than a well, I think, in the Castle grounds) so in the morning people would go down to the loch and get their bucket of drinking water. As the drinking water was depleted, the waste bucket increased in volume (you might see where I’m going with this). When the sun set, people were allowed to dispose of their waste, which they did by flinging it out of the window into the center of the street below. As the night passed, the waste did as all things must and followed gravity to the lowest point… which just happened to be the Nor Loch. And the next morning, down people went to get their water. It was said that the crust of excrement on top of the lake got so bad you could actually walk across the water. Disease, it need not be said, was common. Interesting fact, though. High heeled shoes were actually invented to keep you from sinking into the waste lying on the ground. Back to the Old/New Town split, though. Around the 1770s Old Town became so overcrowded that they drained the loch and built New Town across the resulting ravine, which is now the location of the Princes Gardens. All of the wealthy folk moved to New Town, which was built based on the French Three Estates, with the clergy, wealthy, and workers all living separately from each other (in the Old Town, you all lived together). Old Town quickly devolved into a slum.

Princes Gardens is rather nice. There is, of course, the Scott Monument for Sir Walter Scott which I think is just gorgeous. There are also a lot of war memorials. There is on in particular that I rather liked. It is for WWII memorial for Scots that fought with US forces and vice versa that is a statue of a Scottish soldier, whose face is a (rather handsome) composite of the faces of some of the men the memorial is dedicated to, taken from pictures. This allows many people to see their relatives/loved ones in the face of the statue. There is another memorial on the East side of the gardens that quotes the Declaration of Abroath, the real inspiration for the Declaration of Independence.

After all this we did a little shopping on Grassmarket then headed to the Balmoral Hotel (very posh place, I’m going back to celebrate Christmas dinner with other people from Butler) for High Tea. I had oolong tea, which always reminds me of my childhood. The sandwiches were good, the scones great, and the desserts fantastic. They had a harp player on a balcony playing soothing music, including Ave Maria and the theme from Beauty and the Beast. We then went to the National Gallery of Scotland and checked out the “Scottish” (only Scottish artists) section. We didn’t have time for anything more, but since it’s free, I’m sure I’ll go back.

Day 14, 8/9/09 – Edinburgh

So, I’m shoving a lot of info into this post so it’s going to be long. As for the day itself, first we went to the Castle, which was very wet (it rained… my interest was somewhat reduced in favor of “must find shelter!” thoughts). I definitely have to go back at some point. We then went to St. Giles’ Cathedral, which is absolutely gorgeous on the outside, but rather ordinary on the inside. They also want you to donate like £2 for every room you go into, which was ridiculous. They have been repainting the ceiling to match what it might have originally been like. I can’t really say I approve. I mean, I know that this is how the Cathedral was meant to be seen, but I rather like the bare stones look. We then went to the Queen’s Gallery at Holyrood Palace which had an exhibit of conversation pieces, which are generally less formal portraits of groups of people, often with a humorous element. That’s a terrible description, but the gallery was rather nice. Also, I got free entry for a year, so I can go back when they get a new exhibit. After that, we went on a ghost tour, which I will talk about later…

Quick facts about Edinburgh: It was King James I of Great Britain (previously King James VI of Scotland, son of Mary, Queen of Scotts) that designed the Union Flag, basing it around the flag of Scotland. The flag of Scotland (white X on a blue background) was based on two things. St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, did not want to be crucified on a cross in the same way that Jesus was, so instead was crucified on an X-shaped cross (now known as the St. Andrews cross). Also, a Pictish king (I believe, it could have been a later king) looked up before he went into battle and saw the clouds shaped like an X against the blue sky, and then went on to win the battle and so took the white X on a blue background as his flag. Another fact, all that highlander tartan and royal guards? A complete fabrication by Sir Walter Scott. So, the story. In 1822 King Charles IV determined that he would visit foreign countries. Only, dear old Charlie wasn’t very smart, and wasn’t really liked, to his advisers convinced him that the Scots would be jolly glad to see him, and they really were due a visit, so Sir Walter Scott was put in charge of organizing the extravaganza to be held for the King in Edinburgh. Now, they all knew what the King wanted – it was to be a bonanza of traditional Scottish things. Only, the traditional Scottish things… didn’t seem to exist. So, not letting that stop him, Scott went about inventing! He took a gentleman’s club (as in guys that smoke their pipes together, not the more modern, more dirty definition) and turned them into the Royal Guard! Scott then thought, well, I better get some highlanders in here, so up he traveled, and the highlanders said, “Sure, we’ll show up.” And Scott said, “Great! Can you bring your tartan?” And the highlanders said, “Our what?” You see, to keep warm the highlanders would wrap yards and yards of cloth around and around their waist, and they made this cloth on simple looms that couldn’t make the complicated patterns we know and love. And really, they wouldn’t wear such things if they could – bright blue and green and yellow doesn’t really help them blend in while they are hunting. So, Scott said, “No problem! You show up, and I’ll supply the clothes!” And he traveled down to Edinburgh and got all of the weavers busy, making thousands of yards of the “traditional” fabric. Why does Scotland embrace these things, then, if they are not truly and traditionally Scottish? One, the money they get from tourists. Two, this was the first time that the highlanders and lowlanders really came together in peace and celebrated their connection as Scotts – a miraculous feat since before this most lowlanders wouldn’t speak to a highlander, except to kick them out of the city. I learned a lot of this from my Underground tour, hosted by City of the Dead, put on by Black Hart Entertainment. It is a really good tour, taking you through some underground chambers below South Bridge.

That’s a whole other story though. Okay, so, Old Town is a slum, New Town is growing, we don’t really have to worry about wars anymore since we have union with England. It is time to make the city a little more accessible to tradesmen. They decided to put in bridges to make traveling between the levels of the city easier and someone had the bright idea to make the areas under the arches of the bridges available as storage spaces to merchants – including the underground sections of the arches. Essentially, this led to the development of an underground city. It was too damp to store things in, so the caverns became places for the homeless to live (there was a law in Edinburgh at the time that banned homelessness). It became a den for the less desirable side of Edinburgh. It was also so disease-ridden that the police refused to enter them. This led to a perfect hiding place for Messrs Burke and Hare. These two were quite the entrepreneurs. At the time, the government only allowed one body to be dissected per year at the University of Edinburgh. Soon private practices sprung up to teach anatomy, practices that did not have this restriction. At first the bodies of executed prisoners were used, but when that option ran out, other sources had to be found. Let’s just say, many cemeteries had watch towers put in. Burke and Hare saw a need, and decided to fill it by providing bodies – freshly deceased by their own hands bodies – to those doctors willing to pay without question for a corpse. It is said that they were doing quite well, until one night when they killed a “lady of the town” and the next day on the dissection table, several young men recognized her. This led to enquiries and the eventual arrest of the two serial killers. Hare turned on Burke for immunity, and Burke was hung, eviscerated multiple times in front of a live crowd, skinned, had his skin converted into purses, belts, leather book bindings, etc, his skeleton cleaned and wired up, with him standing, his phalanges resting on a book of medical ethics, the binding made of his own rear end. Never let it be said that the Scottish are not creative.

Day 15, 9/9/09 – Okay, so this is all going to be Edinburgh for a while, so… Just assume

Mom and Liz left, which was both harder and easier than I thought. I was ready to start my own adventure, but I was also sad to see the people I was so familiar with go. I moved to my orientation room, met some new people, met my orientation roommate… Okay, if you want to know about roommate issues, email me. I don’t want to go into it here. After dinner, I decided to be social for once and go to a pub with some of the other Butler (Butler is the program I’m studying through) kids. …Mainly, I heard there was a match on and wanted to see it. We went to The Tron (had me thinking megatron all night, but apparently there’s a Tron Kirk nearby) and into their downstairs bar. One of the girls we were with got carded… embarrassing, in a country that lets 16-year-olds drink, no? The match was between Scotland and the Netherlands and was Scotland’s last chance of getting into the World Cup. Sadly, we lost. But I’m getting ahead of myself. There was this somewhat pissed (as in drunk, not angry), over-affectionate older (late 20s) guy why was really enthusiastic about the game. He and I seemed to somewhat connect, in that I was the only person in my group that was more interested in the game than getting drunk (though I did try a vodka cranberry… yeah, don’t like it). When we lost, he held out his arms for a hug so I gave him one. Sweet but tipsy, he reminded me of a drunk teddy bear.

Day 16, 10/9/09

So. Today. Started at 4:30 in the morning. Not by choice. My roommate apparently woke up at 1:30 am, assumed it was time to be up, took a shower and got dressed before she checked what time it was. Luckily, I did not wake up for this. She went back to bed, woke up again at 4:30, Turned All The Lights On In The Room, and then proceeded to chat on the computer, straighten her hair, put her makeup on, with ALL the lights on in the room, before she checked what time it was again. I did wake up for this. I sat up, grabbed my cell to check the time, she said “Good Morning” to me, which I ignored and crawled back into bed. It took her over a half hour to realize that, no, I’m not just a bear in the morning, she was actually up insanely early. Not the best start to my day. We later found out about our homestay weekend – I am living with Jill, who is in TV production and likes gardening, and Stan, an engineer that likes sport, and their dog and parrot – and I got the wonderful revelation that my orientation roomie will once again be my roommate for that weekend. But you know what? She’s not a bad person, and I’m going to blame the lack of common sense on jetlag. Please, let it just be jetlag.

Butler set up a bus tour of the city for us, which covered a lot of info that I already knew with little gems I didn’t. I did get a history of Holyrood Palace that was quite interesting. A forest used to be there and one day King David I went hunting there. He fell off his horse and a stag attacked him. The stag started talking to him (…) and said it would spare his life if he would build a church in that spot. David, of course, agreed. Supposedly a piece of Jesus’ cross was placed there, and so it was called the Holy Rood (Holy Cross). The palace was built over the years as the royals decided they liked the estate.

Day 17, 11/9/09

We learned a lot of stuff about academics. I am scared.

Day 18, 12/9/09

We moved into the dorms today! And my big bag? WAY over 50lbs now. I kept on warning the moving guys that it was heavy, but I felt so guilty watching their faces go from disbelieving-this-girl-must-think-I’m-weak to holy-crap-is-this-thing-holding-bricks?!?!? But we made it to Pollock, and I managed, painfully, to haul my stuff up two flights of stairs. My room is nice, way bigger than the double I shared with Brigie last year. The desks are miniature, though, which is annoying since it looks like the only way I will be able to use the internet is if I’m at my desk. Major sighs. Also, my internet doesn’t work. Any time you have seen me online I have either been stealing my roomie’s internet or at a café terminal. Today I pretty much just unpacked. OH! I have a roommate! She’s from the IFSA-Butler program and her name is Eunis. She is from China but she goes to school near Chicago. She’s a sophomore and thinks she’s going to be a business major.

Day 19, 13/9/09

We got welcomed as international students today. I got lots of info about academics in the sciences. Like, anywhere between a 60-70% is great, and above 70% is genius status. 50-60% is okay, but you could do better. 40-50% is you just barely passed, so either get your butt in gear or talk to someone about why you don’t understand the material. Also, I am going to have lectures, practicals, and tutorials/workshops (depends on the class). And my internet isn’t working. They didn’t activate my internet plug thingie, but hopefully they will fix it by Monday, Tuesday at the latest. Sigh. I was going to go on a ghost tour, but apparently it filled up like 15 min before the event was supposed to start. Message to self: arrive early for everything. I did meet someone from Butler, Khue (pronounced “quay”) who is from Harvard, as well as two Spanish students, Neus and Candela. We all headed to Teviot Row House for Traditional Yummies and a Ceilidh. The yummies included vegetarian haggis (which is SO good, and the first spicy Scottish food I’ve had), tatties (mashed potatoes), neeps (like mashed potatoes but made with turnips) and stovies (kind of like a lamb and potato stew). Oh my gosh, it was all amazing. The haggis, tatties, and neeps usually go together, and the blandness of the starches saved my tastebuds from the spicy haggis, and the stovies, despite having lamb (sorry Liz!) was deliecious! After that, we headed upstairs to a ceilidh (pronounced “kay-lee”), which is a traditional Scottish folk dance. It’s kind of like those structured partner dances you see in the Jane Austin movies, but way less formal, faster, and generally more insane. I really want to bring it back to the 5-C’s. I am planning on joining the New Scotland dance/ceilidh society (societies = clubs). But let me tell you, it is exhausting.

Day 20, 14/9/09

So. Sore. I am not used to that much jumping in my dancing. I went to the Surgeon’s Hall today, which is a history of surgery and also has a large collection of tissue specimens. It was interesting listening to the history of surgery, but it was hard looking at the bone and tissue specimens. They had a collection on display based on injuries sustained during wars from the 1800s and early 1900s. They had skulls and femurs and brain tissue and kidneys and hearts all show through with musket balls or ripped with bayonets. Those were rather difficult to see, I’m horrible at separating these kinds of things from the people who were wounded and died. It didn’t help that they had a collection of paintings made by a doctor during the Napoleonic wars of soldiers’ wounds. After that I was just drained, so I went back to my room and took a nap. Eunis and I then went to IKEA (only 20 min away, burn with jealousy, people) where I bought a hand towel, laundry bag, towel rack, and sun screen.

Day 21, 15/9/09

Today started with a meeting with my DoS (Director of Studies, like an advisor only WAY less involved in your life – they literally press a button to approve your courses and confirm that you do in fact exist). Well, actually, with a lecture aimed at freshmen entering the School of Biological Sciences. Not very useful to me. All of my DoS’s students then met our DoS, Mrs. Mandy Gordon, who seems somewhat frazzled and absent minded, but I don’t need her for much. I then went to the trade fair where I got a lot of free stuff, not all of it useful, before heading to the Bedlam Theater, home of the University of Edinburgh’s theater troupe. I had a soup and a show – tomato and ginger soup, not a fan, and “The Pillowman.” I cannot describe how much I loved “The Pillowman.” I actually started tearing up near the end. The story itself is amazing, but it was also excellently acted. I have to go back sometime this week to see their production of “Adoring April.”

Quick update so Laura doesn't eat me...

Day 8, 2/9/09 – Stonehaven, Johnshaven, Dundee

Today we went to Dunnottar Castle (Dun-OT-ar), which is where they filmed the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet. My sister says it also has Helena Bonahm-Carter, which means I must see it soon. The castle itself wasn’t particularly spectacular, other than this depressing chamber where the held political prisoners (Whigs/ in miserable conditions, but the location of the castle itself is stunning. It’s on a rock outcropping that juts up right on the beach. It’s a great defensive position, but I hate to think of the people and horses who had to haul the castle stones up there. Anyway, the pictures are going to be fabulous, so watch for them. We then went to Johnshaven to go to the Starfish Studio, which has handmade items made from all over Scotland. I got a gorgeous necklace with a painting of a tree on it (terrible description, I know), as well as gifts for several of you lucky folks. We then headed down to Dundee with little drama, though we were sad to find that a museum of Pictish stones was closed when we tried to visit. We had a bit of trouble finding a B&B, but ended up with this amazing elderly but very active couple. They are so incredibly nice and accommodating – if you are ever in Dundee, try to book the Ash Villa Guest House, and it’s only £19 per person per night. OH MY GOSH. I almost forgot to tell you about our dinner. It was with no doubt the best meal I have ever had. We went to this tiny French restaurant near Castle Street called Bon Appetite. There was a little bit of a wait, since we came in right after a party of 12 or so, but it was SO worth it. Everything there is made by hand – no microwaves. I had guinea fowl in a creamy mustard-based sauce with potatoes and grapes; okay, I don’t even like mustard, but I could have kept eating this dish all night. It was gorgeous. For dessert, I had a crème brûlée made with really vanilla beans. My sister and I agree, if we were rich, we would hire these people as our personal chefs.

Day 9, 3/9/09 – Dundee

We decided to stay in Dundee another night, which allows us to do LAUNDRY. Yay! Today it actually started to rain, not a particularly harsh rain, but continuously. We stopped in H&M before heading to Glamis (Glahms, soft ‘a’, no ‘i’). This place seriously looks like a Disney fairy castle. No pictures were allowed inside, as it is where Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was born in 1900. In other news, I’ve been working on a cross-stitching project for Aunt Meg and I finished my first Westie on it! We then went to Fisherman’s Tavern (what else is there to do when it rains but visit indoor castles and eat?) where I had a very spicy chili (the food is generally bland here, but when the say spicy, the usually mean SPICY) and a delicious sticky toffee pudding – possibly my new favorite dessert.

Day 10, 4/9/09 – Dundee, St. Andrews, Perth

We passed by the HM Frigate Unicorn today (in case I haven’t mentioned this before, they LOVE unicorns here). It’s normally a museum, but it was closed, probably due to the rain. It was built in 1824 and is the oldest British ship still afloat – because it never saw action, being replaced by steam ships soon after it was built. Not as majestic as the Dauntless or as sleek as the Interceptor, but a real ship, which I suppose counts for something… Following that, we headed to St. Andrews in order to see its cathedral and castle. The Cathedral is massive, but I was more impressed with the Pictish stone collection they had in their museum. I also got more gifts here… St. Andrews Castle, just down the road and around the corner, had amazing ocean views, as well as an interesting history with the Protestant Reformation. Cardinal Beaton, head guy at the castle, had George Wishart burned on the stake, so in response some Protestants took the castle and killed him in 1546. The Earl of Arran (not Protestant) then put the castle under siege but didn’t directly attack it, as his son was inside the castle. Instead, he built a tunnel that was supposed to destabilize the outer wall of the castle and collapse it. The Protestants built a counter-mine guided only by the sound of the other camp’s digging (not surprisingly, they had 3 false starts) and just managed to barge in on and foil the Earl’s plot. You could actually climb through the mines, starting at the narrow and roughly-made counter-mine and heading towards the Earl’s far more dignified mine (they actually put in steps). The entrance had an “Enter at your own risk” sign… Finally, we headed to Perth

Day 11, 5/9/09 – Perth, Glasgow

There was a Perth Open Studios event starting today where, as the name suggests, local artists in Perthshire open up their studios for the public to come in and see them work. We went to Boo Vake (pronounced bùth bheag… yeah, I don’t know how to say that either) which had a bunch of cute, random little things. We also went to the Tayberry Gallery, which had a bunch of cute, expensive things. We headed off to Glasgow (Glaz-go, no ‘w’ sound, people!) and to a bookshop that supposedly had cats… no cats, but in the car park there was an adorable dog named Jake. Then, the absolute highlight of my day: the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum had a Doctor Who Exhibition!!!!!!!!!! They had TONS of costumes from the new seasons, including THE sneakers. They even had a FULL SIZE TARDIS (well, at least on the outside, we weren’t allowed in…) as well as Cybermen and Daleks. They even had a Weeping Angel! I took so many pictures! I got a DELICIOUS poster of 10, with glasses on, to hang on my wall. I don’t care if my roomie thinks I’m a dork, I love it.

Day 12, 6/9/09 – Glasgow, Edinburgh

Today we went to the Barras, what was supposed to be a huge flea market deal, but it turned out to be a bad version of Ventura’s swap meet. Disappointing, but oh well. We then went to the Glasgow Cathedral where I confirmed that I have very little interest in old religious sites that are still being used for services. Perhaps because I have little interest in religion? We then went to the Necropolis, where they have a bunch of tombs/crypts. I thought I would like it, but instead I was exasperated. For one, I think it’s pathetic that people who are obsessed with vampires hang out there at night, and two, I really have a hard time understanding my mother’s obsessions with graveyards. It’s just… Someone we didn’t know died a long time ago. Someone else we didn’t know put up a pretty stone where the other person is buried. Why do we care? Sigh. After that, we headed over to the St. Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life. Yeah, this was turning out to be a great day for me. I mean, a lot of the idols were pretty, but the museum becomes so much less cool when you realize that most of the statues were brought here as a result of colonization and the raiding of temples to suppress the pagans and steal their gold. We then went to Edinburgh (Ed-in-burr-ah, NO G) where we ate at the pub called Shakespeare’s. Alas, the menu was not in iambic pentameter.

Massive Post Part 1

Okay. This is probably going to be a very long update.

Day 3, 28/8/09 – New Lanark and Stirling

New Lanark was pretty amazing. It’s this World Heritage site with all these beautiful restored mills and houses. Oh! Before I talk about that, on the way up, we stopped by this cute little farm house, and there was a cat outside! He was a little pretentious, which reminded me of Tara, but he just looked so idyllic in front of the farm! Anywho, back to New Lanark (the “r” isn’t really pronounced by the way, so it’s kind of like “lan-ock”). While a gorgeous town all on its own, it is also known for its waterfalls on the River Clyde. We hiked up to them (only like a 20 min hike to the Corra Linn and another 20 min up to Bonnington Linn). Corra Linn is MASSIVE. The pictures really won’t do them any justice. The Bonnington Linn… well, let’s just say that we completely missed it on the way up, and had to search for it on the map before we could back-track and find it. There was a really cute, really narrow iron bridge up there, so if anything the walk was worth it for that. My mom was still terrified of Glasgow, so we headed up to Stirling for the night.

Day 4, 29/8/09 – Stirling

We went to Stirling Castle today, which was pretty, but I just didn’t fall in love with it – as seen by how few pictures I took of it. We also went to Argyll’s Lodging, a gorgeous restoration of a 17^th century nobleman’s house – the Duke of Argyll in particular. Apparently, he was a really rich and important dude. We then went to the Church of the Holy Rude (Rude or Rood meaning cross, but I still found the name amusing). I think I’m just on a not-into-religion kick right now, because I was more annoyed at the fact that it was still a functioning church than impressed with the architecture. Alas and oh well. I also think my annoyance came from the fact that my mother got all pseudo-religious and bought this little keyring of an angel stained glass window, saying it was our “guardian angel.” Whatever. As my sister pointed out, I don’t think the angel would be very helpful when my mother is shouting “Jesus Christ!” at every car that passes us. I had a huge fight with my mom concerning various things. But that’s enough of that.

Day 5, 30/8/09 – Inverlochy, Loch Lochy, Loch Ness, and Inverness

We stopped at this ruined castle at Inverlochy – called Inverlochy Castle, amazing, right? It seemed so sad, beyond the fact that it was in ruins. It seemed lonely, and some idiots had vandalized it. That’s right, some *BLEEPERS* vandalized an 800 year old castle. The history of the castle is kind of sad, too. The Comyn family built it in 1280, but after they tried and failed to oppose Robert the Bruce around 1308 it was pretty much abandoned until Historic Scotland started caring for it. It is right at the point where Loch Linnhe meets Loch Lochy (and isn’t that the cutest name ever?). After that we went to the Bridge of Oich which was made in 1854. It was very innovative because it wasn’t made out of stone but rather cables and of an interesting design that, if the bridge was cut down the middle, it would theoretically still stand, as each side can support itself. We then went to Urquhart (URK-cart) Castle, which is right on Loch Ness. It was nice, but only really worth it for the stunning views of Loch Ness (no monster, though).

Day 6, 31/8/09 – Inverness, Elgin

The first thing we did was go to Cawdor Castle, which is where Shakespeare set Hamlet. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but it really wasn’t anything special until we got outside to the gardens. They had a beautiful structured garden, and then a “wild garden” which was essentially wild woods with walking trails. Some of the trees had wound together so that they looked like Celtic knots. I took a lot of pictures of flowers as an inspiration for the tattoo I’m going to get – I really changed up the design. I might take a picture and post my rudimentary sketch. It’s supposed to be my dad’s initials with wildflowers spilling over parts of the letters. We then went to Broadie Castle, another place where pictures were not allowed. One of the Broadie’s built a huge library, but apparently he was a complete cad otherwise. There was a gorgeous painting of a knight (I think) with his head tipped back and a translucent spirit, possibly an angel, comforting/protecting him, curling over his head. I think I have to email them to find out what that picture is… There were supposed to be baby swans in a nearby lake, but we only saw a big male swan. I still took pictures. After that we went to see Sueno’s Stone, a Pictish stone with a rather pretty cross carved into one side, with intricate knot-work (a “Celtic cross”). The other side depicted an unknown battle. We traveled to Elgin (“gin” rhymes with “win” or “been”, it isn’t like the drink) and lucked into a really nice hotel with a huge bathroom.

Day 7, 1/9/09 – Elgin, Aberdeen, Stonehaven

We started the day trying to get the car mirror fixed. Thrifty (our rental company) wanted us to turn the car in, but my mom decided it would be better to go to the VW dealership/service shop. It turns out that our car was such a new model, they didn’t have our size mirror in stock. Thrifty had said that there was a Thrifty location in Aberdeen, so since we were headed there anyway, we just continued on. Well, first we stopped at Elgin Cathedral. It was pretty, with a “unique octagonal meeting house” that had cool windows – each side had its own design. We went to Tesco for lunch and ate at a park where we found more swans, two males and four females this time. Lizzy fed them so I was able to get lots of pictures of them crowding around her. At one point one of the females got out of the water, but she promptly returned when she thought Lizzy was going to feed them again. We then attempted to go to Aberdeen, but my mom went the wrong way and we ended up in Buckie, a town on the north coast between Elgin and Aberdeen. It was a happy mistake, however, as we got to see a Shetland pony, pet a Shetland horse, and absolutely adore this country cat that was walking down the road! Seriously, this cat was so sweet. It had fleas and I think ticks, but seemed well fed otherwise. It let me hold it for a minute, which was pretty much the highlight of my day, if not week. We got back on the right track and got to visit the Maiden Stone. It is a Pictish stone that supposedly was originally a girl who made a bet with the devil. She of course lost, but as she was trying to run from the devil she cried out to god and he saved her by turning her into this stone. The big chunk missing is where the devil touched her shoulder as she was being transformed. It was kind of shocking that the stone was just out in the open, with absolutely no protection from the elements, but Lizzy says this is normal for Europe. We continued on into Aberdeen, but everywhere was booked because of this Big Oil Conference going on in town, so we traveled south to Stonehaven, a small but popular fishing village, for the night.

Okay. So, quick new post. I found out where I'm going to be living! I'll be in Holland House of the Pollock Halls of Residence. It's going to be a twin... major sighs... but I can deal. What's going to be annoying is that it's... not exactly close to the buildings all my classes are going to be in. I'm going to have to see if there is a good walking rout. Increased sighs. Also, though I have to be in Edinburgh for orientation on the 9th, I don't actually start classes until the 22nd. I don't understand this. It is a dorm with a required meal plan, that I have breakfast and dinner provided Mon-Fri and brunch and dinner provided weekends. I *will* have a roomie... I'm a little concerned, but then I just have to remember that no one can live up to my Brigie, and it's only for one semester... Apparently it is expensive to live there, so it's filled with a bunch of, and I quote, "Bitchy, loud ya's" - a ya being some rich, loud person, or overconfident, loud public school kids - I'm a little unsure about that. But apparently it's beautiful... OH! And I have internet in my room!!! YAY!!!! Okay, it's one in the morning so I need to sleep... ta!