Well, it is Wednesday night, and i'm sitting here staring at my open suitcase trying to figure out how to get everything home without it weighing tooooo much, and it isn't working. *SIGH*
I'm really sorry I haven't blogged since Sunday. It has really been a jam packed few days and what little time I have had to myself I've slept, done homework, or worked on this packing puzzle I have going on here.
I'm really really tired. I promise I will clue you in on the last 4 days in London. Phantom of the Opera, Peter Pan, Changing of the guard and Kensington Palace (Where PRincess Diana lived) Just to name a few things we did. i'll post as soon as I get home and i'm not using tooth picks to hold my eyes open.
Thanks for taking my trip with me. I'll be home in about 24 hours!!!!(If all goes well of course!)
Kait
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Sunday!!! LONDON!
Well it is Sunday night, 10:32 for me, you are all probably taking your Sunday afternoon naps.. or waking up from them.
After a long and exhausting ridiculous train ride from Edinburgh (I really really didn't want to leave) we finally made it to London on Friday afternoon, and to our dorms by 3:00ish. If there was an obstacle to be met, we met it, and everyone wanted to kill each other by the time we had room keys.
Friday night we all went to the BBC Proms concert. They do 45 showings of the same music over a couple weeks time, using different conductors and symphonies, singers, and soloist throughout the weeks. The one we were at was actually broadcast live. It was really interesting to see, but it seemed to get really long after a while, on top of the tired and irritated, we all came to the dorm and shut ourselves away from the world. Sat. morning we got up and had class, I was in a particularly sour mood because by back has been bothering me and then we headed to the British Museum, which is the British equivalent to the Smithsonian (That was totally misspelled) Which was a really bad idea for a Sat. We decided that all of the important museums in the world need to be run by Texans standing around with cattle prods to 'remind' people "DO NOT TOUCH THE OBJECTS"... it was ridiculous. It became very obvious that some cultures don't have the same ideas as we do about precious artifacts. Little kids crawling all over statues from Eqypt and the Easter Islands and their parents just smiling and taking pictures. I blame the British museum people, if you don't want it touched, put a rope around it or something. Heather and i just about had heart attacks a couple times watching people with their hands all marble busts from the Roman period.
We did see some really really interesting egyptian artifacts. Aparently everyone in the world things the egyptians are awesome, because these rooms were packed with people (And all artifacts were securly behind glass walls.. but people were still taking flash photography pictures (which speeds up the deterioration process of inks and fabrics)) Anyway, we left after a couple hours of seeing everything we cared to see (Including the Rosetta stone, which was kind of cool)
I came back to the dorms and went to sleep. Actually I was able to talk to Aaron for almost a full hour, probably the first conversation we have had that I wasn't COMPLTELely exhausted. He cheered me up but I was still exhausted and used the rest of the day to play catch-up on sleep. That night we attempted to go to The Lexington which was supposed to be "Nashville on the Thames" on Sat. nights, but apparently it was really only from 1-4 or something that afternoon, so we didn't stick around their very long.
Today, Heather, Pilar, Park, Megan, and I went to Hampton Court, which is the home to Henry the VII, The king who married 6 times and was the basic reason of the seperation of the Catholic Church from England... the one who decapitated wives for not giving him sons, basically. It was really really interesting. I wish I could have seen more, but with a group like ours, on such a busy day, it was difficult to see everything we wanted. This month has been Henry the VIII month all over London, and theyve been doing reinactments, and today was the last. All throughout the day you had opportunities to see Henry and Catherine Parr get ready for their wedding (His last wedding) You could meet up with her in her chamber to help choose the wedding dress, or go to the wine cellar to help celebrate his 'stag' party, and the wedding, just as it was in real life, was a small private affair no one saw, and then you could meet up with them afterwards to offer your congradulations. It was really a neat thing. I only got to do one step of the whole affair, but it was really nice because they actually acted like you were there during the time the activity was actually going on. They included the crowd, even allowing a couple little girls stand in as bridesmaids, carrying the 'Queens" train. It was an interesting way to learn about some of those things. We stopped in the area of Wimbledon but the girls that went out to the actual Tennis courts found them to be closed today. It isn't nearly as difficult to get around here, because of the Metro system versus having to wait on buses all over Edinburgh.
I'm still enjoying myself, but the exhaustion has definately set in and we are all just ready to get home. Tomorrow is class and tomorrow night I am going to see Phantom of the Opera, and I'm really excited. We also may go see Peter Pan, the theatre version not the disney version, because it is being done in a outdoor theatre. So far, I don't really have any other plans, as usual. I'm just kind of taking the trip as it goes! We will be home about 9:50 Thursday night Tx Time, which will feel like 3:00am for us! YAY! I'm ready to get home and see the cats and Boss (Aaron but me on speaker phone the other day and I talked to Boss and he went nuts jumping all around and licking the phone... HE MISSES ME!! :)) but I'm not ready for the Texas heat!
Have a good couple of days.. I haven't been blogging as frequently, because I'm exhausted before I make it to the computer!!!
I"ll keep you updated! - Kait
After a long and exhausting ridiculous train ride from Edinburgh (I really really didn't want to leave) we finally made it to London on Friday afternoon, and to our dorms by 3:00ish. If there was an obstacle to be met, we met it, and everyone wanted to kill each other by the time we had room keys.
Friday night we all went to the BBC Proms concert. They do 45 showings of the same music over a couple weeks time, using different conductors and symphonies, singers, and soloist throughout the weeks. The one we were at was actually broadcast live. It was really interesting to see, but it seemed to get really long after a while, on top of the tired and irritated, we all came to the dorm and shut ourselves away from the world. Sat. morning we got up and had class, I was in a particularly sour mood because by back has been bothering me and then we headed to the British Museum, which is the British equivalent to the Smithsonian (That was totally misspelled) Which was a really bad idea for a Sat. We decided that all of the important museums in the world need to be run by Texans standing around with cattle prods to 'remind' people "DO NOT TOUCH THE OBJECTS"... it was ridiculous. It became very obvious that some cultures don't have the same ideas as we do about precious artifacts. Little kids crawling all over statues from Eqypt and the Easter Islands and their parents just smiling and taking pictures. I blame the British museum people, if you don't want it touched, put a rope around it or something. Heather and i just about had heart attacks a couple times watching people with their hands all marble busts from the Roman period.
We did see some really really interesting egyptian artifacts. Aparently everyone in the world things the egyptians are awesome, because these rooms were packed with people (And all artifacts were securly behind glass walls.. but people were still taking flash photography pictures (which speeds up the deterioration process of inks and fabrics)) Anyway, we left after a couple hours of seeing everything we cared to see (Including the Rosetta stone, which was kind of cool)
I came back to the dorms and went to sleep. Actually I was able to talk to Aaron for almost a full hour, probably the first conversation we have had that I wasn't COMPLTELely exhausted. He cheered me up but I was still exhausted and used the rest of the day to play catch-up on sleep. That night we attempted to go to The Lexington which was supposed to be "Nashville on the Thames" on Sat. nights, but apparently it was really only from 1-4 or something that afternoon, so we didn't stick around their very long.
Today, Heather, Pilar, Park, Megan, and I went to Hampton Court, which is the home to Henry the VII, The king who married 6 times and was the basic reason of the seperation of the Catholic Church from England... the one who decapitated wives for not giving him sons, basically. It was really really interesting. I wish I could have seen more, but with a group like ours, on such a busy day, it was difficult to see everything we wanted. This month has been Henry the VIII month all over London, and theyve been doing reinactments, and today was the last. All throughout the day you had opportunities to see Henry and Catherine Parr get ready for their wedding (His last wedding) You could meet up with her in her chamber to help choose the wedding dress, or go to the wine cellar to help celebrate his 'stag' party, and the wedding, just as it was in real life, was a small private affair no one saw, and then you could meet up with them afterwards to offer your congradulations. It was really a neat thing. I only got to do one step of the whole affair, but it was really nice because they actually acted like you were there during the time the activity was actually going on. They included the crowd, even allowing a couple little girls stand in as bridesmaids, carrying the 'Queens" train. It was an interesting way to learn about some of those things. We stopped in the area of Wimbledon but the girls that went out to the actual Tennis courts found them to be closed today. It isn't nearly as difficult to get around here, because of the Metro system versus having to wait on buses all over Edinburgh.
I'm still enjoying myself, but the exhaustion has definately set in and we are all just ready to get home. Tomorrow is class and tomorrow night I am going to see Phantom of the Opera, and I'm really excited. We also may go see Peter Pan, the theatre version not the disney version, because it is being done in a outdoor theatre. So far, I don't really have any other plans, as usual. I'm just kind of taking the trip as it goes! We will be home about 9:50 Thursday night Tx Time, which will feel like 3:00am for us! YAY! I'm ready to get home and see the cats and Boss (Aaron but me on speaker phone the other day and I talked to Boss and he went nuts jumping all around and licking the phone... HE MISSES ME!! :)) but I'm not ready for the Texas heat!
Have a good couple of days.. I haven't been blogging as frequently, because I'm exhausted before I make it to the computer!!!
I"ll keep you updated! - Kait
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday and Thursday!!
Oh goodness, my last night in Scotland, and I really don't want to leave. We had beautiful weather again today and its just been really nice and easy.
Yesterday we had class and visited the history of intruments museum and saw tons of really old musical instruments. It was interesting to see how they progressed throughout the years. We visited the University of Edinburgh and saw a little of the campus. It is really old but they've done a lot to modernize it. I think it was established in like 1538 or something.
We originally planned to climb Arthur's Seat which is a really big hill that looks over the entire city, but by the time we were done with class stuff we were too tired and not excited about the climb so we chose to go to the Princes Street Gardens and nap in the park. It is really neat actually that on pretty days people are always picnicing the napping, reading, ect. in the parks all over the city. Heather had bought a copy of Peter Pan so she read to Lori and I while we napped. It was great, the sun was shining and there isn't much wind there because it is kind of a valley and when I opened my eyes, which was rarely, I could look up at Edinburgh Castle! It was great. We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and then came back out to the University to change and grabbed Megan and Park and went back to town for our one visit to a Pub while we were in Scotland. We went to Deacon Brodie's Tavern, which is a really popular pub in the guide books, but was actually one of the nicest and calmest we could find. Most of the others were completely packed. The bartender was Scottish but is studying Business Administration in Florida. We didn't stay long, and took a cab back and were in bed by 1:000.... crazy parties I tell you!!!
Today was a little class then Heather and I took of to do some last minute things. We had at the very last moment decided that we were going to take the train out to Sterling, but first we needed to find the neighborhood her granddad lived in while serving here in WWII. So after waiting for what seemed like forever for a bus that never showed up we ended up walking down to Clarinda's for lunch, because it is our absolute favorite little tea shop. We've been there 3 times and we just had to go back. By the time we made it to where we were going and bought some other last minute souvinier stuff (I know we've been doing 'last minute souviniers' for days!!) It was too late to make it back to the train station and out to Stirling in time to actually see the Castle and make it back in, so we relaxed a little and strolled through town some.
The UK in general is trying to do more in the 'go green' campaign, especially before the Olympics in London in 2012, so they have the little two person 'chariots' that are pulled by bicycles. I've refused for weeks to make one of the take us anywhere.... they are horrible little bikes and the entire city is uphill basically, but heather finally talked me in to it... The poor guy, he was really funny about the whole thing, but I felt horrible for him.
We finally found where her grandad lived, and it was in a part of town we hadn't explored yet, so we just looked around for a little while and found a neat little pub to eat supper in. It was really old and the entire bar and walls were hand carved Mahogany. It was great, the food was laking, much like the rest of the country, but the atmosphere was great. We were fighting the need to go to the dorm and pack. I think we've come up with atleast 30 senarios on how we can just stay here, but they all end with the problem of getting jobs. The little tea place where we go all the time is really tiny and they ask you to share tables, so there were 2 of us at a tabl efor 4 so another couple came and sat down with us. The woman finally interrupted us and asked if we were troubled about going home because we sounded as if we were making excuses not to, which in fact we were. They got a good laugh from the conversation. They were a really sweet Irish couple on their 5th trip to Edinburgh, which isn't very far for them in reality. We have finally come back to the dorms and messed around just long enough that i'll be up until 3:00 trying to pack everything. Its 10:30 and I havne't started, which is not completely my fault. We were sitting in the computer lab and heard some noise going on downstairs outside (Its all open windows, no air conditioning) so we went to check out the commotion and it was a group of electricians (They are having a big energy seminar or something) Running around downstairs in their blue hard hats, bright yellow construction vests, their boots and boxers. It was absolutely hilarious when they realized we could see them. We aren't exactly sure where they've gone but we haven't heard them come back to the building yet.
I have had a really really great couple of days. The weather has been amazing and we've had a lot of fun just roaming the city and getting off of the Royal Mile for a little while. I would just really like to stay here and forget about going to London! haha We do have a busy week planned there though so I'm going to be REALLY exhausted when I get back!!!
Tlak to you soon!! - Kait
Yesterday we had class and visited the history of intruments museum and saw tons of really old musical instruments. It was interesting to see how they progressed throughout the years. We visited the University of Edinburgh and saw a little of the campus. It is really old but they've done a lot to modernize it. I think it was established in like 1538 or something.
We originally planned to climb Arthur's Seat which is a really big hill that looks over the entire city, but by the time we were done with class stuff we were too tired and not excited about the climb so we chose to go to the Princes Street Gardens and nap in the park. It is really neat actually that on pretty days people are always picnicing the napping, reading, ect. in the parks all over the city. Heather had bought a copy of Peter Pan so she read to Lori and I while we napped. It was great, the sun was shining and there isn't much wind there because it is kind of a valley and when I opened my eyes, which was rarely, I could look up at Edinburgh Castle! It was great. We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and then came back out to the University to change and grabbed Megan and Park and went back to town for our one visit to a Pub while we were in Scotland. We went to Deacon Brodie's Tavern, which is a really popular pub in the guide books, but was actually one of the nicest and calmest we could find. Most of the others were completely packed. The bartender was Scottish but is studying Business Administration in Florida. We didn't stay long, and took a cab back and were in bed by 1:000.... crazy parties I tell you!!!
Today was a little class then Heather and I took of to do some last minute things. We had at the very last moment decided that we were going to take the train out to Sterling, but first we needed to find the neighborhood her granddad lived in while serving here in WWII. So after waiting for what seemed like forever for a bus that never showed up we ended up walking down to Clarinda's for lunch, because it is our absolute favorite little tea shop. We've been there 3 times and we just had to go back. By the time we made it to where we were going and bought some other last minute souvinier stuff (I know we've been doing 'last minute souviniers' for days!!) It was too late to make it back to the train station and out to Stirling in time to actually see the Castle and make it back in, so we relaxed a little and strolled through town some.
The UK in general is trying to do more in the 'go green' campaign, especially before the Olympics in London in 2012, so they have the little two person 'chariots' that are pulled by bicycles. I've refused for weeks to make one of the take us anywhere.... they are horrible little bikes and the entire city is uphill basically, but heather finally talked me in to it... The poor guy, he was really funny about the whole thing, but I felt horrible for him.
We finally found where her grandad lived, and it was in a part of town we hadn't explored yet, so we just looked around for a little while and found a neat little pub to eat supper in. It was really old and the entire bar and walls were hand carved Mahogany. It was great, the food was laking, much like the rest of the country, but the atmosphere was great. We were fighting the need to go to the dorm and pack. I think we've come up with atleast 30 senarios on how we can just stay here, but they all end with the problem of getting jobs. The little tea place where we go all the time is really tiny and they ask you to share tables, so there were 2 of us at a tabl efor 4 so another couple came and sat down with us. The woman finally interrupted us and asked if we were troubled about going home because we sounded as if we were making excuses not to, which in fact we were. They got a good laugh from the conversation. They were a really sweet Irish couple on their 5th trip to Edinburgh, which isn't very far for them in reality. We have finally come back to the dorms and messed around just long enough that i'll be up until 3:00 trying to pack everything. Its 10:30 and I havne't started, which is not completely my fault. We were sitting in the computer lab and heard some noise going on downstairs outside (Its all open windows, no air conditioning) so we went to check out the commotion and it was a group of electricians (They are having a big energy seminar or something) Running around downstairs in their blue hard hats, bright yellow construction vests, their boots and boxers. It was absolutely hilarious when they realized we could see them. We aren't exactly sure where they've gone but we haven't heard them come back to the building yet.
I have had a really really great couple of days. The weather has been amazing and we've had a lot of fun just roaming the city and getting off of the Royal Mile for a little while. I would just really like to stay here and forget about going to London! haha We do have a busy week planned there though so I'm going to be REALLY exhausted when I get back!!!
Tlak to you soon!! - Kait
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday and Tuesday
Sorry I didn't make it to my blog yesterday, I didn't get much of anything done honestly. We had class until 3:30, which means it was almost 5:00 before we made it anywhere else. We've seen buses that say "Oceanview Terminal" and we've wanted to take it to go see the ocean, well come to find out "ocean view" is actually the name of a mall out on a bay. The Brittania, which I believe is the Royal Yacht is docked there. It wasn't nearly as exciting as we hoped, but it was something different that the same thing we've seen every other day.
Today after class we went in to town to get some last minute souvinier shopping done. The others are planning on shipping some things home, but I think I will just check both of my bags (I brought a small rolling suitcase as a carry on) and possibly buy a little duffel to carry on with me. That seems a lot cheaper than the almost 100 pounds or 165 dollars it would take to ship something home. Some stores will ship things for you, but i don't have anything I am concerned about getting home. It might get a little heavy, but I think i'll be alright. Heather had a LONG list of things she needed to buy, but she knew exactly where they were so that made it alot easier.
I bought my own pair of 'hammer pants' today. Clay says they aren't 'hammer' pants, they are more Bollywood... or indian ish. They actually are quite versitile, and very comfortable. Mrs. Scott refuses to allow us to wear them on the plane though... I just don't understand!!! haha
Other that that, we got home a little later than usual and I wanted to get my homework done so I can finish the next one tomorrow night, and the last one on the train ride back to London. Procrastination is a gift I tell you! and ineality I'm not even procrastinating that much, its just put me behind on blogging and e-mails, ect.
We are at 9 days away from being back in Texas.. the month has flown by already. London will be busy busy while we are there. The money the school sent with Dr. Scott is holding out well so it looks like he will be able to buy us tickets to 2 'broadway' performances. I want to see Phantom of the Opera and Possibly Lion King, but maybe Wicked instead....It is supposed to be the Wizard of Oz from the wicked witches point of view. Either way it is going to be fun and BUSY. I'm going to be sooooo tired when make it back. I'm threatening to call my massuse to make an appointment for Friday morning. I think momma thinks I'm kidding.. but Im not. These beds are horrible.... probably not any worse than my dorm room bed from the first year in college... but its bad. Between the bed and cold weather I stay tied up in knots.
The weather was interesting today. It was almost hot.. I know can you imagine. Of course I was wearing my hoodie, but if I took it off I would have been cold. It just kind of 'spit' most of the afternoon but never really rained. Praying for clear skies for just a couple more days.. We are trying to send it to Texas I promise.
Have a good couple of days. I'm sure i'll be blogging soon!
Kait
Today after class we went in to town to get some last minute souvinier shopping done. The others are planning on shipping some things home, but I think I will just check both of my bags (I brought a small rolling suitcase as a carry on) and possibly buy a little duffel to carry on with me. That seems a lot cheaper than the almost 100 pounds or 165 dollars it would take to ship something home. Some stores will ship things for you, but i don't have anything I am concerned about getting home. It might get a little heavy, but I think i'll be alright. Heather had a LONG list of things she needed to buy, but she knew exactly where they were so that made it alot easier.
I bought my own pair of 'hammer pants' today. Clay says they aren't 'hammer' pants, they are more Bollywood... or indian ish. They actually are quite versitile, and very comfortable. Mrs. Scott refuses to allow us to wear them on the plane though... I just don't understand!!! haha
Other that that, we got home a little later than usual and I wanted to get my homework done so I can finish the next one tomorrow night, and the last one on the train ride back to London. Procrastination is a gift I tell you! and ineality I'm not even procrastinating that much, its just put me behind on blogging and e-mails, ect.
We are at 9 days away from being back in Texas.. the month has flown by already. London will be busy busy while we are there. The money the school sent with Dr. Scott is holding out well so it looks like he will be able to buy us tickets to 2 'broadway' performances. I want to see Phantom of the Opera and Possibly Lion King, but maybe Wicked instead....It is supposed to be the Wizard of Oz from the wicked witches point of view. Either way it is going to be fun and BUSY. I'm going to be sooooo tired when make it back. I'm threatening to call my massuse to make an appointment for Friday morning. I think momma thinks I'm kidding.. but Im not. These beds are horrible.... probably not any worse than my dorm room bed from the first year in college... but its bad. Between the bed and cold weather I stay tied up in knots.
The weather was interesting today. It was almost hot.. I know can you imagine. Of course I was wearing my hoodie, but if I took it off I would have been cold. It just kind of 'spit' most of the afternoon but never really rained. Praying for clear skies for just a couple more days.. We are trying to send it to Texas I promise.
Have a good couple of days. I'm sure i'll be blogging soon!
Kait
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Busy Fun Amazing weekend!
I hope you have plenty of time to read this because it is probably going to be a long message!
Ok, Sat. We woke up at 6:00am to make it to the tourist station at 7:45 to leave for the tour to the Highlands. I won't lie, I slept through a few miles of the begining of the trip. The Scottish lowlands really do just look like the Texas Hill country. I know that isn't what you want to hear, but it is the truth. They are plowed up in fields that resemble potatoes and wheat and are seperated by hedges or low fences. Give me a break, it was like 8:00am! lol
We stopped in a little town, which I could never say or spell the name of. Pitlochry is something like it. There have been tourists coming here since Queen Victoria started visiting hundreds of years ago, and that is the complete reason for the town to be there. There is a nice little creek that runs through town, like most of the little towns in the Highlands.
We drove a little further while he told stories about Mary Queen of Scots and answered some questions. Then we stopped at the Laggan Dam, which there are pictures of on the newest slideshow. We took a few pictures and jumped back on the bus. It was a 'luxury mini bus' that held about 36 people, half of which didn't speak a word of English I don't think, and as we've learned with people from Europe especially eastern europe (Asian/Muslim countries, russia, ect.) They dont shower regularly and don't know how to use deodorant!!! It was definately a little distracting, kind of like the 2 spanish children that were basically screaming through the entire trip. It kind of made it entertaining for us though, because we were some of the only ones that could not only understand english, but could somewhat understand his accent enough to understand his stories and jokes.
Next stop was FT. Augustus which is based beside Loch Ness. We bought sandwiches and walked down to the shore to eat. There was a family with two little boys having a picnic and the boys were running around in the water and were very entertaining. The oldest one was eating watermelon and chasing his little brother around trying to spit seeds at him, and when the little one got far enough away he'd turn around and taunt his brother with "nanny nanny boo boo" It was hilarious, and the next thing we knew big brother had caught a fish with his hands! Just a little fish, minnow size or so, but he had caught him with his hands!! It was a amazing. I hopped across some rocks so my picture could get taken while I was 'in' Loch Ness. I would have waded in but I was wearing tights and didn't want to get them wet. The water near the shore was actually really warm. We didn't see Nessie but the locals really seem to believe she is there.
We then headed off to Ft. Williams where they were having their 'highland games' which I described is a very ancient version of olympic throwing events. They throw hammers, and heavy shot put type balls and Cabers which are big sticks that look like telephone polls that they hold vertically and run with and try to throw up and far enough that it flips end-over-end. Well, we stopped there for an hour and while we are walking around looking at exhibitions we hear an announcement looking for people from North America to make up a North American tug-of-war team. Yes, I talked Heather in to it. We waited a little while longer and he called again looking for some people and some guy walked by telling us we should go, so we did. Come to find out we were joining a family from Canada. Mom, teenage son, teenage daughter, and Dad. We grabbed Lori and another Canadian girl walked up. So we had 6 women and 2 guys. We thought it was no big deal, because they were having a hard time even getting another team together to compete against us. Well time comes for the tug-of-war and we all go merrily to our places and suddenly there are like 6 teams! We were stuck against a group of locals that just slaughtered us on the first pull and we held our own a little better the second time around but we were murdered again. It was hilarious. The guys were HUGE! The whole time Dr. Scotts wife just sat in the stands shaking her head like she couldn't believe that we did it. (We bought t-shirts when we were done) lol I have to steal the pictures from Heather but I don't have a jump drive with me to get them from Facebook yet. The mom told us we had made her 'holiday' by joining with them and we even heard them say 'aye' a couple times! We had a great time there then it was off for a drive through the hills.
We saw a lot of pretty country and stopped at a valley crossing known as Glen Coe and the Valley of Sorrows which has a really dark past as the location of one of the largest massacres and the only recorded breach of 'highland hospitality' that has ever happened. I don't remember the details exactly on which King of England ect. that was involved but basically he wanted all of the Clan leaders to plead allegiance to him by New Years and the leader of the Macdonald clan made it to town on time but no one was there and so he went on to another town to do his allegiance and it wasn't 'on time' and the King didn't realize that he had done it later, ect. So he sent men from the Campbell clan there and they stayed with the families and lived with there recieving "highland hospitality... what you want you get" for 10 days and the next morning their leader told them to kill everyone so they turned on the Macdonald clan and killed 179 people and only 40 managed to get away. There were a few really horrible stories included with the escape. The land is beautiful in the area but you can, maybe it was just the story, but you can kind of just feel a quietness about the area. There are a few pictures of this place as well.
There is a trail that leads from Glascow 97 miles through the Highlands (a walking trail) and he told us how in Scotland there are no tresspassing laws. As long as you stay 50meters away from a residence and you don't distrub a farmers animals or crops you are allowed to wander the hills anywhere you choose. This is why Elizabeth is called the Queen of England and Elizabeth Queen of The Scots because the land belongs to the people, she only has control of the people, unlike her control in England where basically everything belongs to her.
After Glen Coe we traveled back down to the lowlands and near Stirling and he cleared up a lot of myths about the movie we've all seen, Braveheart, and the fact that there is no recording that Robert the Bruce ever even met William Wallace and that the 'blue faces' happened alost 1200 years before the battles at Stirling Castle. The whole time he was trying to tell the story though, the microphone kept going out. He was a great story teller and every time he got to the perfect part of the story the mic would cut out, then he would bang on it for a little while and then he woudl start over and the mic would cut out. It was really getting funny after a little while but then it was annoying beause he couldn't finish his stories and at one point he had been banging on the mic with a screwdriver and we passed a sign that said "Frustration Causes Accidents" and everyone laughed histarically. They have signs up like that all over in different places, another one says "Tiredness causes accidents" but the timing and placement for that one was just perfect and we got a great laugh out of it. Steve was a great sport and was just as funny as tour guides are supposed to be. He told us how kilts originated in the Highlands.. which is kind of disgusting actually, but he never told us how kilts became the classic that they are now.
I'm going to keep going, even though it is pretty long already but I have another day to talk about. The original kilts were made out of a really really heavy greyish wool material that they would lay out on the groud and take heather flowers and leaves and sticks and crunch them up and sprinkle them on the fabric and urinate on the fabric causing the dyes in the sticks and stuff to stain the fabric. They would then slather it with animal fat to 'waterproof it' It was the first basic 'camo' design. Then they would fold part of it up in flaps or pleats and wrap that section around their midsection, but high around their chest and the non pleated part was wrapped over the shoulder and pinned in place to wher it could be unwrapped and used as rain cover or a blanket while they were out with the 'hairy coo' which is their version of the Texas Longhorn. I told you it was kind of disgusting.
We made it back to Edinburgh about 8:00pm, 12 hours and almost 600km later. We got there as they were having a clan parade up the royal mile. It was absolutely ridiculous. People were packed 8 and 10 deep on the sidewalk and then they stopped the whole parade to let buses by, so we gave up and went back to the dorms. It had been sunny and warm all day... imagine that, we head north with layers of clothes expecting it to be wet and cold and there isn't a cloud in sight!
Today we slept in a little and had breakfast at 9:00 and headed down to Hollyrood to "The Gathering, Homecoming 2009" We started the day watching the Red Hot Chilli Pipers.... yes PIPERS. It was AWESOME!!! They are basically a rock band with bagpipes. I know it sounds really strange but it was really really awesome. At one point the lead guitarist and one of the pipers were playing side by side, same melody ect. and you couldn't seperate the two sounds. It was perfectly matched and in tune and just absolutely amazing. They even had a little Jazz trio, a trumpet, saxaphone, and trombone that came out and played. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwrvHnYpwkk is the link to the YouTube video. I don't if know it will work for you guys but it is really cool.
The rest of the day we walked around looking at exhibitions and went to the Clan Village to find Dr. Scott's family clan. We ended up meeting a couple families from texas, one of which had a grandson that plays in the band at ASU! How crazy and small is this world?
We went to the whisky tasting tent and paid about $8.00 and got a whisky tasting glass and tickets to try 3 different whiskys. I'm not much of a whisky drinker I learned. They just give you a fraction of a little glass, all 3 samples don't even equal out to a full 1 ounce shot. The first one wasn't bad but the last 2 were just not right for me. Funny thing is that the one we tried was the one our bus driver told us to try and it is the one we, Heather, Dr. Scott, and I, liked the most. The scotsman knows best I guess.
It was a really good weekend. Todays weather was nice, it sprinkled on us a little, and the rain last night had the grounds really messy and mucky, but it was overall a good day. We finished up the day stopping at a grocery store to get some little things, bottled water, ect. Now we are back and i've spent a lot of time typing this blog and answering e-mails and talking to friends.
I hope I haven't left too much out. Momma wanted to know what was so funny the other night. We've discovered that the M C Hammer parachute pants are back in fashion over here.. No but really, and they are even worse than they were the first time aruond because they are made to look like bohemian hippie pants. Heather had found a pair for like $6 at this store and she HAD to buy them and they are absolutely the most hideous thing you've ever seen! They are basically a long floor leng skirt sewn together with leg holes left open, but with a lot of extra material. She pulled them up to her chest, like a strapless dress, and the legs were like capris, and I swear to you a 9 month pregnant woman could wear it and the material wouldn't stretch over her belly. They were this hideous pea green color so we were talking about all the fantasttic halloween costumes she could make out of these hideous pants. You probably had to be here to get the humor of the moment, but they are absolutely hilarious.
Hmm, well i think that just about covers the basics for the weekend. Hopefully it has been entertaining and a little educational! I know my creative writing skills aren't quite what they were last year and i'm not painting pictures as well, but I hope that you can find some humor in my moments.
This was my last weekend in Scotland, thats kind of saddennign to think about but next weekend is in London and then it is home to the real world and school again, but this time I'll be working on a whole new degree!
Have a great week! Talk to you soon- Kait
Ok, Sat. We woke up at 6:00am to make it to the tourist station at 7:45 to leave for the tour to the Highlands. I won't lie, I slept through a few miles of the begining of the trip. The Scottish lowlands really do just look like the Texas Hill country. I know that isn't what you want to hear, but it is the truth. They are plowed up in fields that resemble potatoes and wheat and are seperated by hedges or low fences. Give me a break, it was like 8:00am! lol
We stopped in a little town, which I could never say or spell the name of. Pitlochry is something like it. There have been tourists coming here since Queen Victoria started visiting hundreds of years ago, and that is the complete reason for the town to be there. There is a nice little creek that runs through town, like most of the little towns in the Highlands.
We drove a little further while he told stories about Mary Queen of Scots and answered some questions. Then we stopped at the Laggan Dam, which there are pictures of on the newest slideshow. We took a few pictures and jumped back on the bus. It was a 'luxury mini bus' that held about 36 people, half of which didn't speak a word of English I don't think, and as we've learned with people from Europe especially eastern europe (Asian/Muslim countries, russia, ect.) They dont shower regularly and don't know how to use deodorant!!! It was definately a little distracting, kind of like the 2 spanish children that were basically screaming through the entire trip. It kind of made it entertaining for us though, because we were some of the only ones that could not only understand english, but could somewhat understand his accent enough to understand his stories and jokes.
Next stop was FT. Augustus which is based beside Loch Ness. We bought sandwiches and walked down to the shore to eat. There was a family with two little boys having a picnic and the boys were running around in the water and were very entertaining. The oldest one was eating watermelon and chasing his little brother around trying to spit seeds at him, and when the little one got far enough away he'd turn around and taunt his brother with "nanny nanny boo boo" It was hilarious, and the next thing we knew big brother had caught a fish with his hands! Just a little fish, minnow size or so, but he had caught him with his hands!! It was a amazing. I hopped across some rocks so my picture could get taken while I was 'in' Loch Ness. I would have waded in but I was wearing tights and didn't want to get them wet. The water near the shore was actually really warm. We didn't see Nessie but the locals really seem to believe she is there.
We then headed off to Ft. Williams where they were having their 'highland games' which I described is a very ancient version of olympic throwing events. They throw hammers, and heavy shot put type balls and Cabers which are big sticks that look like telephone polls that they hold vertically and run with and try to throw up and far enough that it flips end-over-end. Well, we stopped there for an hour and while we are walking around looking at exhibitions we hear an announcement looking for people from North America to make up a North American tug-of-war team. Yes, I talked Heather in to it. We waited a little while longer and he called again looking for some people and some guy walked by telling us we should go, so we did. Come to find out we were joining a family from Canada. Mom, teenage son, teenage daughter, and Dad. We grabbed Lori and another Canadian girl walked up. So we had 6 women and 2 guys. We thought it was no big deal, because they were having a hard time even getting another team together to compete against us. Well time comes for the tug-of-war and we all go merrily to our places and suddenly there are like 6 teams! We were stuck against a group of locals that just slaughtered us on the first pull and we held our own a little better the second time around but we were murdered again. It was hilarious. The guys were HUGE! The whole time Dr. Scotts wife just sat in the stands shaking her head like she couldn't believe that we did it. (We bought t-shirts when we were done) lol I have to steal the pictures from Heather but I don't have a jump drive with me to get them from Facebook yet. The mom told us we had made her 'holiday' by joining with them and we even heard them say 'aye' a couple times! We had a great time there then it was off for a drive through the hills.
We saw a lot of pretty country and stopped at a valley crossing known as Glen Coe and the Valley of Sorrows which has a really dark past as the location of one of the largest massacres and the only recorded breach of 'highland hospitality' that has ever happened. I don't remember the details exactly on which King of England ect. that was involved but basically he wanted all of the Clan leaders to plead allegiance to him by New Years and the leader of the Macdonald clan made it to town on time but no one was there and so he went on to another town to do his allegiance and it wasn't 'on time' and the King didn't realize that he had done it later, ect. So he sent men from the Campbell clan there and they stayed with the families and lived with there recieving "highland hospitality... what you want you get" for 10 days and the next morning their leader told them to kill everyone so they turned on the Macdonald clan and killed 179 people and only 40 managed to get away. There were a few really horrible stories included with the escape. The land is beautiful in the area but you can, maybe it was just the story, but you can kind of just feel a quietness about the area. There are a few pictures of this place as well.
There is a trail that leads from Glascow 97 miles through the Highlands (a walking trail) and he told us how in Scotland there are no tresspassing laws. As long as you stay 50meters away from a residence and you don't distrub a farmers animals or crops you are allowed to wander the hills anywhere you choose. This is why Elizabeth is called the Queen of England and Elizabeth Queen of The Scots because the land belongs to the people, she only has control of the people, unlike her control in England where basically everything belongs to her.
After Glen Coe we traveled back down to the lowlands and near Stirling and he cleared up a lot of myths about the movie we've all seen, Braveheart, and the fact that there is no recording that Robert the Bruce ever even met William Wallace and that the 'blue faces' happened alost 1200 years before the battles at Stirling Castle. The whole time he was trying to tell the story though, the microphone kept going out. He was a great story teller and every time he got to the perfect part of the story the mic would cut out, then he would bang on it for a little while and then he woudl start over and the mic would cut out. It was really getting funny after a little while but then it was annoying beause he couldn't finish his stories and at one point he had been banging on the mic with a screwdriver and we passed a sign that said "Frustration Causes Accidents" and everyone laughed histarically. They have signs up like that all over in different places, another one says "Tiredness causes accidents" but the timing and placement for that one was just perfect and we got a great laugh out of it. Steve was a great sport and was just as funny as tour guides are supposed to be. He told us how kilts originated in the Highlands.. which is kind of disgusting actually, but he never told us how kilts became the classic that they are now.
I'm going to keep going, even though it is pretty long already but I have another day to talk about. The original kilts were made out of a really really heavy greyish wool material that they would lay out on the groud and take heather flowers and leaves and sticks and crunch them up and sprinkle them on the fabric and urinate on the fabric causing the dyes in the sticks and stuff to stain the fabric. They would then slather it with animal fat to 'waterproof it' It was the first basic 'camo' design. Then they would fold part of it up in flaps or pleats and wrap that section around their midsection, but high around their chest and the non pleated part was wrapped over the shoulder and pinned in place to wher it could be unwrapped and used as rain cover or a blanket while they were out with the 'hairy coo' which is their version of the Texas Longhorn. I told you it was kind of disgusting.
We made it back to Edinburgh about 8:00pm, 12 hours and almost 600km later. We got there as they were having a clan parade up the royal mile. It was absolutely ridiculous. People were packed 8 and 10 deep on the sidewalk and then they stopped the whole parade to let buses by, so we gave up and went back to the dorms. It had been sunny and warm all day... imagine that, we head north with layers of clothes expecting it to be wet and cold and there isn't a cloud in sight!
Today we slept in a little and had breakfast at 9:00 and headed down to Hollyrood to "The Gathering, Homecoming 2009" We started the day watching the Red Hot Chilli Pipers.... yes PIPERS. It was AWESOME!!! They are basically a rock band with bagpipes. I know it sounds really strange but it was really really awesome. At one point the lead guitarist and one of the pipers were playing side by side, same melody ect. and you couldn't seperate the two sounds. It was perfectly matched and in tune and just absolutely amazing. They even had a little Jazz trio, a trumpet, saxaphone, and trombone that came out and played. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwrvHnYpwkk is the link to the YouTube video. I don't if know it will work for you guys but it is really cool.
The rest of the day we walked around looking at exhibitions and went to the Clan Village to find Dr. Scott's family clan. We ended up meeting a couple families from texas, one of which had a grandson that plays in the band at ASU! How crazy and small is this world?
We went to the whisky tasting tent and paid about $8.00 and got a whisky tasting glass and tickets to try 3 different whiskys. I'm not much of a whisky drinker I learned. They just give you a fraction of a little glass, all 3 samples don't even equal out to a full 1 ounce shot. The first one wasn't bad but the last 2 were just not right for me. Funny thing is that the one we tried was the one our bus driver told us to try and it is the one we, Heather, Dr. Scott, and I, liked the most. The scotsman knows best I guess.
It was a really good weekend. Todays weather was nice, it sprinkled on us a little, and the rain last night had the grounds really messy and mucky, but it was overall a good day. We finished up the day stopping at a grocery store to get some little things, bottled water, ect. Now we are back and i've spent a lot of time typing this blog and answering e-mails and talking to friends.
I hope I haven't left too much out. Momma wanted to know what was so funny the other night. We've discovered that the M C Hammer parachute pants are back in fashion over here.. No but really, and they are even worse than they were the first time aruond because they are made to look like bohemian hippie pants. Heather had found a pair for like $6 at this store and she HAD to buy them and they are absolutely the most hideous thing you've ever seen! They are basically a long floor leng skirt sewn together with leg holes left open, but with a lot of extra material. She pulled them up to her chest, like a strapless dress, and the legs were like capris, and I swear to you a 9 month pregnant woman could wear it and the material wouldn't stretch over her belly. They were this hideous pea green color so we were talking about all the fantasttic halloween costumes she could make out of these hideous pants. You probably had to be here to get the humor of the moment, but they are absolutely hilarious.
Hmm, well i think that just about covers the basics for the weekend. Hopefully it has been entertaining and a little educational! I know my creative writing skills aren't quite what they were last year and i'm not painting pictures as well, but I hope that you can find some humor in my moments.
This was my last weekend in Scotland, thats kind of saddennign to think about but next weekend is in London and then it is home to the real world and school again, but this time I'll be working on a whole new degree!
Have a great week! Talk to you soon- Kait
Friday, July 24, 2009
Friday!
Today was a pretty simple day. I had planned to 'take off' for the day and be lazy while doing some homework since we have a busy weekend planned, and it was definately a more relaxed day than usual. We took a test this morning then I went back to my room with some snacks for lunch with the plans of napping and doing homework through the afternoon. I never fell asleep and I finshed my homework quickly so I decided to go in to town on my own to finish some souvinier shopping without worrying about people waiting on me. Aaron already gave me the 'don't go in to town alone' lecture but it was the same bus route I've been taking for 2 weeks and it was 3 in the afternoon and I wasn't going anywhere I hadn't been before!
It turns out while I was shopping that I ran in to the women I've been hanging out with this whole time anyway. They had tried to go to Hollyrood palace (where the royal family stays while in Scotland) but someone important is staying there right now so there are no visitors allowed, so my afternoon alone resting was worth it.
I got the shopping done that I wanted to, my homework is done, and I'm back in time to get to bed early enough to be ready to leave at 6:30am. I am NOT excited about getting up that early but maybe the skies will be nicer tomorrow.
When I headed in to town, the skies looked relatively decent and after I had alreayd weaved my way down the stair case and through the dorms (because we are reluctant to use the elevator) I realized my umbrella was still up in my room. Being lazy I just figured it would stay dry, well of course as soon as I got down town it was a pouring rainfall. I with a few other poor umbrellaless souls were plastering ourselves against a building that had a slight awning because it kept the large rain drops from hitting us, I was still getting wet, but it could have been worse. We just happened to get trapped on the side of a building with no entrances, across the street from a sidewalk that has a terrible slope, so there is a railing all the way down it. We stood there for a good 15 min. before the rain let up enough to run down the street far enough to get around the railing and get in a building. It was just soooo much fun. I'm still trying to figure out how I could have on cowboy boots, half way up my calf and my calves STILL be wet and cold. That is really irritating! Everyone still swears this weather is really strange for Edinburgh.
OH yeah did I mention that the 'bin men' their trash guys are on strike? Yeah so in a lot of places there is trash just piled up. They've done a good job of keeping it off of the Royal Mile because the Queen was in town speaking to parliament a couple days ago, and then this Homecoming 2009 or "The Gathering" is going on so they are trying to keep things clean this weekend but earlier this week it was disgusting.
Find the number for a good taxidermist because i hope to be bringing Nellie Home with me. Not sure how I'll manage to do that and get her stuffed without killing her since it is illegal but I'll get around those rules somehow! haha Maybe we'll just stuff her and put her next to the elephant Sir Rogers.
It is off to bed now. I probably won't update tomorrow but I'll try to fit in everything this weekend after our busy day Sunday!
Have a great weekend. Try to stay cool and eat some Mexican food for me!
kait
It turns out while I was shopping that I ran in to the women I've been hanging out with this whole time anyway. They had tried to go to Hollyrood palace (where the royal family stays while in Scotland) but someone important is staying there right now so there are no visitors allowed, so my afternoon alone resting was worth it.
I got the shopping done that I wanted to, my homework is done, and I'm back in time to get to bed early enough to be ready to leave at 6:30am. I am NOT excited about getting up that early but maybe the skies will be nicer tomorrow.
When I headed in to town, the skies looked relatively decent and after I had alreayd weaved my way down the stair case and through the dorms (because we are reluctant to use the elevator) I realized my umbrella was still up in my room. Being lazy I just figured it would stay dry, well of course as soon as I got down town it was a pouring rainfall. I with a few other poor umbrellaless souls were plastering ourselves against a building that had a slight awning because it kept the large rain drops from hitting us, I was still getting wet, but it could have been worse. We just happened to get trapped on the side of a building with no entrances, across the street from a sidewalk that has a terrible slope, so there is a railing all the way down it. We stood there for a good 15 min. before the rain let up enough to run down the street far enough to get around the railing and get in a building. It was just soooo much fun. I'm still trying to figure out how I could have on cowboy boots, half way up my calf and my calves STILL be wet and cold. That is really irritating! Everyone still swears this weather is really strange for Edinburgh.
OH yeah did I mention that the 'bin men' their trash guys are on strike? Yeah so in a lot of places there is trash just piled up. They've done a good job of keeping it off of the Royal Mile because the Queen was in town speaking to parliament a couple days ago, and then this Homecoming 2009 or "The Gathering" is going on so they are trying to keep things clean this weekend but earlier this week it was disgusting.
Find the number for a good taxidermist because i hope to be bringing Nellie Home with me. Not sure how I'll manage to do that and get her stuffed without killing her since it is illegal but I'll get around those rules somehow! haha Maybe we'll just stuff her and put her next to the elephant Sir Rogers.
It is off to bed now. I probably won't update tomorrow but I'll try to fit in everything this weekend after our busy day Sunday!
Have a great weekend. Try to stay cool and eat some Mexican food for me!
kait
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Thursday!
This morning was class as usual and then we went in to town for a new art exibit that opened featuring Spanish based art. Most of it was done by English or Scottish artists that traveled to Spain at one point or another and did works pertaining to their time there. It was interesting to see the time span that was showcased from the early 1500s to current modern artists.
This afternoon we finally made it to Mary King's Close. It was interesting and different but nothing I'd do again neccessarily. We learned alot about the plague and that time period. It is all houses that were cut off and used as the foundation for the "Royal Exchange building". So you can actually look up while on the main 'street' and see the floorboards of the building above you. It makes you wonder what else is under buildings in this city. The area was at one time a really affluent neighborhood but over time it was run down and the rich moved to a new area and all that was left there were the really poor, which is why the area is so connected to the plague. We also saw the location of the first flushing toilet in Edinburgh while down there, lol. Well where it was located, not so much the actual toilet.
Now we are back at the school to study for the 2nd midterm and work on projects.
We had cloud cover all day but it didn't rain on us until we made it back to the school. The clouds look really interesting today though. There are several layers, some setteling in to fog, some farther in the distance and the sun is bouncing off of them.
We are down to 1 week left here in Edinburgh! Time is flying by, I think i've already said that. Now it is time study and work on homework.
Have a Friday!
Kait
This afternoon we finally made it to Mary King's Close. It was interesting and different but nothing I'd do again neccessarily. We learned alot about the plague and that time period. It is all houses that were cut off and used as the foundation for the "Royal Exchange building". So you can actually look up while on the main 'street' and see the floorboards of the building above you. It makes you wonder what else is under buildings in this city. The area was at one time a really affluent neighborhood but over time it was run down and the rich moved to a new area and all that was left there were the really poor, which is why the area is so connected to the plague. We also saw the location of the first flushing toilet in Edinburgh while down there, lol. Well where it was located, not so much the actual toilet.
Now we are back at the school to study for the 2nd midterm and work on projects.
We had cloud cover all day but it didn't rain on us until we made it back to the school. The clouds look really interesting today though. There are several layers, some setteling in to fog, some farther in the distance and the sun is bouncing off of them.
We are down to 1 week left here in Edinburgh! Time is flying by, I think i've already said that. Now it is time study and work on homework.
Have a Friday!
Kait
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Wednesday! Begining of week 3
We had our mid-term this morning but had the entire afternoon off. We went downtown and tried to get in to the Mary King's Close tour but when they say "early booking recommended" they mean it. We showed up around 12:30 and we couldn't get a tour until 4:30 so we just scheduled to go tomorrow at 4:00.
We went back down the street to Clarinda's for lunch. I had homemade lasagna but I wasn't particularly impressed. I also shared apple pie with ice cream with Lori. The pie was warm and had a crumble crust rather than the traditional american 'weaved' and it was delicious. If there is anything this country got right, it is their desserts!
It started off cloudy and it rained all day. The waiter at Clarinda's told us that this was even strange for them to have this much rain in July. By tonight things have dried up but then the wind starts blowing in. I can't seem to win here!
After lunch it was some more wandering around downtown and then we came back to get ready for a concert tonight. We went back to St. Giles (the church we've been going to, yes there are other churches but we seem to be drawn to this one. It is in the middle of the "Royal Mile" so a lot of things are situated around it) We heard an Organ recital by a internationally renowned German guy who was only 29 and basically didn't stop playing for and hour and a half. It is one of the HUGE pipe organs so the poor guy was moving all 10 fingers and his feet in a million directions at once. It was really interesting to hear and watch.
Now we are back to the dorm. Silly little things happen all day and i can never seem to remember exactly what it was except that we spend a lot of time laughing continuosly. You rarely are in 1 location that everyone around you is speaking the same language and people are everywhere it seems. We do seem to stand out with our Texan politeness but that even happens in big cities in Texas.
As we look towards next week we realize time is flying by and our schedules are booked pretty solid. I'll definately be looking for "Nellie" at Loch Ness this weekend and I'll have my camera ready. If I see her I'll try to catch her, but I have to be careful because it is illigal to kill her if she does exist!
Tomorrow we are off to another art museum and Mary King's Close then I think we will return to study for the 2nd midterm for Fri. and to work on the projects and papers we also have coming up!
I hope you are enjoying the Texsas Heat. I know we'd all be happier if we could find an even medium between the two places.
Kait
We went back down the street to Clarinda's for lunch. I had homemade lasagna but I wasn't particularly impressed. I also shared apple pie with ice cream with Lori. The pie was warm and had a crumble crust rather than the traditional american 'weaved' and it was delicious. If there is anything this country got right, it is their desserts!
It started off cloudy and it rained all day. The waiter at Clarinda's told us that this was even strange for them to have this much rain in July. By tonight things have dried up but then the wind starts blowing in. I can't seem to win here!
After lunch it was some more wandering around downtown and then we came back to get ready for a concert tonight. We went back to St. Giles (the church we've been going to, yes there are other churches but we seem to be drawn to this one. It is in the middle of the "Royal Mile" so a lot of things are situated around it) We heard an Organ recital by a internationally renowned German guy who was only 29 and basically didn't stop playing for and hour and a half. It is one of the HUGE pipe organs so the poor guy was moving all 10 fingers and his feet in a million directions at once. It was really interesting to hear and watch.
Now we are back to the dorm. Silly little things happen all day and i can never seem to remember exactly what it was except that we spend a lot of time laughing continuosly. You rarely are in 1 location that everyone around you is speaking the same language and people are everywhere it seems. We do seem to stand out with our Texan politeness but that even happens in big cities in Texas.
As we look towards next week we realize time is flying by and our schedules are booked pretty solid. I'll definately be looking for "Nellie" at Loch Ness this weekend and I'll have my camera ready. If I see her I'll try to catch her, but I have to be careful because it is illigal to kill her if she does exist!
Tomorrow we are off to another art museum and Mary King's Close then I think we will return to study for the 2nd midterm for Fri. and to work on the projects and papers we also have coming up!
I hope you are enjoying the Texsas Heat. I know we'd all be happier if we could find an even medium between the two places.
Kait
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Tuesday
I have no idea how people in this country get ready in the morning. We woke up today and the sun was shining and there was no wind and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. We went in for class and came back out 2 hours later and there was complete cloud cover and it was raining again.
After we finished with class, we had plans to go to Mary King's Close, which is this mediaeval period tour through a 'close' in downtown Edinburgh. A close is pretty much a tiny alley way that was once a street but because of buildings going up and stuff the spaces are really small now. This close in particular is basically underground and has a wild history based on things that happened mostly during the plague. The people that lived there were very poor and the tour guides are people dressed in period clothing discussing the life of the people that lived there during the time. We didn't actually make it to the Close because we stopped to make reservations for our trip to Loch Ness on Saturday!! The line in the visitors center was ridiculous so we didn't have time for much else afterward. We also got tickets to the Highland games which is part of this "Homecoming 2009" that Edinburgh is putting on this summer. The games will include a fair like atmosphere with field events somewhat like the traditional olympic events going on. Lots of Scottish heritage stuff going on, including some whiskey tasting which I plan to do a little of. That was Aaron's 1 request was some authentic Scottish whiskey, so i figure I should atleast try some out before i bring it home!
The trip to Loch Ness will head out at 8:00am which means we are leaving the university at 6:30 to make sure we get to the pick-up site on time. We could have done a tour that picked us up at the University but it was on a large Charter style bus and the tour we chose is on a 'luxury minibus' which means we'll be in a smaller group. We'll visit a little villiage on our way to the Loch and have lunch when we get there with an optional boat tour on the water, which costs extra of course. Then a lot of the other time is spent driving through the Highlands and stopping to take pictures and things. We'll see Stirling Castle from a distance and some other really popular stuff I'll explain when we get back from the tour. The price is actually really reasonable. $60ish for a 12 hour tour. It sounds better at 36pounds. We have been getting student discounts just about everywhere, including the movie theatre. I was kind of surprised by that. I don't notice student discounts, if we get them, in the US. Even just in San Angelo. Maybe it is just here in Edinburgh because of the large tourist destination.
Oh I almost forgot. We had Haggis tonight!!! It wasn't nearly as creepy and disgusting as I thought it was goign to be. It had the texture of ground deer meat, kind of dry, but it had a brown gravy kind of sauce on it that carried most of the flavor. it was definately edible, but I don't think I'd ever order it for myself as a meal.
I am off to bed. We have a midterm in the morning... yes we are actually doing school work! Have a great Wednesday!
kait
After we finished with class, we had plans to go to Mary King's Close, which is this mediaeval period tour through a 'close' in downtown Edinburgh. A close is pretty much a tiny alley way that was once a street but because of buildings going up and stuff the spaces are really small now. This close in particular is basically underground and has a wild history based on things that happened mostly during the plague. The people that lived there were very poor and the tour guides are people dressed in period clothing discussing the life of the people that lived there during the time. We didn't actually make it to the Close because we stopped to make reservations for our trip to Loch Ness on Saturday!! The line in the visitors center was ridiculous so we didn't have time for much else afterward. We also got tickets to the Highland games which is part of this "Homecoming 2009" that Edinburgh is putting on this summer. The games will include a fair like atmosphere with field events somewhat like the traditional olympic events going on. Lots of Scottish heritage stuff going on, including some whiskey tasting which I plan to do a little of. That was Aaron's 1 request was some authentic Scottish whiskey, so i figure I should atleast try some out before i bring it home!
The trip to Loch Ness will head out at 8:00am which means we are leaving the university at 6:30 to make sure we get to the pick-up site on time. We could have done a tour that picked us up at the University but it was on a large Charter style bus and the tour we chose is on a 'luxury minibus' which means we'll be in a smaller group. We'll visit a little villiage on our way to the Loch and have lunch when we get there with an optional boat tour on the water, which costs extra of course. Then a lot of the other time is spent driving through the Highlands and stopping to take pictures and things. We'll see Stirling Castle from a distance and some other really popular stuff I'll explain when we get back from the tour. The price is actually really reasonable. $60ish for a 12 hour tour. It sounds better at 36pounds. We have been getting student discounts just about everywhere, including the movie theatre. I was kind of surprised by that. I don't notice student discounts, if we get them, in the US. Even just in San Angelo. Maybe it is just here in Edinburgh because of the large tourist destination.
Oh I almost forgot. We had Haggis tonight!!! It wasn't nearly as creepy and disgusting as I thought it was goign to be. It had the texture of ground deer meat, kind of dry, but it had a brown gravy kind of sauce on it that carried most of the flavor. it was definately edible, but I don't think I'd ever order it for myself as a meal.
I am off to bed. We have a midterm in the morning... yes we are actually doing school work! Have a great Wednesday!
kait
Monday, July 20, 2009
Monday!
We started back to class again today, which is why I didn't blog yesterday. I knew I had a busy week ahead, and I had just finished a non-stop week and I just took a little time to myself. You didn't miss much on Sunday.
We went back to St. Giles for a later service, which allowed us to sleep in a little. We stayed downtown for the rest of the afternoon and went to some shops we had seen things in and found some new places to look. I wouldn't ever imagine that cobblestones and 3 story 200+year old houses would get to be a 'normal' thing to see, but I've gotten there I think. The city is definately beautiful and unique to anything we have in the US. I could live here easily if the dang wind would quit blowing.
We went to a 'high tea' at 3:00 at the Balmoaral Hotel. It is a very fancy hotel and we had a very fancy tea with a variety of finger sandwiches, scones (a glorified biscuit) and cakes. It was enough food for an army. With the tea itself they brough out 'tea cakes' like Granny Dot used to make. That was great for me to have. They had a blackberry jam I tried with them that was fantastic. I tried everything, and most of it was amazing. For most of you, you know that I'm satisfied with Ramen noodles and a ham and cheese sandwich so getting me to try anything new is a stretch.
In the variety was a salmon and cucumber sandwich, which I was determined to try, even though I HATE seafood. I was pretty impressed with myself for even trying, so I took a tiny bite and made a realization. It had fresh Dill on it. I couldn't even taste the salmon because the horrid memories of a month full of fresh dill ran thorugh my senses. I did what I could to swallow it quickly, but the taste just overtook me. I have never had a reaction to a food taste quite like that one. I seriuosly didn't even have a chance to notice how the salmon tasted. Everyone looked at me like I had lost my mind, and I kind of felt like I had, but for those of you who read my blogs from last year, you know that Dill was the last thing I ever wanted to see again... minus the Russian men in speedos.
We finally have sunshine for the first time in a week and the wind won't quit blowing. And it is an icy cold wind coming off of the North Sea (I think) Its just like a tease to wake up in the morning and see blue skies and walk out side and still be miserably cold. The ground has finally dried out enough that the soccer teams are back on the fields. I haven't seen anyone out there for several days.
The Italians are still here, and as annoying as can be. I swear to you that every child between 12-15 from Italy is in Edinburgh right now. You think I am exaggerating, but they are EVERYWHERE, and it isn't just the ones staying on our campus. There are groups of them at different universities all over the city. We are just thankful that they are not in our dorm.
After class, 3:00, we went in to town just for a little while and had an early supper. We've been eating pretty small lunches, and going to bed reasonably early, which makes it easy, and convinient during tourist season, to eat early. I just had a plain old burger, but I made the mistake of putting mustard on it, which was REALLY stong on the vinegar side, but the burger was good over all. It was at a little pub and it came with fries, which were really good, and a little salad.
I have several projects due in the next few days, so I guess I should get some research done.
Thanks again for reading! Kait
We went back to St. Giles for a later service, which allowed us to sleep in a little. We stayed downtown for the rest of the afternoon and went to some shops we had seen things in and found some new places to look. I wouldn't ever imagine that cobblestones and 3 story 200+year old houses would get to be a 'normal' thing to see, but I've gotten there I think. The city is definately beautiful and unique to anything we have in the US. I could live here easily if the dang wind would quit blowing.
We went to a 'high tea' at 3:00 at the Balmoaral Hotel. It is a very fancy hotel and we had a very fancy tea with a variety of finger sandwiches, scones (a glorified biscuit) and cakes. It was enough food for an army. With the tea itself they brough out 'tea cakes' like Granny Dot used to make. That was great for me to have. They had a blackberry jam I tried with them that was fantastic. I tried everything, and most of it was amazing. For most of you, you know that I'm satisfied with Ramen noodles and a ham and cheese sandwich so getting me to try anything new is a stretch.
In the variety was a salmon and cucumber sandwich, which I was determined to try, even though I HATE seafood. I was pretty impressed with myself for even trying, so I took a tiny bite and made a realization. It had fresh Dill on it. I couldn't even taste the salmon because the horrid memories of a month full of fresh dill ran thorugh my senses. I did what I could to swallow it quickly, but the taste just overtook me. I have never had a reaction to a food taste quite like that one. I seriuosly didn't even have a chance to notice how the salmon tasted. Everyone looked at me like I had lost my mind, and I kind of felt like I had, but for those of you who read my blogs from last year, you know that Dill was the last thing I ever wanted to see again... minus the Russian men in speedos.
We finally have sunshine for the first time in a week and the wind won't quit blowing. And it is an icy cold wind coming off of the North Sea (I think) Its just like a tease to wake up in the morning and see blue skies and walk out side and still be miserably cold. The ground has finally dried out enough that the soccer teams are back on the fields. I haven't seen anyone out there for several days.
The Italians are still here, and as annoying as can be. I swear to you that every child between 12-15 from Italy is in Edinburgh right now. You think I am exaggerating, but they are EVERYWHERE, and it isn't just the ones staying on our campus. There are groups of them at different universities all over the city. We are just thankful that they are not in our dorm.
After class, 3:00, we went in to town just for a little while and had an early supper. We've been eating pretty small lunches, and going to bed reasonably early, which makes it easy, and convinient during tourist season, to eat early. I just had a plain old burger, but I made the mistake of putting mustard on it, which was REALLY stong on the vinegar side, but the burger was good over all. It was at a little pub and it came with fries, which were really good, and a little salad.
I have several projects due in the next few days, so I guess I should get some research done.
Thanks again for reading! Kait
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Saturday, a little sunshine
Today had a little later start, but not by much. We made it to the Royal Botanical Gardens without getting rained on, but it was still a little chilly to really enjoy them too much. The rest of the day's plans was to include a new modern scutpture garden. As soon as we made it to the bus exchange the heavens opened up and just POURED. It was the worst rainfall we've been caught in so far, so Dr. Scott called off the second garden trip and we went back to the University.
I took a little nap and met up with Heather and the Scotts (Dr. Scott, the group leader, his wife Debborah, and their 15 year old daughter Lori) and we went to see the new Harry Potter movie. I was by far the most lost. I haven't watched any of the other movies and haven't read a book since the 3rd one in like 8th grade. Heather updated me throughout so it made sense. Lori wants to watch it in the states when she gets back to see if anything is different. I told her that the only difference is going to be that in the states you will watch the movie full of British accents and walk out hearing Texans, here we watched it with British accents and it never changed when we left. We were still hearing Brittish/Scottish accents.
We met a lady at a bus stop a couple days ago, and I told momma I'd tell you about her. She was an older lady who grew up here during the war. She was just soo excited to talk to us and asking lots of questions. She was definately from a time when your last name mean EVERYTHING. A time of set social classes and monetary value to a name. I had no idea who she was talking about, but I humored her.
She told us, after hearing where we are from, that during the war time everyone was rationed a comb and they used it until it just wasn't usable at all. She said the teeth would fall out and you were left with just pieces of comb left, which they called their 'Texas' comb..... it was full of wide open spaces. I thought that was absolutely hilarious and we told her that TEXAS is indeed full of wide open spaces.
The other thing about this woman, which is something I encountered in Russia too, is that their personal space 'bubble' is MUCH smaller than the American. She just kept getting closer and closer and closer, until she was just barely hovering over me. It gets to be quite uncomfortable but it happens everywhere. In stores and waiting in line, they just seem to be standing right on top of you.
What else. I am NOT sure about the conversion, but thats what Dr. Scott said. No, I haven't noticed any larger crowds bc of the Open. They may get larger after it is over, perhaps? I haven't kept up with that at all. We've stayed busy busy busy.
Tomorrow is church again, at St. Giles. We are having issues finding Catholic churches. They still haven't made a real comback after the Protestant reformation and most of the churches have stayed Anglican or Church of England, which are REALLY close to Catholic in my opinion.
I feel like i'm loosing my mind and can never remember what questions I've answered and which ones I haven't and what I've told who. I'm really glad I was able to do the blog again, even if ya'll are having difficulty answering back, it does make it easier to share with everyone at once. It has ended in a late night again and I'm going to get some sleep to start my day tomorrow.
Have a great Sunday, I'll talk to you soon.
kait
I took a little nap and met up with Heather and the Scotts (Dr. Scott, the group leader, his wife Debborah, and their 15 year old daughter Lori) and we went to see the new Harry Potter movie. I was by far the most lost. I haven't watched any of the other movies and haven't read a book since the 3rd one in like 8th grade. Heather updated me throughout so it made sense. Lori wants to watch it in the states when she gets back to see if anything is different. I told her that the only difference is going to be that in the states you will watch the movie full of British accents and walk out hearing Texans, here we watched it with British accents and it never changed when we left. We were still hearing Brittish/Scottish accents.
We met a lady at a bus stop a couple days ago, and I told momma I'd tell you about her. She was an older lady who grew up here during the war. She was just soo excited to talk to us and asking lots of questions. She was definately from a time when your last name mean EVERYTHING. A time of set social classes and monetary value to a name. I had no idea who she was talking about, but I humored her.
She told us, after hearing where we are from, that during the war time everyone was rationed a comb and they used it until it just wasn't usable at all. She said the teeth would fall out and you were left with just pieces of comb left, which they called their 'Texas' comb..... it was full of wide open spaces. I thought that was absolutely hilarious and we told her that TEXAS is indeed full of wide open spaces.
The other thing about this woman, which is something I encountered in Russia too, is that their personal space 'bubble' is MUCH smaller than the American. She just kept getting closer and closer and closer, until she was just barely hovering over me. It gets to be quite uncomfortable but it happens everywhere. In stores and waiting in line, they just seem to be standing right on top of you.
What else. I am NOT sure about the conversion, but thats what Dr. Scott said. No, I haven't noticed any larger crowds bc of the Open. They may get larger after it is over, perhaps? I haven't kept up with that at all. We've stayed busy busy busy.
Tomorrow is church again, at St. Giles. We are having issues finding Catholic churches. They still haven't made a real comback after the Protestant reformation and most of the churches have stayed Anglican or Church of England, which are REALLY close to Catholic in my opinion.
I feel like i'm loosing my mind and can never remember what questions I've answered and which ones I haven't and what I've told who. I'm really glad I was able to do the blog again, even if ya'll are having difficulty answering back, it does make it easier to share with everyone at once. It has ended in a late night again and I'm going to get some sleep to start my day tomorrow.
Have a great Sunday, I'll talk to you soon.
kait
Friday, July 17, 2009
Friday!
Friday doesn't mean much for us. We continue with studies through the weekend, with the afternoons off, but class in the morning.
We were all very exhausted and a little grumpy after our miles and miles of walking and train rides yesterday. The original plan was to visit the national botanical gardens and Rosslyn Chapel. But since it has beenaining for 3 days, he decided we would start with Rosslyn first. The bus that runs to that part of town only runs like every 45 min. so after getting in to the center of town we had to wait for that bus and take it out to Rosslyn, which is the name of the town it is in. We got there and had to hike down a hill to find the church that was honestly, disapointing. I really wish I could come here and tell you all how amazing and fantastic it was, but whether it be the sour mood I was in, the rain, or the truth, I really wasn't impressed.
Don't get me wrong, the detail work in the 500 year old church was really impressive. The problem is that in the last 15 years they have started a renovation project. 10 years ago they built a metal canopy over it to protect it from the rain and allow it to dry out. It had been there so long and endured so much of this Scottish rain that it was begining to grow lots of Algae and it was deteriorating the stone work. Now it is finally dry enough for them to begin restoring the roof.
It almost seems though that one day someone realize "oh wow, this thing is going to fall down, we need to restore it. We need a lot of money, how can we do that.... Oh yeah lets invite alot of people, charge admission and we'll make money" It has become such a tourist area that people forget it is a church. There were so many people walking around this small chapel, which is used for services on Sunday, that you can't even focus much energy on what you are looking at. It was interesting though to see the mix of symbolism used in the church, including pagan beliefs, early Catholic ideals, and things supposed to be connected to the Knights of Templar.
after Rosslyn we were all very grumpy and we returned back to campus. I had given myself a headache from tensing up and shivering, so I took a nap and here I am now.
Several people have e-mail and asked about the simple things here in Scotland and I'll try to answer as much of that as possible. I am really sorry the commenting isn't working! I don't know what the deal is.
Gas prices here are 100.9 pence per liter. 100 Pence is 1 pound and then you have to convert liters to gallons and Pounds to dollars... so by what Dr. Scott says, that equals somewhere around $5 a gallon. Most of the cars and vehicles we don't really have in the states, even the ones made by Ford and VW. They are very tiny 2 door cars that have very good gas mileage. You don't really see many old cars at all. A Ford focus looks like a big car and a Mustang would be enormous. Of course there are exceptions to the rules but generally they are very tiny cars. They pay much more for them too. I also heard that they are charged another tax for owning a car. Its one of the govt. ways of promoting the "green" movement and trying to cut back on traffic congestion. I can't even imagine tryign to drive anywhere here anyway. I would never know which traffic light to look at or which way to go around the "round-a-bouts".
From what I can tell about the normal cuisine it is a lot of Fish products, because Edinburgh is so close to the sea. Fish and Chips is very common, which is just fried fish with french fries which are 'chips' here. Haggis is actually very common, and I still haven't eaten it. It is a sausage like material, I think. It is basically everything left after the sheep has been properly butchered, and cooked with spices. They eat a lot of potato items, which has been nice. Potatos are pretty common and edible however you cook them. They have the 'pies' which is usually a roasted meat with vegetables topped with a bread of some sort. I was expecting like a pot pie, but it wasn't quite like that.
there are several American resteraunts that have made there way to the country. Dominos and Pizza Hut, Subway and Quiznos, TGIFridays and the Hard Rock Cafe, McDonalds and Burger King. And actually Burger King seems to be more prevalent here... I'm sure McDonalds isn't happy about that, but it is true. The places that you don't see many American brands are in the grocery stores, becuse they have their own brand of most things we have, and food products are probably not the best to be trying to figure out shipment or new factories here, although Kellogs is here in the form of breakfast cereals. Of course they have Coke products and we've even found Dr. Pepper in several stores, although I've tried to stay away from it. I've found American shampoo and conditioner, soaps, ect.
The prices aren't much different in the fact that something that costs 1 dollar in TX costs about 1 pound here, except because of the exchange rate 1 pound is equal to 1.60ish. So things are a little more expensive compared to what we are paying for them in the states.
We are going to try to make it to see the new Harry Potter movie tomorrow. I personally am not a harry potter fan, but I am interested in the cinema experience in the UK.
This message has gotten a little lengthy and not the most entertaining of them all. I'll update you soon on the movie experience and the other basic things as I think of them. Email me questions if you'd like. kmsoso11@yahoo.com
Have a good HOTT day. It was about 54 today and I was freeeeeeeezing. I could use a little west texas dry heat.
Talk to you soon,
Kaitlyn
We were all very exhausted and a little grumpy after our miles and miles of walking and train rides yesterday. The original plan was to visit the national botanical gardens and Rosslyn Chapel. But since it has beenaining for 3 days, he decided we would start with Rosslyn first. The bus that runs to that part of town only runs like every 45 min. so after getting in to the center of town we had to wait for that bus and take it out to Rosslyn, which is the name of the town it is in. We got there and had to hike down a hill to find the church that was honestly, disapointing. I really wish I could come here and tell you all how amazing and fantastic it was, but whether it be the sour mood I was in, the rain, or the truth, I really wasn't impressed.
Don't get me wrong, the detail work in the 500 year old church was really impressive. The problem is that in the last 15 years they have started a renovation project. 10 years ago they built a metal canopy over it to protect it from the rain and allow it to dry out. It had been there so long and endured so much of this Scottish rain that it was begining to grow lots of Algae and it was deteriorating the stone work. Now it is finally dry enough for them to begin restoring the roof.
It almost seems though that one day someone realize "oh wow, this thing is going to fall down, we need to restore it. We need a lot of money, how can we do that.... Oh yeah lets invite alot of people, charge admission and we'll make money" It has become such a tourist area that people forget it is a church. There were so many people walking around this small chapel, which is used for services on Sunday, that you can't even focus much energy on what you are looking at. It was interesting though to see the mix of symbolism used in the church, including pagan beliefs, early Catholic ideals, and things supposed to be connected to the Knights of Templar.
after Rosslyn we were all very grumpy and we returned back to campus. I had given myself a headache from tensing up and shivering, so I took a nap and here I am now.
Several people have e-mail and asked about the simple things here in Scotland and I'll try to answer as much of that as possible. I am really sorry the commenting isn't working! I don't know what the deal is.
Gas prices here are 100.9 pence per liter. 100 Pence is 1 pound and then you have to convert liters to gallons and Pounds to dollars... so by what Dr. Scott says, that equals somewhere around $5 a gallon. Most of the cars and vehicles we don't really have in the states, even the ones made by Ford and VW. They are very tiny 2 door cars that have very good gas mileage. You don't really see many old cars at all. A Ford focus looks like a big car and a Mustang would be enormous. Of course there are exceptions to the rules but generally they are very tiny cars. They pay much more for them too. I also heard that they are charged another tax for owning a car. Its one of the govt. ways of promoting the "green" movement and trying to cut back on traffic congestion. I can't even imagine tryign to drive anywhere here anyway. I would never know which traffic light to look at or which way to go around the "round-a-bouts".
From what I can tell about the normal cuisine it is a lot of Fish products, because Edinburgh is so close to the sea. Fish and Chips is very common, which is just fried fish with french fries which are 'chips' here. Haggis is actually very common, and I still haven't eaten it. It is a sausage like material, I think. It is basically everything left after the sheep has been properly butchered, and cooked with spices. They eat a lot of potato items, which has been nice. Potatos are pretty common and edible however you cook them. They have the 'pies' which is usually a roasted meat with vegetables topped with a bread of some sort. I was expecting like a pot pie, but it wasn't quite like that.
there are several American resteraunts that have made there way to the country. Dominos and Pizza Hut, Subway and Quiznos, TGIFridays and the Hard Rock Cafe, McDonalds and Burger King. And actually Burger King seems to be more prevalent here... I'm sure McDonalds isn't happy about that, but it is true. The places that you don't see many American brands are in the grocery stores, becuse they have their own brand of most things we have, and food products are probably not the best to be trying to figure out shipment or new factories here, although Kellogs is here in the form of breakfast cereals. Of course they have Coke products and we've even found Dr. Pepper in several stores, although I've tried to stay away from it. I've found American shampoo and conditioner, soaps, ect.
The prices aren't much different in the fact that something that costs 1 dollar in TX costs about 1 pound here, except because of the exchange rate 1 pound is equal to 1.60ish. So things are a little more expensive compared to what we are paying for them in the states.
We are going to try to make it to see the new Harry Potter movie tomorrow. I personally am not a harry potter fan, but I am interested in the cinema experience in the UK.
This message has gotten a little lengthy and not the most entertaining of them all. I'll update you soon on the movie experience and the other basic things as I think of them. Email me questions if you'd like. kmsoso11@yahoo.com
Have a good HOTT day. It was about 54 today and I was freeeeeeeezing. I could use a little west texas dry heat.
Talk to you soon,
Kaitlyn
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thursday, Glascow, Walking, Exhaustion
Today we got up early and headed for Glascow, which is the only other major city in Scotland. It has been said to be one of the greatest cultural areas in Eupope next to London, I'm not sure if I agree but, hey whatever.
I think I have to comment, because I don't think i've really told you before, that we have to take a city bus to get in to the center of town. What is supposed to take 30 min. is actually closer to 45 because of HUGE construction going on which means the traffic is horrible and the bus has to make detours.
So we took the bus in, then caught the train for another 45 min. I had woken up at about 6:40, and for most of you, you know that is about 5 hours earlier than I would prefer, and then riding for 2 hours didn't help my mood!
We made it to Glascow and saw a couple modern exhibits... I'm really not fond of this new post-modernist extremist stuff. We are getting to a point that 'Art' is being stretched to a whole new level and its not even enjoyable for the 'common' person. I have no idea how bananas in a window is art. No clue, and some stuff gets to a whole new level with their topic. Anyway, we did get to go to St. Mungols (I think) cathedral and they have a really extensive exhibit on religion in general, that was interesting. It was kind of quick and easy explanation of most religions and their beliefs and history.
We also went to another really interesting museum, which neither Heather or I can remember the name right now. I still haven't really figured out if I liked it. It was almost too much and too busy for me, but the object of the building was nice.
They tried to do a very educational layout for everyone, young and old. They had interactive displays in each room for children to play with that went along with the topics in each room. Paintings we hung in order of relevance to the genre they were in, not necessarily by artist or anything. I just found it kind of confusing. It would be great for families, but it wasn't really what I was looking for. It was the first museum we've been to that wasn't strictly focused on art and I was hoping to have some more interesting artifacts there. They did have an Egyptian room that was really great and we got to see one painting by Salvador Dali.
Heather is pushing me to share my distraught feelings about the stuffed elephant that was in the natural history portion of the museum. I felt so horrible after reading this elephant's story! They called him Sir Roger the Elephant, and he started life out as a circus elephant, which is bad enough, but then they moved him to a zoo to finish out his years.
We he had a great keeper that would even take him out for walks in the countryside. He was a great elephant and everyone loved him. Well as Sir Roger reached 'manhood' he became violent and uncontrollable because he wanted a female friend! The decided he was too much of a danger and fed him breakfast one morning while several soldiers and a man with an elephant gun came and shot him while he was eating!! They stuffed him and put him on display at the zoo and then moved him to this museum where he was put in a box for three years while they renovated the building aroud him!
I was just totally upset about it, and I am still mortified about the poor elephant's horrible life! Now he is standing around on display for all the world to see and read his story about his uncontrollable hormones!
Ok now that it is off my chest, and you are all throughouly disturbed, I will say goodnight so I can get to bed and get some sleep.
I've enjoyed reading my comments, I know that most of you are having a hard time getting the system to work. I'm not sure what has changed between last year and this year, but I know ya'll are out there, and I hope your enjoying my trip. I haven't ventured in to any dark alleys, and I'm soaking in as much information (and rain) as I can. I am not prepared for the heat stroke I am going to have getting off the plane. Someone should probably suggest that a couple ambulances just meet us at the runway. I'm enjoying myself, and I miss ya'll but I won't lie and say I miss the Texas heat. The Texas flatlands, maybe, but not the heat. Have a good day
Kait
I think I have to comment, because I don't think i've really told you before, that we have to take a city bus to get in to the center of town. What is supposed to take 30 min. is actually closer to 45 because of HUGE construction going on which means the traffic is horrible and the bus has to make detours.
So we took the bus in, then caught the train for another 45 min. I had woken up at about 6:40, and for most of you, you know that is about 5 hours earlier than I would prefer, and then riding for 2 hours didn't help my mood!
We made it to Glascow and saw a couple modern exhibits... I'm really not fond of this new post-modernist extremist stuff. We are getting to a point that 'Art' is being stretched to a whole new level and its not even enjoyable for the 'common' person. I have no idea how bananas in a window is art. No clue, and some stuff gets to a whole new level with their topic. Anyway, we did get to go to St. Mungols (I think) cathedral and they have a really extensive exhibit on religion in general, that was interesting. It was kind of quick and easy explanation of most religions and their beliefs and history.
We also went to another really interesting museum, which neither Heather or I can remember the name right now. I still haven't really figured out if I liked it. It was almost too much and too busy for me, but the object of the building was nice.
They tried to do a very educational layout for everyone, young and old. They had interactive displays in each room for children to play with that went along with the topics in each room. Paintings we hung in order of relevance to the genre they were in, not necessarily by artist or anything. I just found it kind of confusing. It would be great for families, but it wasn't really what I was looking for. It was the first museum we've been to that wasn't strictly focused on art and I was hoping to have some more interesting artifacts there. They did have an Egyptian room that was really great and we got to see one painting by Salvador Dali.
Heather is pushing me to share my distraught feelings about the stuffed elephant that was in the natural history portion of the museum. I felt so horrible after reading this elephant's story! They called him Sir Roger the Elephant, and he started life out as a circus elephant, which is bad enough, but then they moved him to a zoo to finish out his years.
We he had a great keeper that would even take him out for walks in the countryside. He was a great elephant and everyone loved him. Well as Sir Roger reached 'manhood' he became violent and uncontrollable because he wanted a female friend! The decided he was too much of a danger and fed him breakfast one morning while several soldiers and a man with an elephant gun came and shot him while he was eating!! They stuffed him and put him on display at the zoo and then moved him to this museum where he was put in a box for three years while they renovated the building aroud him!
I was just totally upset about it, and I am still mortified about the poor elephant's horrible life! Now he is standing around on display for all the world to see and read his story about his uncontrollable hormones!
Ok now that it is off my chest, and you are all throughouly disturbed, I will say goodnight so I can get to bed and get some sleep.
I've enjoyed reading my comments, I know that most of you are having a hard time getting the system to work. I'm not sure what has changed between last year and this year, but I know ya'll are out there, and I hope your enjoying my trip. I haven't ventured in to any dark alleys, and I'm soaking in as much information (and rain) as I can. I am not prepared for the heat stroke I am going to have getting off the plane. Someone should probably suggest that a couple ambulances just meet us at the runway. I'm enjoying myself, and I miss ya'll but I won't lie and say I miss the Texas heat. The Texas flatlands, maybe, but not the heat. Have a good day
Kait
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Wed. Thats What??
Today started out in the National Modern Art Museum and the Dean Gallery, which is also a modern art exhibition.
It is pretty easy to say that I am not a modernist. I really enjoy the bright colors and fun things that were done in the 60s and during the Pop art era, but the dark and depressing things, I just don't get. Especially the 'surrealists' that basically believed art should funnel straight from the unconsiousness to the art medium, which means they get totally wierd stuff out of it. Most of the time they had to be chemically altered to see what they see... HAD to.
But we saw a lot of the modern artists, a piece or two by each, none of which I could name for you off the top of my head right now. They just don't make that much of an impact on me. Actually, now that I think of it, most of the works that I did connect with and make note about where done my Russian artists... hmm.
We ate a light lunch downtown and did a little more exploring, but made it home early enough to do laundry, Which on a college campus is ALWAYS an interesting experience.
We were the only ones there when we got there, armed with books and journals to keep us busy. We started laundry, and eventually 7 people speaking a foreign language walk in. (Heriot-Watt, where we are staying, uses its facilities throughout the summer for various activities for young and old... mostly educational, but there are also like Tennis camp and things going on) They wandered around the laundry room that only has 4 washers and 4 dryers and realized they were all full... 3 with out sutff, 1 with stuff that had been there a while. We tried to help them a little, I'm still not sure if we did, but they thenrealized we were native English speakers. One girl approached me and told me she was German (They all were) and that they were there trying to get a Business Administration credit taken care of during the summer so they wouldn't have to take it back home. In short, they have a 1500-2000 word essay as part of their final and she asked if we would help proof it. Of course we agreed, we were BORED. As I went through the paper the first time, correcting basic errors, Heather took on the task of trying to talk to her. It was interesting, but not very difficult. Her paper was actually more well written than some college students in the states, sadly. Heonly mistakes were basic verb usuage, and even when whole sentances had to be re-done it was because the verbs just weren't working well together.
Anyway, I finish my edit, which turned out to be a little more complicated because at one point I looked down at the keyboard to hit the 'delete' key and I giggled outloud because I had just realized that it was a German keyboard and I didn't understand anything other than the basic letters. Also, I just realized I had been making edits like "Today" and it read "Todaz" because the Y and Z on the german keyboard is reversed!
Then Heather takes over. She is an English major, and my corrections allowed her to whiz through it and find bigger issues. We were almost to the last page of the essay, when the "Battery dead, shutting down" (I assume thats what it said, since it was in German, everything in German looks scary) all Three of us do a big sigh and "OOOOooooo" in the exact same tone, like we'd been practicing it for weeks. We hope that she was able to get her computer upstairs and into a plug to recover the work we had done. I feel so horrible for her if it didn't!
That was the excitement for our day. A lot of on-again-off-again rain and sunshine with the high being in the lower 60s.
We head to Glascow tomorrow for more museums and things.
Have a great day! We're over the hump and its Thursday!!... well for me anyway ;)
Kait
It is pretty easy to say that I am not a modernist. I really enjoy the bright colors and fun things that were done in the 60s and during the Pop art era, but the dark and depressing things, I just don't get. Especially the 'surrealists' that basically believed art should funnel straight from the unconsiousness to the art medium, which means they get totally wierd stuff out of it. Most of the time they had to be chemically altered to see what they see... HAD to.
But we saw a lot of the modern artists, a piece or two by each, none of which I could name for you off the top of my head right now. They just don't make that much of an impact on me. Actually, now that I think of it, most of the works that I did connect with and make note about where done my Russian artists... hmm.
We ate a light lunch downtown and did a little more exploring, but made it home early enough to do laundry, Which on a college campus is ALWAYS an interesting experience.
We were the only ones there when we got there, armed with books and journals to keep us busy. We started laundry, and eventually 7 people speaking a foreign language walk in. (Heriot-Watt, where we are staying, uses its facilities throughout the summer for various activities for young and old... mostly educational, but there are also like Tennis camp and things going on) They wandered around the laundry room that only has 4 washers and 4 dryers and realized they were all full... 3 with out sutff, 1 with stuff that had been there a while. We tried to help them a little, I'm still not sure if we did, but they thenrealized we were native English speakers. One girl approached me and told me she was German (They all were) and that they were there trying to get a Business Administration credit taken care of during the summer so they wouldn't have to take it back home. In short, they have a 1500-2000 word essay as part of their final and she asked if we would help proof it. Of course we agreed, we were BORED. As I went through the paper the first time, correcting basic errors, Heather took on the task of trying to talk to her. It was interesting, but not very difficult. Her paper was actually more well written than some college students in the states, sadly. Heonly mistakes were basic verb usuage, and even when whole sentances had to be re-done it was because the verbs just weren't working well together.
Anyway, I finish my edit, which turned out to be a little more complicated because at one point I looked down at the keyboard to hit the 'delete' key and I giggled outloud because I had just realized that it was a German keyboard and I didn't understand anything other than the basic letters. Also, I just realized I had been making edits like "Today" and it read "Todaz" because the Y and Z on the german keyboard is reversed!
Then Heather takes over. She is an English major, and my corrections allowed her to whiz through it and find bigger issues. We were almost to the last page of the essay, when the "Battery dead, shutting down" (I assume thats what it said, since it was in German, everything in German looks scary) all Three of us do a big sigh and "OOOOooooo" in the exact same tone, like we'd been practicing it for weeks. We hope that she was able to get her computer upstairs and into a plug to recover the work we had done. I feel so horrible for her if it didn't!
That was the excitement for our day. A lot of on-again-off-again rain and sunshine with the high being in the lower 60s.
We head to Glascow tomorrow for more museums and things.
Have a great day! We're over the hump and its Thursday!!... well for me anyway ;)
Kait
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Tuesday. One Week Gone
Today we started by visiting Edinburgh Castle. Unlike many people, including myself, believe, Castles aren't just places where pretty princesses lived. They were actually fortresses where armies lived to protect a city, which makes so much more sense when looking at fairy tales like Repunzel. Of course they would keep the princesses where the army would protect her and keep her from leaving.
The castle has like 800 years of history and stories that I couldn't even begin delving in to. The first bridge you come to was actually really cool. It wasn't your typical draw bridge, it was more of some counter weight system, that when they pulled the pins out of it and enemy soldiers walked on to it they thought it was solid until there was enough weight to knock it off balance, then all of the men on the bridge fell to their death by impalement by the 6 large spikes in the ditch below. A little disturbing yes, but I thought it was inovative.
We saw the Scottish Crown Jewels, which are the 2nd oldest in the world thanks to Cromwell who had the English crown jewels melted down at some point or another. They were stunning, as you would expect. We were also able to see the living quarters from Mary Queen of Scots who I believe was one of the last monarchs to use the facilities. Now they stay at the Hollyrood house, 1 mile down the hill from Edinburgh castle. We haven't been there yet, but we have plans to. We have plans to do LOTS of things, hopefully we can get them in.
The castle was followed by lunch and a visit to the National Gallery of Scotland which had original works from Raphael, Botticelli, Rembrant's self portrait, and many many more names I couldn't even begin to spell. Included were some of Monet and Degas's Impressionist works. Alot of the works were very old and of the religious variety, but it was interesting to see how stories, techniques, and ideas changed over time. We spent several hours in the museum but it is all almost a blur. I'm just learning this whole art world, so I'm trying to take everything in at once!
Tomorrow we visit some Modern art museums, which I'm excited about, probably for the wrong reasons. I like looking at Modern art but I have no idea what the meaning is behind any of them!
Today was 64 degrees, and wet. It rained almost all day, which is sad because it was a beautiful day when we got started this morning. I can never decide what to wear!
We still haven't tried out the 'night scene' I've been given good ideas by reliable sources, but we've just been exhausted by the end of the day!
Thanks for reading. I love to hear from ya'll!!
Kait
The castle has like 800 years of history and stories that I couldn't even begin delving in to. The first bridge you come to was actually really cool. It wasn't your typical draw bridge, it was more of some counter weight system, that when they pulled the pins out of it and enemy soldiers walked on to it they thought it was solid until there was enough weight to knock it off balance, then all of the men on the bridge fell to their death by impalement by the 6 large spikes in the ditch below. A little disturbing yes, but I thought it was inovative.
We saw the Scottish Crown Jewels, which are the 2nd oldest in the world thanks to Cromwell who had the English crown jewels melted down at some point or another. They were stunning, as you would expect. We were also able to see the living quarters from Mary Queen of Scots who I believe was one of the last monarchs to use the facilities. Now they stay at the Hollyrood house, 1 mile down the hill from Edinburgh castle. We haven't been there yet, but we have plans to. We have plans to do LOTS of things, hopefully we can get them in.
The castle was followed by lunch and a visit to the National Gallery of Scotland which had original works from Raphael, Botticelli, Rembrant's self portrait, and many many more names I couldn't even begin to spell. Included were some of Monet and Degas's Impressionist works. Alot of the works were very old and of the religious variety, but it was interesting to see how stories, techniques, and ideas changed over time. We spent several hours in the museum but it is all almost a blur. I'm just learning this whole art world, so I'm trying to take everything in at once!
Tomorrow we visit some Modern art museums, which I'm excited about, probably for the wrong reasons. I like looking at Modern art but I have no idea what the meaning is behind any of them!
Today was 64 degrees, and wet. It rained almost all day, which is sad because it was a beautiful day when we got started this morning. I can never decide what to wear!
We still haven't tried out the 'night scene' I've been given good ideas by reliable sources, but we've just been exhausted by the end of the day!
Thanks for reading. I love to hear from ya'll!!
Kait
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday
We had class all day today, which was no fun after having full run of Edinburgh and London for 5 days. Plus, it was raining and very difficult to stay awake. The cloudy rainy weather just makes me really tired, and I took a nap during our lunch break.
After class, Heather and I went in to town to get something Heather had seen in a closed shop on Sunday. We had also found a tea parlor in a guide book we wanted to try, and when we found it at 5 we learned they closed at 4:45, after walking in the rain to get there. We just turned around and went back up the hill and stopped at a fudge shop for a little treat. We each bought some fudge to take with us. We found a little cafe for supper before heading back to the dorms.
This was interesting. We weren't really hungry but wanted something warm during the cold rain and we each found a Baked Potato that sounded edible to us. They have 'stuffed' potatos on the menu as meal items. Mine was called "Chicken, Mayo, Bacon, and Pineapple" lol yes,I actually ordered it. I was concerned about the Mayo, but I figured I could try it anyway. And it came out as a baked potato stuffed with a mayo and roasted chicken 'salad' with "bacon" just layed on top. The bacon here, if I haven't explained before, is more like fried spiral ham. It wasn't sliced or chopped up, just layed on top of the 'salad'. It also came with a shreded lettuce and tomato salad on the side, with my Pineapple slice laying on it.
It was actually not the worst thing I've ever eaten, and I finished most of it. By the end the Mayo was begining to get the best of me, but the potato itself was delicious and cooked perfectly, and actually the potato with Pineapple wasn't bad either. Of course, I am one of those people that actually likes Hawaian pizza with canadian bacon and pineapple. Aaron would understand, he will give me funny looks if I ever order a potato with pineapple, but he'd let me do it. I don't know that I'll ever put mayo on my own potato at home, but the chicken was really good. We each also had a pot of tea with supper, and made it probably one of the best meals I have had while in the UK.... strange I know, but true.
We got home and put away part of our fudge and shared the rest with each other and Pilar, who had stayed back to do laundry and check her email, ect.
During our lunch break a group of our students ended up stuck on the elevator in the dorm, so the dorm lady is not really happy with us. It wasn't neccessarily anything they did, but the first thing she told us as we checked in was to be careful with her elevator, and sure enough americans are in it when it breaks. I was lucky enough not to be one of them, allowing me to get my nap!
It was a pretty uneventful day, minus the magnetic attraction we seem to have to these italian heathens, haha. There is a large group of italian students staying at the same university as us, but not in our dorm, thank goodness, but they eat in the same cafeteria. They are absolutely horrible... probably not any worse than american high school students, but they just seem absolutely obnoxious. Well it seemed that everywhere we went this afternoon they were there. At lunch, on the street when we arrived down town, in the stores, and then when we returned home they were also getting off of a bus! It just seemed like we couldn't get away from them.
Tomorrow we are going to Edinburgh castle and atleast one art museum in the evening that will be considered class time. We plan to go out to Stirling sometime in the coming days, and as a class we will go to Glascow sometime this week and Rosslyn Chapel on Sat. We are also planning to have a High Tea on Sunday, and take a 'ghost tour' one night, as well as a literary tour based on the the lives of the famous Scottish writers. These days will be really busy and soon I will be halfway through my trip! Tomorrow marks the end of the first week and I can hardly believe it.
Have a good day!
Kaitlyn
After class, Heather and I went in to town to get something Heather had seen in a closed shop on Sunday. We had also found a tea parlor in a guide book we wanted to try, and when we found it at 5 we learned they closed at 4:45, after walking in the rain to get there. We just turned around and went back up the hill and stopped at a fudge shop for a little treat. We each bought some fudge to take with us. We found a little cafe for supper before heading back to the dorms.
This was interesting. We weren't really hungry but wanted something warm during the cold rain and we each found a Baked Potato that sounded edible to us. They have 'stuffed' potatos on the menu as meal items. Mine was called "Chicken, Mayo, Bacon, and Pineapple" lol yes,I actually ordered it. I was concerned about the Mayo, but I figured I could try it anyway. And it came out as a baked potato stuffed with a mayo and roasted chicken 'salad' with "bacon" just layed on top. The bacon here, if I haven't explained before, is more like fried spiral ham. It wasn't sliced or chopped up, just layed on top of the 'salad'. It also came with a shreded lettuce and tomato salad on the side, with my Pineapple slice laying on it.
It was actually not the worst thing I've ever eaten, and I finished most of it. By the end the Mayo was begining to get the best of me, but the potato itself was delicious and cooked perfectly, and actually the potato with Pineapple wasn't bad either. Of course, I am one of those people that actually likes Hawaian pizza with canadian bacon and pineapple. Aaron would understand, he will give me funny looks if I ever order a potato with pineapple, but he'd let me do it. I don't know that I'll ever put mayo on my own potato at home, but the chicken was really good. We each also had a pot of tea with supper, and made it probably one of the best meals I have had while in the UK.... strange I know, but true.
We got home and put away part of our fudge and shared the rest with each other and Pilar, who had stayed back to do laundry and check her email, ect.
During our lunch break a group of our students ended up stuck on the elevator in the dorm, so the dorm lady is not really happy with us. It wasn't neccessarily anything they did, but the first thing she told us as we checked in was to be careful with her elevator, and sure enough americans are in it when it breaks. I was lucky enough not to be one of them, allowing me to get my nap!
It was a pretty uneventful day, minus the magnetic attraction we seem to have to these italian heathens, haha. There is a large group of italian students staying at the same university as us, but not in our dorm, thank goodness, but they eat in the same cafeteria. They are absolutely horrible... probably not any worse than american high school students, but they just seem absolutely obnoxious. Well it seemed that everywhere we went this afternoon they were there. At lunch, on the street when we arrived down town, in the stores, and then when we returned home they were also getting off of a bus! It just seemed like we couldn't get away from them.
Tomorrow we are going to Edinburgh castle and atleast one art museum in the evening that will be considered class time. We plan to go out to Stirling sometime in the coming days, and as a class we will go to Glascow sometime this week and Rosslyn Chapel on Sat. We are also planning to have a High Tea on Sunday, and take a 'ghost tour' one night, as well as a literary tour based on the the lives of the famous Scottish writers. These days will be really busy and soon I will be halfway through my trip! Tomorrow marks the end of the first week and I can hardly believe it.
Have a good day!
Kaitlyn
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Sunday PM
It is 8:30pm/2:30Tx on Sunday evening and I've already return to my room for 'me' time for the night. Its the first chance I've gotten to be alone without being completely exhausted and I'm not sure what to do with myself. I'm taking advantage of the opportunity and just relaxing while checking my e-mails and such.
These are the days things will start getting repetitive, because I don't remember what I've told you and what I've told Momma, Daddy, and Aaron on the phone and I'm honestly too lazy to go back and check.
We have TV in our rooms, I've seen "Friends" and "Desperate Housewives". Its just too hard to understand the British TV shows. Plus, their humor is so off kilter it is just corny and not funny at all, almost irritating.
After the headache I took some sinus pills and went to sleep. Apparently it is what I needed because I woke up still wearing my glasses.
We went to church this morning at St. Giles, which is Church of Scotland which translates to Presbyterian. The Presbyterians that were with me considered it really 'strange' and very formal I guess you could say, I on the other hand found it very comfortable. It was very similar to a Catholic mass, minus the kneeling, cross making, and few things during communion as far as wording goes.
Also, the communion service was very different, for all of us I think. First let me describe the church. It was a very old cathedral, basically where the Church of Scotland was formed. John Knox's house is just down the road and some of this earliest followers are represented there. The church is laid out in a cross shape with the alter in the middle. The congregation makes up the long bar of the cross, each side looking in to the alter. The alter, in the center, faces the left side of the short bar, and the clergy chairs and things are behind the alter, the right side of the short bar.
For communion the left side of the congregation (on both ends) is brought forward and a 'circle' is made around the alter. Its more of a rounded + sign if that makes any sense at all. There are 4 pillars making the middle square and a semi-circle is formed within each pair of pillars. Now that the really really confusing stuff is explained...
They take pieces of real bread (Which I was not accustomed to) and hand it to people on each corner of the 'circle' and each person tears off their own piece and passes it to the person beside them, and the same is done with the chalice (Which was HUGE, like dinner place size at the opening)
The 'circle' then does the 'peace'and greeting thing with those in their circle, and then they are filed back to their seats, and the same is repeated with the right side of the congregation. It was interesting to watch.
The church also had a huge pipe organ, which looks really cool, and counded really neat at the beggining with some of the slower pieces, but towards the end where things were much bouncier and full of life, it was almost tooo much. The choir there was the chamber choir from the University of Edinburgh because St. Giles' choir is touring in Canada.
Other than that, we did some shopping. It was honestly a little boring. The streets we were on were the main tourist streets so every store had the exact same thing in it, so it got really old pretty quick.
We had supper early, because we had been walking so much, in town and no one had any issues. It was the first real 'pub' we've been in and we all found something edible. I had the most 'scottish' of the group, but it was just Beef and Ale Pie... which I expected to be something like a pot pie, and it wasn't, but it was good. It was like a roasted meat with peas and carrots, with a very very flakey roll. Some had a salmon sandwich, they said was really good, and others had some pasta dish they really liked. Alot of the 'european' things have cheeses in them I've never tried, and that just scares me! lol
When we made it in from downtown we stopped in the cafeteria and found some 'treats'. I've done really well about staying away from sweets so far, so I felt I deserved it, lol. I had a really delicious cheese cake, which I think had a butterscotch or caramel swirl in it. It was really really good.
Now I'm in my room, looking out the window (Which has an air leak, causing a draft) watching the clouds roll in.
I don't really have any fun or entertaining stories to tell, the Scots, unlike the Russians, aren't much different from us so far. I have seen many people walking around in kilts, especially this morning as men wear them to church sometimes, much like a suit, and there is always someone playing some type of music on the streets for money. Bagpipes, flutes, guitars and bongos, lots of different things.
The coming week is lots of classes and art museums, so hopefully I have some interesting things to share.
Now that you've read my novel, I will let you be. Have a good day!
Kait
These are the days things will start getting repetitive, because I don't remember what I've told you and what I've told Momma, Daddy, and Aaron on the phone and I'm honestly too lazy to go back and check.
We have TV in our rooms, I've seen "Friends" and "Desperate Housewives". Its just too hard to understand the British TV shows. Plus, their humor is so off kilter it is just corny and not funny at all, almost irritating.
After the headache I took some sinus pills and went to sleep. Apparently it is what I needed because I woke up still wearing my glasses.
We went to church this morning at St. Giles, which is Church of Scotland which translates to Presbyterian. The Presbyterians that were with me considered it really 'strange' and very formal I guess you could say, I on the other hand found it very comfortable. It was very similar to a Catholic mass, minus the kneeling, cross making, and few things during communion as far as wording goes.
Also, the communion service was very different, for all of us I think. First let me describe the church. It was a very old cathedral, basically where the Church of Scotland was formed. John Knox's house is just down the road and some of this earliest followers are represented there. The church is laid out in a cross shape with the alter in the middle. The congregation makes up the long bar of the cross, each side looking in to the alter. The alter, in the center, faces the left side of the short bar, and the clergy chairs and things are behind the alter, the right side of the short bar.
For communion the left side of the congregation (on both ends) is brought forward and a 'circle' is made around the alter. Its more of a rounded + sign if that makes any sense at all. There are 4 pillars making the middle square and a semi-circle is formed within each pair of pillars. Now that the really really confusing stuff is explained...
They take pieces of real bread (Which I was not accustomed to) and hand it to people on each corner of the 'circle' and each person tears off their own piece and passes it to the person beside them, and the same is done with the chalice (Which was HUGE, like dinner place size at the opening)
The 'circle' then does the 'peace'and greeting thing with those in their circle, and then they are filed back to their seats, and the same is repeated with the right side of the congregation. It was interesting to watch.
The church also had a huge pipe organ, which looks really cool, and counded really neat at the beggining with some of the slower pieces, but towards the end where things were much bouncier and full of life, it was almost tooo much. The choir there was the chamber choir from the University of Edinburgh because St. Giles' choir is touring in Canada.
Other than that, we did some shopping. It was honestly a little boring. The streets we were on were the main tourist streets so every store had the exact same thing in it, so it got really old pretty quick.
We had supper early, because we had been walking so much, in town and no one had any issues. It was the first real 'pub' we've been in and we all found something edible. I had the most 'scottish' of the group, but it was just Beef and Ale Pie... which I expected to be something like a pot pie, and it wasn't, but it was good. It was like a roasted meat with peas and carrots, with a very very flakey roll. Some had a salmon sandwich, they said was really good, and others had some pasta dish they really liked. Alot of the 'european' things have cheeses in them I've never tried, and that just scares me! lol
When we made it in from downtown we stopped in the cafeteria and found some 'treats'. I've done really well about staying away from sweets so far, so I felt I deserved it, lol. I had a really delicious cheese cake, which I think had a butterscotch or caramel swirl in it. It was really really good.
Now I'm in my room, looking out the window (Which has an air leak, causing a draft) watching the clouds roll in.
I don't really have any fun or entertaining stories to tell, the Scots, unlike the Russians, aren't much different from us so far. I have seen many people walking around in kilts, especially this morning as men wear them to church sometimes, much like a suit, and there is always someone playing some type of music on the streets for money. Bagpipes, flutes, guitars and bongos, lots of different things.
The coming week is lots of classes and art museums, so hopefully I have some interesting things to share.
Now that you've read my novel, I will let you be. Have a good day!
Kait
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Scotland, Day 2
I slept really well last night. The jetlag finally caught up with me. We had breakfast and a short class this morning before lunch. After lunch we headed in to the city and walked for several hours.
The city is amazing, and the weather was wonderful... in the sun, but the wind was quite chilly. we walked, and walked and walked! We saw the Edinburgh castle from the bottom of the hill, and lots of chapels and old buildings. Most of the downstairs ofthe buildings have been turned into department stores, pubs and things. Quite modern actually.
I don't have alot to say, I am really tired and I have had a headache from the wind and squinting into the sun, and the lack of caffine. I've been trying to stay away from cokes and I missed my tea at breakfast.
I hope everyone has a good weekend. We are going to church in the morning and then we will do more walking and shopping.
talk to you soon! - Kait
The city is amazing, and the weather was wonderful... in the sun, but the wind was quite chilly. we walked, and walked and walked! We saw the Edinburgh castle from the bottom of the hill, and lots of chapels and old buildings. Most of the downstairs ofthe buildings have been turned into department stores, pubs and things. Quite modern actually.
I don't have alot to say, I am really tired and I have had a headache from the wind and squinting into the sun, and the lack of caffine. I've been trying to stay away from cokes and I missed my tea at breakfast.
I hope everyone has a good weekend. We are going to church in the morning and then we will do more walking and shopping.
talk to you soon! - Kait
Friday, July 10, 2009
SCOTLAND!!! finally
Friday evening, about 8:20. We started this morning at 8:15 and headed for the train station. We took the train from London to Edinburgh and arrived in the city about 1:30 then we had to take our bus out to the univerity. Heriot-Watt is on the outside of town, about a 30 min. bus ride in to the city, which is slightly inconvinient, but the campus is absolutely beautiful. It is a realitively modern university and the dorms are really nice.
We each have our own bedroom and bathroom. I have a corner room with a window that looks out over the soccer or 'football' fields and in to a a grove of evergreens. Right now I can see some clouds moving in, but it just looks amazing.
We spent the afternoon getting settled and finding out classroom, eating supper, ect. I'm taking a break tonight since we haven't really stopped since we left so I need it.
So far the food has been edible. Lately it has been cafeteria food and I'm alright with that, but it will get old eventually. I'm excited to get out and look around the campus and city. We'll start exploring edinburgh tomorrow after lunch.
Nothing really exciting to talk about today, except that the waitress at the cafe said they have had very mild weather lately and that they don't get nely the rain London does, so that is good to hear..... as I see clouds moving in? lol
We each have our own bedroom and bathroom. I have a corner room with a window that looks out over the soccer or 'football' fields and in to a a grove of evergreens. Right now I can see some clouds moving in, but it just looks amazing.
We spent the afternoon getting settled and finding out classroom, eating supper, ect. I'm taking a break tonight since we haven't really stopped since we left so I need it.
So far the food has been edible. Lately it has been cafeteria food and I'm alright with that, but it will get old eventually. I'm excited to get out and look around the campus and city. We'll start exploring edinburgh tomorrow after lunch.
Nothing really exciting to talk about today, except that the waitress at the cafe said they have had very mild weather lately and that they don't get nely the rain London does, so that is good to hear..... as I see clouds moving in? lol
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Thursday Night, London
Well, i'm seriously exhausted now. Which you will probably figure out by reading these. I'm not big on proof-reading.
It was a really really busy day. We started with breakfast at 8 and then 10:30 we headed to the British Library. This is the Brittish version of the Library of Congress, except they have like 2000 years of national history packed in to this place, not to mention they other things they have aquired over the years.
In their 'national treasures' display alone was the original copy of Alice in Wonderland, Jane Austen's writing desk and some original pieces. Personal writings from Virginia Wolfe, the originial hand written Mozart piece and Handel's "Messiah", beethoven's tuning fork.... scratches of Paul McCartney's writings for the Beatles... Pages of Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks... Galileo's personal star book, where he recorded astrological stuff. 1 of the originial copies of the Magna Carta and pages and pages of original religious texts.
This is the only room I really visited today, but we will have time when we make it back to London do do some more searching.
After lunch we took a double decker bus tour of the city. I even braved the cold wind (It barely reached 71 degrees today... and the sun was shining most of it)and sat up top to take pictures. It was really fun to see all the things you've heard about. Then all the sudden you make a turn and there is Big Ben. You name it and we probably saw it... maybe just a short glimpse but we saw it. I would like take a much more detailed tour when we get back, but atleast now we have an idea of where things are which will make the trip back much more time efficient.
The bus tour also included a short boat tour, which pretty much showed you exactly what you had seen on the bus but from the water, which was interesting. Yes we saw the "London Bridge" but it was really not very interesting at all... the London Tower Bridge on the other hand is really interesting.... there are like 8 bridges across the Thames river and they all have some pretty simple 'london' name.
Well i'm exhausted. I have to repack so we can take the train to Edinburugh tomorrow bright and early. I'm not sure when I'll get internet service back, but if it is anything like here it will be ready and waiting when we arrive.
Have a good day... try to stay cool, I know I am!!
Kait
It was a really really busy day. We started with breakfast at 8 and then 10:30 we headed to the British Library. This is the Brittish version of the Library of Congress, except they have like 2000 years of national history packed in to this place, not to mention they other things they have aquired over the years.
In their 'national treasures' display alone was the original copy of Alice in Wonderland, Jane Austen's writing desk and some original pieces. Personal writings from Virginia Wolfe, the originial hand written Mozart piece and Handel's "Messiah", beethoven's tuning fork.... scratches of Paul McCartney's writings for the Beatles... Pages of Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks... Galileo's personal star book, where he recorded astrological stuff. 1 of the originial copies of the Magna Carta and pages and pages of original religious texts.
This is the only room I really visited today, but we will have time when we make it back to London do do some more searching.
After lunch we took a double decker bus tour of the city. I even braved the cold wind (It barely reached 71 degrees today... and the sun was shining most of it)and sat up top to take pictures. It was really fun to see all the things you've heard about. Then all the sudden you make a turn and there is Big Ben. You name it and we probably saw it... maybe just a short glimpse but we saw it. I would like take a much more detailed tour when we get back, but atleast now we have an idea of where things are which will make the trip back much more time efficient.
The bus tour also included a short boat tour, which pretty much showed you exactly what you had seen on the bus but from the water, which was interesting. Yes we saw the "London Bridge" but it was really not very interesting at all... the London Tower Bridge on the other hand is really interesting.... there are like 8 bridges across the Thames river and they all have some pretty simple 'london' name.
Well i'm exhausted. I have to repack so we can take the train to Edinburugh tomorrow bright and early. I'm not sure when I'll get internet service back, but if it is anything like here it will be ready and waiting when we arrive.
Have a good day... try to stay cool, I know I am!!
Kait
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Finally in London
The plane finally landed in London about 4:30am Tx time (10:30am London time) but we still didn't make it to the hotel until almost 2. Yes it took 4 hours to get all 20 people through customs and through the airport to the metro/subway station where we had to ride, almost over an hour to get to the University. We were exhausted just when the planed landed, 9.5 hours later, then we had the privaledge of lugging out luggage everywhere.
I don't really have much to say today, I'm really really exhausted. I'm supposed to try to stay up as late as possible to get over jet lag and get my internal clock set with United Kingdom time.
First impression: Old. Not old, like grungy falling down and scary old like Russia, but old with history and character. I am so much more relaxed than last year. I just can't help but compare everything to my experience in Russia nd this is going to be SO much easier. I CAN READ THE SUBWAY MAP ALL BY MYSELF!!!! The street signs are more or less in my own language, and the people are somewhat friendly.
Again, this year we are staying in a dorm, and so the area we are in has obviously flurished from the constant student and tourist traffic. It is set up to perfecty cater the needs of most, including battery powered Alarm clocks that mama and I mangaged to forget during the long list making!lol
ok thats all I can handle. I have administrative type stuff Ineed to get done then it is BED TIME!!!... Lunch for you... 7ish for me (6 hour difference)
Talk to you soon- Kaitlyn
I don't really have much to say today, I'm really really exhausted. I'm supposed to try to stay up as late as possible to get over jet lag and get my internal clock set with United Kingdom time.
First impression: Old. Not old, like grungy falling down and scary old like Russia, but old with history and character. I am so much more relaxed than last year. I just can't help but compare everything to my experience in Russia nd this is going to be SO much easier. I CAN READ THE SUBWAY MAP ALL BY MYSELF!!!! The street signs are more or less in my own language, and the people are somewhat friendly.
Again, this year we are staying in a dorm, and so the area we are in has obviously flurished from the constant student and tourist traffic. It is set up to perfecty cater the needs of most, including battery powered Alarm clocks that mama and I mangaged to forget during the long list making!lol
ok thats all I can handle. I have administrative type stuff Ineed to get done then it is BED TIME!!!... Lunch for you... 7ish for me (6 hour difference)
Talk to you soon- Kaitlyn
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Tuesday July 7, 2009
Well, its 8:30 and I'm up and trying to finish the packing. I have no idea how I did this last year! Aaron left for a job in Baird this morning so he won't make it to the airport, so one hard goodbye down, just a couple more to go.
I don't really have much to say this morning. Just getting anxious to get this trip started.
Thanks for following me along! Next post from London!!
I don't really have much to say this morning. Just getting anxious to get this trip started.
Thanks for following me along! Next post from London!!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
July 4th, 3 days to go
I've had a great weekend. I took off work the last week before I left and since it was a holiday Aaron had Friday off so we've been able to finally spend some time together before I head out. Packing is goign slow, but Debbie will be here on Monday and will want to re-pack everything so I think I'm safe ;)
I know there are some issues with the commenting. Everybody's computer is different, especially security settings, so if you are getting warning messages and don't want to mess with commenting me here I'll also be checking my e-mail kmsoso11@yahoo.com and feel free to message me there.
You should be able to comment to my posts by
clicking the link (comments (#)) beside the pencil in the bottom right corner of the blog posting.
In the 'Comment as' drop down menu choose "Anonymous" Make sure you leave your name for me in your message so I know who's answering me! haha
I think you can also click the "by Name or URL" in the drop down and just put your name in the box and igore the "URL" part and should work.
I hope that wasn't too confusing.
Have a great 4th!!!!
I know there are some issues with the commenting. Everybody's computer is different, especially security settings, so if you are getting warning messages and don't want to mess with commenting me here I'll also be checking my e-mail kmsoso11@yahoo.com and feel free to message me there.
You should be able to comment to my posts by
clicking the link (comments (#)) beside the pencil in the bottom right corner of the blog posting.
In the 'Comment as' drop down menu choose "Anonymous" Make sure you leave your name for me in your message so I know who's answering me! haha
I think you can also click the "by Name or URL" in the drop down and just put your name in the box and igore the "URL" part and should work.
I hope that wasn't too confusing.
Have a great 4th!!!!
Monday, June 29, 2009
8 days and counting
My first message before I leave. I've finally realized that it is coming and there isn't much I can do about it now. I'm nervous, of course, but I'm finally getting excited.
I just read some of my blog posts from Russia last year. I want to apologize again for the horrible typos and gramatical errors. I'm trying to convince myself that it is really was the lack of technology and messed up keyboards, and the time crunch I was on each time I got connected to the internet. I'll do better, I hope, this time around.
Again, I'm not sure what my internet options will be when I get there. We are landing in London for a couple of days. We will be in dorm rooms for those couple of days, and then we take a train to Edinburgh where we will be staying at the Heriot-Watt University in dorms. HWU is supposed to be a very techonological university and there is a possibility for internet in my dorm room, and thanks to Erik, Hallie, Mom and Dad I have a mini-laptop I'll be carrying with me this year. Even if I'm not able to get internet in my room, we will have access to a computer lab on campus and many internet cafes.
Enough rambling already. 8 Days an counting
I just read some of my blog posts from Russia last year. I want to apologize again for the horrible typos and gramatical errors. I'm trying to convince myself that it is really was the lack of technology and messed up keyboards, and the time crunch I was on each time I got connected to the internet. I'll do better, I hope, this time around.
Again, I'm not sure what my internet options will be when I get there. We are landing in London for a couple of days. We will be in dorm rooms for those couple of days, and then we take a train to Edinburgh where we will be staying at the Heriot-Watt University in dorms. HWU is supposed to be a very techonological university and there is a possibility for internet in my dorm room, and thanks to Erik, Hallie, Mom and Dad I have a mini-laptop I'll be carrying with me this year. Even if I'm not able to get internet in my room, we will have access to a computer lab on campus and many internet cafes.
Enough rambling already. 8 Days an counting
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
