Sunday, July 14, 2013

Are We There Yet?

Yesterday made me never want to fly on a plane again. It may sound a bit dramatic but I had my reasons. I woke up at about 4:30 in the morning to get ready and finish my packing. I checked out of my flat and said my sad goodbyes to leave the university. A small group of us took a cab ride from Stirling to Edinburgh to catch our flights home. Upon my arrival I quickly found out that due to a fire at Heathrow Airport the day before, my flight to London had been cancelled. So, I waited in line for two hours at the customer service desk to rebook my whole itinerary. My new route was to Amsterdam and then on to Detroit. After a quick flight to Amsterdam, I wasted time in the airport to wait for my flight. When my three hour layover was complete I went to my gate only to find out that I had been bumped off the flight. I couldn't believe it, why had I been moved to a flight that was full? I stood in the middle of the Amsterdam Airport and cried. A little embarrassing now that I think about it but I was so stressed and so tired, I just wanted to get home. It didn't help that I was on my own. The airline worker told me that I would have to stay overnight in Amsterdam and fly out in the morning. They paid for my hotel room (a very nice one), my dinner and breakfast, my transportation to and from the airport and gave me 600 euros in compensation. After getting all of my paper work i went to the ATM to get all my money out since the card it was on wouldn't work in the US. As if things hadn't been stressful enough it took me a half an hour to get my money out of the machine because all the questions were in Dutch. The ladies working the bank couldn't help me because they apparently weren't allowed to leave their desk. I had to wander around the airport to find a worker that could help me get my money. I went to the hotel that night completely worn out. After a good meal, a long bath and a cup of chamomile tea I was calmed down and ready for bed. This morning while waiting once again in the airport I've never been so ready to get home. At the time I was completely stressed about the whole situation. Now, a day later and looking back, I can laugh at the situation a bit. This has been one interesting month and one very interesting trip home. I should know by now that things are bound to happen in air travel. At least I got an interesting story about it. 

Friday, July 12, 2013

Farewell Ceilidh

Yesterday was our farewell ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) at the Golden Lion Hotel in Stirling. The hotel was beautiful. The night was filled with traditional Scottish food and dancing. We had the Blackford Fiddle Group there to accompany our dances. After the ceilidh we left for our last night out with everyone since we all have early flights in the morning. We also celebrated my flatmates 21st birthday--a little strange celebrating it in a country when everyone is legal to drink at 18. Today I'm packing everything up and getting ready to takeoff tomorrow. It's so sad to be leaving this place. I've seen so many beautiful places and met so many amazing people, it's hard to believe I've fit all of these great things into one month. I'm sad to leave everything behind but I'm also ready to get back home to family and friends. This gorgeous and unusual warm sunny weather we've been having all week is also making it hard to say goodbye. I can honestly say that choosing to study abroad, even for just a summer, was the best decision I've made in college. 

Monday, July 8, 2013

Glasgow Round Two

The weekend was so much fun. Glasgow at night is a completely different city. We all had so much fun but were so tired on Sunday we were totally ready to be back at Stirling. The weather has completely changed. For the rest of the week it's going to be upper 70's and sun--not so typical for Scotland. We've all gotten so used to the colder weather and clouds that we're all sweating in our rooms. I only had two out of three classes today because my photography teacher didn't have any more material to cover (a great surprise). Now only one more class to go! Crazy how fast time has flown. 

Saturday, July 6, 2013

The Home Stretch

For the Fourth of July, all the of the ISS students dressed up in our red, white and blues to have a little fun. We all hung out with each other in one of the courtyards and had a blast. Yesterday I had an excursion for my religion and conflict course. We visited Stirling Castle. The view from the hill are amazing but the inside of the castle was a bit unimpressive. It was very touristy and everything seemed fake. Today I woke up and finished my photography assignment, religion paper and headed to the gym. My flatmate and I ventured into Stirling and wandered around the mall for a bit. Tonight, a group of us decided to take a spontaneous trip to Glasgow. We heard the nightlife is fantastic there and I can't wait to go! This weekend starts our home stretch for the rest of the trip. I cannot believe I've already spent three amazing weeks here. I'm excited to go home and see my family but I'm definitely having the time of my life.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Royal Glimpses in Edinburgh

View from the top of Arthur's Seat

Queen getting into her car, she's in blue

Edinburgh Castle

Oh. My. God. I saw the Queen of England! Well, let me back track a bit. Today was our group trip to Edinburgh. When we first got there the rain was clearing up so we decided to climb up a giant green hill (in the middle of Edinburgh–a bit strange) called Arthur’s Seat. The views were amazing. As we were snapping pics on top of this mountain it starts to absolutely down pour. Since we were so high up the wind was whipping us in the face and bending our umbrellas. We decided it would be our best bet to just try and make it down the hill. After slipping on the mud the whole way down we get to the bottom and of course the rain immediately stops. Our luck. We walked back to a main street and cursed our luck. We’d only been in Edinburgh for an hour and it wasn’t looking good. We approached a large estate (we later found out it was Holyrood Palace) and saw a group of about 15 or 20 people looking inside the gates so we wandered up to see what they were looking at. And…there she was, the Queen, getting into her car. We then watched her car approach and drive away. I was so close and I couldn’t believe I was actually looking right at the Queen in the flesh! To calm ourselves down we visited the Fudge House and had the most amazing fudge ever. Highland Cream flavored and it was the creamiest fudge ever–it put Mackinaw Island to shame. Next we saw the sites of Edinburgh–Parliament (a bizarre modern building), Edinburgh Castle, walked the Royal Mile and visited the National Museum of Scotland (such a cool place). After all the walking we were ready for lunch. Since it’s the 4th, we visited an amazing pulled pork place named Oink and had barbecue Scottish style. The sauce was sweet and tangy and it was topped with haggis. By the time we finished eating we slowly wandered back to where our buses picked us up and ventured back to Stirling. My day was insane. 

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Misplaced Holidays and Journeys into Town

Last night was eventful, a large group of ISS students all went into Stirling to hangout at the pubs. This morning, like every Wednesday morning here, I got the pleasure of being woken up by the fire alarm tests they run. It sounds similar to an air raid alarm. After my religion class, I finished a photography assignment, did some laundry and ventured into town with my flatmate for something to do. Tonight the university is throwing us a 4th of July party…on the 3rd of July. Also ironic since Britain is the country we’re celebrating gaining our independence from and they’re the ones throwing us the party. All irony aside, we’re very appreciative of the acknowledgement of this summer holiday and I’m enjoying the excuse to enjoy a few hot dogs. 

Monday, July 1, 2013

A Restful Scottish Weekend

What's the best way to cure a rough six hours of classes? A pint of Ben & Jerry's half baked of course! It's hard to focus on my studies when it's a beautiful day outside and I'm in Scotland. However, by the time I left my last class I didn't have much energy to enjoy the outdoors. So, after I came home at six, I made myself a delicious dinner and sat down in front of the computer to watch Netflix. The weekend was very relaxed and I welcomed it after the busy week I had prior. I caught up on some sleep, worked ahead on my religion paper and ventured into town a few times for something to do. This week, I'm looking forward to the many excursions planned: Edinburgh, Stirling Castle and of course a few trips to the pub.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Glasgow

University of Glasgow

The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

City Chambers

Today was our ISS trip to Glasgow. It rained all day but we couldn’t complain since we’ve barely seen the rain since we’ve gotten here. My friends and I spend 10 pounds and rode one of those bus tours to get a bit of history about the city and help us decide which places we wanted to see. Since we were allowed to get on and off the bus as much as we wanted with our ticket, we used it as our transportation around the city. We saw all the sites. We visited a great museum, The Kelvingrove, and got to listen to an amazing organ player inside. We also saw City Chambers (with beautiful marble everywhere inside) and the University of Glasgow. It was started in 1451. It amazes me how old everything is here. Everything was free–a relief after pricey London.  I loved seeing Glasgow. There was so much history and beautiful buildings to look at without the insane hustle and bustle. I finally picked up some good Scotch for my family and we headed back to Stirling. After a tiring day and all this rain all I feel like doing for the night is making some soup and curling up in my bed to watch Netflix.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Tastes of Britain

Yesterday was my lazy day. With no class or excursions to worry about I ventured into town to pick up groceries. It’s a different experience having to lug my bags back on a bus and up a hill to my room rather than loading them into the back of my car. The squirrels here are worse than back home at CMU. At Central, they’re a little too brave for my taste and never run away when you approach them. In Stirling, they like to scale walls, sneak in your windows and eat your food. Now I’m constantly paranoid that every time I enter our kitchen there will be a squirrel waiting for me. This morning we got our weekly delivery of “Taste of Britain”. The ISS coordinators deliver typical British foods every week to us to taste. Last week it was Irn Bru (an overly sweet orange pop) and this week was a tea cake. I didn’t like those too much either. It was a shortbread cookie with marshmallow on top coated in chocolate. I’m not a huge fan of marshmallow so I didn’t eat all of mine. Tonight I have to venture into Bridge of Allan (the neighboring town) to take pictures for my photography class. Other than that, it should be another relaxing evening. 

Sunday, June 23, 2013

London Calling


Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey

Buckingham Palace

London Bridge

London was absolutely amazing. It’s one of those cities that you say you’d like to go someday and are amazed when you’re actually stepping foot in it. I don’t know how we did it, but in two days we managed to see the “must sees” of London. We got up at three in the morning to catch our flight from Edinburgh. When we landed in London we dropped off our bags at the hostel and headed downtown. Getting off our train we saw London Bridge and made our way around town to stop by Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, a walk by the Thames River and on to Buckingham Palace.  Yesterday we ventured out again and saw Kensington Palace (just to check up on my royal friends Will and Kate), the Tower of London, walked around Notting Hill and visited the British Museum. In it we saw things like the Rosetta Stone, the stone faces from Easter Island and a few mummies. I couldn’t believe I was seeing all of these historic, famous landmarks of London. Today I headed back to Stirling. After a busy weekend in bustling London I was happy to see the green hills when I landed in Scotland. Being back in Stirling feels more like home. I managed to get a paper written on the flight back. It’s hard managing my time between schoolwork and touring around. I want to see as much as I can while I’m here but I also want to do well in my classes. I feel like I’m constantly going from one thing to the next with few times to just be lazy but I might as well fit as much in as I can. Another difficult thing to manage is my money. I’ve never had to pay for meals, laundry, transportation and sightseeing in my previous trips abroad. It’s tough paying to go see things and not break the bank. Even though London was an expensive town, I couldn’t be happier that I got the chance to see it. 

Thursday, June 20, 2013

St. Andrews

St. Andrews University

The beach

St. Andrews Cathedral

Seaside town of Crail

Today's itinerary included a trip to St. Andrew's. It's been one of my favorite visits so far. To see something so old (the campus alone is celebrating their 600th anniversary) is truly amazing to me. Since I'm such a royal family nerd I loved to think that Will and Kate went to school in the very grounds I was walking. The weather was once again beautiful--I'm waiting for this Scottish rain that's supposed to be typical of the area. I wandered the little town with a few friends. We saw the golf course (the first one in the world), St. Andrews Cathedral (or what's left of it) and various other churches around town. My photography class had an excursion and we visited the University Museum and a town called Crail. We took lots of photos with our camera obscuras and had fish and chips at a quaint and delicious little restaurant by the sea. The beaches by St. Andrews remind me so much of Lake Michigan. Light blue water, soft sand and similar plant life. I loved all the history around me. Tomorrow, myself and three other friends wake up extremely early (3:30 am is our departure time) and head to London. To say I'm excited is an understatement.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Hills and Meals

Views from the top of Dumyat Hill


Last night was a nice night out to a local pub and club. We met up with a lot of the other American students and had fun dancing. Today was very eventful. I had one class this afternoon and then my flatmate and I grabbed some lunch and trekked up Dumyat Hill--a mountain if you ask me. It took us two and a half hours round trip to make it up and down (we got lost a few times.) The views were unlike anything I'd ever seen. By the time we reached the bottom my legs were so sore and my body was exhausted. The cardio from that hike was more than I've ever done in a gym. Once again in our flat we rested a bit and took the bus downtown Stirling for dinner. We ate at an Italian restaurant called Cibo e Vino. Very good italian food, great wine and excellent atmosphere. After returning to our flat for the evening I'm so tired. Heading to bed early tonight wouldn't be the worst idea since tomorrow is a busy day at St. Andrews.

Monday, June 17, 2013

First Day of Classes

I started my day today at 10:30, thank god I didn’t have any classes until noon. My first class was photographing the urban. We made homemade “camera obscuras” which distort your image slightly and give you and artsy finish on your photos. I also had religion and conflict today. I think it’s going to be an interesting class. It was yet again a warm sunny day. I’ve yet to see all of these rain and clouds that are typical for Scotland’s summer weather. I booked a trip to London for this weekend with a few friends. I’m so excited, London is definitely a city I’ve always wanted to see.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Arriving in Stirling

 Doune Castle
 Dunblane Cathedral
 Stirling Castle
View from Stirling Castle

The past few days have been jam packed with things. My flight was long and uncomfortable–expected though with such a long flight. After landing in Edinburgh there was a 45 minute car ride to the University of Stirling. My flat wasn’t what I expected, I was thinking it to be more like an apartment. This has very closed off living quarters. I already made friends with one of my flat mates and people she knows from her travel company. The campus is spectacular. Everything is so green and hilly, much different than the CMU campus I’m used to. There’s a beautiful loch here and you can see Wallace Monument looming on a nearby hill. The weather has been nice since I’m here–fairly sunny (not the usual Scottish weather.) Today we went on a few tours. We walked around campus and downtown Stirling. We were shown where the local pubs, shopping centers and supermarkets were. We toured Stirling Castle which sits on a massive hill near campus. We couldn’t walk inside but we walked the grounds surrounding it. The view was breathtaking. We also saw Doune Castle and Dunblane Cathedral. They had such amazing, old architecture to them. The supermarket was an experience for me. I’m not used to the British pound system yet. I'm still a little jet lagged but ready to start my classes tomorrow.