Edinburgh

The last couple days have involved lots of watching movies/playing games, because people are either mellowing out or starting to get sick. Either way, it has been nice to relax for a little while. Summary: tacos, curry, butternut squash, slips of paper game, charades, mars bars, snow.

Today Ana, Clara, Eric and I took a trip to Edinburgh. The bus ride was about an hour and a half. We were a little nervous to go because there were supposed to be large and potentially violent anti-Islam and anti-racist demonstrations during the day. Indeed, the city seemed to be packed with police. However I didn't hear about any outbreaks: http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh/Thousands-take-to-streets-of.6090420.jp [[Here are a few pics from the bus ride there, and from Eric and I walking towards the bus station with the DRA cat (named so since it is constantly seen hanging out around DRA)]]

When we got to the city, we headed towards the Edinburgh Castle. Along the way we checked out the West Princes Street Gardens, and an awesome farmer's market that was happening nearby. We also stopped for a little coffee and some delicious hot chocolate. We didn't go in the castle, but there was a great view of the city from the top.

Then we did some exploring - we walked down the Royal Mile and over to Calton Hill, taking in the sights and sounds. The Royal Mile was pretty touristy but worth seeing. Calton Hill offered another great view of the city, and it was nice to get out and walk around because it was such a beautiful day. After heading back from the hill we got some lunch at an Italian place, and then I convinced (forced?) everyone to go on one of the underground ghost tours. Eric took a little extra convincing since we had just recently watched "The Descent." Anyway, the tour was awesome! The first part was very interesting, and we got to learn some history about the city that we wouldn't have otherwise. For example: We learned that the vibrant colors of kilts that we see today were only worn by Scots after King George IV visited Edinburgh in 1822. Before this, the highlanders had not only not worn kilts for hundreds of years, but had also worn very dully colored kilts (so as to not draw attention from enemy clans). When the King visited, the wearing of kilts became the fashion and families began to claim the new vibrant plaids as their own.

Anyway, the historical part of the tour was followed by the scary part. When we were about to head underground, the tour guide announced that everyone had a character on their card, but only one person held the special "Ghost Card." Unfortunately, this person was me! It meant that I had to lead everyone into the vaults by myself. Ana and Clara and Eric just stood by and let me suffer in the darkness! Thats alright, though.. the tour inside was pretty fun. And also spooky. Apparently people have been known to come out of there with scratch marks on their body from the ghosts. If there were any scratch marks on me though it was probably from Ana and I holding eachothers arms.

After the tour we headed back to the station and made it home. Tonight Eric, Jamee and I made french toast because I had tons of bread that was molding and he had some eggs that were expiring. Yumm. Now time to hang out and read a little. So many pictures! Sun setting on a nice day..

Distillery

Just got back from a whisky distillery in Pitlochry, a small town right on the edge of the highlands. The admissions office took a group of exchange students up there for free! It turns out that whisky does not smell that great while it is being made. But, we did get to taste a couple kinds at the end - they were good. After that we got to walk around town and we grabbed some lunch at a local sandwich shop. I got the soup of the day (lentil) + bread + chocolate "crispie". Mmm chocolate. Here's a pic from the distillery. The attempted scene: Ginger, Eric, Ana, and Clara get drunk at the whisky distillery. Ginger tries to hold eric up as he pukes on the ground, Ana and Clara stumble around together. Actual scene: Ginger looks exasperated as she tries to pull the arm off a feeble old man aka Eric. Ana and Clara are conjoined and are also exceptionally smaller than the rest of the characters. All four stand infront of a sign that says: "distillery".

Last night was the silent rave!! It was a lot of fun. Also, it was really weird. Talk about agony - pulling your headphones off during the song "don't stop believing" to hear nothing but a bunch of screaming "born and raised in SOUTH DETROOIIIT." Plus, the headphones were set so that you could choose between two different DJs. So in addition to everyone being weirded out by the fact that people were dancing like maniacs with headphones on in a totally silent room, most of the people were dancing to different songs at different times. Definitely not for anyone who is feeling self-conscious. Ana, Eric and I went for it though and accepted the madness - including "rave" face paint and mardi gras masks. (Credit to Ana for some of the pictures!)

Just one more note: I love bunnies. They are so great! And I love running here, especially a) by the beach, or b) with bunnies. It really helps to clear my head. I just went on a run and found myself in a field with 5 fat waddley rabbits. eee!!!! I thought I was going to burst because I was so happy, and I just ran around in circles laughing to myself and chasing them. Laurel, you've gotta look into getting some rabbits for your long runs. ALSO!! thanks for the package. :) I just got it - it says: "Missent to India." hahaha, this will not help your distrust of the postal service!

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! I am writing this right now in an attempt to not be really sad, because the bus that was supposed to pick me up and take me to the highlands to go on a hike never came. I was going to be going with the "breakaway" club (st. andrews hiking group) to Glen Clova, a national nature reserve up in the highlands. I got up at 7 to get ready and waited outside for an entire hour and it never came! Plus I had to pay 10 pounds to go. Rage :(

Thats alright, I still have a lot to be happy about. The past 3 days have been absolutely beautiful - sunny and cool, big blue sky, fresh sea air. I love sleeping with the window open! Thursday I went to CS class and then to my "women and scottish society" class. I was really nervous about it, but it sounds like it will be fun - we each research/give a presentation on one of 10 women who has shaped scottish society in the past 2 centuries. Lots of reading and writing, but it will be a good change from the math/cs classes. We got out of class very early, and then I met up with Sadhbh, Fiona, Jamee, and Cassi and we walked down to the beach and had a picnic of sorts. That night we all just hung out, did some work, and talked. It is nice living in a flat because there seems to always be someone to talk to!

Friday I had math and CS class, and I finished up my homework for next week. (I made a website!! It reads weather data from a URL and then writes it into its own website. Not very cool yet, but hopefully it will get better... http://host-vs235.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/weather.html ) That night Eric made some delicious tacos and then we all went to the bop (toga themed). Came back, watched a little of the olympics, gorged on some leftover taco supplies, and then passed out.

Yesterday was definitely the most beautiful yet. I woke up late and then went to the "refreshers fayre," where you sign up for clubs. I signed up for sustainable development, board game society, "sandclock society," and a few other random ones. Sandclock society is a group of people whose social gatherings revolve around sand (the beaches) - they have bonfires, treasure hunts, etc. Then Eric, Elizabeth, and I got some fish and chips and walked around town. Fish and chips are too good. I feel great eating them and always bad after. Eric and I got to see some old ruins (cathedral & other religious buildings) and walked out to the pier - pictures below. Also, I picked up phase 10 and another game at a charity shop in town (shout out to Ms. Helms's class.) Later that night we all played and ate some delicious cheese and crackers.

I've been looking at hikes around St. Andrews, and I found something called the "fife coastal path" - it runs for 150 kms along the coast of Scotland near St. Andrews. I found a walk that goes from the aquarium here to Guardbridge, a town about 5 miles away - through something called the "eden estuary local nature reserve!" I'm going to see if I can get anyone to head out there today with me, so that I can at least get a little hiking in!

Happy Valentines day!!

gggggggggggggggg

Sun!

Sun finally came out! Apparently, Dundee (a town about 10 miles away) is the sunniest and warmest town in Scotland. St. Andrews is also apparently in the "dry" part of Scotland (all very relative). Anyway, I am grateful to have a break from the rain. If only it was a little warmer! (Currently 33 degrees) I took the opportunity to take some nice pics of the beach and around town. Also last night I made a curry that was chronic - garbanzo beans, cabbage, lentils, tomatoes, some sort of curry sauce. Then I put some cottage cheese on it (shout out to mars), had some naan bread and rice! Don't feel like writing any more so here are some pictures. (might be a little too proud of the curry, don't judge)

Rain

Blagh, today has been a tough day. It has been a big pain in the butt figuring out where my classes are and what time they're at, much less how to actually get to those buildings. St. Andrews doesn't really have one system that tells you the timetables for everything - you have to look up each class individually, either through their department or class websites. Also my professors only let us out of class 5 minutes before the hour, which is definitely not enough time to get across campus. A few more complaints: torrential rain, hail, wind, grayness, the jerk who cut in front of me at the post office, and the looming price of textbooks.

But! Today was not all bad. I signed up for a research study a while ago, and I got 5 pounds for doing that. Plus, I was good at the game we were playing (to determine which of two squiggly lines was longer), so I got an extra 3 pounds! Also there are tons of bunny rabbits here. I see at least 2 every day. They congregate around my dorm, I think. I'm sure that they are a nuisance to the apartment complex but I haven't gotten used to seeing them yet and they make me happy every time I see their fat little bodies waddling around. Other things to look forward to - yoga class this afternoon, pub quiz tonight, and the hike that I will hopefully be signing up for this weekend. Also I've talked to Sadhbh and they've got a student garden that I want to start volunteering at. Who knows what we'll be growing? Cabbage, probably. I see so much cabbage here. A note on the grocery stores: They have tons of organic stuff, but very little "exotic" foods. Organic cabbage can be bought for 50p, but I have not been able to find kale or edamame anywhere. The veggie isle mostly consists of cabbage, spinach, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, and something called a "swede" - i think its another name for a rutabaga.

Here's a pic Eric took of me yesterday - this was right after trying fish & chips for the first time. We were very touristy that day I guess

Medieval Orgy

Last night was lots of fun. We went to the Ceilidh (pronounced cay-lee), a traditional Scottish dance, and then to the "Bop" which is essentially a traditional middle school dance, but without the awkwardness and teenage angst. At the Ceilidh we were served Scottish food - including Haggis - which I tried and I have to admit that it was good! It tasted like corned beef hash, except more ground up and with none of the great crispies that Laurel always creates by cooking it a little long. We also had some potatoes, squash, and some traditional dessert items. The dancing was fun, too. We made fools of ourselves and had a great time. After taking a short break, we were back at again when we hit up the Bop. Everyone gave up on trying to be good at dancing and just bobbled around making up ridiculous dance moves while listening to 90's pop music.

However, dancing my shoes to shreds last night did not prevent me from getting out today. I spent this morning down at the local farmers market. I wish I had gotten a picture of it - it was so cute. I had to ask about 5 people how to get there. Thats alright though, because I like being able to hear the accents. I also met a dog named tiny, who was literally the size of a large man. But hairier.

When I was there I got some amazing cheese with mustard seeds in it. The cheese vendor was actually pretty famous - apparently he sends cheese to Arnold Schwarzenegger (or as he referred to it, "the chap from Terminator"). Then I tried something called a "smokie" - it was an entire trout, cut down the middle, salted, and smoked. It comes in a little sheet of paper and you open it up and eat all the meat on the inside. It was delicious!! Also it was funny to see all the smoke in the misty Scottish morning - it made it nearly impossible to see anything. I must be low on iron, because after that I decided to get some buffalo burgers with venison and cranberries in them. I can't decide whether they sound incredible or awful - but I think they have the potential to be pretty dang good. What to put on them, though? I was thinking maybe spinach and blue cheese.

After going to the farmers market, Clara, Ana, Elizabeth and I decided to take a bus out to Dundee for some shopping. Dundee is a city about 10 miles away where most of the locals do their shopping, since St. Andrews is quite a small town. It was a little hectic trying to find the right bus, but we eventually figured it out and spent the whole afternoon there looking around. I got a jacket, some waterproof pants for hiking, and a couple pairs of tights. This is embarrassing, but I also have to admit that we ate lunch at KFC. Pathetic, I know. Here's a pic of Ana, Elizabeth, and Clara chowing down on some chicken sandwiches:

After getting back Sadhbh and I made some delicious stir fry for dinner, and now I think I am going to shower, read, and head to bed. Oh yeah, I think that I get to meet my roommate tonight, as well!!

I'll leave you with Eric's quote from last night. After one of the dances he comes stumbling off the floor, sweaty and exasperated, saying: "That was basically a medieval orgy!"

(This in reference to a dance at the ceilidh in which each person gets thrown back and forth between two groups, eventually swinging around with everyone there)

Pictures

A few more pics..

Had to take one of this - our flat's vacuum, henry.

Elizabeth, Eric, Clara, Ana, and I - game night.

Finally rained today! Not a downpour but the kind that drizzles all day and soaks into you. Still decided to get some pictures, though!

A path down to the ocean

The "logic and metaphysics" building. They love blue doors here!

Creepy doll I spotted in a tree while trying to take pics of the postman - he walks around with a little cart. Sorry for this one

High teas

Some golfers out in the rain

Topping Up

Hello!

Here we are at the commencement of my blog about studying in Scotland. I would like to credit the title of this blog to Byron, who created my terrible Scottish name years ago. Thanks, Byron.

The past few days I have mostly spent settling in at St. Andrews. I got in on Monday and rode a taxi into town with two other American students, Erin and Eric. We were treated along the way to anecdotes from our Scottish driver, although I regret to say that I was unable to understand and/or hear most of them. I did see lots of sheep along the way, however, and some cute little Scottish children playing outside in sweaters.

When we got in, Eric and I were treated to a tour of town by my sweet flatmate, Sadhbh, and her boyfriend Tariq. The two were really top-notch guides - I don't think there is anything that they missed: The history of the university, special events (including a big foam fight dressed as playboy bunnies), an overview of important buildings, a detailed list of the best restaurants and pubs.

Since then, Eric and I have been exploring the town via our various trips to get groceries, set up cell phones, and attend orientation events. We also met another girl from the states, Elizabeth, and two students from Spain, Ana and Clara who we have been hanging out with. We all went out to a pub last night and to see the Student Union, and tonight everyone is coming over to my flat to play games. (!!) Note: I have no games here, so we will have to make something up. I foresee the slips of paper game in my future.

Here's a few photos of my digs. I haven't taken any of the town yet, but I promise I will soon - it is gorgeous!

One note about the weather - its been really nice! Besides being cold. Somehow we've had no rain yet. I think its an anomaly. I guess we need to help balance out the mass precipitation that everyone seems to be getting in Virginia.

More coming soon,

Ginger

p.s. The post has been labeled "topping up" because it is one of the new phrases I am getting used to:

Topping up - add to, fill up, etc. Example: Top up your cell phone by adding minutes to your plan. Other things that I have found people "top up" include debit cards, fuel tanks, and cell phone batteries. And . . . blog entires?