Leave it all to Chance

Recently, I've been thinking about making decisions and control...and how others' decisions affect our own - you know, the usual cyclic conundrums into which I am so easily swept. But as I thought about it more, I began to wonder about what happens when we reach the point where we don't want to deal with it anymore. You know, when you're so tired of looking at or thinking about something that you say, "I've done all I can do, so I'm just going to leave it all to chance."

Leave it all to chance.

What is chance, anyway? When we decide to let chance determine our next step, what is really happening? Just because we no longer have the ability to be (or simply choose to not be) directly involved does not mean that some omnipotent chance is in control...or does it? At this point, we might say, "Oh yes - God is chance. Or, at least, God steps in at those moments."

It makes sense, but what about all of those other factors that we didn't consider the first time? Let's say you're completing a job application. When you finally submit it (for the sake of the example, we're assuming the application is online), it is out of your hands and you no longer have control over the situation. (This is the point where you say you will leave it all to chance.) As a part of your application, you had to upload your résumé and answer some questions about why you are a good fit for the job, etc. You know it wasn't dazzling, but with the right hiring manager, you might have a shot.

Enter the hiring manager. Yes, the hiring manager probably has a set of guidelines for narrowing down the search for employees, but the selection process also inevitably depends on the hiring manager's current frame of mind. There are so many things that play into this. Consider two scenarios for the hiring manager's morning:
1) found out that his/her sister is stuck in the airport because of snow delays and flat tire on the way to work; 2) notified that he/she won a raffle for $1000 and made it to work without hitting any red lights. It is easy to see how either one of these two scenarios might put a person in a different mood than the characteristic monotonous mediocrity. And since humans are never truly free of bias, an altered frame of mind could covertly determine the open-mindedness of the hiring manager, thus affecting the survival rate of your application.

Notice that everything that might have affected the hiring manager's morning was largely dependent upon things exterior to himself/herself. Let's say that the hiring manager woke up that morning and said, "I hope today goes well, but I'll just leave it all to chance."

Here we go again.

It would seem as if our chance is also dependent upon others' actions. So when we say we are leaving it all to chance, we're leaving it up to other people, and ultimately, to God.

So does chance exist at all?

Noteworthies: The Rule of Love

For those of you looking for a quick, thoughtful read, I will let C.S. Lewis do the talking:

"The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbour; act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less. There is, indeed, one exception. If you do him a good turn, not to please God and obey the law of charity, but to show him what a fine forgiving chap you are, and to put him in your debt, and then sit down to wait for his 'gratitude', you will probably be disappointed. (People are not fools: they have a very quick eye for anything like showing off, or patronage.) But whenever we do good to another self, just because it is a self, made (like us) by God, and desiring its own happiness as we desire ours, we shall have learned to love it a little more or, at least, to dislike it a little less."

-from Mere Christianity

I got this great book of C.S. Lewis quotes last Christmas and there are so many good tidbits in it! Sometimes good thoughts happen upon us, and what a wonderful feeling it is when they do. But I believe that it takes hearing others' good thoughts to develop better ones for yourself. However, the trick is to not get stuck behind the other people's thoughts: "Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking." -Einstein.

Acquire enough knowledge to understand and then think for yourself. When you hit a wall, there's nothing wrong with looking for inspiration, but once you find it, remember why you went looking.

Night Lights

Well, here we are. You might say that I've hit that point where the blog-urges have gotten the better of me. I've wanted to write for a while, but it's been hard finding a time to devote to it. What, with trying to get ahead on schoolwork only to keep up with everything else. But those moments where you don't think about all of that everything else are so precious. Sometimes, getting past the guilt of "wasting time" is the hardest part...but it's also the necessary part. I don't think a lot of us realize how important those moments are.

Let me take you into my world for a little.

Lamp Post by Joyce Ann Burton-Sousa

The metal is cold in your hand as you open the door. As you take your first step outside, you hold your breath in case the night air is as chilly as you remember. The sidewalk is still darker than usual from the constant mist that has been shivering in the air all day. It's like walking in a cloud; you can almost see the droplets suspended in the air. And it's beautiful. You let out your breath as the coldness creeps to your nose and ears. They're always the first to go. In the darkness and the dampness, the greens of the grass and the leaves on the trees look almost black. The cement glistens faintly. The bricks of the building around you glow from the lights posted down the path. In the middle of the sidewalk, there are two consecutive, canal-like structures that cradle a reservoir of water. In the daylight, it's nothing special. The leaves and dust and rocks that have been swept into it are blatant. The water isn't cleaned or filtered...it's just ordinary water. But at night, the water is wondrously black, just like the sky. The reflections of the lights dance in its wetness as the wind stirs or the mist drops kiss the surface. And it's beautiful. You walk on the ledge of the canals, balancing between the sidewalk and the shivery plunge. You listen to the click-clack of your shoes as the wind whispers past your ears. Ahead, you can see a square fountain, bubbling up with glittering water, shooting in unequal spurts from the plastic pumps. The gleam of the night lights works magic on the little fountain too. And it's beautiful. The ordinary world is changed in that moment, in that place, in your eyes. And it's beautiful.

That little place always makes me feel like I'm alive, like I'm not really caught in the drudgery of a noisy agenda. Here's to the moments and the places that make you feel like more than you've made yourself out to be.

A beautiful thing never gives so much pain as does failing to hear and see it. -Michelangelo

Friday the Thirteenth

Tonight is the last night that I'll spend in my flat. I cannot believe it. I remember moving into the room and thinking it was such a long time, a month. Today I've succeeded in everything that I needed to, I think. My stuff's been mostly packed for days, I did the last minute shopping, and I've separated the things that I can leave here (either with people like shampoo, or in the trash like both pairs of shoes I brought - yes, I bought some new ones).

Earlier, Sophie and Teran left for the Isle of Skye. We got to meet Sophie's parents for lunch today! It was neat to meet them and it's nice that instead of taking a train or bus for their trip, they can take a rental car. Her Dad is pretty good at driving over here. I would have a rough time, especially with all of the roundabouts. And we thought that they were putting in a lot near school - hah! You have to go through about five to get into Stirling from campus.

Notice the tiny people.

Yesterday we went to the Whitelee Windfarm and it was amazing! The weather was beautiful and the sun was out while we were there. I really enjoyed getting to learn about them. Apparently there are weather detectors in the nacelle so that the turbine can situate itself depending on the direction the wind is blowing. All of the turbines (and some that are located in other parts of the country) are all managed by a single switchboard at the windfarm. If any manageable problems are detected, repairmen are sent to climb up the tower of the turbine. Can you imagine!? It takes them a good five minutes or so to climb the ladder straight up to the top, where the generator, gearbox, drive train (or "powertrain" - the engine and transmission), and brake assembly are located. The fastest that the turbines we saw turn are 16 revolutions per minute. If the windspeed gets past 53, they must be shut off because they are not made to withstand winds that strong. Turbines are fascinating.

Last night, we had a Farewell Party and a Ceilidh (pronounced "Kay-lee"). I loved it. I haven't gotten to dance in a while, and I have really missed it. I wish I could dance like that every week. At many Scottish weddings, they have a ceilidh in addition to other festivities.. and I would definitely love to have one! If I could give people the opportunity to have as good a time as I did, I would be so happy. We learned a variety of dances, and had a wonderful time. What a great way to end an amazing trip!

Fun at the Ceilidh.

And now this is the part where I do a reflective thing, right?

I have thoroughly enjoyed this trip. It was one of my dreams to study abroad.. and now I've done it. I am so thankful for this experience. It gave me a chance to be independent in a way that I have never been, and in a way that I never may be again. I have more confidence in myself and have more friends from all over! (Nope - no negatives so far..) Scotland was great, and I hope everyone has enjoyed hearing about some of my little adventures and observations. I could never have made it here without a lot of you, and I wish that you could have been here with me! Everyone would have had a great time. But, tomorrow a group of us leave at 6 in the morning to head to the airport in Edinburgh. That puts us there around 7something, and my flight leaves for Newark, NJ at 9:25. I'm nervous about the airport all over again, but if I can just make it past the check-bag weighing, then I'll be fine, haha! Wish me luck, and I'm excited to be coming home!

Drip, Drip, Drop

I've been trying to be productive today. So far, I've done my laundry (and yes, it's already hanging up all around my room), gone over all of my receipts, organized my pictures, and "packed" my things. I decided that it would be a good idea for me to see how all of my stuff was going to fit in the bag before Friday.. and it's looking pretty good. I had been dreading trying to pack everything because I didn't know if I'd go over my weight limit or not. We still have to see about the weight, but there is definitely enough space, thank heavens! As for a scale, I had been looking around for luggage scales last week and went into the Chemist (Pharmacy) on campus, and they said that they could let me use the (human) scale if I needed to weigh anything. That was a relief. But the only problem is.. the walk is about 10-15 minutes without the bag, so with it, I don't know how easy it is going to be, especially considering I will be lugging it right back to my flat. Haha, oh well - I guess it builds character.

Since July 4th, a lot has happened, but the most amazing is that I'm done with class! Yesterday, I turned in my last graded assignment. I'm so excited! And tomorrow, we are going to the Whitelee Wind Farm near Glasgow! Apparently we get to take a bus tour of the place and it's supposedly pretty big. Turbines are so neat! Hopefully it won't be too rainy so I can get some pictures.

Family outside of
The Three Broomsticks!

One of the saddest things is that last Sunday, the Stirling Games got cancelled. Because of wetness?! I was really looking forward to them. But I got to spend some time with friends instead. And when I get home, I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities for me to go to some there. They are so great!

Another thing that I'm kinda bummed about is that my family is in Florida on vacation right now. It's too bad that Time Share opportunities can't be moved. Especially considering that they've gotten to go to Harry Potter World! I can't wait until I get to go sometime. And my friend Teran went to London to take the Studio Tour of the sets and everything too! Harry Potter everywhere. She said it was amazing and brought us back some Fizzing Whizbees to try! They're so innovative - chocolate with some poprocks to make the magic.

The Edinburgh clocktower.
So foggy!

Last Thursday we went to visit Edinburgh. The construction workers have made so much progress on the tram system they've been working on! But let me tell you. I was in the same city as the Queen and Will and Kate. Talk about 'hard to take in.' There was a parade and some people got really neat pictures when they were approaching Holyrood Palace down the Royal Mile.

So, as you can see, there have been some pretty exciting things going on. And last night was no exception.. totally incomparable, though. There is a traditional walk that the ISS program does every year. It is called the  Darn Walk (funny, right?). Well, in sending out information about it, they said that they would provide us all with free ice cream from the Allanwater Café in Bridge of Allan. I have a feeling that the words "free ice cream" were the only ones that a lot of people saw, so there was a decent turnout. The walk left at 6, and since that's when my Green Politics class ends, we met up with the group on their way off campus. It is already raining at this point, but we set out with umbrellas and high expectations.

We walked on a trail in the woods that ran parallel to the road that leads into Bridge of Allan. To the right, there were houses and fields with horses and to the left, there was a drop toward the riverbed. It was beautiful.

Until you looked down.

There are no words.

We trekked through (sometimes 5 inch deep) mud for about 2.4 miles through the rain. I really enjoyed it, but my shoes were definitely not prepared. I had planned on throwing them away at the end of the trip, but I would have preferred they last just a few more days, haha. BUT, we made it. And we got our delicious ice cream. My only issue was that I would get trench foot or something. No worries though; I was informed that it would take months of that treatment for that to happen.. supposedly. Until that happens, however, I can say that I survived the walk unscathed (although I did fall down once - I didn't wipe out, but with mud in, on, and under your shoes, there is very little traction).

As for tonight, I am going to a place in Stirling called The Tolbooth to hear Alan Bissett and some of the ISS students read their short stories. Exciting!

July 4th in Scotland.. does that mean anything?

Well, I just did a quick search and the only thing that has significance to Scotland crossed with the 4th of July is Ronni Ancona, an actress from Scotland. ..But that hasn't stopped people from having fun today! Some people got barbeques and were grilling out on the pad earlier, all decked out in red, white, and blue. The weather wasn't perfect, but it was nice enough to be outside, thankfully. Oh - and some guys had a (an American) football and were playing toss. I had to go out there. It's been a while since I've thrown, and I've missed it. Kinda hard to keep ahold of the thing when it's grassy and wet, though. Guess it gives you grip practice.

Other than that, I've spent the majority of the day progressively hacking out my Scotland on the Screen essay. It's been a process. But what I find humorous about the whole thing is that I was writing about Scottish nationality on America's day of independence. Not ironic or anything, but still amusing.

But anyway, Happy Independence Day, everyone! And I hope you got a free burger out of it like me.

Top left: Kim. Top right: Teran.
Bottom left: Me. Bottom right: Sophie.

Hmm. What's happened since my last post..

Saturday: Walked to Bridge of Allan, the little town between the Uni (short for University) and the City of Stirling, with friends (Kim, Teran, and Sophie) for supper. We were going to go to The Westerton Arms: Traditional Bar & Restaurant, but when we got there, the wait was an hour and a half! Haha, no sir. So, instead, we walked a little ways more and ate at The Allanwater Café (where we got awesome desserts!).

View atop the Wallace Monument.

Sunday: Busybusybusy. Walked with Kim to the Wallace Monument (about 15 minutes to the Welcome Center, 10 minutes up the hill, and 264 steps to the top!) and back before lunchtime. Afterwards, I immediately went with some buddies into town to eat lunch. Now, just so you know, I barely scraped this in - I was walking out to the bus stop when Teran yelled at me to hurry. If I hadn't have come out of the building when I did, I wouldn't have made it on the bus. Whew. But let me tell you: the Kilted Kangaroo, outback-style bar and grill, is really something! There's a real safari jeep inside the restaurant and a life-size cut out of Steve Irwin on the back wall, right beside a W.C. marked "Sheilas". Talk about sticking with the theme! Haha.

Cautious, haggis-trying face.

But, more importantly.. I did it. I really tried haggis.

And it wasn't that bad. Surprisingly. They served it with a cheesy sauce on top, and it was fried, which helped mask the texture (the only thing that really threw me off). Now, if I wouldn't have known what it was, I may have been able to eat more.. but just thinking about it made me stop.

So.. for those of you who have no fear of or qualms with things like that, I do recommend it.

Never thought I'd be saying that..

Architecture at Stirling Castle.

Anyway, after my debut with a stereotypical Scottish dish, a few of us walked up to Stirling Castle. We'd been up to the esplanade (an open, level space separating a fortress from a town) before, but never inside for a tour. It was so interesting! We learned so much history about the castle, but I didn't have my notebook with me. Typical. I do remember, however, that the Battle of Stirling Bridge was fought on September 11, 1297 and that the last time that Stirling Castle was taken by force was in 1651. (Oliver Cromwell lay siege to the castle in his conquest to invade Scotland.) Our tour guide was very informative, and we were given maps so that we could maneuver after being set loose. There were plenty of museums and gift shops on site to keep us occupied for about another hour or so.

Now, after walking back down to the city centre, we went to Tesco again and found our way back to campus via the still-formitable-yet-manageable bus system. What a packed day. There was so much to see, and even my camera expired from exhaustion.

Monday & Tuesday: School again. Just trying to work on essays and succeeding in getting distracted.

Tomorrow we go to Edinburgh! This will be the last All-ISS Student trip that we take. And I can't believe that tomorrow we will be in the single-digits for the 'Going Home Countdown'. Yikes!

Half & Half

There has been a steady rain today, but it's not bad. I kinda like it when I don't have to walk around a city in sopping wet shoes, haha. It seems as if every Thursday it has to rain! But I hope it doesn't on the last Thursday I'm here - that's when we go to visit the Whitelee Windfarm in Glasgow as my excursion for Green Politics. I'm excited to see a turbine in person! (And I've wanted to see a windmill ever since "Wishbone" did that episode on Don Quixote when I was little, but that's an entirely different thing.)

Yesterday we went to Glasgow for a visit to the city. I knew that this was the largest city in Scotland, but I was totally unprepared for the size. I was expecting something a little bigger than St. Andrews, and a little more modernized. Hah! If you compare population sizes, Glasgow has 581,320 while St. Andrews has 16,680.

Right...

But even Edinburgh has 454,280 - the second largest by population - and it seemed so much more manageable! (If you want to see more cities/towns by population size, here is the credible source of Wikipedia.) Mind you, I've never been to any really big cities where I had to maneuver around, so I don't know what that makes my chances of survival in a place like New York City or Chicago...

George Square. First look at the city.

Back to Thursday: Glasgow is a really a neat place! There are so many places to look around and shops to go in (yes, plenty of shops to go in). We were dropped off in George Square and given free range over the map of the city. Now Glasgow (pronounced "Gläz-ghɒ" .. I looked up the little letter things and the ä is a short 'a' like in "father" while the ɒ is an open back rounded vowel. If you want to hear a sample, just click here. Note that this is my interpretation of how people are pronouncing things - this is by no means legitimate. Disclaimer.) is known for it's architecture, and I can definitely see why. All of the buildings are so interesting to look at!

Sophie's tea strainer.
We ordered loose-leaf tea!

Also, in walking around in different places in Scotland, I have noticed a great many Costa Coffee Shops. I guess they're really popular around here. Sophie and I went into one the other day and it was really good! I got some Raspberry Iced Tea and a Raspberry Almond Bake. Yum. I think I was in a raspberry mood. But speaking of tea and yummy things, while in Glasgow, my friends (Sophie and Teran) and I went to The Willow Tea Room for afternoon tea. It's situated above a store with very breakable things down below...so don't knock off a sugar cube or you might be paying for more than the tea and biscuits!

Blurry picture of "treelings".

Another thing I've noticed over here is the great care that they take in planting trees. Forestry is a big industry in Scotland, especially considering how much open land that there is in the Highlands that no one lives on, but I have never seen so many trees planted all around the country. We saw areas that had been cleared on our tour last Saturday, but for every area that had been cleared, there was another full of little saplings. They put a plastic tube covering around them so that they have a chance to survive before they are eaten by little critters or eroded away by the rain. Yesterday, on the way back from Glasgow, there were hundreds of little trees planted on the sides of the highway.

And to conclude, for all of you runners/cyclists out there, try this one out:

Find more Bike Ride in Stirling, United Kingdom

That's a tiny bit over 118 miles! And someone mapped this route! I can't even imagine.

15 and 2/4 (plus 2)

I cannot believe that I only have 17 more days here. In two days, I will have been here for 15 with 15 more to go! Everything speeds up once you get used to it. But to update...

Neat guttering system, huh?

Friday:

We went to Doune Castle as one of my Scotland on the Screen's excursions, and it was really neat! It's in Doune, which is only about 15 minutes away by bus, and it's been pretty well preserved. The tour was one of those walking-with-a-headset ones, where you enter the number corresponding to your location and you are given information. What was especially neat, though, was that if we wanted to hear extra information about which scenes of Monty Python were filmed in those spots, we could push another button and hear excerpts from the movie! I appreciated that. And you know what? Directors and film crews are so sneaky! They can make a small room look like three different places and at least four times the size!

Scary stairs.

Oh - and for those of you who prefer 'live tours' .. that would not have been possible at this castle. At least, I wouldn't want to walk down those tiny, winding stairs trying decide which was more important: hearing what the guide was saying or managing to not topple to my death (taking everyone with me in a domino effect). Yep. The headsets were a good call.

Necessary picture with our
amazing tour guide, Patrick Douglas

Saturday:

Visit to the Highlands! We were gone nearly half the day on this trip. And I can't tell you how may hours we spent on that bus, but man, it was beautiful out there. It was a day trip, however, so we couldn't stay in one place too long, but we got to see the southern portion of Loch Ness (the farthest point up on the map that we went) and Inveraray Castle and all sorts of neat places! The only unfortunate thing about the tour was that during our Nessie hunting, Mother Nature rained on our parade. And yes, she waited until we were the farthest away from the tour bus to commence. How considerate. Needless to say, since it was raining and Nessie didn't want to get wet, there were no sightings. (; Oh well.

Two of the 'Three Sisters' on the Highland Tour.

But if you want to know about one of the many things that Mr. Douglas told us, here is a page on The Massacre of Glencoe. It's sad, but it's very real, and if you know anything about Scottish history, then you would know about this. We also learned about Scotland's National Anthem(s) and some other historical events. I wish I could remember everything that he told us! I tried to write things down.. but half the time he was talking too fast, and the other half I can't spell! Haha.

Sunday:

Recovered from the trip on Saturday. Whew. Who knew that riding on a bus all day and being waterlogged for half would tire you out that much?

And as for Monday and Tuesday, back to business, as usual. Classes went well, and I think if I can just get my sources together, I'll be able to write these essays! Yesterday my group did our presentation on "Critically Appraising Sustainable Development" in Green Politics (GP) class. It's strange to think that we did a presentation after one class, and now we are halfway done, with two classes to go. It is crammed into a three-hour block, yes, but numerically, it's odd to think about.

Today, I am going to work on some of my school stuff and Sophie and I are going to the store later for provisions. Also, just so everyone knows, this is my new goal:

See the hill in the background? I'm going to climb it.

"Luck never gives; it only lends"

Don't be deferred by the seemingly depressive title. Just keep reading.
My other class on Tuesday wasn't too bad; I think it's going to be pretty interesting! I'm just not looking forward to the work for the classes. I've been trying to get ahead in the reading so I can go on and research for my papers, but I have a conflict of interest. I need to go exploring, considering I'm in a different country, and all! But I also want to do well, and that takes me more time. Blahh. Anyway, I know it will work out, and I've had a great time so far! I just don't want to miss anything.

On a different note, here is a checklist of firsts while on my travels:

1. Experiencing a layover. (And flying for the first time since 3rd grade!)

2. Flying across an ocean/going out of the country.

3. Using an ATM. :)

4. Trying Irn-Bru.
(It's more popular than Coke here...like a sweeter Orange Cream Soda, but I wouldn't necessarily choose it.)

5. Maneuvering a city bus system!

6. Using multiple clocks that run on Military Time.
(They use them all over - buses, timetables, my cheap alarm clock...)

This is Sophie.
We were outside of St. Salvator's Tower.

Yesterday we had an ISS trip to St. Andrews. And here is where the title of post comes into play...it was miserably cold and wet yesterday. I think it was just a down in the weather, and since we were right on the coast, we got the winds from the North Sea. But we still managed to have a great time in town! Sophie, my exploring buddy, and I went into a lot of stores and found some great little souvenir shops. But the best/worst thing about the city center of St. Andrews is that on every street, there are at least two or three consignment-type stores! This is good in that they go to helpful foundations like Cancer Research or The Red Cross...but this is also bad because these are the types of stores that I love looking through. So, we went in at least six. But I showed a lot of restraint. My roommates back home would be proud.

And yes, St. Andrews, too, had one of these. This makes the third one so far!
(see picture below)

H & M on Market Street. St. Andrews, Fife.

We had to go in. Though, the interesting thing is that the original group of students which which I flew from Newark to Edinburgh somehow managed to reassemble in the H & M. The same store at the same time!  Funny how we keep finding one another.

Oh! And the smallest thing that absolutely made my day was that Starbucks' partner discounts are international! I wasn't sure if they would work over here, but they do! The discount wasn't the part that made me happy, however. I think it was more that I felt like I made a connection with the baristas because I worked for the same company.

I know it's silly, but it made me happy.

Today, it is still pretty damp and drizzly. We were spoiled on Tuesday and Wednesday with the sunny, sixty-degree weather. But I have another excursion for today! We are headed to Doune Castle this afternoon. (If you remember, this is the required field trip for my Scotland on the Screen class.)

Settling In

I am so glad that our group that flew into Edinburgh last Thursday got to move in a day early. It saved us the chaos of the big group that came on Saturday morning. That night, we were expected to come to Airthrey Castle (for picture, please see previous post) for a 'Welcome Reception.' Well, when I heard that, I thought it would be some sort of room where we would sit and listen to someone talk about the school and why we were there...you know, the usual thing.

Au contraire, Pierre.

We were heralded into the castle by a piper (playing "Scotland the Brave," no less), and found ourselves in a large room with ornate carvings on the side panels and a fancy looking fire place. All of the students were milling around, talking to their new acquaintances (except for our little group, because we had somehow managed to find one another again). And then, everyone appeared to form a jumbled line, while still maintaining the same level of talking - it's been at least 15 minutes we've stood around talking, mind you - and we start to creep toward where the line is headed. When we reached the front of the line, there was a table with an extensive assortment of wines, juices, and other drinks. Then, we were to place our order and to present our IDs if we were under 25, to make sure that we passed the age requirement (18 here). I got apple juice. Kept it simple, and besides, I didn't know the names of anything except for the juices!

Blurry picture of the Welcome Reception.

Then, we proceeded to talk for 15 more minutes until Stirling's Summer School Manager, Sterling Yates (yes, it's like the "Meredith from Meredith" thing at my college), called for our attention. He talked about five minutes about safety and the Head of the School talked about five minutes about Scotland and Stirling, and then they were done. We were encouraged to "enjoy a good drink and a good chat" until we wanted to leave at the end of the hour. Very different from what I was expecting, but enjoyable, nonetheless.

View of city from Stirling Castle.

The next day, Sunday, we had a full day of information sessions and tours of both the campus and the city of Stirling. It was really neat and I learned a lot of history. We toured through places like Dunblane, Bridge of Allan, Bannockburn, and Doune. We ended at the Stirling Castle esplanade where we had a beautiful view of the city.

Robert the Bruce with an ominous cloud.

We finished the exhaustive day by going for a quick shop in Thistle Center, the mall in Stirling's city center. There wasn't much time to look around, because most stores close by 5 or 6 here. Then we headed over to Tesco for some food shopping. Now, Tesco is like our Walmart. They are everywhere and carry similar things. There is even a Tesco Express on the outskirts of town that we can easily walk to from school. But I'm positive that we made someone's day when we trekked back to where the bus had parked. We trudged down the streets and between houses, encumbered with our grocery bags, in a two-by-two procession. We must have looked hilarious! But, we made it, much to everyone's relief.

Then, yesterday, classes started. I have two classses: Scotland on the Screen (Mon. 9-10, Tues. 11-1) and Green Politics: Theory and Practice (Tues. 3-6). My first class wasn't that bad. I had to find some books in the library to read, but the only reason it took me a while is because it takes me forever to take notes. I don't know how the Green Politics class will go today, however. But I can look forward to the fact that I only have class two days a week! Classes only run Monday through Wednesday. Thursdays are left open for optional, pre-planned excursions for all International Summer School (ISS) students (we're going to St. Andrews this Thursday). And Fridays are for class-specific excursions (my Scotland on the Screen excursion is this Friday - we're vising Doune Castle, where they filmed part of Monty Python, haha).

And although it is raining right now, it was beautiful yesterday! It got up to about 60, and we could wear t-shirts outside. I know a couple of people who would hang their heads in shame at all the picture-taking that I missed (sorry!). Also - for future reference, I signed up for a tour this Saturday through Timberbush Tours. It's the first one (Scottish Highlands: Lochs, Mountains, Castles and History). I'm excited!

Stirling: Gateway to the Highlands

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow are filled with orientative exercises, but we actually got to move into our flats (apartment/dorm style housing) yesterday!

All settled in my room: flat 45, room 2.

Our flat is comprised of about five or six bedrooms that come off of a single hallway, two W.C.s (bathrooms), two shower rooms, and a big common room at the end with a fully equipped kitchen. And yes, there is plaid on the duvet cover (comforter-esque) on my bed. The colors are almost like those in the Weir Tartan.

The Weir Tartan.

My Nana's maiden name is Weir, and I looked up some information about them today: Weir Clan Crest, Motto, and History. I really like the motto: Vero Nihil Verius ("Nothing truer than truth" or "Truth, nothing but the truth"). If you want some more information, this guy seems to have done a lot of research as well: Bill Weir.

But aside from that, today, our only scheduled event is a Welcome Reception for all of the International Summer School (ISS) Students at the University of Stirling from 5:00-6:00 this evening.

This is Airthrey Castle where we will have the reception later.
Yes, it's on campus.

The University of Stirling is really nice. There is a giant loch (lake) in the middle of campus that you must walk across a bridge to get over, and a lot of the community comes to the Macrobert Arts Centre to spend time together or to see the performances. Actually, there was one last night when we went to visit. A bunch of men in Highland dress (traditional Scottish attire) and some girls in pumps (dance shoes) came out from around the back of the theatre (yes, I suppose I must spell it that way, haha), so there must have been something exciting going on.

This is a map of campus. The X's in the top right are where I'm living.

We walked to the edge of town (it took about 30 minutes, leisurely walking) for supper last night and like I said previously, it doesn't get dark until nighttime here! Here is some proof:

A clock on the way back from supper.

As you can see, the clock says about 9:00, and it's still light out! Wouldn't that be nice at home?

And, to close, the weather looks to be nice today. We haven't gotten any rain yet this morning, but it has been very windy. I think it's supposed to be about like this all weekend, which is fine with me! However, I may have to invest in some more long-sleeved shirts or some of those wooly socks. Goodness knows we saw enough sheep yesterday on the bus ride over to make thousands of pairs!

Fàilte gu Dùn Èideann! Welcome to Edinburgh!

Our flight arrived in Edinburgh at about 8:34ish this morning (although it was about 2:34 AM back home). I think I got some sleep on the plane because I don't remember some of it, but it was not restful at all. Whew.

Some good things, though:

1. Although bigger planes are louder and a little scarier, I do like the service! I didn't know we would get to choose movies or games and get two meals! What pleasant surprises.

2. Also, I found some fellow students before the flight boarded, so that calmed me down a little too. And since my family found this particularly amusing, I suppose I'll share - Since we all haven't really met one another and wouldn't be able to recognize faces, we Stirling Students have to identify based on luggage or specific items. Well, I can honestly say that I never expected to be guided by the Force to my new friend...but Yoda is very wise, and his "pillow pet-self" was waiting right beside Megan, just like she said he would be. Yes, a Yoda pillow pet. I didn't know they existed. But I should have known that someone would create one. Everything in due time, my young Padawan.

3. Now I came over here expecting rainrainrain, but it was beautiful today! There was sunshine and a nice breeze. I didn't even need my jacket for most of the day. I am so thankful for that.

4. We are staying in a bed and breakfast (B&B) tonight in Edinburgh and are heading over to Stirling tomorrow for orientation sessions and such. And this place is awesome! They have a library and a coffee machine that are available 24/7 (so much for my job at Starbucks, huh?) and these really neat rooms!

Here is The B&B Edinburgh where our IFSA-Butler Guide was waiting for us.

5. After we dropped our stuff off, we wandered around until the rooms were available. We are right near the city center (downtown) and there are lots of shops, of course. But there's also a castle! And yesterday the Olympic Torch was run down the streets of Edinburgh for the games this summer. It's too bad we were on the plane for that.

The Olympic Rings are still up from yesterday's festivities. That's the city in the background.

Now, you would think that being the first day, and all, I would have had something authentically Scottish to eat, but the funny thing is that my first two meals in Scotland have been Italian! It sounds like I've gotten sidetracked thinking about the study abroad trip to Italy my friend Laurie just took.

...but I think that a group of us have conceded to trying haggis at some point. Don't know how I feel about that, but I suppose it'll earn me some culture points.

My Scottish Italian food. Left: lunch; Right: supper.

Lastly, I wanted to share this, for my sister Emily, especially. When I mentioned earlier that there were shops in Edinburgh, there was one that I did not expect...and it is not particularly good news that I have access to it over here.

Yep. H&M. Not safe.

But other than that, I think I'm pretty much adjusted to the time change. Five hours ahead isn't too bad. I will admit, though, I was exhausted earlier. But I took a short nap before supper and I feel much better. I guess we'll see how I feel tomorrow!

P.S. It's been light out since around 5 AM this morning and it's still light out, now, around 10 PM!

The Final Checks

I leave today at 3:26, heading to Newark, NJ. I didn't sleep well last night because I kept thinking I was forgetting things. Hopefully I can make it to the airport without expiring. This morning has been a frenzy. But, on a positive note, my check bag weighs less than 30 lbs! Now that's impressive, especially for me (even more so, considering I'm allotted 50 lbs, ha!).

My sister's parting gift to me.

T-minus 24 Hours

By tomorrow at this time, my plane will be leaving the airport. I hope my bag is packed in time. Yeah, I keep looking at it, procrastinating. But hey - it can't be any more complicated than all of the other things we've had to do for this trip.

In planning to study abroad, you must:

1. Stay on top-Top-TOP of your forms and paperwork.

2. Start picking out your outfits after your room is clean.

3. Make sure to call your credit/debit card companies to tell them your travel plans. You don't want them shutting down your account for suspicious behavior thousands of miles away.

4. Oh yeah - and make a blog before you go...so you can work out the kinks prior to leaving the country.

P.S. Getting a haircut and going to the dentist are optional.

A shadowed version of my luggage. Bags courtesy of Laurie.

Time to check in with my flight!