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!

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!