Scotland Week Part 3: Arthur's Seat

In Edinburgh, you basically have two ends to the city. At one end is Edinburgh castle, high on a hill above the city. At the other end, connected by a road called The Royal Mile, is Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament building, backed by the dramatic scenery of Arthur's Seat. On our free afternoon in Edinburg a few of my friends and I casually decided to climb Arthur's Seat. It was nice out, we were in Scotland, why not?  We clearly had no idea what we were doing.

It started out so civilized

Halfway up. I didn't know what was coming, clearly.

First of all, we were confused as to which mountain was actually Arthur's Seat. There's a really distinctive one that we all thought was the Seat, but it turns out it's an entirely different hill. Arthur's Seat is behind it, and about twice as high. Secondly, none of us were particularly dressed for hiking. We were wearing boots of the non-hiking variety, and Denae was in a dress. Lastly, we had't read the weather very well at all. 

The tippy top!

At first it seemed like everything would be fine. The path, while not paved per say, was graveled and fairly flat. Then it started to slope up. And up. And up. It finally got the point where we were basically rock climbing without a rope. It felt that way to me, at least. Now, I realize that Scottish "mountains" are little tiny babies when compared with, like, Mt. Hood, but tell that to me when I'm clinging to the side of one. Then, predictably, as soon as we hit the top it started storming. Incredible wind combined with moderate rain and the exposed face of a mountaintop makes for uncomfortable hikers. We didn't even stay at the top long enough to eat the celebratory fudge we'd bought ahead of time.

All worth it for the spectacular view

So then we had to crawl down, now with the additional challenge of inclement weather that had turned the solid dirt to muddy slip n slides. Through an act of God, none of us really fell over, though I did end up with a sizable bruise on my thigh. It was dark and windy and cold and wet and we were miserable. By the time we hit the bottom, we still had a twenty plus minute walk to our hostel. Dripping and freezing, we burst through the doors like we'd found the gates to Heaven. 

Wet and cold but still happy

As crazy and miserable as it was, all any of us could talk about afterwards was the story. Now we have a story, a conversation we can start with "Remember that time we climbed a volcano in Scotland in a storm?" That's what living life is all about, right? Having shared experiences we can talk and laugh about for the rest of our lives.

The mountain that did not beat us

Scotland Week Part 2: Politics

The reason that my group was in Scotland last week was technically educational. We've been learning about the history and politics of the United Kingdom, and now is a particularly interesting time for Scotland. In September, Scots will get to vote on whether or not they want the country to continue to be a part of the UK. In other words, they get to vote for independence.

It's actually completely fascinating, something that I never thought I would say about any kind of politics, particularly British politics. I've chatted with a few Englishmen and Scots about it, and we got to sit in on a Scottish Parliament session where everyone asked questions of Alex Salmond, Scotland's First Minister. It was quite the experience, as Scottish Parliament members are allowed to thump their desks and sort of grumble or cheer depending on whether or not they like what someone said. To make a long story short, Scotland got its own parliament a few years ago, but still doesn't have complete control of everything (defense, welfare and foreign policy are still under UK control, for example). Now the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) is the majority party in Scotland, and they're going for it. There are all sorts of dirty political tricks being played, of course. Scotland wants to keep the pound, but the English minister of the treasury was like, "No way, mate. Not gonna happen." Then there are questions about Scotland begin able to keep its place in the EU…it's all crazy stuff.

I'm still a bit undecided, but the America Bone in my body sort of screams "INDEPENDENCE! FREEDOM!" After all, Scotland is kind of complaining about the same thing as the States were: taxation without proper representation. And I completely understand why Alex Salmond has gotten as far as he has. The other ministers got flustered and visibly angry when the personal insults flew their way (that's the other thing they're allowed to do in Parliament), but Salmond just stayed chill. He laughed, smiled, made jokes about the Daily Mail. He's a cool customer, with charisma to burn.

So hey, I learned something last week. And I'm starting to be more informed about British politics than I am about American politics, which I suppose is some kind of full integration.  Anyway, I definitely have to keep an eye on Scotland for the next few months, because things are going to get interesting.

Scotland Week Part 1: Landmarks and Fun Times

This week on Seek Them Abroad, we're celebrating Scotland Week for the simple reason that last week I went to Scotland. It was so wonderful that I can't really contain it to a single blog post; thus, Scotland Week. Prepare yourself.

The ruins of Holyrood Abbey

The first cool thing about Scotland was that we took a train north from King's Cross to get there, which struck some Harry Potter chords in me. I love traveling by train so much more than planes. It's less stressful and easier, though possibly longer, but even that is debatable. It's a beautiful ride up to Scotland, though I have discovered that I do not know how to have a proper fun time on a train. We encountered both a bachelorette party and an 18th birthday party on the train, and when they started pulling bottles of vodka and bags of candy out of their backpacks, I knew I was doing it wrong.

Harry Potter history made here

As per requirement, we visited a lot of landmarks and monuments while we were in Edinburgh, most of which were all suitable old and cool. There were some spectacular graveyards and the monuments up Carlton Hill were also gorgeous. In addition to the traditional ones, I visited a few places that I deemed personal national monuments. The cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book and the hotel where she finished the last one, for example.

Just an average day at the castle.

Edinburgh is a spectacular city. It wasn't bombed during World War II, so all of the amazing old buildings are all still standing untouched. Not to go all architecture geek, but they're from all different styles and periods of time, which (along with the modern day high rises) creates an even weirder, eclectic look to the city than London. We did karaoke in a modern building on George street and then walked out into the night to see the ancient Edinburgh castle rising above the city. It's a weird feeling.

More to come on some specific experiences in Scotland, but I just wanted to share my initial feelings about the place, which are that I want to go back. Like, now. I want to see more of it, particularly the Hebrides and the far north. It's so distinct from England for begin so close. You can feel that you're in another country. Which, naturally, leads to the next post in Scotland Week: politics. It's an interesting time in Scotland right now. I'll tell you more about it later.

Typical Edinburgh street. The confusing bit it that the upper and lower parts
have the same street name, so I'm not sure how any mail is ever delivered successfully.

Early morning over on Carlton Hill (Note: this is not the Parthenon)

Valentine's Day at Galross House

Emily and I!

This weekend I took the bus up to Oxford to visit my good friend Emily who is studying away there for the semester, which is a surprisingly easy and affordable thing to do. Yay for countries that don't rely on cars to travel!  The only trouble came from the fact that it was (predictably) pouring rain and I had to stand at an uncovered bus station for about twenty minutes getting splashed by passing cars. It was glamorous.



Emily took me on a quick walking tour of Oxford, but I'm looking forward to going back with class in April for a few reasons. One, the weather might be better and I can look at the beautiful buildings without trying to withstand gale-force winds. Two, I might be able to see the famous Christchurch fields which are currently the Christchurch lakes due to the immense flooding. What I did see struck me, however, because it is so different from London. The focus on buildings for academia and scholarship result in different design schemes, and even today the place has a kind of "college town" feel to it.

Winner of most unhealthy dinner ever award

It happened to be Valentine's Day when I visited, as well as the birthday of two of the girls who live with Emily (there are nine of them on the program renting the same house together). To celebrate we did what any self-respecting college students would do: we made waffles and went dancing. Of all American foods, I think I miss waffles and pancakes the most. It's not that they don't have them here, it's just that they're different, and usually a snack rather than breakfast material. My first club experience was better than you might imagine, especially after we discovered the "cheesy music" dance floor, which was much more my style.

The residents of Galross House

The trip just made me think about my program and the things that I like about it (most things) and what I wish was different (not too much). Emily's program is just so different from mine. It made me really grateful for the Fraser family that I live with, because Emily doesn't really get the full living in England experience. And it made me wish I could do more cooking. Because waffles are amazing.

My Harrow Home

Since I've been here a full week, it's probably time I talk about my living situation, since it's a big part of my life over here.  I live in Harrow, which is a suburb just north of central London. I love the house-it's very English, meaning it is tall and narrow with terrifying stairs that will probably kill me. It's got five bedrooms (and a total of 8 beds), which means it's really large for the city. It's painted really brightly, all the walls are different colors and there are bright pictures everywhere.  It also has a sizable garden (English for "backyard") which I haven't really been able to enjoy because it's been horribly rainy and cold.

My room, which I share with my roommate Jordan (who is wonderful) is the attic room, meaning it's up  two flights of scary stairs and the ceilings are charmingly if somewhat dangerously slanted. Two beds, two desks, and a shared dresser and some really great skylights. The radiators only come on about once a day though, so it is FREEZING. All the time. Coldcoldcold. When they do come on Jordanne and I bring our laptops and blankets down and nest next to them.

The family I live with is lovely as well. Patricia and Finlay Fraser are fairly Irish and have four kids, three of whom I've met. Helen is the oldest at 20, and is usually in Sheffield studying maths at university but has been home for the week and I really like her. Her teenage years were basically just an episode of the TV show Skins, however, which is very dramatic.  Grace is the next oldest (also away at uni) and the most mysterious-I kind of see her as the golden child of the family the way everyone else talks about her. Will update you on if she has a halo, ect.

Alice and I

Alice (10 years old) and Michael (15) are the two Jordanne and I have the most contact with. As in, they are both in my room right now as I type this, eating our chocolate and playing on Jordanne's GameBoy. Alice is into street dancing and Instagram, Michael likes video games and he's quite good at art. He also goes to an all boy's school in Harrow that sounds horrible. HORRIBLE. Boys are so mean to each other. I quite enjoy having the two of them around, there's never a dull moment. In fact, the whole house is always pretty lively with seven of us here at the moment and friends and grandparents always dropping by, which is really fun.

They've been boarding students from varying countries for almost ten years, which is really strange to me. It means that Alice and Michael have grown up with just random people around all the time for almost their whole lives. Some stay for a week, some (like us) for a few months. It's strange to imagine, but also kind of awesome-they've built up a network of people they know all over the world.

Bits and Bobs

I'll write a more comprehensive blog post later, but here are a few "bits and bobs," as the English would say, from my first few days in London.

My corner of our little attic room 

My roommate and home stay family are lovely. Patricia, my mum, is really nice as is Finlay, her husband. They've got 4 kids, 2 of whom are at home frequently (the other 2 are at university). Alice is 10 and Michael is 15. They're funny kids and we talk a lot and watch Top Gear together.

I take back everything bad I ever said about the Tube. It's the best piece of machinery ever made and all towns should have one. The Tube plus an Oyster card equals absolute freedom and access to the whole city. Having said that, the opposite is true right now. There's a strike for two days this week and two next week and I'm told it will be commuter hell. I have to make my way into central London early in the morning, so I think I'll be able to consider myself a real Londoner if I can make it.

AHA London Centre

The AHA London Centre, where we attend classes (or where we will, once they start), it also lovely.
Perfectly centrally located and built in something like 1750, it's a really cool, old building. It's a bit shabby, but that just adds to its charm.

Today was our last day or orientation, and our site director Susie took us for lunch at a street market (I got curry-delicious), then for a quick tour of the surrounding area, capping it off with a visit to the Chesire Cheese Pub, an amazing old pub where you have to duck down several flights of really narrow, low-ceilinged stairs to get to the bottom. She even bought us the first round.

It's early days (and we'll see how I feel after living through the Tube strike), but I already love London. I'm really excited to explore it more in depth over my next couple of months here.

My roommate Jordanne and I with the iconic London symbol: the phone box.