I think I've been putting off writing posts for the last 2 weeks, not because I don't want to write, but because I don't know what to say... I've seen so many beautiful things these last few weeks, and there haven't really been words in my mind to describe what I've seen. And that's saying something, because I always have words. Last weekend was firbush, which is an enviormental research center owned by the University of Edinburgh. The drive there alone was beautiful. We got there late Friday night, it was raining, which we all took as a bad omen for the rest of the weekend. We all stayed up and played cards against humanity, which if you don't know what that is, it's very dirty and hilarious. Its a great way to bond with people. Its huge on college campuses, for good reason. But in this particular instance, we had our resident director and her husband playing, and they're Probabaly the sweetest most adorable people in the world, as well as our chef from back at the house. Playing a game where one of the most favoritated cards is 2 midgets shitting in a bucket with innocent adults is a bit of a riot. Especially when it's their first time playing. First timers are always a crack up. It got to the point where everyone would put their dirtiest cards down when it was their turn, no matter if it made sense. It really was a great bonding experience. Eventually though, it was time for all of us to call it a night. I think one of the things that made this trip great was the fact that rooms were preassigned, so we had to room with people we never have had as roommates. There are definitely groups, I wouldn't say clicks, but there are groups of people who prefer each kthers company, and I think this trip helped break those up a bit, helped people break out of their routines, which I think we needed. We all have been very....not stuck, I wouldn't say, and we all get along, but sometimes it's nice to get new perspectives. A cross culture communication of sorts. The morning was rough, for me at least, all mornings are though. But the second I looked out the big window of our room, I was wide awake. The view was gorgeous. There isn't words. Minnesota is ojibwa for land of sky reflected waters, and it's easy to draw a comparison to Scotland and Minnesota for that reason. Out my window was the stilest loch I'd ever seen, and reflecting on it was a fantastic mountain, a perfect mirroring of the mountain with its snow capped top and beautiful blue sky. Simply astounding. I got dressed in a rush and went out to the shore to sit and drink coffee with the other early risers. It felt so familair, I'd done it so many times at my cabin with my family mebers, staring out at the river, drinking burned coffee and just... Pondering. I loved it. It was the bit of home I didn't know I was missing. At breakfast, we all gobbled down more then we thought we could, knowing it would a long day of activities. After wolfing down our food like the animals we are, we went to learn what activities would be offered. Pretty much every one went kayaking. I went canoeing. It was beautiful. Across the loch and up the river. We got coffee and just soaked in how adorable the town was. It felt like how I imagine a town in the foothills of the highlands would feel, quaint, adorable, small... It was nice. We headed back and ate our lunches, just as fast as we ate our breakfasts. Eager to head out in New activies, we waited to hear what else would be offered, I settled on hiking. Or what they call walking. Let me tell you something, that was more then any hike I've been on, and I've hiked nearly all of Minnesota and conquered a few mountains in my day. This is what they call a Monroe, it's a 3,000 ft high mountain and there are hundreds in Scotland. If you climb them all, you earn the title of a monroest. The guy we climbed with was Probabaly in his 80s and he didn't break a sweat once, he made it to the top way before us and back to the bottle even faster. A bunch of 20 year old girls were in worse shape then this guy. It was in that moment that I learned why there isn't a Scottish biggest loser. That mountain was insane. A couple times I wanted to turn back. But I didn't. And I am beyond happy and proud of myself to have accomplished it. It was a beautiful sight, once I caught my breath brought to notice. Once again, there isn't words. We all bonded, the 10 of us who hiked, we bonded in a different way then anyone else on that trip. You learn things about a person when you're scaling a mountain with someone. If you wanna get to know someone, climb with them. The trip down was almost more treacherous, but it took half the time. A few of us had a few trips and falls. Which on a Scottish mountain, can be deadly. But we all made it down in one piece. We were ravenous at this point, once again. But we made it back in time for some great food. After food came, as I'm sure you can guess, drinking and more cards against humanity, at the request of our favorite chef. Drinks were had,,things were said, well leave it at that. What happens at firbush, stays at firbush. Exhasted once again, we trucked off to bed. Waking up just as tired, I sat out side, staring at the beautiful view I would have to leave later that day, trying to take in as much as possible. It was a bit gloomier. Which made it a bit easier to want to leavs, but I wanted to stay forever. Thankfully, we still got to tHe a whole day of activities. We settled on trying to orrentier the area our the camp. We made it 15 minutes and changed our minds. We attemped to take the row boats out After that. Which was extremely rough. But once I got it, I felt like a Viking lord ready to conquer some lands. Until some fellow boaters told me I was rowing backwards.... But you know what, it worked, so who cares. We headed in for our lunches, which we ate in a hurry because our dear old chef promised to take us out to the river in town. This river was wicked. I've seen white water, I've kayaked some crazy stuff. But this was insane. It was beautiful and so dangerous. I loved it. We went back and I decided on a kayaking trip. In sea kayak, which I've never done. But it was an experience. That's been my motto for this whole trip; it was an experience. And I think it's safe to say this all has been. We saw the beautiful country side around the loch, as well as the beauty of the loch it's self. It was well worth almost tipping 8 times for. On the bus ride back, everyone passed out. It was night night time. We were all exhasted from a weekend of craziness and lack of sleep. Im,sure we all slept like babies as soon as we got back too. The trip was such a great experience, for sights, but bonding too, like I said before. After that trip everyone was besties. We all got along well before the trip, but now we had experienced so many crazy things together. Studying abroad in general makes a bond like none other. There is no one else who can understand what this trip was like except the people that we came with. Everyone has great such experiences alone, but together we have wonderful ones. These are bonds that will not easily be forgotten, and I think that's something we all can agree on.