I'm Going on an Adventure! @justanotherredheadinscotlan-blog - Tumblr Blog

Ibiza baby!

I got to take a trip to Ibiza this last weekend and it was amazing. Rediculously sunny and I got crazy burned, but it was way worth it. It was completely different then any place I've been since I got here. We couldn't drink the water, anywhere. Totally different then any other place I have ever been. It made going to restaurants more expensive and it made it hard to stay hydrated. Beer was cheaper then water, so it was even harder then I thought it would be. I love beer too much. But having to find a super market in off season is terribly hard too. They were all closed, so every time we would find one, we would stock up on everything we thought we would need, because we never knew when we would see the next one. It was like living in a post apocalypse world. There was never anyone out and about and we had to buy bottled water and there was nothing open. It was very strange. But totally ok, we just wanted a place to get some sun and have some fun. We got too much sun, way too much. And now it hurts and itches. But it was worth it. Ibiza is a place that you can see survives on British tourism: it's full of irish, scottish, English and Welsh clubs and bars, every resturant has and English breakfast,,it was weird leaving scotland, but 2nd really at the same time. We were Probabaly the only Americans on the island too. They didn't even know our accents, they kept thinking we were from Holland. It was weird.... We scream American everywhere else we go, but there, it was like they didn't even know what America was. We did our best to try Spanish food, but I hate fish, so that's as really hard. It was a really great and relaxing trip, which I think we all needed after these stressful last few weeks of trying to finish papers and exams. We all got super sunburned together and it bonded us well. Spain was so different. But so gorgeous.

Study Abroad Probs

Something that bothers me This has been a reoccurant theme throughout my time here abroad, from comment a family members make, to tour guides, to professors even, so all of you, take note. Why is it everyone thinks all students want to do abroad is drink. Don't get me wrong, it's great. But why are you all so obsessed with us being obsessed with it. Why do you think it's all we think about. I assure you, it's not. Just because we know how to have a good time, doesn't mean we cant appreciate beauty and history all the same. We can almost appriciate it better than you because we have the ability to clear our minds and take it in, not think about work or the stress of the world. We have the vitality to take in and fully experience the world around us, better than you. If all we wanted to do was drink, we would have stayed home; it's not that hard to drink underage. So stop assuming, or even making the joke. Stereotypes suck; you wouldn't make fun of any other culture group traveling, so why us. It takes alot to be able to do this, were the people who really care and want to experience life. You best understand that. We may drink til 3 am, but we can be up at 6 and climb a mountain the next day. That's the point of being young, stop condeming us for it. How will we ever get to be old and wise if we aren't ever young and crazy.

Highlands, Isle of Skye, etc.

Once again, this is a hard post For me to write. I thought firbush was beautiful, but this weekend put even that to shame. We spent the whole weekend driving around the highlands and hiking and such. The drive there alone was beautiful. We left the lowlands and it was like a whole new world. It was like seeing a fantasy world. The tour guide was telling us about all of the authors and artists who spend time in Isle of Skye and write and paint and do artist stuff and it's easy to see why they're inspired by this beautiful landscape. How they were able to out what they were seeing into words is amazing to me, because I definitely can't. It was like walking into middle earth, I listened to the Lord of the rings sound track alone all weekend. It's a very mystical world. I can't think of the words to describe it and i feel like anything I say will not give the right feeling of atmosphere to it. I really don't even know what to say, other than to go see it yourself. It was a humbling experience. The world is a huge and beautiful place. And I thought I had seen some beautiful stuff. But I think this may be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And I kind of just want to leave it at that. Words and pictures just can comprehend it.

Firbush

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.

Belfast;

I got home from Belfast late last night, after 2 flight delays and some crappy weather, so I’ll tell you about all about our one and a half days there now!

So we stayed just outside of Belfast, which meant we had to take a bus into our suburb we were staying in. So wee took what we thought would take us all the way there. We sat on the bus for close to an hour and then all of a sudden it just stops, the driver yells back to us in a thick Irish accent, this is the last stop. I pull up my map; we have 2 more miles til we’re in the town we need to be in. So we start walking. I’m just happy because it isn’t raining, like it has been in every other city we’ve been in.

We finally find our Air B&B; this guy is by far the best host we’ve had. We showed up with one more person then we said we would have and he cleaned a room for him and let him stay.He also went and got us food for breakfast and then proceeded to help us look up directions to all the places we wanted to go. It was fantastic.

We decide to head to Bangor, the next city up the coast from us. that too, was fantastic. After being in cities for a week and a half, it was nice to get out of the city and see the sea. I love the ocean more then pretty much anything, so i was like a hog in slop. We sent probably 2 hours just wandering the coast. It’s funny, watching the ocean and the new terain bring out the kids in us. We all were running and jumping from rock to rock, looking for sea shells and sea glass, touching weird ocean thingies. it was probabaly one of my favorite parts of this trip.

We got som yummy food at a little townie resturant, and then some ice cream down the street and headed home. Air B&B is nice beacuse you don’t have to share with anyone else, and you get a whole house to yourself. there’s nothing better then being able to call someplace home, even if it’s just for a day.

In the morning, we headed out and into Belfast. We had to get to the air port that was an hour from the city; our flight was at 7, but the latest bus was at 2, so we went and got some food, got on the 2 oclock bus and got to the air port 5 hours too early. it was a like a ghost town. we were the only ones in the whole aiport. 5 hours later, they announce that our flight is goign to be delaye, forst by 20 minutes, then by 30, finally, by an hour. Thankfully, it was a half an hour flight, so it wasn’t too big of a deal.

We got bakc to Dalkeith by the busses. It’s funny, how much you take for granted knowing where you’re going. It was so weird not having to constantly watch where we were and make sure we weren’t missing our stop, like we had been doing for the last week and a half. As soon as we were back in Dalkeith, we went to one of our favorite carry out places and got chips, which are fries, and borwn sause. mmmmmm, mmmmm. So good, tasted like home.

We met up with our frieds who had also been out on trips, and we all swapped stories and such, half asleep, half fueled by adrenaline. Eventually, we all headed off to bed. all of a sudden, it was 2 am and not because we were up that late, but becuase of daylight savings time. that kicked us right in the booty.

Everytime we’ve gone on a trip, I’ve gotten sick. which just sucks, but you just gotta power through it. I think it’s a combination of poor diet, being in such close quarters with so many people and the rain. It’s always raining it seems. It’s so nice to be back home and to be able to nurse my sickness in the way I’ve become acustom to, with ramen, because I’m poor.

It’s easter and all of our families are back home. We’re all a bit homesick, for ham, but also for our families I suppose. But we’re going to have a nie little easter dinner here at the house, a few friends and I, which will be nice. We all need a bit of a boost.

It was a crazy spring break, and I’m dead tired now, but there isn’t one thing I would change about it. It was such a learning experience. I put myslef in situations I never imagined I would be in and I grew from them. I’ve gotten really good at reading other languages, at least, well enough to get around, I’ve gotten 1 million times better at public transport and that in it’s self makes me feel so accomplished. I learned so much in so many different kinds of ways. It was one of my best spring breaks yet. Just wish there could have been more sun....

Dublin;

So Dublin was amazing. I love Ireland, I wish I had more time to spend there. It is funny the amount of culture shock you go through from moving from country to country; you just figure out one country and then you move to the next. For example, In germany, you could drink on the streets, no big deal. In ireland, there were signs specifically saying you couldn't drink on the streets. It's all very different, even just a few countries away. Ireland was a bit more conservative than Berlin. It was a change. Also, today is good friday. Which, in a Catholic nation, means everything is shut down. Everyone was out very late last night, getting their fair share of alcohol, since they couldn't get it today. It's definitely a shock to come to a country that has a religion, and celebrates holidays in a different way than we do. Good Friday means little to people who aren't Christian in America. Even most Americans don't go to church on good friday. It was crazy being here for the 100 year anniversary of the Easter ridings. I advise looking it up, if you dont know what it is. It's very interesting. I learned a lot about so many lesser,known parts of history on this spring break. I really enjoyed that. There's certain things that just don't get covered by school in classes. And it was cool learning about it from people who know so much about it. All of Dublin smells like barley. Which smells like, as one person out it, spaghetti o's vomit. You must just get used to it, or maybe it was the way the wind was blowing, but it was a weird smell. And it was everywhere. Dublin had an understanding the Wi-Fi is a necessary part of life now, unlike Berlin and brussels. So that was a refreshing change. As was our legal air b&b. Plus, this one had a microwave. I dont know if I mentioned the fact that our hippie Berlin flat didn't have a microwave, but it didn't and it was terrible. Guinness was super cool too. I've never had a better Guinness then the one I had there. I even learned to pour the perfect guinness, so that's going on the resume. But it was crazy good. And the tour was really interesting. The factory did not smell like barely,strangly. Guinness is really expensive here too. Well, all drinks are. I think Scotland spoiled is with cheapish drinks, Wi-Fi everywhere, and a good bus system. Scotland is too perfect. We drank at the oldest pub in ireland, so cross that one off the bucket list. That was really cool, literally, because we had to drink outside. it was an experience, at the very least. We got to see some cool Irish dancing and live music last night. I love that so much, Probabaly my favorite part of the trip. The Irish are so lively. I'm beginning to see the Irish and acotish in me coming out, the longer I stay in these countries. I got a claddagh ring too. Which, if you dont,know what that is, it's like an Irish promise ring. If you were it one way, it means you're single, if you were it the other way, it means you're with someone, and if you were it another, it means you're,married. I've always wanted one and I've been waiting for a boy to buy it for me, but there haven't been any to, so,i bought it for myself. I wanted a cool traditional Irish one, so I got it. I'm a strong independent women, I can buy myself things. That was all I wanted from ireland, really. So I'm happy. It was a gorgeous trip to ireland, for sure. I'm on my way to northern Ireland right now, and that should be cool too. I wish I could have more time in dublin, but maybe one day I'll be back. The rolling green hills and the beer will call my name once again, of that I can be sure.

Airports;

So airports. I'm writing this whole I sit in the Berlin airport, waiting for my delayed flight. There is quite a few that are delayed and We think it's possible they were delayed because Berlin airport is trying to take on flights to and from Brussels while their airport is shut down. I wanna take a minute and talk about security. I always fly out of minneapolis, which is one of the safest airports in the world, so everything pales in comparison, but I want to first talk about Brussels airport. I was there before the attacks, and it was some of the worst security I've ever gone through. Never once did they look at my passport. NOT ONCE. I was flying easy jet, which doesn't require a passport to buy. Not once going through Brussels airport did I get asked for my passport; not at baggage check, not boarding my flight, never. It was the worst security I've ever seen. And they were at a level 3 out of 4 terror watch. Its worrisome. Clearly, and I don't mean to be an asshole and make light of the tragedy of what just happened, but clearly something should have been done before these attacks. Just because I wasn't a terrorist doesn't mean there aren't those out there, clearly. When I landed in berlin, I just walked through the airport, no check, nothing. Once again, how is this safe? Especially since I was flying from Brussels, a place terrorist keep getting arrested. If I was a terrorist, I would have made it to another country with no issues. I read a press release from the PM of Brussels and he said they want to keep,people's personal security rights protected. At what cost? I would not feel violated if they asked for my passport. I understand that freedom and independence are important, but being asked for identification at an airport is not a violation of those rights, in anyway I can see. There's a difference between freedom and stupidity. It felt extremly unsafe to be there. And I felt this way while I was there, not just in light of these recent attacks. As for berlin, I'm here today, after a major terror attack, and I can say I feel much better, whether that's because they beefed up security, as news reports say the whole world is doing, or because this is how it always is, I couldn't tell you. But security was more in depth, I was throughly looked over at the passport check point, and I can say with 100% conviction, I do not feel my rights have been violated, I only feel safer. Flying is a risky business. Thorough security is a must, as we've been seeing in the recent events. I'm a huge advocate for personal rights, but there comes a point when security becomes too important. I never thought I would say this, as in most cases, I do not agree. But when it comes to travel and the lives of thousands, a through check is not outside the relm of reason. I would love to meet someone who says they have felt violated by security at an airport. Because it's a nesecasy evil, Unfortunitly. As long as there are bad people doing bad things, certain precautions need to be made necsary

Berlin;

Berlin is a very interesting. It's a city unlike any I've ever been to. It's extrnely ugly, but I think that's what makes it beautiful. It's full of abandon warehouses covered in graffiti, bombed out empty plots of land, and some of the most diverse people I've ever seen. There is such a mix of people. It's very different from the conservative day time Brussels. Old ladies with dyed hair, people with 12 piercings in the faces, tons of vegans and hippies, and then the regular folk, who just blend. It's a great diversity. It's actually rather enjoyable to see so much diversity in a place. There's so many different sorts of things too. You can drink walking down the street, which I've always been taught is a taboo, you can smoke in bars, which is something we haven't done in the state's for years, I hardly remember a time when you could smoke in bars, eveeryone is smoking weed all the time, the bars have tons of nude and...scandalous paintings and photography. It's a very different feel, even from Edinburgh. It's a nice mix up. Berlin is known for its nightlife, which was news to me, and we stayed in the clubbing district. Which is basically a bunch of old warehouses covered in graffiti, playing loud electro music. We went on a bar crawl and got to see a bunch of different sorts of bars and clubs. Even in a monday, it was poppin. People here know how to have a good time. Every club offers free shots and cheap drinks. On our bar crawl, we met so many different people and got to exchange so many different stories about backpacking Europe and about home. Natuarlly, we found some of the few Scots in Germany and became besties, even though they were from Glasgow. It was nice being back with people we could understand. Everyone in our crawl had stories to tell and it was a fantastic time. It was easier being here, rather than brussels, as I took 2 years of german, a long time ago, but some of it stuck. It made using the train system and asking for food and directions much easier. Although I'm sure everyone was laughing at my broken german. Having navigated public transport in cities I don't speak the language makes me feel,like comfortable using public transport back home.,maybe I'll use it more. Just kidding, I love my car. But it does give me a sense of accomplishment. We found out the night of our bar crawl that air b&b is illegal in Germany. They have a housing crisis and there isn't enough housing for all the people here, so they made it illegal. Thankfuly, we made it in and out of the country with no hiccups, but our acotish friends said that there were people arrested in the house next to them for using air b&b. So, another great learned experience. Berlin was one of the places I've always wanted to see. It is a very interesting city with such a strange history and I'm so glad I came. I was so happy to be able to see the wall, as well as an old stasi prison and learn about a history that's greatly over looked, even in german class. We didn't go to much holocaust stuff, I just can't handle it, and we get taught so much in school, but seeing things about the time of the wall, which is such an interesting time in history which really wasn't that long ago, was really intersting. We learned more on one tour then I've ever learned in school. The wall was aweinspiring and just.... Beyond interesting. It was well worth the trip just to see that. Berlin taught us alot, not just history, but also a lot about ourselves and our ability to cope with a larger city and a poor comprehension of the area and attractions. Thankfully, the Wi-Fi was better here then brussels, I can't imagine how people traveled without it, and we were able to plan out our route relatively easy, with only a few snafoos. We only got lost a handful of times and we were able to figure out where to be ok. It was a mess, but we learned from it and I think we all feel relatively accomplished now. Berlin was truly a wonderful experience and I can't wait to be able to go back one day and see more.

Brussels, final day:

So I realize I never finished talking about my days in Brussels. I didn't even get to talk about the best parts. So after I posted my last post about Brussels, we headed out for some food and some wandering. We hit up the kebab place below our flat. I heard kebabs in brussels are great, so naturally we had to try them, having already had waffles. It was amazing. So freaking good. The middle eastern guy who owned the place called me his beautiful and my travel companions the fam. It was cute. We hit the town for some night life Which consisted of us wandering around til we found a place that looked bumpin. For you old people that means a party. We wandered a bit and all of a sudden there were these 2 French guys hitting on us, but they only spoke French and we spoke no French So It was a great excuse to not talk to them. They kept asking us to,come back to their apartments and... Do the nasty.... It was just a great experience.... After we lost them, we wandered into am alley filled with resturants. People kept asking us to come in and eat, but we kept kindly declining. Then one guy realized we were American and invited us in for a free drink. So that was pretty freaking great too. After that, we found a. What we assume, was a campus bar, and it was the coolest bar I've ever been too. They had liken 4 levels and all sorts of little books and crannies to drink in and it was just adorable. While ordering drinks, our accents detrayed us again and a fellow American asked us to join him and his friends for a drink. They all were working in Germany. Some were from columbia, some from Costa Rica and one from Texas. They asked us to come to a salsa place with them and learn to salsa. So we agreed. But first we stopped at a wonderful Celtic bar, because we were so missing beautiful Scotland. I got a Guinness, naturally. It was not as good as back in Edinburgh . but it was Guinness. So it was still good. Then it was time to hit up the salsa club. They taught us many ways to salsa. It was a bit crazy and fast and really fun, actually. I've seen plenty of salsa dancing, but it's harder then it looks. And that's the story of how a Costa Rican taught me how to salsa in Brussels. We went home and passed out. After waking up early for our flight, we found our way to a waffle stand, for one last waffle. And it was glorious. Well worth it. Brussels was great. Very beautiful and delicious. I went there thinking it would just be a whatever stay, and it was amazing. 10/10 would recommend. It was well worth it.

justanotherredheadinscotlan-blog

Berlin

Hey everyone! I’m in Berlin now, but I wanna talk about Brussels. I woke up today with a notification saying there was explosions in the Brussels international airport, a place I was less then 3 days ago. Everyone was sleeping and I awoke them with a, “holy shit guys”. I read the minimal coverage that was being given and we marveled at the fact that we were just there. We laid there, waiting to hear more. We turned on a live feed over everything that was happening, after about 5 minutes, we hear the reporter say, there’s been an explosion in the metro, near the EU. Now it’s getting real. Its sinking in that we were just at both of these places; we wandered around the metro stop near the EU trying to find a bus, we got off on that very stop, We flew out of that airport. Our first night there, a terrorist was caught a few house down from our flat. We thought that was all the excitment we would have. But waking up this morning, seeing all these places we’ve walked scrolling across my feed, smoke billowing out of places I once set foot in, it made it real. We’re all sitting here, marveling over the fact that that could have been us, we could have been there. We missed it by a few days. Not only that, but we have a connection to that city now; we’ve walked those streets, we’ve talked with those people, we’ve rode that subway. Its not just a distant land being attacked, it’s some place we called home for a weekend, a place we fell in love with. It caused a realization in all of us; we spend one weekend there, we may have had a connection to it, but it was so small, Compaired to those who live there, those with family there. Its terrifying. We’re imagining Paris on a whole new level. I can’t even describe the things that are going through my head. I was young for 9/11, I felt a connection, but being so young made it harder to understand. I’m an adult now. This is effecting me;I can see the ramifications and understand the horror. I honestly can’t find the words to describe what I’m feeling. But the people of Brussels will definitely be in my thoughts. I think this is why studying abroad is huge, not to turn this into a sales pitch, but it took Brussels from being just another city, to being a real place, with real people. We get so desensitized to these things; we think it’s far away and won’t effect us. We feel for the people, but we continue on as usual, maybe talking about it a bit, getting annoyed at politicians for using it as a campaign bit, but otherwise, it’s not something we feel too,near and dear. Being here, going abroad has made it into a personal experience. Its made me see it in a while new light. We need to feel for these people, and really feel for them. Because they’re people, just like us. I’ve walked in some of their foot steps, I’ve heard their stories, this is real life for them. We need to understand that. That’s not to say life should stop and we should be afraid. That’s the wrong course of action. We need to pull together and outlast the fear. Terrorists thrive on fear. Its time to eliminate the fear, and come together as a world, and feel each other’s pain together.

Berlin

Hey everyone! I'm in Berlin now, but I wanna talk about Brussels. I woke up today with a notification saying there was explosions in the Brussels international airport, a place I was less then 3 days ago. Everyone was sleeping and I awoke them with a, "holy shit guys". I read the minimal coverage that was being given and we marveled at the fact that we were just there. We laid there, waiting to hear more. We turned on a live feed over everything that was happening, after about 5 minutes, we hear the reporter say, there's been an explosion in the metro, near the EU. Now it's getting real. Its sinking in that we were just at both of these places; we wandered around the metro stop near the EU trying to find a bus, we got off on that very stop, We flew out of that airport. Our first night there, a terrorist was caught a few house down from our flat. We thought that was all the excitment we would have. But waking up this morning, seeing all these places we've walked scrolling across my feed, smoke billowing out of places I once set foot in, it made it real. We're all sitting here, marveling over the fact that that could have been us, we could have been there. We missed it by a few days. Not only that, but we have a connection to that city now; we've walked those streets, we've talked with those people, we've rode that subway. Its not just a distant land being attacked, it's some place we called home for a weekend, a place we fell in love with. It caused a realization in all of us; we spend one weekend there, we may have had a connection to it, but it was so small, Compaired to those who live there, those with family there. Its terrifying. We're imagining Paris on a whole new level. I can't even describe the things that are going through my head. I was young for 9/11, I felt a connection, but being so young made it harder to understand. I'm an adult now. This is effecting me;I can see the ramifications and understand the horror. I honestly can't find the words to describe what I'm feeling. But the people of Brussels will definitely be in my thoughts. I think this is why studying abroad is huge, not to turn this into a sales pitch, but it took Brussels from being just another city, to being a real place, with real people. We get so desensitized to these things; we think it's far away and won't effect us. We feel for the people, but we continue on as usual, maybe talking about it a bit, getting annoyed at politicians for using it as a campaign bit, but otherwise, it's not something we feel too,near and dear. Being here, going abroad has made it into a personal experience. Its made me see it in a while new light. We need to feel for these people, and really feel for them. Because they're people, just like us. I've walked in some of their foot steps, I've heard their stories, this is real life for them. We need to understand that. That's not to say life should stop and we should be afraid. That's the wrong course of action. We need to pull together and outlast the fear. Terrorists thrive on fear. Its time to eliminate the fear, and come together as a world, and feel each other's pain together.

Brussels, Day 1 & 2:

We haven't even been here 24 hours and it's been crazy. First off, we get a txt from our air b&b host saying there's police in his neighboorhood, so he'll meet us at the station. Were like...ok. That's nice I guess. Good thing he did Because we had no clue where we were going there. We get to his flat and there's cops literally everywhere. We head out for the night and we just have to snoop a bit. There were reporters everywhere, so we wandered through a few camera shots, we may be on the news somewhere in the world. Our spring break started out pretty crazy, and we were kind of living in history, having stayed in the neighborhood of Europe's most wanted man. We got some really good Mexican food too, mostly because it was the cheapest food there. Our flat was crazy nice, so we slept great and showered in some fancy shit. We left this morning with visions of waffles but had to settle for crepes. But never fear, we followed our instincs, and the sounds of folk music, and found a whole street selling waffles for a Euro. It was golden. We were in love. We wandered the city for a few more hours, sight seeing and such. We found a weird status of a baby peering with Brussels is apparently famous for. That's an interesting story... It's hard being a place that speaks french, as me and Kelly speak german, barely, and Alyssa speaks spanish, French is very different. We're very lucky were cute girls, otherwise people would hate the fact that we can speak any French at all. It's a much more conservative country and we keep getting weird looks. I think some of it is my hair. They have alot of Turkish immigrants here, so red hair isn't really a thing. I haven't seen any red heads yet. Many people comment on it, but in French so,i have no idea what they're saying. All in all, I think Brussels so far has been a good time. Tonight is gonna be a bar night, with lots of good Belgium food and beer. I'm writing this whole drinking a beer ThT 8.5 percent alcohol, which is low for a beer here, so it should be an interesting night...

Scotland, I've lost count of days;

I'm about to head out for my spring break, so don't except alot of posts, but there will be plenty once I get home in 2 weeks! I'll be headed to Brussels in a few hours, then Berlin for a few days, then Dublin, and then Belfast. Should be some great pictures and stories on the way!

Scotland, Day 59-60:

So Sunday I got to see The Witch at the Cameo theatre, which I learned is Trentinos favorite theatre. The movie was pretty good, but the theatre was pretty cool too. There was a bar inside, and you could drink in the screening rooms. And you had to buy tickets for your specific seat, so that was different. The theatre was very classy though, very different from my hometown theater. It was very cool, well worth the trip, just for the theatre.

Monday was terribly boring. Nothing special, just alot of class.

Today though, Tuesday, I went into Edinburgh with a friend and went to a seminar about the UK leaving the EU. It was extremely interesting and informative. But we were by far the youngest people there, and the only Americans. Once they asked for questions and my friend asked one, as soon as he opened his mouth, they all whipped around and wanted to know what the American was saying. We thought maybe we would be able to make it through an outing where we weren’t asked about Trump. But we were wrong; the question found it’s way into our discussion.

Scottish people have a messed up idea of how we feel about Trump and it’s getting very old. I’m tired of being asked if I support him, just because I’m an American. That’s like asking a German if they support Hitler. I hate that comparison, but that’s really what it’s getting to. Not everyone in Germany supported Hitler, but he still was their leader, the same could happen with Trump, unfortunately. And I’m very tired of having to answer questions about Trump, solely because I’m an American. I was tired of Trump and his bull shit when I was home, I’m especially over hearing about it here. We understand you’re all socialist, don’t make everything worse by constantly asking us why we aren’t.

Sorry. It’s been a long day and I’m really over this Trump stuff. The seminar was really good, and they had really great free food. It was a really great day, I’m not looking forward to writing the paper about the seminar though....

Scotland, Day 50- 58:

So I guess my last post didn’t post, so I’ll re-write it for all of you, if I remember everything..

I’ll start with Thursday; WE had an “Academic day” in Edinburgh. Which basically meant no classes and just hanging out in the city. I got to experience a full Scottish breakfast, which made the trip to the city worth it on it’s own! That was great; Lots of food, really good food. Great with brown sauce. IF you don’t know what brown sauce is, it’s basically Scottish katchup. I hate ketchup, but brown sauce is life. I’m going to have to find some when I get home, because I have no idea how I will live without it now. Everyone here misses katchup and ranch and I could care less, because brown sauce is heaven. After we had our breakfast, we went to the surgeons museum, just for fun. IT WAS NOT FUN. I don’t handle gross body things well, especially after a huge ass breakfast. But I was trying to be a team player, so I went with everyone else. But it was terrible. it was something my mother would have loved, so I’m sure I’ll have to take her when she comes to visit. I’ll just skip breakfast that day... We also did a bit of shopping and wandering. I found the lady kilt I want. I can’t wait to buy it. After that, I went to the John Knox house; he was a big deal for the reformation. That was interesting, But Camera Obsera was way cooler. It was like all the cool weird mirrors and things that they have at carnivals in one building. It’s also the oldest tourist attraction in Edinburgh, so that was really cool. There was this cool spinning vortex of terror that I went through probably 12 times. There was a bunch of Spanish people doing the same thing, and even though we didn’t understand each other, there was an understanding in each others eyes that this thing was awesome and well worth going through a million and one times. Crazy shit brings people together on a weird level. After that, we took our selves on a little pub crawl, lead by yours truly, mostly because I had the map... We went to all the cool bars in Edinburgh, the more touristy ones, which means the more expensive ones. But it was a good time, either way. We went to go see one of our professors play the mandolin at a bar with a bunch of Scots, which was crazy cool to see. It’s something I’ll never get used to, seeing professors out all the time, and buying them beers and then seeing them the next day with their kids. It’s very different.

We also ran into some other Americans at that bar. They were on spring break. they went to school in Florence, and they wanted to visit Edinburgh. They loved it here. after one day, they were madly in love with it here. That made me really proud, to be able to call this place home; this place everyone loves so much and I get to live here. It’s just amazing. We compared our experiences of studying abroad. They loved hearing about our palace. They think that we live like Harry Potter, which we kind of do. But they really loved hearing our stories about the palace. I never realized how different of an experience we have from other students who actually live on campus and such. I love it. They gave us advice on places to go to around the world, and we helped them decide what to do here in Edinburgh. I loves being able to give advice on this place I get to call home. It was really nice to see and talk with other Americans who are living the same-ish experience as we are. It was a cool time.

Friday, we went to the orchestra. And they must have been really good, because it was putting me to sleep. It was so warm and comfy in there. They were very good though. It made me miss my band days. After the concert, we got some McDonalds. It’s weird the little things you miss. It’s such a comofrt food. And it’s weird not having a McDonalds here in Dalkeith. Back home, there’s a McDonalds 2 minutes in either direction from my house. So it’s weird having to take a 45 minute bus ride to get McDonalds. But it was worth it. They h=don’t have Shamrock Shakes here though, and that’s like a staple for my March back home. So that was a little depressing.

Saturday, we had a house trip to a whiskey distillery, and a castle and a nature preserve. I’ll start with the distillery.

It was Glenkinchie, and it was 10 in the morning. No children were allowed on the tour because you could get drunk off the fumes of the place alone. I’ve been on quite a few brewery tours, which I’m not allowed to drink on, but I always learn a lot anyways. This was very different. I learned so much. so much goes into making whiskey. And I’m not talking Jack Daniels, I’m talking real good scotch whiskey. I can’t emphasis enough how much I learned. Feel free to message me so I can geek out and tell you more.But we also got to try some; it was funny to watch all the girls make faces and all the guys pretend they loved it. But it actually was really good. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think I enjoyed it more after taking the tour because I had a greater understanding of what made each flavor and all that stuff. It was a very good experience. I’m excited to try Jamison when we’re in Dublin.

Next, the castle. Tantalion Castle. The castles are all starting to look somewhat the same to me; just piles of rocks. But they’re still very cool. the landscape of this one was awesome.I love the ocean more then almost anything and this one was right on the coast. I jumped a fence so I could get a bit closer, but the cliffs were a bit extreme. It was gorgeous though. The ocean always makes me happy.

Our last stop was St. Abbs Nature Reserve and I think it was one of my favorite places we have ever been to. It was simple gorgeous. I can’t imagine the Romans trying to conquer this land, it’s awe-inspiring and simply formidable. I can’t describe the beauty of this place. I could have easily spent all day there and still would want to go back. I would have loved to live there. The ocean was just... I’m really thinking I need to move somewhere with an ocean after I graduate, because the ocean never fails to amaze me. The cliffs were insane here too. I really wish I could describe the beauty of this place more, and no pictures do it justice. It was the Scotland I came to see, oceans, cliffs, sheep, everything. It was just... I would say one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen. I wish I could describe it better, but there really isn’t words.

Today, Sunday, is homework day for everyone in the house. I finished all mine, so I’m all alone watching Netflix and blogging. But we are going to see a movie later today, The Witch, It’s supposed to be really scary. One of my friends is crazy about it; he’s watched the traitor like, 4 times, a day, for the last weeks. We thought that we wouldn’t be able to see it here in the UK, but we found a theatre, so we, meaning him, are pretty pumped about going to see it. I’m sure I’ll scream. But it’ll be cool; this is supposed to be a cool, classy old theatre, so that alone will make it worth it. I’m excited.

Sorry for such a long post, I have no idea why it didn’t post last time, I’ll try to check more regularly to make sure it is posting. TTYL!

Scotland, Day 46-49:

I actually have a whole bunch to talk about this time, so buckle up!

We took a day trip to Linlithgow and Stirling Castle on day 46. Both were pretty darn awesome. But I’ll start with Linlithgow. It was very old, one of the oldest we’ve seen yet. I always have a hard time actually imaging people living in places like that. Maybe it’s because none of them have roofs.... But it was massive, too. I got lost many times, and ended up seeing one half of the palace 3 times, while trying to find the other half. Going to see stuff like that always brings out this weird childish instinct in me; I just want to run everywhere all at once. It’s very hard for me to stay contained. The palace had a couple spiral turrets, which I just had to climb, even though there was close to 500 stairs in each. But the view at the top way by far worth it. I’m getting better at climbing spiral stone staircases as well. Which is a weird thing to say I’ve been improving on... But the grounds around the palace were beautiful too; there was a loch and just some really beautiful green grass. Dog everywhere, naturally. The town it’s self was gorgeous and adorable too.

Once we got back on the train to go to Stirling Castle, I learned why they say to mind the gap when trains come by. Being a cheeky little lass, I stuck my butt out over the line you’re supposed to stay behind. I nearly had a heart attack when the train came by and blew me forward into a group of people. I have a new found respect of the gap.

Once at Sterling, I was immediately taken aback by how beautiful the land around the castle was. It was so green and lush and there were so many mountains. IT’s easy to see why people fought to gain control of the castle. Stirling is seen as the gateway to the Highlands too, so I guess I should have expected it to be beautiful. The castle it’s self was huge and gorgeous. There was so much history to it, conquest after conquest. Even the Queen has visited Stirling, and I love the Queen. There was so much to be seen, but I think my favorite thing was the tapestries of the Capture of the Unicorn, which is a Scottish folktale. But all of the Tapestries are handmade. The ones that hang in the castle now are recreations, but the originals are in the MET. So I may have to get there some day to see the real ones. But either way, they were beautiful and they took so much time. It’s an example of the beauty that this land inspires. It’s simply amazing. Walking around Stirling was great to; It’s crazy to see people living int a town so old. I can’t even imagine that, so much history. We went to a mall and they had owls just chilling in there, that you could hold and stuff, so that was pretty cool too.

The next few days we just kind of hung out around our own palace, went on a few rambles, went to the pub, nothing too crazy. But yesterday, I went to a nice coffee shop and got some really great breakfast and coffee. I was just proud of myself for being up so early. After that, me and a few friends went into Edinburgh to see an improv show at a comedy bar. It was hilarious, and it was free. It was a wonderful time, simply lovely. Their humor is so dry here, I love it, I fit right in. It was fun to get out of the house and have a few laughs. Well worth the trip. It was beautiful out when we left the house, by the time we left the comedy club, it was snowing. This place is as bipolar as Minnesota. Maybe that’s why I love it so much.

All in all, it was a really great few days. I am so happy to be living here and experiencing all these things. .

Scotland, Day 40-45:

Once again,It’s been awhile since I wrote last. Between writing 800 papers and drinking, it’s hard to find the time.Just kidding mom...

But seriously, It’s been a bit busy here the last few days, So I apologize for not writing more. Now I just have to try to remember what the heck we’ve been up to.

I’m finally over my strange moldy muffin disease, so that’s good. Nothing too crazy happened after that though, it’s been a pretty relaxing week. Monday and Tuesday we had class, but I got to ramble a good bit both days; We’ve been finding some interesting things in the woods, like bee keeper things and strange tubes that go across the river and a strange pully system and tons of good places for a bon fire. We almost got attacked by bees yesterday when we were out exploring the woods. I thought they were just piles of wood, turns out, they were little bee houses. We ran away screaming and almost slipped on fell in the mud. There is also tons of these white flowers that smell like onions, our chef says that they’re wild garlic. They’re pretty, but stinky.

The woods here remind me of the Lord of the Rings movies; I feel like Frodo and Sam could just come running out at anytime. But they also remind me a lot of home. I don’t know if it’s just because I do a lot of walking at home too, or something, but they feel really familiar. I just wish I had my dog to keep me company.

On Wednesday, our classes got cut short so that one of the classes could go on a field trip to the zoo. So we went into the city and ran some errands. I got my eyebrows done, and it was amazing. I haven’t had them done in a month and a half, which is way too long. The ladies made fun of me, but I don’t even care. It was worth it. I feel a million times better now.We then went to the Scottish National Museum, which was huge, bigger than any museum I’ve ever been to, it was insane. WE didn’t even see the whole thing, so we plan to go back. We saw tons of cool stuff, and it’s very hands on, which was nice, because sometime you just wanna touch things. After that, we went down to the Grass market, which is basically a bunch of food and shops, but it used to be where they hung people and they have a memorial to it right in the middle of the street, so that’s pretty cool, in a morbid way... We ate at a cafe called Scooby Doos’s. It was just one guy working and making the food. He sounded a little Russian, and he made really good food. That’s one thing I love about Edinburgh, the diversity of the people. There is so many different kinds of people here, it makes Minneapolis look very...white. Every one is so well dressed too, all the time. Girls are always wearing heels, no matter what. I have no idea how they don’t slip and fall on the wet streets. Anyways, after that, we went to Mary Milk Bar for milk shakes. It was a gelato milkshake and it was amazing,. We drank the min the rain and it was still totally worth it. After that, we ran a few more errands and then made our way back to the bus. We felt very accomplished for being able to find our way around the city on our own. It’s always very empowering, doing things like that on our own. It really makes it feel like home here.

We all have been feeling the homesick blues lately. And we all have been dealing with it differently. But we’re on the upward slope right now, and we’re all feeling a bit better about being here. Sometimes, you just get down. But we love it here, and I don’t think anything could change that.

We also booked our tickets for our spring break trip as well as a trip for our net long weekend. Let me tell you something, I have never been as stressed as I was when buying those tickets. Trying to find deals, then having them snacked away in a second, watching all that money leave your account, it stinks, it hurts a little bit. My brain was fried after 2 hours of trying to find and buy tickets to different places. But It will all be worth it in the end. For spring break, we’re flying to Brussels for a night, then to Berlin and then then Dublin, and then flying out of Belfast. I’m so excited; my goal was to see Berlin and Dublin while I was here, and I accomplished those goals. For our long weekend, We’re going to Ibiza, which is an island off the coast of Spain. We wanted to go somewhere a little bit warmer, maybe see the sun for a few days before we go back to dreary Scotland. It may be beautiful here, but we need sun.

All in all, it was a very empowering few days, between making it around the city on our own, to buying our tickets. It feels good. I’m proud to say that I have accomplished so much here.

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