Scotland Adventures: 2010

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Looking back on our trip, I can honestly say it was a life-changing experience unlike any other I ever expect to have. Scotland turned out to be a country not only of adventure, but of unbelievable beauty. I had the time of my life, and I'm actually surprised that since I had so much fun, I learned a lot as well! (Yesterday I was talking to my dad about our trip, and just started rattling off historical facts. Go me!)

And the people that joined me on this trip were priceless. I think that with a different group, it could have been so much different, but we all bonded almost immediately, and we all found about thirteen new friends that will hopefully last.

All in all, I can barely find the words to express how much this trip means to me. Dr. Rushing and Dr. Bender were absolute saints for making this trip available to us, and I can't thank Maggie from CCSA enough for letting us go.

A few pictures of our group:

I'm finally home! After one final celebration and some teary goodbyes, I'm back in my home, ready to sleep for what, I hope, will feel like years.

Our plane left at 12:30 from Edinburgh. I have to admit, I was dead asleep before we even took off. After leanding in Amsterdam, we had a few moments of confusion when it seemed our next flight was leaving in a mere twenty minutes, but it turned out that we had two hours. Our flight from Amsterdam was nine hours, I think. There was a German family sitting in front of me that was awful. They kept turning around to stare and Anne and I, but they wouldn't look away if you caught them, they'd just keep staring. It was weird. And the son, who was probably around twelve or thirteen, had some anger issues. He'd get up randomly and hit his mom, or stare his dad in the face, like it was funny. ..it wasn't. I was glad when we landed in Atlanta.

I was prepared for customs to be a nightmare, but it was alright. After we got all the way through the airport, we took a van to Chattanooga, where my parents picked me up, and we went to a hotel a few minutes away.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Our last few days in Scotland have been great. The last thing on my bucket list to do while I was here? Have a kebab. No, it's not an American kebab, but more like a wrap, with some sort of chili sauce and some sort of garlic sauce.. I'm still trying to figure those out.

And I succeeded! Although it wasn't exactly appetizing, I can understand why the kebab stands are the only things still open at 2 A.M.; they're definite last night snacks. I'm not really that mad it didn't taste good. It's just something I had to check off my list.

Taking a step away from the main focus of my journeys, which has been what I'm doing on a day to day basis, and what I think of it, I have a question: Why in the world doesn't the US have a train system?!

Really. Trains play a huge part in commuting for a lot of countries, including the one I'm in now. I understand that America is larger than most of these, but it's terribly efficient, and I bet it's cutting down in the use of fuel, too.

Someone in our government, please look into this.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Inverness was really wonderful, even if the weather was crazy. I guess to most Scots that's normal weather, hot one minute, pouring the next, rainy for an hour, and back to beautiful. I do love the weather, even though I complain about it quite a bit. When you're somewhere this beautiful, it doesn't matter if it's cloudy.

While there, we went to the Culloden Battlefield and took a tour of Loch Ness(although none of us quite spotted Nessy). Loch Ness was beautiful, and huge, which I wasn't expecting. Our tour guide said that every person alive today could fit into Loch Ness, three times over. Plus, it's freshwater- the largest quantity in England and Wales combined. Impressive, yeah?

I'm glad to be back in Edinburgh, though. I was hoping Inverness would be smaller, like St. Andrews or Fort William, and I was surprised when it turned out to be such a large, and rather new looking, city. It didn't hold as much history as Edinburgh seems to, but in the end, that was fine.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

I'm in Inverness! Rather than tell all my stories in our entry, however, I'd rather give a few warnings to those who travel abroad.

1. Don't always listen to your bus driver.. especially if you notice that he can't drive well. He's probably new.

2. DON'T rely on the internet for Hostels. Instead, ask the travel info center for ideas, and look for a close, inexpensive, and safe hostel. (Turns out ours is about a thirty minute walk, when the internet said ten.)

3. Make plans! Don't think you can just arrive and decide what to do once you get there. Arrange beforehand for everything you want to do.

4. Bring snacks, everywhere you go. It'll save money, and time.

5. And a few things to think about in Scotland: Don't mimic their accent, you'll get stares. Never say "fannypack".. it's bum bag. Prepare for wind and rain, but also have lighter clothes; the weather is often crazy. Don't try to dress cute. For one, their don't have the same fashion sense as we Americans, and two, you'll regret it after walking four miles a day.

Cheers..?

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Although the rest of the group said climbing up Arthur's seat would be easy, it wasn't! But the views from the top were spectacular, and I was excited when we found the ruins of an old abbey, and a lake practically bursting at the seams with swans. It was rather beautiful, but I should expect this of Scotland by now, shouldn't I?

And I have finally found a Scot worth writing about. I swear, our waiter at Garfunkel's restaurant is just adorable. He's so happy and peppy, I've been back twice just to see him! I'm quite smitten.

Today's our lat day in Edinburgh before we head into our final weekend, which I, and most of the class, will be spending in Inverness. It's much farther north, and I'm very excited to be in the Highlands again! And for the first time since we've been here, we're experiencing real Scottish weather- cold, rain, and wind. Even in the rain, I still love being here.

As our trip winds down, the list of things I want to do grows longer. I'm not homesick, or even remotely ready to go home(although I'd definitely have to get a job in order to stay..) and I'm pretty sure that if I could live in St. Andrews or Fort William, I would, in a heart beat.

Today we're having a final class session, and this morning I've already shipped a few things back home, visited the Surgeon's Museum, and made a real Scottish friend! Her name is Mary, and she's a 72 year old women that grew up in Oban, but now lives in Edinburgh with her son. We rode the bus together.. and I'm pretty sure she told me her whole life story(but I only understand about 60%..).

Hopefully this afternoon I'll be able to hike up Arthur's Seat, despite the rain.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Today began bright and early with a class sesssion, and then we headed to two museums, the Writer's Museum, and the National Museum of Scotland.

The Writer's Museum was slightly cramped(and rather warm!) but it was interesting. I guess it's one of my quirks, but I love seeing the death masks of famous people. An interesting fact about Sir Walter Scott's death mask is that there's a huge gash in his forehead. It wasn't a scar, though. After his death, surgeons cut open his head to determine whether his brain was larger than the average human brain because he was a genius. Unfortunately, it was just average sizes, and these is now a huge gash in all of his death masks.

Afterwards our group headed to the National Museum of Scotland, which, to me, was much more interesting. Although about 2/3 of the museum were closed to the public for renovations, it was still huge. I could have spent days in that museum. My favorite parts, however, were the small replicas of boats, particularly Hermes, a boat that was sunk in 1914 by a torpedo. At the same time, there were tons of costumes that kids could try on.. and I did my best to try on as well! The Roman history exhibits were very interesting, too. It's amazing to see how many artifacts and relics have been preserved for thousands of years, and still have legible hand writing and dates.

Overall, it was an interesting day. The longer I'm here, the more I'm realizing how extensive of a history Scotland has, and how despite time and war and reformations, these people have done their very best to preserve it, cherish it, and show it to the world.

In class, we've been discussing the ideas of truth within history, and how that "truth" is interpreted throughout the ages. Though I didn't mention it in class, I've found that personally I believe truth to be a very subjective matter, that differs from person to person, and can't be evaluated by any other individual.

Truth to a Catholic is very different from the truth of a Protestant, as history has shown. But this doesn't mean that someone has to stand up and say, Yeah, okay, but which one is right? Because within the truth of opinions and the truth of individual experience, there is no right and wrong, only being. I feel as though a lot of people in history either haven't realized this, or just choose to ignore it because it benefits them.

To be honest, it's one of those subjects that just completely bores me. Yes, I want to know the truth whenever possible, and while I wouldn't like to be lied to, I'm perfectly fine with realizing that a lot of history was written to benefit someone, such as the church, or the king, or other important people or organization.

Isn't that why everything is written, to benefit someone or something? As a whole, humans are not creatures of selflessness. Every move we make is to benefit or comfort or satisfy our selves and our desires in some way, and I see no reason why literature would be any different. And sure, it can be argued that this is "right" or "wrong", but I'd rather not waste my time.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Today our group started rather early, and we made our way south to the Borders and to Sir Walter Scott's home, the Abbottsford. During his career, he ditched his original plan to build a two-room cottage and instead built a humongous home which closely resembles a castle. At one point, he came to be extremely in debt(an amount close to 7 million USD by today's standards), but through incomprehensible hard work, he was able to pay off all this debt before he died.

His home is beautiful. It's very obvious from all the relics and miscellaneous items scattered throughout that he had many well to do friends, and he obviously knew his history very well. Some favorites were Napolean Bonaparte's notebook and oen case, probably taken after Waterloo, as well as a small wooden relief sculpture said to be carved from a tree in the front yard Shakepeare's home.

Next, we headed to Melrose Abbey, which is now in ruins, yet we took a few pictures before heading farther into Kelso where we toured the Floor's Castle. Today, it is occupied by the tenth Duke of Roxburghe and his family. Sections of the castle are open to the public, but because it is so large, there is still plenty of room for the family.

All in all, it was a grand day, filled with more castles and ruins, which I have begun to associate almost directly with Scotland, although I'm sure they're in many European countries. As our time winds down here, I also can't help but think I'm going home to a country that is too proud of itself, for lacking accomplishments, and a cocky attitude. By the teachings of Aristotle, I think I'd rather be a cosmopolite- a citizen of the world. The more I see and experience, the more aware I am that Americans as a whole are much too proud of themselves, for a history so short that it barely compares to the rest of the world, if at all.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

St. Andrews may still be my favorite place in Scotland, but Linlithgow Palace is a very, very close second. Earlier today, a few of us made our way via train to Linlithgow, a little ways away from Edinburgh. We toured the Linlithgow Palace, which was built over the course of two centuries by numerous kings, who each added a fair amount of splendor and beauty to this now gigantic castle.

Unlike a lot of the castles in Scotland that we've seen, we had almost free rein throughout, since it was partially in ruins, and no one lives there. It was absolutely amazing.

It's over four stories tall, and in most places the floors no longer exist. But the towers are standing tall, and we were able to get to the very top of one! From that high up in the air, the entire palace was absolutely beautiful, and while walking through all the rooms, one can't help but imagine how grand this castle must have once been. In each room, I could look up and see where three of or four stories would have been above my head, including multiple guest rooms, rooms for each queen, king, and their shared chambers, the Great Hall, three kitchens, several cellars and underground rooms, as well as the towers and housing for the guards, and this doesn't even begin to describe how huge it was.

In short, I am amazed, and I am in love, which this entire country.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Over the past few days, I've been contemplating the ideas of "home". Most of us on the trip are beginning to say, Okay, I'm having fun, but I'm ready to go home. Lately, though, I've been getting a little tripped up over what this word actually means.

For most people, home is where you grew up, or where your loved ones live. In some cases, however, that isn't true. For the people affected by hurricane Katrina, the place they grew up no longer exists; whole neighborhoods were washed out. These people have had to develop new lives in new places, and the sad truth is that they have to build a new home, whether they like it or not. At the same time, I wonder how people can move away from this "home", if it's truly a place they love, filled with people they love, or if these individuals simply have a different understanding of the word.

This leads me to think of the people driven away in the Highland Clearances. Many were satisfied with the their lives, not dreaming if the big city, or how they could manage to get out from under their parents. I'm sure they sensed the unrest among the lairds, but I don't think many of these people anticipated being thrown out of the homes their relatives had lived in for years, or that if they refused to leave, they were brutally removed, if not burnt alive with their houses.

Of course, the Highland Clearances weren't the first time this happened. It happened to the Jews during the second World War, the Cherokee Indians along the Trail of Tears, and before that, the Cherokee Indians cleared away another tribe of Native Americans to take their land. But does it really make a difference? Is it really okay and acceptable to push people away from the land and memories and belongings they've known their whole life?

In class today, we discussed how despite the horrible reality of the Highland Clearances, perhaps this helped the economy in the Lowlands later, as Glasgow boomed in the harbor and see-faring industries and as Edinburgh became an intellectual center comparable to London itself. In my opinion, however, this is simply what we are taught to believe, and it's wrong. I don't care how the economy flourished if thousands had to suffer and die and be shipped away like cattle in order for it to happen. I don't care if the people of the Lowlands prospered if it was at the stake of nearly eradicating the whole Highland race and culture. And quite frankly, if England or Scotland is or was proud of this new, better economy, they should be ashamed of themselves.

Decades before the Highland Clearances, the Highlanders and Lowlanders were having problems with each other, as I'm sure the different tribes of Native Americans were. But under no circumstances was this a call to arms, to attack one another in the hopes of showing one's strength or dominance over another. Despite the time period and the amount of time that has passed since, there is no reason good enough to push out a whole race of people from the land which they know and love. And not one human in all of history, has ever had, or will ever have, the right to do so.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Time passes too quickly here.

I can hardly believe that half of our trip is over.

Over the past two days, I've continued my exploring. Yesterday we toured the Georgian House, which is a house preserved almost entirely from the Georgian period in Edinburgh history, when New Town was just being built and those who were able to keep up moved into brand new homes around what is now Charlotte's Square. Although delicate, the house was rather interesting. My own wish is that I were thirteen, or the size of a thirteen year old, so that I could have tried on the costumes hanging in the drawing room!

And today was yet another adventure. We took a train from Edinburgh's Waverly Station to Glasgow. Although it used to house over 1 million people, Glasgow's population has shrunk to just over 600,000, yet it remains Scotland's largest city. In stark contrast to Edinburgh, the streets are lines with factories, skyscrapers, and hubs for big business. We toured Glasgow's famous Mackintosh building, designed by Richard Mackintosh at the turn of the 20th century, and we had tea and lunch at the Willow Tea Room, which he also designed.

Afterwards, a few of us headed towards Glasgow's oldest cathedral and necropolis. Even after touring the Edinburgh Castle and seeing St. Andrew's, this cathedral was still breathtaking. Unlike many of the cathedrals throughout Scotland, this particular one lays nearly untouched by the Reformation, and much of the original decor is still visible. The Necropolis was a new experience for me as well. I'd never been in such a large, and somewhat creepy, cemetery. It had huge monuments as graves, and it wasn't uncommon to see statues of Jesus, Mary, or other biblical people erected next to, or upon the grave itself.

Riding the train back to Edinburgh, I began to think of how different the US's transportation system is. In the UK, buses are generally safe, and instead of major highways Scotland has a complex train system with seems to transport the majority of its peoples. I feel that if many of the people I shared that train with came to the United States, they'd be baffled by how many lanes of traffic we have on our interstates. Think of Atlanta, Georgia or Houston, Texas. And even in smaller cities like Chattanooga or Knoxville, we're all clearly advised to avoid public transportation, because that's most likely where a.) you'll get mugged, b.) you'll catch something, or if you're a girl c.) you'll get hit on, and not in a favorable way.

It's becoming painfully clear, the longer I'm here, that the United States has some catching up to do.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Haggis isn't so bad!

Yes, I tried Haggis! It isn't all it's cracked up be; it just tastes like stuffing,

with a spicy kick at the end. Don't get me wrong, it's a little weird knowing

I'm eating intestines and sheep's stomach, but several other Scottish meals are

worth mentioning, too.

Among them was a drink I had at lunch a few days ago at a pub called The Last Drop.

Gaelic coffee, which is whiskey and hot coffee, as it turns out, is NOT FOR ME. The whipped

cream on top was great, though.

As it turns out, baked beans really do go well with fried eggs, mashed peas aren't

that bad, and steak pie is my new favorite food! Scotland is treating me quite well.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

I'm in love with a country, and her name is Scotland.

Over the course of the past few days, I have been absolutely blown away with just how beautiful the northern landscape of Scotland is, with al

l the lochs, mountain, wildlife, and architecture. If there is no other word to describe such a perfect place, it is picturesque.

Friday morning, we began our journey leaving Edinburgh and heading to St. Andrew's. It's a tiny town with a population of 18,000, but only when the local university is in session. If I had the guts to move so far from home, this is what I would choose. We had a look around; we saw not only the university but also the ruins of the once massive castle and cathedral, both named after the town.

Afterwards we had tea with a famous historical fiction writer, Jane Yolen, who has co-authored books such as Girl in a Cage and The Queen's Own Fool. We spent the night in Dundee.

Bright and early this morning we left, headed for Glencoe and Fort William to see the site of what was one of the worst massacres in Scotland's history, and the site of the fort that aided the British in controlling the Highlands after the Jacobite Uprising. Along the way we made several stops to take pictures and view amazing scenery. In the afternoon, we headed farther north to the town of Oban, where we're staying the night.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Today wasn't quite as busy as yesterday, but I'm still just as tired. After having a class session, we toured Edinburgh Castle. But instead of listening to me rant about how beautiful it was, take a look for yourself.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Castles, hills, and castles on hills.

Walking through Scotland, I can't help but think of this one episode of Cities of the Underworld, where whoever the host is went through Edinburgh and showed the catacombs, old alleys, and gave detailed descriptions of how the city looked, then and now. Although I wasn't quite lucky enough to experience this for myself(yet!!), it was definitely a day of adventure.

After orientation, we jumped on our coach and drove around the city with a wonderful tour guide, who pointed out more facts than I can remember. We visited Sir Walter Scott's monument, the Grass Market, New Town, Old Town, Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh Castle(which we'll actually be touring tomorrow) and Hollyrood Castle(although we didn't tour it.. the Queen's coming soon!)

Later in the afternoon, we heard a lecture from Ian Campbell, a former professor of Duke and a current professor at the University of Edinburgh who teaches the History of British and Scottish Literature. Seriously, I'm amazed. Dr. Campbell captured our attention and I enjoyed it very much. He pondered the way that Scotland is changing, as well as the world as a whole, due to the increase in technologies and the general progression(or devolution) of language.

After a few days, I'm beginning to notice that the longer I'm here, the more that what I thought would only be cute little facts about the country are actually the basis of Scottish life and culture; contrary to Americans, the Scots really know their history, and are proud of their heritage. In the States, most people are focused on shopping and eating, and while that's still rather important here, it seems as if the history and culture and nature of Scotland as a whole is more important than the entertainment one can find on nearly as street. I think as a whole, this is a habit Americans would to do well to pick up.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

I made it!

After driving nearly five hours, flying for nine, having a

two hour lay over, and flying for two more hours,

I have arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland. Our flight from Atlanta

landed in Amsterdam at about 6:00 AM Eastern time, which to us

travelers was 11:00 AM. After a lay over in the Amsterdam airport,

we flew to Edinburgh. But I can't say much about that flight

because I was out as soon as we took off. And now here I am, in

Scotland, probably some 3,000 miles away everything I know.

It blows my mind a little bit..but I think I can handle it.

My first thought after catching our bus was how picturesque

everything is. As hard as my mother tries, she will never have a

garden as large or as vibrant as those of any given house we

passed. At the same time, the architecture was absolutely adorable,

and every home looks completely inviting.

At this point, I'm slightly exhausted, but mainly glad to be here.

More news coming tomorrow!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Six days!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

First entry!

Well, here I am making a blog.. exciting, right?

Mainly, I'll use this space while I'm in Scotland.

Hopefully you guys can follow me while I go on adventures, learn some

history, and have the time of my life! Wish me luck..

Try not to be too jealous, but here's a preview of what's to come:

Scotland Adventures