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.