Monday may 23rd 2011

Today was our free day in London. We woke up, had a quick breakfast and then went to Buckingham palace for the changing of the guards. When we arrived, it was very packed with people. It was a beautiful day and everyone was excited. We didn't know where to stand because there were a lot of people facing the palace, then a lot of people facing the statue. We chose the less crowded area and waited for something to happen. There were guards on beautiful horses guiding everyone on what to do and where to not stand. We couldn't really see it, but from what we heard it was very cool. We were able to see the guards come in on horses and we could see and hear the bands. It was awesome. The band was wearing kilts and as they were transitioning into another song, one of the guards announced to the crowd "for all you Scottish people out there, this will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up" it was pretty cool. After that we went to lunch at the creepiest restaurant I've ever been to. After recovering from that, we went to the Eye of London. It was awesome. Basically it is a giant ferris wheel with big window egg shaped things that you stand in as it gives you a giant perspective of London. I was terrified because we were very high up but it was still pretty cool. After that went shopping but then went home early to pack for the next day. We celebrated out last night with some champagne and chocolate. It was a wonderful evening. Overall the trip was a success, I learned a lot about Scotland, Scottish history, politics and football hooliganism and had a one of a kind experience I will take with me everywhere I go.

Friday may twentieth

Today was our free day. We woke up and had to pack our luggage and store it in a different room because of scheduling conflicts, it didn't really matter but it was a pain to pack everything. On the free day we decided to go shopping and to see the castle. First we started out shopping then we found a cupcake shop and had a cupcake. We kept touring the city and then decided to go see the castle. The castle was beautiful but judging by the exiting peoples reactions it wasn't worth the money so we decided not to actually go in it. We enjoyed the free day but were very tired so decided to go back and rest. 

Thursday May Nineteenth 2011

Today we went to the Scottish parliament. It as really cool. We walked in, they made us go through security and wear name tags. We went on a tour of the place and it was filled with modern art. Everything had a meaning, it was really interesting. After the tour we had a lecture with one of the MSP's Kenny MacAskill. His discussion was practically food for the soul for the course. He discussed everything we have been discussing in this course, Scottish independence, possible war, the power of the SNP, identifying and so much more. His discussion was amazing and helped end the course in a really unique way. After that we had free time to experience Edinburgh. 

Wednesday May Eighteenth 2011

Wednesday may eighteenth 2011
Today we had to be ready by nine to get in a train to Sterling. When we arrived in Sterling we got on a city bus and went to the William Wallace memorial. The monument looked like a giant tower that can be seen for miles because it is on top of a hill. In order to get to it, you have to climb to the top of the hill. The hill was just another reminder of how out of shape I really am. After the hill we got to the base of the monument. It was very windy even at the base of the mountain, then we had to climb up 246 stairs to the top of the monument. the monument was very interesting and made of stone. On the top it was incredibly windy. Afterwards we went to another museum and had a lecture by one of the workers. He explained in great detail the art of warfare and techniques used during battles. It was interesting but too gory. 

Tuesday may seventheenth

Tuesday may seventeenth 2011
Today we woke up at 8:45, ate breakfast and met with the class to go to the museum. It was a short walk and it was a nice day. The Scottish national museum was huge. It was also free. It also had six very elaborate levels of artifacts and information on Scotland. The museum was very amazing, one of the things that stood out the most was the robot figures. Unlike the Shetland museum where they displayed a reconstructed face of a woman, the Scottish national museum decided to have visitors imagine what the scottish people looked like in the time of the particular artifacts being displayed. They had random pieces of jewelry displayed on the robot like figures, allowing the viewer to make their own decisions on what the people were like. The museum was artistic and flowed together as each level progressed in time period. Afterwards we had a discussion on the museum and thoughts about it. Some had mixed feelings but I thought it was great. Then we discussed the articles. The discussion was based on Scotland, Wales, northern Ireland, and England in regards to their independence as well as joining the European union. We mostly discussed Scotland and its new changes in the majority party and whether or not they would benefit from joining then E.U. if Scotland were to join the E.U., the value of money would be different because then pound is much stronger than the euro. After the debate we went to lunch at the elephant house where J.K. Rowling wrote the first couple of books of Harry Potter on napkins. The food was really good and it was a cool place. Afterwards we went shopping. In between the shopping we went to chocolate soup. I had a very chocolaty cupcake. It was very good. I bought my dad a whisky/scotch taster, a really cool sweatshirt and some clothes. For dinner we made food from the grocery store then went out for the night. When we all got back, Katie decided to sleep with danielle and I so we had some quality snuggling time. 

Monday may 16th 2011

Monday may sixteenth 2011
Today we left Lerwick for Edinburgh. It took a flight and a train but we made it! When we finally arrived in Edinburgh and enjoyed free wifi on the city bus. We are staying at the youth hostel and it is cleaner and nicer than some hotels. Our room has it's own toilet, sink and shower. I am living with Katie and Danielle and Danielle and I are sharing the big bed because neither of us wanted the top bunk. We had some really good salad and macaroni and cheese at the hostel then went to the grocery store for breakfast and snack foods. Afterwards we went out on the town. Afterwards I did some laundry and bought an hour of Internet for a pound. 

Sunday may fifteenth 2011

Sunday may fifteenth 2011
We woke up and left for Lerwick. Lerwick was very cute. It was a small town and you could see the water from practically anywhere you were standing. The hotel we stayed at was adorable and had a thai restaurant in it. The rooms were very nice and it was a nice break from the military hostel we were just in. The hotel owner let me use his phone at 2 pence a minute to call home which is a very good deal. We went to the Shetland museum to learn more. Shetland has a lot of oil money and therefore a very nice museum. The layout of the museum forced you down a path of shetlandic history. The most memorably things were the paintings and the reconstructed face from a skull of a shetlandic woman. The museum was very interesting and also suggested at the belief of some that Shetland is different from Scotland. One of the post cards said "upside-down waterfalls, only in the country of Shetland". This theory and issue is part of the reason why we are in Scotland. After the museum I experienced Thai food for the first time and discovered it is spicy but tolerable, at least what I ordered. We had a relaxing evening and watched some much needed tv. 

Saturday may 14th 2011

Today we woke up early in Shetland at the Saxa Vord hostel and traveled shortly to the Hermaness Nature Reserve. When we arrived it was about ten thirty a.m. It was cloudy and a little cold. I was wearing leggings, jeans, a thermal shirt, jacket and wind breaker. All we could see was uphill. While we were walking there was a baby sheep trying to get to the other side of the fence. An older man tried to help pick it up and bring it to it's mom but the sheep ran away. We carried on our walk because the baby was frightened. As we went on the walk we saw a lot of green and a lot of sheep, birds and wildlife. From a distance you could see the ocean and it was beautiful. As we kept on the path, we were afraid of the birds dive-bombing us because they are currently nesting. We walked uphill for what felt like forever and then we saw the water more clearly. As we walked, we could see cliffs and water from a distance. We approached the cliffs and it literally felt like we were at the end of the earth. From as high as we were we could see practically everything around us. If we looked straight at the ocean and saw land it would be Norway. We kept on the path and saw the northern most lighthouse. It was on top of a giant rock mass and was amazing to see. It took about an hour to walk back up the mountain and down to the small parking lot. Before we got down to the meeting place, we noticed the baby sheep was still on the wrong side of the fence. Katie, Megan and I decided that we should help. We tried to corer it and capture it, we also tried not scaring it and sitting there hoping it would get used to us and think we were safe. Neither of these techniques worked and ken and fellow class mates encouraged us to stop because we were mean for trying to help the sheep. It reminded me of the time at home when all 60 chickens were let out of the pen and I had to chase them around the yard until they were all back in the pen only to find out that they will naturally come in when it gets dark. We listened to our peers and hoped the owner would tend to his sheep soon with better techniques than ours. After this, we went back to the hostel and prepared for dinner. It was a pre-ordered group meal and I had ordered lamb. It wasn't good and it didn't help that I kept thinking about the baby sheep. After dinner, a group of older people and locals came to the hostel bar area for some traditional music. It was very interesting and talking to the locals made it even more interesting. One woman with fire engine red hair named Elizabeth was definitely the highlight as she went around telling people stories of her past. After that we went to bed.  

Out of place, but Monday may ninth 2011

The first night in the hostel wasn't entirely bad. The beds are not super comfy and you can hear people snoring in the room next to you, but hey it's cheap I guess. We all got ready and got on a bus for Dunbeath which is two hours away from Inverness. Here we stopped at a statue representing then emigration of the highlanders. After that we went to the Dunbeath center and explored the museum of Neil M. Gunn. The center was his old school house mentioned in the book Highland River which is a Scottish novel about a boy and his journey in life facing choices, social/family pressures and world war one. The novel is cherished and studied in many countries and is very important to Scotland. After touring the school house, a woman named Ann introduced herself as a tour guide. Standing just above five feet, gray hair and a cane, Ann claimed she was seventy but could have passage for a lot younger. She told us that she lived near where Neil M Gunn lived and has spent a significant amount of time preserving the book and it's heritage along with her husband. We then went for a walk on a path near the river while she described to us certain parts of the book and relating them to her own experiences. The thing she said that resonated with me the most was the discussion on salmon. In the book, bringing a large salmon to the table for dinner was a sense of pride in feeding the family and helping provide. Ann said that even though it is illegal, pretty much everyone in the town has caught a salmon from the river with something other than a net. She said for the men, you are nobody until you catch a salmon. Ann has a lot if pride for Scotland and for the novel. After the tour we went bak to the hostel, had a discussion to wrap up the book then Tiana and I went back to Cinnamon for some Indian food. After that, we went to the bars because it was our last night in Inverness. We went to a pub that had a live band. It was beautiful. We all appreciated local Scottish music very much. After the pub we went to a bar that was actually an Irish pub. I had just gotten a couple of sips out of my drink when the fire alarm went off. We were all escorted outside then told we had to walk to a certain spot for the fire drill. The police took my drink because we had to leave the bar property. Even in a country that I'm of age to drink the cops took my drink! sad. I don't mind the trains much because the scenery is beautiful and I have an extremely wide variety of music thanks to Dad and Gunther's hockey music. I had recently found a new liking for sour cream and onion Pringles and digestives caramels cookie things. They are amazing. Right now I am on a train to Skye. I was ready to leave Inverness, we were there for four nights and I am ready to see what Skye has to offer. 

Friday may thirteenth 2011

Friday May 13th 2011
Today was the travel day. We woke up early, ate breakfast and departed on a bus at 11. Katie and I took 8 hour motion sickness medication. At noon were on a train back to Inverness knocked out. Then we got on a bus for the airport. Then we got on a plane at 5 ,landed, waited ten minutes then took off again landing at seven. Then we got on a bus for two hours. Then the bus drove onto a boat that took us to the other side of a giant water mass. The ferry was the best looking ferry I have ever been on. It had beautiful seating, television and nice vending machines with soup that I regret not eating. Then we drove for a little then got another ferry at 10. It needs to be said that at the dock there was wireless Internet! We were literally in the middle of nowhere and had internet. We finally drove a little bit more to this hotel/hostel called saxa vord. It had community bathrooms but the rooms have sinks. No tv, rental towels and Internet vouchers. When I heard hotel I was extremely misled. Granted it is probably much better than other options in Shetland so for that I am grateful. My first impression of the Shetland islands is that they are green, beautiful and unpopulated except for sheep.There are three stores in this town not counting the post office. We arrived at the hotel at eleven exhausted and hungry. The kitchen was closed but we have a provided breakfast in the morning. I am using my towel as extra pillow support. Tomorrow we go on a hike. it's colder here, good thing I brought ski socks! 

Thursday may 12th 2011

Thursday May 12th 2011
Today was our free day. I slept until about 10:30 then me, Katie, Elizabeth and Danielle took an hour bus ride into Portree. It was a beautiful city with a bay and more bed and breakfasts than street signs. We had lunch on the pier then did some shopping. I purchased a compression bag some souvenirs and groceries. We then headed back to the campus. We had a quiet evening, ate peanut butter and jelly and made a mega-bed in Katie and danielle's room.

Wednesday may eleventh

Wednesday may eleventh 2011
This morning we woke up at eight for breakfast then had a presentation at ten on the Gaelic speaking university we are staying at, Sabhal Mor Ostaig. The lecture was to describe the universities purpose and point. From what I gathered, the university exists to preserve and promote the language and culture. At eleven we had a tour of the campus. The cafeteria looks onto the ocean and the mountains, everywhere you go provides another beautiful scene. At 12:30 we had lunch then a lecture on political science. The lecture focused on the different political parties in Scotland. The way parliament was designed didn't allow one party to take majority. A few days ago, however, the SNP took the majority, providing an interesting lecture. Then at 3:00 we witnessed a debate between to professors about literature. We then had another professor share important poetry to Scotland. One of the poems, the Hallaig poem was recognized greatly by Ken as a very important poem in Gaelic. Afterwards we had a short break with tea, coffee and treats followed by poetry by very entertaining professor. His poetry was a little more modern and enjoyable in my perspective. After the poetry we had dinner. after dinner we had a class discussion on an article through the lens of anthropology on the topic of Scottish personal nationalism and identity. After the lecture we went to the old barn that had been turned into a bar/stage for a student exam. The exam was a music exam with about six or seven students with two fiddles, a guitar, two bagpipes, percussion, piano and voice. I was impressed by the majority or students who played multiple instruments. The performance of Gaelic music was inspiring and entertaining.  I enjoyed it very much. After the performance, some of the performers invited us to the bar just down the road. A bunch of us took a cab to the bar and talked to some locals. It wasn't until half passed eleven when we were informed that the last taxi came at eleven. This meant the rest of us were going to take the "just down the street" walk back home.. Two and a half miles later in the dark, rainy and very unpopulated road we landed ourselves back to campus safe and sound. When I approached the door to the building of my room, there were a group of students celebrating the night, one covered in toilet paper. It was strange. Also, I miss Mexican food sooooo much. It's weird the things you start to miss.

Tuesday may tenth 2011

Tuesday may tenth
Skye is amazing! It is absolutely breathtaking. We woke up in Inverness, left the hostel and boarded a train towards Skye. The train ride was breathtaking. We followed the ocean pretty much the entire time. It was raining but sort of perfect. When we arrived, the van was waiting and we piled our giant backpacks into the van. When we got to the university it seemed small, what we really found out is that its even smaller. Tiana and I are roommates again, we are used to living with each other and she is really easy to live with. Our room is pretty much identical to a dorm except you get your own bathroom and small kitchenette. It even has burners a microwave and a mini fridge. It's small, but a definite upgrade from the hostel. After getting settled in, we ate dinner in the cafeteria. They offered breaded pork, salmon or eggplant parmesan. I almost got eggplant because it's my moms favorite but I went with the salmon. The cafeteria is in front of the ocean, how could you not order salmon.The food was good, I bought a crew neck from the college for £5 and it's cozy. To explain more on the college, it is called Sabhal Mor Ostaig. It is the only Gaelic speaking college in Scotland. It has fifty resident students. It Is in the middle of nowhere but it is beautiful. After dinner, we had a discussion on an article about the Gaelic language and whether or not it should have government funding to try and revive the language. It was a heated hour and a half debate that touched on the preservation of culture. It is comparable but not entirely similar to the Native American culture in the U.S. My opinions that if we offer Latin courses at alma college, Scottish colleges should offer more Gaelic. It is our heritage, history and culture. You can't deny it nor run away from it. From what i gather, the Scottish want independence and their history should treasured by honoring it's founding language. Though it could be argued that if the british government funds the preservation of one language, it should fund all languages, I think Gaelic is pretty important to Scotland and should have funding. It can be debated for hours, but the students here are very passionate about their culture and language. After the discussion Tiana, Ryan, Hunter and I decided to go to the beach to make a fire. We didn't know how to get there so we asked this random girl. Her name is Chrissy and she was very enthusiastic about speaking english and sharing the location of the beach. As she was talking about her reason for coming to this college, she was taking us through this path in the forest. I had no idea where we were going but we followed her. Trying to follow her dialect, I looked up from the path to see the ocean. And then a beach. And then a bunch of rocks  in the most beautiful, exclusive, and breathtaking beaches I have ever seen. It was foggy but you could see the mountains lining the ocean. There were purple flowers in the chiseled rocks that were perfectly placed along the beach. The waves were intense and the city across the way was all lit up and beautiful. It was getting dark and I was nervous for the walk back uphill but we went with it. Chrissy had left us to ourselves but gave us a major reason (the scenery) why someone would go to this college. We tried to make a fire but the wood was too damp. We walked along the shore climbing rocks and looking for what was ahead but decided to go back before it was too dark. When we finally got back to campus, we noticed the bar was open. Naturally, we went in and got some drinks. Then Tiana and Ryan went to get more people from alma to the bar. We then started talking to four students, one was from California, one from Toronto, one from somewhere in Scotland and one from a couple miles down the road. They were very nice and gave us some valuable information about the campus and their way of life at a Gaelic speaking university. They were musicians as well and incredibly interesting. It was a good day. 

Sunday may eighth 2011

Today we woke up in Inverness, had an excellent breakfast, moved out if the hotel and into the first hostel I've ever stayed in. We dropped our belongings then went to the mall. I purchased some hair accessories then had some lunch. Then we got on a tour bus for loch ness. We then got in a boat in the rain and toured loch ness. It was absolutely breathtaking. The mountains were covered with all shades if green. The mountains paved the way for the lake that was dark and wavy. Everyone kept their eyes out for "Nessie" but we had no sightings. It was cloudy and misting but when we got to the island it became sunny. On the island was a castle, an information center and a gift shop. The castle was very pretty and the view was absolutely gorgeous. We took pictures practically everywhere because the view was different in each angle. We then watched a film on the history of the area. We then ventured back to the hostel and then decided to get some dinner. Tiana, Katie and I went to this Italian place and it was marvelous. Better than olive garden. I know I shouldn't be going to an Italian place while I'm in Scotland, but how many pubs can you go to really? Then we went grocery shopping for breakfast and lunch items to try and save some money. Then we came back to the hostel and i called home for the first time. Happy mothers day! Tonight should be interesting sleeping with five other girls. Not too far off from the sorority house :) 

Saturday may seventh 2011

We woke up in Inverness, ate breakfast and got on a train. The train was about three hours and gave us a very good look at the highlands. The highlands are mountainous and colorful. The mountains are full of sheep as well. There are so many sheep here. They are cute. We arrived in the middle of the mountains. We stopped at this place with a river, bridge and pathway. We ate packed lunches then had a discussion on the highlands. Some of the discussion was about the hardships of the highlanders being harshly driven out by the English. After the discussion we had two and a half hours to explore the highlands for ourselves. We took a walk by the river, read a little, explored the mountains and Katie and I found another carcass. Afterwards we bordered the train home and went out to this club called Mambo. The club was awful but talking to the locals was fun. When went to bed early, it was a pretty decent day.

Friday May sixth 2011

 
This morning we woke up in Dunkeld, had breakfast and went for a walk. Tiana and I walked through town in search of a cathedral and then decided to go find the Birnam path. The trail was full of green and brown and was parallel to a river. The path was sort of mystical because it was literally misting and there was fog on top of the mountains. The reason for the path was to find the "Birnam Wood" from Macbeth. The quote from the play is "Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come agains him." this was said in the witches' prophecy, act 4 scene 1 of Macbeth. (fun fact, I played witch #1 in fifth grade :). So that was pretty cool, seeing this giant tree. It had support beams holding a couple of branches up. It was incredible. After that we left on a train for Inverness. Then we ate lunch in a mall. I can't wait to go back to the mall. Afterwards, we checked into a hotel and left for Cullodden. In this location is a war memorial. The memorial celebrated and remembered the bravery of the Scottish fighting the English. The memorial was giant and very industrialized. We walked outside on the actual battlefield with headsets describing what had happened in the spot we were standing. This technique took the reality of the battle and masked it with theatrics and stories of people pretending to be real people during the battle on the battle field. I would have rather walked through in silence, remembering why that battle occurred, why people would resort to such lengths and the pain and sadness resulting from the battle. The indoor museum was very interesting. There were many artifacts from the battle which made it feel more real. Afterwards, we had a discussion on an article about remembering and interpreting battles. Katie and I were chosen to lead the discussion because of our communication majors. We discussed the importance of editing and how memorials can be biased if certain facts are left out. We also discussed the interpretation of the memorial and the difference of what a memorial would mean to an older Scottish person who had strong connections to the battle, as opposed to someone who knew little about the battle. It was concluded that a person with strong connections to the battle would be less likely to find the museum satisfactory, and a person who didn't know much about the battle would walk away knowing more about the battle, but less about the aftermath of the battle. We also discussed the power of agency, tourism and promotion. After the discussion we went to dinner at Dr. Cartrite's favorite Indian restaurant in then world. It was pretty good! 

Wednesday May 4th/ Thursday May 5th

We had the morning off to sleep, relax and enjoy Stonehaven.  I bought sn additional memory card so I could take many more pictures. Danielle and I decided to try out two different local bakeries. A little later me and Tiana and Katie went out for fish and chips at the place of the fried marz bar. We split one and that was enough. Before the bus we also got ice cream. It was an intense day in the sweets department. We left on the bus to go to the Lewis Grassic Gibbon museum. He was the author of Sunset Song and many other Scottish novels. We visited the grave and then visited the information center to gain a history of him. Afterwards we had a dinner prepared by the museum and it didn't make me feel great. We then returned back to the hotel for an early night. I wasn't feeling too great before bed so I ate a banana. I woke up at 4:40 sweating and feeling dizzy. I drank some water then threw up, then tried to go back to bed and threw up again. In then morning I was dizzy, threw  up the other end then tried to drink some water and a bite of toast. I was feeling better with fresh air until I ate a mini cliff bar. Then I had to miss the political science lecture at Aberdeen University to sit outside and go to the pharmacy. The campus tour of Aberdeen University was amazing. The old campus had many flowers and plants giving it a timeless, magical and conductive learning environment comparable to Hagwarts. I was most impressed by their sports facility. It was amazing. It had three full turf indoor courts and pretty much anything you could think of. I was also impressed by the zebra print windowed library that was being finished for september. People were friendly, the campus had about 16,000 students and is ranked 117 in then world for best colleges. The tour was very satisfying and afterwards we jumped on a train for Dunkeld. We passed the burning oak from Macbeth on foot it was neat. The hotel is very rustic with tartan carpet and tartan couches. It's an older hotel but very nice. After dinner, our second Scottish professor, Ken Steven who is an author with a voice of an angel is known for his poetry, time as visiting prof. at Alma, excellent Scottish history and BBC readings. Ken is a gentle person and a new father who makes me smile every time he talks. we had the honor of listening to him recite some of his poetry. It was truly excellent.I got him to sign my book that was truly excellent as well.

Tuesday may fourth 2011

Yesterday was amazing. We woke up in Stonehaven Scotland on a beautiful day. Clear sky's, maybe 60degrees and a light breeze. We had breakfast then searched for a lunch to pack for our hike. We found this great sandwich shop called krusts and coffee. Then I came back to the hotel benches outside for some reading. Tons of children were playing on the beach, even in the water. We were amazed but then reminded that this is hot weather for them. This group of three little boys a a mom were making a castle with a mote in front of it. We all started laughing when the youngest pulled his pants down and "added" to the water in the mote. He later was running around pant less on the beach. It was pretty funny. Shortly after we started our mile and a half uphil hike to Dunnotter castle. The hike was on a trail just about the size of a sidewalk and was on the edge of the ocean. One side of the trail was farmland, the other ocean. I kept thinking if this were the U.S. There would be a golf course or a resort instead of a farm. (later that night in the pub, a local woman in the oil industry commented that on April fools the local paper posted that Paris Hilton and other celebrities purchased the land and were going to make a giant helicopter landing. She said the town was outraged and ready to protest), that just proves exactly how sacred the land is to the Scottish, especially local residents, it is beautiful property and they don't want it touched by people that wouldn't appreciate it. On the way to the castle was a war memorial. It was a tall circular monument with openings to see the view, names ingraved and wreaths. When we finally got to the castle, we had to go down the most stairs I have ever seen. It was a bitch coming back up them. The castle was made of stone and the walkways had beautifuln patterns. The castle was featured in the film Hamlet with Mel Gibson and Glen Close or something like that. We ate our packed lunches and had a short discussion on the book Sunset Song. One of the main debates was about the portral of a female main character by a male author. Personally I think he did an exceptionaln job of describing child birth, but I haven't read it all yet so we will see. One of the most interesting parts about the castle was that the crown jewels were smuggled out of the castle and later returned to avoid thievery. The castle had a thievery room and was terrifying. It also had a room for rebellions of the king. It was a room where they were kept in suffereing. The room had a beautiful view but it was hard smiling for pictures In a room where people were planning their escape from torture. I can't handle that stuff. The castle was bombed so some of it was missing, it was still very interesting. One of the girls on the trip said she actually saw a cannon ball lodged in the land near the castle. After a walk around, we headed back home for a bit and got ready for dinner. We waked down to this beautiful hotel and had didnner with a famous Scottish photographer by the name of Andy Hall. After dinner he gave us a presentation of his artwork and his reasonings behind it. His photographs were gorgeous, though they were mostly landscape photos, the portrayed Scotland in a very positive and beautiful light. He noted that he liked to take pictures at all times of day except for the middle because the sun is too much of s spotlight and doesn't provide enough shadow. Dinner with him was an honor, he even discussed Sunset Song. After dinner we went to the hotel bar and talked with locals. That is the best. There is a lot to learn.

Tuesday may third 2011

Yesterday we left Berwick-Upon-Tweed And left for The site of the Battle of Flodden Field. The monument was very small but the location was beautiful. It was on top of a hill where you could see land from far away. The battle was the most famous battle that was fought on Northumbrian soil in 1513. After the monument we headed to Melrose Abby. This was in a cute little town and the Abby was ancient. It looked like a giant church with many different sections and graves. It was a really nice day so the pictures turned out great. After the Abby we made a visit to Abbotsford. We visited the hme of Sir Walter Scott. This was not a home, it was a giant castle. The castle had multiple lawns with beautiful lawn sculptures and flowers. It also had a garden. Inside the castle, there were thousands of books and weapons. There were antlers and tons of portraits. There was even a cast of his face after he died. They also had a sign that said something about how he died in the room looking out the window. Though he was a famous author, he died still trying to pay off the debt from the castle. After that, we got on the bus again, then boarded a train in Edinburgh. I can't wait to go back to Edinburgh! But that is not until the end of the trip. After a long day of travel,we landed ourselves in Stonehaven. Our hotel is the Ship Inn. This place is right on the water and across the way is Norway. It has a lot of rocks,boats and well mannered dogs. Seriously they are eveywhere and very obedient. It's great. We had a nice dinner and got a good nights sleep. Today we are going for a hike. The book we are reading, Sunsight Song is about a family on a farm. So far, it is pretty sad. The weather is great! Clear skys with a light breeze. We struck gold pretty much! I hope it stays this nice!

Day two

Day two was a success! I went to bed around eight, then woke up wide awake at two then fell back asleep. I woke up for good at eight then got ready to leave. We all had breakfast then jumped on a bus. It was a seriously beautiful day. We went out to the holy island. This was the first town thew Vicking's invaded. We took a walk down a path near the ocean to look at a castle then decided to sit down. It smelt really bad so we determined that it was the oceans tide that was out. After about ten minutes I looked to the right and saw a seal carcass. It was really sad to see, but definitely explained the dead fish smell. After that nice experience we walked back into town and enjoyed the sights. Ten we jumped back in the bus for an hour and stopped at a place for a bathroom break. Then we had ice cream. Then we had lunch. I liked the order of it. After that we went traveled another hour or so into the country. The sites were beautiful. There was a lot of green and yellow and soooo many sheep. Because it's spring there were tons of baby lambs. It was cute to see. We stopped at a place of roman ruins called Hadrians Wall.Hadrians wall was more than a wall, it was a town of sorts that supported a lifestyle for different centuries of people that recreated and developed the wall. It was interesting to see how the artifacts found relate to out life now. Kinda scary. Then we traveled back on the bus and went to dinner. After dinner we had a class session on an article about Scottish independence and the opposing viewpoint of their independence. Then we were handed two large books to read. After that we quickly got ready and went to the clubs. We enjoyed a nice special of a giant picture of a mixed drink for about five pounds. My drink was Maui something. It had grapefruit and coconut and is my new favorite drink. After that we met an English woman named stephanie, or stallion because she is part Italian. We asked if she was Scottish and she shot us down with a big NO I'm English! She was nice though and got a group of us into a club for free. That club was lame so we moved to another one and experienced some socialization. All the women are gorgeous and have a lot of style. The club also had women of all ages above eighteen which i found interesting. It was a very busy day and I am looking forward to tomorrow!