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!