the weekend after Oxford we (meaning me, Jeanette, Jesse, Tirzah, Ian, and Jim) went to Scotland. Jeanette and Ian bought their tickets early and paid full price and the rest of us procrastinated and found a fantasic deal of 10 pounds. The five hour train ride was really nice because we got to see the beautiful countryside between London and Edinburgh. We were also very lucky because we happened to be there during St Andrew's day (who is their patron saint), which meant there was a festival in the park, free admission into the castle, and a dance/music party in the gardens below the castle. There was also a firework display right up against the castle and the smoke made the castle look like it was under siege. We walked a lot and I missed out on a trip up to the oldest golf course in the world because of the stress my feet were under, but all-in-all it was an amazing trip.
Edinburgh Castle:
We also took a day trip to Stirling to see the Highlands. We decided to go to the Wallace Monument even though it was freezing. We could see it from the train station so we thought we could walk to it. We were wrong and got lost. We backtracked and found a bus that took us up to the monument. It was beautiful at the tops, but we had to take a very tall, narrow spiral staircase that made you very dizzy on the way up and even dizzier on the way down. The view was gorgeous but the wind was fierce and we couldn't stay up there too long.
On the last full day in Scotland four went to St. Andrews where the first golf course is, but Jesse and I were too tired and too broke so we stayed in Edinburgh. She wanted to find this cemetery with this famous story of a dog who visited his master's grave everyday for years. We found the pub named after the dog and the statue of the dog. We also found the dog's grave and his master's. On the way back to the hostel we stumbled upon the pub where JK Rowling started to write Harry Potter. That was an exciting surprise.
Tirzah by Jim-
So, I missed out on posting for the last few months so the next few posts are review going way back to November which feels like so long ago.
Ok, so I'm sorry that I have not been keeping my blog up-to-date, but I have been crazy busy trying to fit all my last minute Europe things in. I figured I would leave a quick note about what all has happened in the last few weeks and what is to come because I probably won't be able to post again until I return to the States and even then I'm not sure if I will have time. So here's what's been going on:
Thanksgiving was awesome. The center we are staying at made us a great dinner (not as elaborate as the ones at home but great none-the-less) and one of the girls I am studying with decided to go about the hard task of making pumpkin pie and apple pie (the hard part was find the ingredients). And two of our professors came and ate with us. It was great. After dinner we all watched "House" and enjoyed each others company. The night made me really thankful for the friends that I've made here.
Thanks giving didn't end on the 22nd 'cause a few of us (me, Tirzah, Jeanette, Jesse, Jim, Ian and Rhian) went up to Oxford the following weekend to visit Tirzah's aunt and uncle who is studying there. We had another great dinner (more like home). I loved the family-ish feeling we had there. That Sunday our friend Jenn came up too and we all adventured throughout Oxford, which included seeing the pub that CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien hung out and we also saw one of Tolkien's old houses (very exciting). We were also going to go see their graves but ran out of daylight since it gets dark around 4pm here. We also missed out on seeing the Great Hall from Harry Potter because the church where it is filmed was closed (sad). All-in-all it was great weekend.
Last weekend I went with Jeanette, Jesse, Tirzah, Ian and Jim to Scotland. We stayed in Edinburgh and took a day trip to Stirling. It was all amazing. The green country side was gorgeous and the ancient feeling of the city was fantastic. We lucked out because we got there the day before St. Andrew's day so everything on Friday was free, which included Edinburgh Castle which is usually around $30 to get in. It rained a lot but it made it so we experienced that real Scotland. The highlight of the trip for me was accidentally stumbling onto the pub where JK Rowling started writing Harry Potter. Also, since we took the train from King's Cross Station I stopped and found Platform 9 and 3/4, which was very exciting for me.
Next weekend Keisha and I are going to Ireland just for Sunday and Monday. We are really planning anything except to enjoy the city of Dublin and visit my friend Len who lives there. We are taking a ferry there and will most like spend most of the time in a cafe studying for our finals that we have the following Tuesday.
In between all this I am trying to write all my final papers and see plays for my drama class and see any part of London that I have missed. I had wanted to go up and see Stonehenge but it's too expensive, but I still might be ale to go to Cambridge if I get my homework done.
Sorry there aren't pictures up, but I do have them I will hopefully be able to post them all soon.
So as a group we really enjoy games. We play intense games of scrabble, board games, and card games. We play a lot of scrabble but the great part is that we have different variations on the original which are fast and funner. My favorite is speed scrabble and I will be teaching everyone when I get back home. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of us playing scrabble because the games are just too intense to break away for pictures.
We actually finished a game of Monopoly where I did not own any property except for the two utilities and was able to hang on to third place, three people went out before me and Justin ended up winning with a ridiculous about of hotels. We also play lots of card games, spit and up the river and uker are favorites, but we played a new game that was fun, except that I was horrible and if you lost you had to wear this ridiculous "janitor" costume. Though we did change the titles from president, vice president, secretary, historian, and janitor to regional manager, assistant to the regional manager, sales, accounting, Toby as a tribute to The Office.
So day was Jim's birthday so we had to celebrate it all day. I started the day by giving him a miracle balloon that he had put in my room almost two months ago and it has stayed inflated ever since. So, I figured that is would be suiting to return it to him, but I thought it would be great to have everyone sign it, so I spent all day yesterday covertly getting everyone into my room to sign the balloon. So that was his first surprise and then at school we had everyone during break to sing to him (and they made him stand up on a chair) and then after dinner we had a little surprise party with just a few of us in the boys room. We had Jim's favorite ice cream bars, krispie kreme donuts, and sparkling apple cider. It was a great time with friends and celebrating Jim. So, happy birthday Jim.
Another day of wondering down by the Thames, but today was different because today was the first day that I say a gate open down to the shoreline. There are always stairs that lead down to the water along the Thames but I was always curious why there were steps that lead right down into the water because I had never seen the sand of the bank until today. Apparently the water level has decreased in the last few weeks and now has gotten low enough for the public to walk along the shore and now I know the purpose of the stairs. So, since I had nothing better to do than homework I decided to investigate the shore. The water is filthy and full of litter that washes onto the sand. I thought it was a interesting new perspective of the city, because they keep the streets very clean, you can always see street sweepers everywhere around the city, but no one cleans around the river.
A few weeks ago my Tanzania friends were planning a reunion back at Houghton. I was sad because I couldn't be there, but I sent my best wishes and hoped that we'd be able to do it again when I was in New York. I didn't think much of it which meant that I was totally surprised when I got a card in the mail that was signed by the whole group. Best wishes and notes of being missed filled the elephant dung card (yes, this is a card made from paper that is hand made with elephant pooh). I had tears in my eyes my when opened it and read all the loving words. I really miss my Africa friends and cannot wait to go back to Houghton and see them all again.