Two weekends ago I went to visit my good friend from college, Dylan Freude. He is currently studying abroad at the University of St. Andrews. Apparently it is Scotland's first university! It was founded somewhere around 1413, which makes it 600 years old!! Very impressive, St. Andrews. It actually celebrated it's 600th birthday a few days ago and the prince of Wales himself went to celebrate with it!! Apparently Dylan actually got to TOUCH Prince Williams! Boy did I go to the wrong university! Just kidding. Upon my arrival, Dylan and I walked around through the many ruins that St. Andrews has to offer - the largest being the Cathedral and the graveyard surrounding it. It was very cool imagining the building of such an immense structure and how it came to be the way it is today due to the Reformation. It's more grass and fallen walls than an actual building!
At the Ruins
Like usual, it was a cloudy day in Scotland. Also quite windy! Dylan and I had gone down to the beach for a bit, but it was so windy, we were afraid we were going to blow away!! I tried to get a bit of it on video. Here is a link to it. Hopefully you can see it!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?profile=1&id=812329501#!/video/video.php?v=1398973451466
Anyway, we got very cold after that and continued back up to the ruins. Here is a picture of Dylan and I in the cathedral.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?profile=1&id=812329501#!/video/video.php?v=1398973451466
Anyway, we got very cold after that and continued back up to the ruins. Here is a picture of Dylan and I in the cathedral.
Right by the cathedral is.... wait for it........ THE WORLDS FIRST GOLF COURSE!!!! Because, you know, St. Andrews INVENTED the sport. Apparently it is like, £600 just to play on it!! Also, you have to book in advance, and the course is already booked up until October!! Thought of the Holmstroms while walking through it. Skip would have loved it, I'm sure.
Golf CourseThe remainder of the time spent in St. Andrews was mostly just hanging around at the student union and some pubs with some of Dylan's other friends from the IFSA-Butler program. Though, I must say, one of the nicest things about St. Andrews was a shower that stayed on the entire time you were showering (same with the homestay, but I will get to that later). After a relaxing weekend, it was time to head home on Sunday and get ready for school the next day.
That's right. School has begun. Actual work needs to be done. Study abroad, sadly enough, begins with "Study." Classes are as follows:
While class has been fun, the other IFSA girls and I have also had fun exploring the campus of Stirling, itself. We ventured to go and find the castle that is on campus. It was built in the 1700's. There are still classes that are held there, but they are mostly all law classes. I definitely wish I could say that I were taking classes in the castle. Behind the castle, we found a path that led to the hills behind the campus. The path was lined with a beautiful stone wall - very scottish.
That's right. School has begun. Actual work needs to be done. Study abroad, sadly enough, begins with "Study." Classes are as follows:
- Witchcraft and Belief in Early Modern Scotland - I want to say we just learn Harry Potter spells, but sadly, that is not the case....
- Social History of the Victorian City (Computer Approaches) - Learning history with computers?? Very strange. Census time!
- Language and Gender - pretty self explanatory. Learning how the world is still very sexist.
While class has been fun, the other IFSA girls and I have also had fun exploring the campus of Stirling, itself. We ventured to go and find the castle that is on campus. It was built in the 1700's. There are still classes that are held there, but they are mostly all law classes. I definitely wish I could say that I were taking classes in the castle. Behind the castle, we found a path that led to the hills behind the campus. The path was lined with a beautiful stone wall - very scottish.
The path wove around the hills and led us out to a road that we followed into the adjacent town called Bridge of Allan where I got my first Scottish pastry (which was delicious!).
On our way back to Stirling, we were astounded by a gorgeous view of the sun over the Loch on campus. It is really one of those times where one thinks, 'Yeah, I go to a gorgeous school.'
This past weekend I went on what was called our Homestay - where we went and stayed with a family for the weekend to work more into getting to know the culture. Our homestay family, Judith and Paul Telford, had two daughters and a dog. They were all very welcoming and made Liz and I feel right at home in their gorgeous house.
That Saturday, Judith and Ella (daughter) took us around the Lake District to do some hiking. We began by hiking to Aira Force, which is a water fall. It was a lovely sunny day and the water was flowing quite forcefully, as there had been quite a bit of rain. After the waterfall, we drove over to Little Mell Fell and did some Fell walking. A Fell is "a word used to refer to mountains, or certain types of mountainous landscape, in Scandinavia, the Isle of Man, and parts of England." The weather up at Little Mell Fell was very confused. It really did not know what it wanted to do. On our walk up, we started with sunshine and warmth. On our way, the clouds quickly came in, and about halfway up hail actually started to fall!! It was like we were getting all of the seasons in one day! After the hail, it mostly stayed cloudy. At the top of the Fell, the 360 degree view was absolutely stunning. On one side, there were dark, ominous clouds (probably where the hail was falling), next to that, the sun was desperately trying to break through, giving the landscape an almost ethereal look to it.
Past that, there were blue skies! Around the other side, there was a clear distinction between where the clouds started and the blue skies stopped.
On our way back to Stirling, we were astounded by a gorgeous view of the sun over the Loch on campus. It is really one of those times where one thinks, 'Yeah, I go to a gorgeous school.'
This past weekend I went on what was called our Homestay - where we went and stayed with a family for the weekend to work more into getting to know the culture. Our homestay family, Judith and Paul Telford, had two daughters and a dog. They were all very welcoming and made Liz and I feel right at home in their gorgeous house.
That Saturday, Judith and Ella (daughter) took us around the Lake District to do some hiking. We began by hiking to Aira Force, which is a water fall. It was a lovely sunny day and the water was flowing quite forcefully, as there had been quite a bit of rain. After the waterfall, we drove over to Little Mell Fell and did some Fell walking. A Fell is "a word used to refer to mountains, or certain types of mountainous landscape, in Scandinavia, the Isle of Man, and parts of England." The weather up at Little Mell Fell was very confused. It really did not know what it wanted to do. On our walk up, we started with sunshine and warmth. On our way, the clouds quickly came in, and about halfway up hail actually started to fall!! It was like we were getting all of the seasons in one day! After the hail, it mostly stayed cloudy. At the top of the Fell, the 360 degree view was absolutely stunning. On one side, there were dark, ominous clouds (probably where the hail was falling), next to that, the sun was desperately trying to break through, giving the landscape an almost ethereal look to it.
Past that, there were blue skies! Around the other side, there was a clear distinction between where the clouds started and the blue skies stopped.
View from Little Mell Fell
All together, a very amazing experience. After that, we were quite exhausted and went to have lunch back at home. One thing I was surprised about was how much tea people actually drink! Our family had it for every meal and then some! It really is apart of everyday life here. That evening, we went to the village pub (every village needs one, I guess!). The next day, Liz and I learned to make Scones!!
Mine were cheese scones, but we also made Cherry and Apple. I have the recipe and definitely plan on making them at home more often! Here is a picture of my homestay family and I :
Well, it has certainly been busy here. I hope all is well for everyone back at home! Until next time!
Well, it has certainly been busy here. I hope all is well for everyone back at home! Until next time!
I love that picture of where the clouds start and stop. So glad you're having lots of fun!!! I hear your mom is going to visit in a little while? That'll be exciting. :)
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