Hello Loyal Readers!
As I write this from the student union at Glasgow Caledonian University, I can see several of the students studying for their final exam tomorrow morning. We have a group with mixed feelings; sadness about the end of the program, but excitement about returning home. We talked this morning about what to expect in the few weeks following their return.
We had a group dinner last night at a pizza house, and formal tea this afternoon at The Willow Tea Room, designed by Glasgow-born architect and artist Charles Rennie MacIntosh. It was the first formal tea for nearly everyone and, despite the small portions, they seemed to have a good time.
This morning we had oral history presentations on the students' and their families' experiences with acculturation (this second course is on the transnational identity) and our final exam is tomorrow morning. We'll spend tomorrow evening on our final group dinner, at a local restaurant doing "Scottish" food, and are on our way back to Edinburgh for the return flight tomorrow morning.
For the parents reading this: It has been a joy to teach these students. It has been such a pleasure to learn with them and to watch them experience Scotland, acculturation, and new friendships. They are a fun and engaged group of people. Please be patient with them when they come home; they will need to adjust, and that will include sharing a lot of photos and stories, and, probably, the occasional comment that ends with "....was better in Scotland."
Robyn Long
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
July 9-Amanda Walker
This museum was opened in April of 1993. The building is built over a medieval Bishop’s Castle. The purpose of this museum is to be open to all religious beliefs and backgrounds, to educate others about the beliefs and understandings of other faiths, and to show how they interact within the world. St Mungo was a priest that came to Scotland to spread Christianity.
Our group went to St Mungo’s to learn about tolerance in multicultural communities and how it impacts the immigrant experience. The museum is so much more than just Christianity. The top floor educates the viewer about all the different faiths around the world. A person will find Sikhism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam and Christianity. All are elaborated on and assist the visitors with understanding of the general faith. My fellow students and I were surprised to see the general similarities between the faiths.
The second floor and an art gallery and hosted paintings on the very human understandings of faith and famine; these paintings and drawings would make the viewer feel the pain, love or joy that each work is conveying. These works are very important, due to the fact that if someone cannot understand by reading the differences in faiths they can at least feel them. All of the works line quality and movement in each piece and done very well. I am and art therapy major and after taking many art classes I would say that these paintings are some of the most impressive and conveying emotion that I have ever had the pleasure to study.
The first floor houses some of the most interesting pieces of the museum’s collection. The works were clothing, such as wedding dresses that would be worn by different faiths on their wedding day. I had no idea nuns wore wedding dresses on the day that they gave their vows to God. The museum had information of the blessing or baptism of a child and other childhood devotions. It took the viewer through all major life events: birth, baptism, coming of age rituals, marriage and death, for each religion covered.
The point of the museum is to stay open to other faiths and they teach tolerance between those that we share the world with. I feel that this is incredibly important, due to the fact that we are more likely to judge than accept change. They welcome anyone from the pope to the non believer. I would have to say no matter what faith a person is they should be welcomed at St Mungo’s.
Our group went to St Mungo’s to learn about tolerance in multicultural communities and how it impacts the immigrant experience. The museum is so much more than just Christianity. The top floor educates the viewer about all the different faiths around the world. A person will find Sikhism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam and Christianity. All are elaborated on and assist the visitors with understanding of the general faith. My fellow students and I were surprised to see the general similarities between the faiths.
The second floor and an art gallery and hosted paintings on the very human understandings of faith and famine; these paintings and drawings would make the viewer feel the pain, love or joy that each work is conveying. These works are very important, due to the fact that if someone cannot understand by reading the differences in faiths they can at least feel them. All of the works line quality and movement in each piece and done very well. I am and art therapy major and after taking many art classes I would say that these paintings are some of the most impressive and conveying emotion that I have ever had the pleasure to study.
The first floor houses some of the most interesting pieces of the museum’s collection. The works were clothing, such as wedding dresses that would be worn by different faiths on their wedding day. I had no idea nuns wore wedding dresses on the day that they gave their vows to God. The museum had information of the blessing or baptism of a child and other childhood devotions. It took the viewer through all major life events: birth, baptism, coming of age rituals, marriage and death, for each religion covered.
The point of the museum is to stay open to other faiths and they teach tolerance between those that we share the world with. I feel that this is incredibly important, due to the fact that we are more likely to judge than accept change. They welcome anyone from the pope to the non believer. I would have to say no matter what faith a person is they should be welcomed at St Mungo’s.
July 9-Amanda Walker
The goal of this historical building is to educate our generation on how past generations in Glasgow once lived. When people started to move down into the lowland out of the highland in Scotland, they found a rather shocking life style waiting for them. After the Battle of Culloden in 1746 many highlanders moved into cities and overseas. They did this for economic and health and safety reasons.
When they came into the cities they found dark, dank and drafty living conditions which they were unfamiliar with. This particular tenement building is retrofitted for the World War II era. The owner ,Miss Taword, owned her home until 1900 when the historical society bought it.
She left behind many wonderful antiques for the society to use for educational means. One of the most interesting facts that I found out was that the wall paper had been striped to reveal the beautiful light white and tan paper underneath. Many years of paper had to be taken off of to find what was underneath.
During the war Miss Taword had bought a gas mask and other items that the government at the time said that every person would need. She saved all of her government issue items that help educate visitors about the fear and hope that struck a nation. She left behind her old wedding dress, shoes, soap, iron and other items that assisted in the onlooker understanding the life of a tenement renter. She was what we would call today wealthy. She could afford the shop at the COOP. This was a big deal in those days. She could order many things that a normal tenement renter could not and she could afford to keep her home clean.
The old fixtures and walkways give an eerie feeling. The educational posters that line the apartments show the concern at the time of the renter’s life, of positional death from bombing. When you walk into this apartment building for a moment it will remind you of any other building. However on the entrance of these rooms will a person start to be taken back to what this generation like to refer to as a simpler time. I do not feel that it was at all simple. Fearing for one’s life every day, because you can hear the bombers coming is not a simpler time. The owner of these apartments worked very hard on the upkeep of them. This is the only reason that we can now have the benefit of them. Thank you Miss Taword!
In our class we have looked at the migration of large groups of individuals. Due to this study I have learned a great deal about how these individuals suffered. If we want to study any large group of people it is always best to start with what they lost. The generation that fought, survived and lived on after the wars are braver then I ever could be. These lessons have provided the students with a glimpse into our past. We all have grandparents and family members that had something to do with the wars that our nations have fought in. If we would study the everyday lives of the ones left being maybe we can understand how to recover from the present struggles that effect our generation.
When they came into the cities they found dark, dank and drafty living conditions which they were unfamiliar with. This particular tenement building is retrofitted for the World War II era. The owner ,Miss Taword, owned her home until 1900 when the historical society bought it.
She left behind many wonderful antiques for the society to use for educational means. One of the most interesting facts that I found out was that the wall paper had been striped to reveal the beautiful light white and tan paper underneath. Many years of paper had to be taken off of to find what was underneath.
During the war Miss Taword had bought a gas mask and other items that the government at the time said that every person would need. She saved all of her government issue items that help educate visitors about the fear and hope that struck a nation. She left behind her old wedding dress, shoes, soap, iron and other items that assisted in the onlooker understanding the life of a tenement renter. She was what we would call today wealthy. She could afford the shop at the COOP. This was a big deal in those days. She could order many things that a normal tenement renter could not and she could afford to keep her home clean.
The old fixtures and walkways give an eerie feeling. The educational posters that line the apartments show the concern at the time of the renter’s life, of positional death from bombing. When you walk into this apartment building for a moment it will remind you of any other building. However on the entrance of these rooms will a person start to be taken back to what this generation like to refer to as a simpler time. I do not feel that it was at all simple. Fearing for one’s life every day, because you can hear the bombers coming is not a simpler time. The owner of these apartments worked very hard on the upkeep of them. This is the only reason that we can now have the benefit of them. Thank you Miss Taword!
In our class we have looked at the migration of large groups of individuals. Due to this study I have learned a great deal about how these individuals suffered. If we want to study any large group of people it is always best to start with what they lost. The generation that fought, survived and lived on after the wars are braver then I ever could be. These lessons have provided the students with a glimpse into our past. We all have grandparents and family members that had something to do with the wars that our nations have fought in. If we would study the everyday lives of the ones left being maybe we can understand how to recover from the present struggles that effect our generation.
July 10-12: Cierra Sauls
I must say that I have had a very eventful weekend!! I got the opportunity to travel to London, England. I went with five other girls and we took a bus all the way there. It took a total of 8 hours and 40 minutes to get there. I tried to sleep on the way there but because I was sitting next to a stranger and not one of the girls I could not sleep comfortably. The guy was nice and friendly but I still don’t “know” him. So I was constantly trying not to hit him with my leg or shoulder. Also, you know how people’s heads do this like bop thing where as soon as they start to fall into a deep sleep their head moves in different directions? Well I was trying to avoid that as well!
I was so happy when we finally reached London, but the only draw back was that it was 7a.m.! We still had a whole day ahead of us, and really none of us got any good rest on the bus. First thing we did was head toward Buckingham Palace. Since we was there so early there we was pretty much the only people there. It was beautiful. The architecture of this Palace was different from the Palace I saw in Edinburgh. None of its roofs came to a point; it looked more like a mansion than a palace to me. It was more like the White House whereas the castle in Edinburgh was like Cinderella’s castle. We also got to watch the changing of the guards, which apparently in London is a huge thing! I could not believe the amount of people that were there to see this everyday event. There was hundreds up on thousands of spectators.
After the Palace we got on an open-top bus tour of the city. This was interesting because it allowed us to see the whole city and know how to get to each monument we were all interested in going. It was also convenient because it dropped us off less than two minutes from our hostel. Wow… our hostel! Besides Inverness, this was my first hostel experience. This hostel was nothing like Inverness. To start off, I booked the hostel for all of us on my credit card on the Internet with them quoting me at a certain price. When I got to the hostel they added a 5% fee for using my card, taxes, and $60 deposit for all our linen! This is on top of the fee my bank charges me, so I was livid! Anyone who knows me knows I do not like being taken advantage off. I was ready to give them some harsh words. But I resisted and kept my cool, but I totally felt like we/I got ripped off. After all the monies were taken care of we all headed to our 16-mixed sexed person room (I say it like that because it was all just so new to me!). We put our belongings in the locker and headed out for our day plans.
We took a boat tour along the River Thames and were able to see many important buildings and monuments like Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye. Afterward we walked over to Westminster Abbey and Big Ben and took pictures in front of them. I really didn’t know much at all about the city so it was interesting to learn. Unfortunately, it made us have to do a lot of walking!
Saturday morning we had to switch to a 10-person room so I got in the long line to checkout and check back in. As if it wasn’t hectic enough with all the people waiting, this guy goes off on me(gets in my face and yells at me) because I guess I “cut” his girlfriend in line! Turns out that his girlfriend had walked off from the line, me not really paying attention just stood there assuming she left or something. Well she comes back and gets behind me, and then I hear her boyfriend say, “Get in line”. So she presumes to push on me so that she could get in front of me! Kat is watching her the whole time too. Her boyfriend gets in front of me and says this is her spot in line (at this time I’m thinking he can not be serious)! But I say, “I’m sorry, I assumed she was gone so I stayed in line, I can not read minds how was I suppose to know she would come back”. It is now my turn to step up to the desk; with his hip he pushes me to the side saying, “Now you stepped out of line”. By this time the employees of the Hostel see his rude behavior and ask me to step forward and to explain what happened. I tell them but the whole time I’m telling them the boyfriend is yelling at the other girls I came with including Kat! The employee apologizes for the man’s immature behavior and gives us our keys, and because he felt bad he gave us free lockers. He felt bad because of the mix up fees and things from Friday and now the disruptive behavior. I was in such shock that the guy screamed at me, I really was not expecting that. I got so mad inside that I was shaking and my words were almost slurring because I had so much adrenaline in me that I wanted to shut him up with my fist! Mind you that I have never been in a fist fight my whole life but he was tempting me! The girls finally got me calmed down and we came to the conclusion that the girl and her boyfriend should have had a V8!
After the fiasco, we finally made it down to the waterloo area and Kat and me went to the Movieum. It displayed costumes, props, and special effects from various movies. I loved the prop exhibit that had props from the movie The Borrowers. In the movie, the main characters are very small people that are the size of an adult pinky. So all the props were extra large to make the actors look small. I got to sit on a couch the size of a SUV and saw a power outlet the size of mini cooper. I also got to see the original Joker costume Jack Nicholson wore in Batman! The Movium also had original sketches of cartoons like Dora the Explorer, Spongebob, and Ren and Stimpy for sale. The newest addition to the Movieum was their Beatles exhibit. It had many unseen photos of the guys and even some of their instruments. It was definitely impressive. My next stop for the day was at the Ripley’s Believe it of Not Museum. I loved it! It had so many random interesting things in it, like a photo of President Kennedy made of actual butterflies. I watched a video on a high school aged boy that has no legs and he plays high school football! It was amazing because the guy was really good and really had a passion for football. He tackled a quarterback on the first day of practice! There was also this lady that didn’t have any legs. The video talked about her life, how she found love and conceived a child! Her baby boy was born with both legs and arms, and with all fingers and toes. It was a remarkable story.
Sunday we checked out of our Hostel and went souvenir shopping. Realizing we had the whole day ahead of us, we decide to get in line to ride the London Eye. The Eye is the tallest structure in London overlooking the city at 135 meters. It is an observation wheel that allows 20 people in each of its domes to stand up and observe and take pictures of the huge city. I am kind of afraid of heights but I did a full rotation of the wheel and did fine. It was like we were floating in the air because it barely seemed like our dome was even moving and before we knew it we were on top of the city!
I had a blast in London! I am a city girl so I enjoyed the attractions as well as all the people. London attracts people all over the globe so it was interesting to be surrounded with so much culture. My feet and ankles are sore and swollen from all the walking and long bus rides but hopefully they will heal and I will have fun memories of London.
I was so happy when we finally reached London, but the only draw back was that it was 7a.m.! We still had a whole day ahead of us, and really none of us got any good rest on the bus. First thing we did was head toward Buckingham Palace. Since we was there so early there we was pretty much the only people there. It was beautiful. The architecture of this Palace was different from the Palace I saw in Edinburgh. None of its roofs came to a point; it looked more like a mansion than a palace to me. It was more like the White House whereas the castle in Edinburgh was like Cinderella’s castle. We also got to watch the changing of the guards, which apparently in London is a huge thing! I could not believe the amount of people that were there to see this everyday event. There was hundreds up on thousands of spectators.
After the Palace we got on an open-top bus tour of the city. This was interesting because it allowed us to see the whole city and know how to get to each monument we were all interested in going. It was also convenient because it dropped us off less than two minutes from our hostel. Wow… our hostel! Besides Inverness, this was my first hostel experience. This hostel was nothing like Inverness. To start off, I booked the hostel for all of us on my credit card on the Internet with them quoting me at a certain price. When I got to the hostel they added a 5% fee for using my card, taxes, and $60 deposit for all our linen! This is on top of the fee my bank charges me, so I was livid! Anyone who knows me knows I do not like being taken advantage off. I was ready to give them some harsh words. But I resisted and kept my cool, but I totally felt like we/I got ripped off. After all the monies were taken care of we all headed to our 16-mixed sexed person room (I say it like that because it was all just so new to me!). We put our belongings in the locker and headed out for our day plans.
We took a boat tour along the River Thames and were able to see many important buildings and monuments like Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye. Afterward we walked over to Westminster Abbey and Big Ben and took pictures in front of them. I really didn’t know much at all about the city so it was interesting to learn. Unfortunately, it made us have to do a lot of walking!
Saturday morning we had to switch to a 10-person room so I got in the long line to checkout and check back in. As if it wasn’t hectic enough with all the people waiting, this guy goes off on me(gets in my face and yells at me) because I guess I “cut” his girlfriend in line! Turns out that his girlfriend had walked off from the line, me not really paying attention just stood there assuming she left or something. Well she comes back and gets behind me, and then I hear her boyfriend say, “Get in line”. So she presumes to push on me so that she could get in front of me! Kat is watching her the whole time too. Her boyfriend gets in front of me and says this is her spot in line (at this time I’m thinking he can not be serious)! But I say, “I’m sorry, I assumed she was gone so I stayed in line, I can not read minds how was I suppose to know she would come back”. It is now my turn to step up to the desk; with his hip he pushes me to the side saying, “Now you stepped out of line”. By this time the employees of the Hostel see his rude behavior and ask me to step forward and to explain what happened. I tell them but the whole time I’m telling them the boyfriend is yelling at the other girls I came with including Kat! The employee apologizes for the man’s immature behavior and gives us our keys, and because he felt bad he gave us free lockers. He felt bad because of the mix up fees and things from Friday and now the disruptive behavior. I was in such shock that the guy screamed at me, I really was not expecting that. I got so mad inside that I was shaking and my words were almost slurring because I had so much adrenaline in me that I wanted to shut him up with my fist! Mind you that I have never been in a fist fight my whole life but he was tempting me! The girls finally got me calmed down and we came to the conclusion that the girl and her boyfriend should have had a V8!
After the fiasco, we finally made it down to the waterloo area and Kat and me went to the Movieum. It displayed costumes, props, and special effects from various movies. I loved the prop exhibit that had props from the movie The Borrowers. In the movie, the main characters are very small people that are the size of an adult pinky. So all the props were extra large to make the actors look small. I got to sit on a couch the size of a SUV and saw a power outlet the size of mini cooper. I also got to see the original Joker costume Jack Nicholson wore in Batman! The Movium also had original sketches of cartoons like Dora the Explorer, Spongebob, and Ren and Stimpy for sale. The newest addition to the Movieum was their Beatles exhibit. It had many unseen photos of the guys and even some of their instruments. It was definitely impressive. My next stop for the day was at the Ripley’s Believe it of Not Museum. I loved it! It had so many random interesting things in it, like a photo of President Kennedy made of actual butterflies. I watched a video on a high school aged boy that has no legs and he plays high school football! It was amazing because the guy was really good and really had a passion for football. He tackled a quarterback on the first day of practice! There was also this lady that didn’t have any legs. The video talked about her life, how she found love and conceived a child! Her baby boy was born with both legs and arms, and with all fingers and toes. It was a remarkable story.
Sunday we checked out of our Hostel and went souvenir shopping. Realizing we had the whole day ahead of us, we decide to get in line to ride the London Eye. The Eye is the tallest structure in London overlooking the city at 135 meters. It is an observation wheel that allows 20 people in each of its domes to stand up and observe and take pictures of the huge city. I am kind of afraid of heights but I did a full rotation of the wheel and did fine. It was like we were floating in the air because it barely seemed like our dome was even moving and before we knew it we were on top of the city!
I had a blast in London! I am a city girl so I enjoyed the attractions as well as all the people. London attracts people all over the globe so it was interesting to be surrounded with so much culture. My feet and ankles are sore and swollen from all the walking and long bus rides but hopefully they will heal and I will have fun memories of London.
Monday, 13 July 2009
July 10-12: Tamara Stimatze
Editor's Note: The plague has hit the ESU group. Eight of our eleven students have a nasty cold. I'm plying them with juice.
This weekend was our opportunity for independent travel. I decided not to go anywhere for two reasons: 1. To explore Glasgow more and, 2. It was my birthday on July 10. I went to bed on July 9 feeling super excited, since the next day would be my 21st birthday. I woke up in the morning ready to go out and celebrate with lunch, shopping, and a movie. I got out of bed at 11:00 a.m. and started feeling kind of sick, like I had a cold, or something. I ignored my body, took some ibuprofen, and started getting ready! I found out that my friend Sarah was also not feeling 100%, but she was ready to help me celebrate. All of the other students were already either up shopping, traveling, or at a movie, so Sarah and I made Dr. Long come with us to lunch.
I picked a Malaysian restaurant called Rumours. I had eaten there before and they had delicious vegetarian food. I had a bubble tea, which everyone should try, and a tofu stir-fry. Everything was great. Afterwards, we were going to see the new movie, Bruno, but I wanted to do a little shopping first. I started walking around and I realized that I was a lot sicker than I had originally thought. I wasn’t able to go to the movie and had to go back to bed instead. Dr. Long and Ben offered to order pizza for dinner, and I slept from 1:00-8:00 and only woke up for pizza. I felt much better after eating, but stayed in bed so that I could celebrate my birthday on the 11th instead.
I woke up Saturday still sick. Sarah was feeling a little better, so we went to get some juice and medicine. The first place we went to wouldn’t accept cards that need to be swiped (most cards here have a chip in them). We ventured further away and had to sit at Starbucks and drink juices due to our illnesses. Then we went to Sainsbury’s and bought juice, medicine and a little bit of food, and then hurried back to our beds.
I slept again most of the day, had lunch, but then slept through dinner. The night of the 11th I had a very hard time sleeping and woke up sick to my stomach, which was something I hadn’t experienced yet with this flu. I emptied my stomach and fell asleep again for a long time. I didn’t leave my room aside from going to the kitchen and to Dr. Long’s room for medicine all day on the 12th.
Luckily, I slept great last night and feel much better today. I still don’t know if I’m ready to continue exploring Glasgow, because I don’t want to relapse. Also, in my still-ill mind, I forgot to mention that the highlight of my birthday weekend was having the privilege of witnessing a man urinate in public and another man vomiting in a pedestrian shopping mall at around 11:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning.
Hopefully my peers who traveled had more fun
This weekend was our opportunity for independent travel. I decided not to go anywhere for two reasons: 1. To explore Glasgow more and, 2. It was my birthday on July 10. I went to bed on July 9 feeling super excited, since the next day would be my 21st birthday. I woke up in the morning ready to go out and celebrate with lunch, shopping, and a movie. I got out of bed at 11:00 a.m. and started feeling kind of sick, like I had a cold, or something. I ignored my body, took some ibuprofen, and started getting ready! I found out that my friend Sarah was also not feeling 100%, but she was ready to help me celebrate. All of the other students were already either up shopping, traveling, or at a movie, so Sarah and I made Dr. Long come with us to lunch.
I picked a Malaysian restaurant called Rumours. I had eaten there before and they had delicious vegetarian food. I had a bubble tea, which everyone should try, and a tofu stir-fry. Everything was great. Afterwards, we were going to see the new movie, Bruno, but I wanted to do a little shopping first. I started walking around and I realized that I was a lot sicker than I had originally thought. I wasn’t able to go to the movie and had to go back to bed instead. Dr. Long and Ben offered to order pizza for dinner, and I slept from 1:00-8:00 and only woke up for pizza. I felt much better after eating, but stayed in bed so that I could celebrate my birthday on the 11th instead.
I woke up Saturday still sick. Sarah was feeling a little better, so we went to get some juice and medicine. The first place we went to wouldn’t accept cards that need to be swiped (most cards here have a chip in them). We ventured further away and had to sit at Starbucks and drink juices due to our illnesses. Then we went to Sainsbury’s and bought juice, medicine and a little bit of food, and then hurried back to our beds.
I slept again most of the day, had lunch, but then slept through dinner. The night of the 11th I had a very hard time sleeping and woke up sick to my stomach, which was something I hadn’t experienced yet with this flu. I emptied my stomach and fell asleep again for a long time. I didn’t leave my room aside from going to the kitchen and to Dr. Long’s room for medicine all day on the 12th.
Luckily, I slept great last night and feel much better today. I still don’t know if I’m ready to continue exploring Glasgow, because I don’t want to relapse. Also, in my still-ill mind, I forgot to mention that the highlight of my birthday weekend was having the privilege of witnessing a man urinate in public and another man vomiting in a pedestrian shopping mall at around 11:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning.
Hopefully my peers who traveled had more fun
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
July 7-Sarah McConnell
The Kelvingrove Art Gallery is literally one of the best and most visited art galleries in the world with over one million visitors per year. Today we had the opportunity to tour it ourselves. It was sort of a crazy day because we went to 3 museums rather than the typical 1. It’s a long story regarding bus passes and the lack thereof. Although the guided tour was not mandatory for Kelvingrove, I chose to go on it because the museum is huge and I wanted to be sure to at least see the highlights. Luckily, our tour group was very small- only 3 of us, so the tour was very personalized and lasted about 30 minutes longer than a typical tour. The building was build to be an art museum in 1901 and was designed by the winner of a competition of architects. The building itself is a work of incredible art and was closed for 3 years (2003-2006) to undergo renovations and remodeling. These renovations turned a very traditional Victorian into an interactive and modern museum and gallery. The art is divided by LIFE or EXPRESSION and broken down into themes and then further into stories. The art is displayed in an extremely interactive format is not covered by cases protected by velvet ropes. The museum appeals to all learning styles and personalities. For example, there is a to scale map of the planets and their rotations on the floor so people can walk around it. In the French and Italian art rooms (with the traditional paintings) there are cards next to each painting the tells a story of the painting, about the artist and a fact or 2. Near many of the exhibits there are phones or speakers to listen to information about the artifacts. Some even have televisions that show programs and help bring the pieces more to life and relatable to the public. The tour guide told us that some people have been frustrated with such changes but I think they are an excellent addition and they help people get more engaged in the art. Another positive thing I noticed about the museum itself was how family and kid friendly it is. I was more kids and families at this museum than any museum I have ever been to and everyone seemed very engaged and like they were genuinely enjoying themselves. A few of the themes of the museum included “Scottish Identity,” “Death and Destruction: War and Consequences,” “Things no Longer Living,” and works by MacIntosh who is a very famous and influential Scottish architect.
Although the tour was an hour and thirty minutes, I am planning on returning to Kelvingrove because there is so much more I need to see and spend more time with. Everyone who goes to Scotland should go to Kelvingrove. Not only is it a world class museum it is free and AMAZING!!!
Although the tour was an hour and thirty minutes, I am planning on returning to Kelvingrove because there is so much more I need to see and spend more time with. Everyone who goes to Scotland should go to Kelvingrove. Not only is it a world class museum it is free and AMAZING!!!
July 4-Xuan Nguyen
Day Two in the Highlands
Leaving Inverness in the early morning, we came upon a harbor leading out the North Sea. Pete, our tour guide, said that it is not unusual to spot dolphins swimming in triangular positions in this harbor. They surround their prey in this manner and then make a dash for the center for the feeding. Unfortunately, we did not spot them today. Riding along the countryside in the Highlands, I couldn’t help but notice all the sheep spread out in the mountains and down in the valleys. Sheep farming has been and still is a significant part of the highland way of life. There are over twice the number of sheep than people in Scotland, imagine that! The sheep are mainly kept for their wool and some restaurants they can be found on the menu, but they are mostly valued for their wool here in Scotland.
One of the first stops this day was at a dam, the journey to the dam and the landscapes in the highlands astonished me more than the actual dam itself. On the winding roads on both sides, as far as I could see, were rolling hills of fields and monstrous trees. The mountains in the far distance looked ominous from the fog, allowing me to only see the outline of thin, overbearing shapes filled in with dark shadows of lush greenery. The fields were my favorite part. I love that when the breeze sweeps by, atop the tips of the wheat, they get pushed down lightly and swing back up in gentle ways. It looks like the landscape is draped in a velvety green blanket, spreading from the bottom of the valleys into the mountains.
Now we stopped at a gorge called Corrieshalloch Gorge. Corrieshalloch is “ugly hollow” in Gaelic. About two million years ago, the flow of a river etched itself into the glacier forming what is now Corrieshalloch. We walked across a bridge atop the gorge. The bridge is not for the faint of heart. Not only is it suspended over a gorge with a waterfall forty-five meters high, it also sways when you’re on it. I’m afraid of both heights AND bugs, so the Corrieshalloch was ten times more terrifying for me than for my fellow travelers. There were hefty flies, we call them “superflies” and they pierce your flesh and drink your blood.
Castle Ardvreck was our next stop. Not so much a castle anymore, it is now only the ruins that are still standing. Set between the mountains and on the edge of a lake, the remnants of the stone walls looked majestic against its landscape. By far the best part of the day, we headed on to the Falls of Shin. As we approached the falls, we could hear water rushing and crashing against the rocks. Standing amongst the beauty of nature, atop the waterfall, we were pleasantly surprised to find Atlantic salmon darting out of the bottom of the waterfall, trying to swim their way upstream. It was like watching the Discovery Channel but ten times more exciting. Everyone had their camera out and ready hoping to catch a salmon mid-journey. Fortunately, I was able to get a picture of this on my first try.
Wrapping up a full day of adventure, we were exhausted, but we were not ready to call it a day upon arrival to our hostel. Today is the Fourth of July and it must be celebrated, not only is it a tradition in many families, but, more importantly, it is the day of our own independence. People from all over the globe have struggled to free themselves from oppression, some are successful and some are still putting up a fight. Take the Scottish, for example, they have had conquerors, kings, lords, etc… from all over trying to take over their land for as long as they can remember. Nowadays Scotland is still part of England. Pete, our tour guide, made a funny joke. He wished us all a “Happy Independence Day” and said “You all did a much better job of getting rid of the English than we did.”
At the end of our day we grilled hamburgers upon the small hill out back of our hostel and reminisced about family traditions on the Fourth.
Leaving Inverness in the early morning, we came upon a harbor leading out the North Sea. Pete, our tour guide, said that it is not unusual to spot dolphins swimming in triangular positions in this harbor. They surround their prey in this manner and then make a dash for the center for the feeding. Unfortunately, we did not spot them today. Riding along the countryside in the Highlands, I couldn’t help but notice all the sheep spread out in the mountains and down in the valleys. Sheep farming has been and still is a significant part of the highland way of life. There are over twice the number of sheep than people in Scotland, imagine that! The sheep are mainly kept for their wool and some restaurants they can be found on the menu, but they are mostly valued for their wool here in Scotland.
One of the first stops this day was at a dam, the journey to the dam and the landscapes in the highlands astonished me more than the actual dam itself. On the winding roads on both sides, as far as I could see, were rolling hills of fields and monstrous trees. The mountains in the far distance looked ominous from the fog, allowing me to only see the outline of thin, overbearing shapes filled in with dark shadows of lush greenery. The fields were my favorite part. I love that when the breeze sweeps by, atop the tips of the wheat, they get pushed down lightly and swing back up in gentle ways. It looks like the landscape is draped in a velvety green blanket, spreading from the bottom of the valleys into the mountains.
Now we stopped at a gorge called Corrieshalloch Gorge. Corrieshalloch is “ugly hollow” in Gaelic. About two million years ago, the flow of a river etched itself into the glacier forming what is now Corrieshalloch. We walked across a bridge atop the gorge. The bridge is not for the faint of heart. Not only is it suspended over a gorge with a waterfall forty-five meters high, it also sways when you’re on it. I’m afraid of both heights AND bugs, so the Corrieshalloch was ten times more terrifying for me than for my fellow travelers. There were hefty flies, we call them “superflies” and they pierce your flesh and drink your blood.
Castle Ardvreck was our next stop. Not so much a castle anymore, it is now only the ruins that are still standing. Set between the mountains and on the edge of a lake, the remnants of the stone walls looked majestic against its landscape. By far the best part of the day, we headed on to the Falls of Shin. As we approached the falls, we could hear water rushing and crashing against the rocks. Standing amongst the beauty of nature, atop the waterfall, we were pleasantly surprised to find Atlantic salmon darting out of the bottom of the waterfall, trying to swim their way upstream. It was like watching the Discovery Channel but ten times more exciting. Everyone had their camera out and ready hoping to catch a salmon mid-journey. Fortunately, I was able to get a picture of this on my first try.
Wrapping up a full day of adventure, we were exhausted, but we were not ready to call it a day upon arrival to our hostel. Today is the Fourth of July and it must be celebrated, not only is it a tradition in many families, but, more importantly, it is the day of our own independence. People from all over the globe have struggled to free themselves from oppression, some are successful and some are still putting up a fight. Take the Scottish, for example, they have had conquerors, kings, lords, etc… from all over trying to take over their land for as long as they can remember. Nowadays Scotland is still part of England. Pete, our tour guide, made a funny joke. He wished us all a “Happy Independence Day” and said “You all did a much better job of getting rid of the English than we did.”
At the end of our day we grilled hamburgers upon the small hill out back of our hostel and reminisced about family traditions on the Fourth.
July 7-Raquel Rodriguez
Today is another wonderful day at the metropolitan city of Glasgow; I woke up and got ready for my class. I went to my classroom/kitchen on the second floor of the dorms here at Glasgow Caledonian University that by the way are very nice. Dr. Long gave us the good news that we are visiting three museums today since we have a tour bus pass that we could use. Of course, I said YES!!! i'm thinking I will have two evenings free for shopping.
Our first stop was the Peoples Museum; the best way to describe it is amazing. It had so many cultural artifacts, for example the banana boots that Billy Conolly wore on stage in 1970. Also his guitar that look like a box to me. Cierra and I took an amazing pictures.
I have to say that compared to the museums back home this one was very interactive, it made you want to learn more. Some of the captions in the museum reflected the accent of the Glasgow people. For example in one it said ‘ye’ll’ dee facin ‘ the Monument, this was a caption put under a window where u could see the place where public executions were held between 1814 and 1865. The monument they refer to is the Nelson Monument, which was the last thing they saw because, is right in front of the execution site.
This museum also showed how Glasgow was the industrial capital of the world in fact was voted the European Capital of Culture in 1990. They invented so many cool things like a sewing machine that looked like a lion. Kimball and Morton Ltd. in 1901 made this sewing machine so it will look like an ornament when it was not in use. In the early 19th century, they were also world leaders in producing industrial machinery, iron, and steel structures such as bridges. In the 20th century the industry decline and it disappeared by 1960. Glasgow was once known as the Workshop of the Empire. One of the reasons that Glasgow decline as a manufacturing city was because they stop developing new technology also they were cheaper goods abroad.
I am definitely not a fan of museums but this one caught my attention because it just narrated the story a city and how became what it is now. The population of Glasgow grew from 77,000 in the 1800 to 1 million by 1912. There were not enough houses for everyone and this cause overcrowding, which helped the spread of diseases. This gave the city the name of the Tenement City until the 1940s most Glaswegians lived in one or two-roomed tenement houses.
Hope you all enjoy reading about our visit to the Peoples Museum and get an idea of what Glasgow is all about.
Our first stop was the Peoples Museum; the best way to describe it is amazing. It had so many cultural artifacts, for example the banana boots that Billy Conolly wore on stage in 1970. Also his guitar that look like a box to me. Cierra and I took an amazing pictures.
I have to say that compared to the museums back home this one was very interactive, it made you want to learn more. Some of the captions in the museum reflected the accent of the Glasgow people. For example in one it said ‘ye’ll’ dee facin ‘ the Monument, this was a caption put under a window where u could see the place where public executions were held between 1814 and 1865. The monument they refer to is the Nelson Monument, which was the last thing they saw because, is right in front of the execution site.
This museum also showed how Glasgow was the industrial capital of the world in fact was voted the European Capital of Culture in 1990. They invented so many cool things like a sewing machine that looked like a lion. Kimball and Morton Ltd. in 1901 made this sewing machine so it will look like an ornament when it was not in use. In the early 19th century, they were also world leaders in producing industrial machinery, iron, and steel structures such as bridges. In the 20th century the industry decline and it disappeared by 1960. Glasgow was once known as the Workshop of the Empire. One of the reasons that Glasgow decline as a manufacturing city was because they stop developing new technology also they were cheaper goods abroad.
I am definitely not a fan of museums but this one caught my attention because it just narrated the story a city and how became what it is now. The population of Glasgow grew from 77,000 in the 1800 to 1 million by 1912. There were not enough houses for everyone and this cause overcrowding, which helped the spread of diseases. This gave the city the name of the Tenement City until the 1940s most Glaswegians lived in one or two-roomed tenement houses.
Hope you all enjoy reading about our visit to the Peoples Museum and get an idea of what Glasgow is all about.
July 7-Kat DeWeese
Before I blogged today, we made some dinner. I made some spaghetti with crusty bread! Although I grew tired of cooking and cleaning at home, it gave me a since of security and a sense of home doing it here in Glasgow after such a long trip of eating out mostly. Yes mom, I admit it, I loved cleaning all the dishes tonight! After dinner I flicked on the tube in our kitchen/sitting room that has approximately four different BBC channels, all BBC! Right when I turned it on I knew exactly what was on, the Michael Jackson Memorial, I had no idea it was going to be on but was so delighted to see that it was. Laugh all you want but I have LOVED M.J. since I was old enough to dance! This was just one more powerful memory we have to go along with this trip.
Today we ended up going to three museums, yes three, in one day. This is because we are all cheap and lazy! Or maybe savvy sounds better : ) We had a left over bus pass from the day before that happen to stop at each museum we needed to go to throughout our trip. So Dr. Long and her great mind (I’m sure Ben would take all the credit though) decided that while we had the chance we should do the three furthest away ones in one day. This is also going to give us two free afternoons now to study extra or you know, shop! I was in charge of writing about the third and final museum today, The Museum of Transport. I know, you are as excited as I was. But in all fairness it was a pretty neat museum. They did a very good job of showing you the many forms of transportation used throughout the years, especially in Scotland. When I walked in I was automatically attracted to this area that looked like a 1930s street in Glasgow, cobble roads and all. It was lined by cars from that generation and had street front shops on both sides. We were able to see what the first subways in Glasgow looked like. They were made in 1887 originally but gained a lot more use in the 20th century. Everything just seemed so much smaller in those times it is amazing how much bigger we have gotten, or maybe people were just super small!
Seeing all these trains and cars brought back memories of being a child because when my family went on road, we always had to stop and look at things like this, thanks to dad though I now can have those obscure memories. We were able to walk up high and look into the tops of all the old rail cars that used to run on the streets of Glasgow. Also on the main floor was a whole room of classic cars from all over. The Scots may think that they invented the world, but I saw an awful lot of Fords in this area! Upstairs I saw a ton of old motorcycles and these strange car/motorcycle things. I could not believe that they were ever actually drivable. There was also an entire room devoted to ships and boats. This seems appropriate seeing as how we have jut learned that Glasgow was a very industrial city, relying heavily on the ship yards and other industries. They had replicas of the Queen Elisabeth ships as well. These were made during the great depression which surprised me, but maybe it supplied Great Britain with a lot of jobs. As a shout out to Michelle (Harry Potter Nerd), a fellow student here, they had the same kind of car that was used in the second Harry Potter movie, a Ford Anglia. The museum even had gypsy coaches that were so extravagant and beautiful.
There were many bicycles too. It said that women began riding once the “Safety” Bike was produced. They then lowered the center bar specifically for women’s skirts. Little things like this allowed women to do “men” things early on. One thing that surprised me about all of the museums that we visited today was that they were very kid friendly. All of them had interactive parts and plenty of families running around, even in the art museum. I really enjoyed all of the museums today, but not going to lie, it was nice to kill three birds with one stone too!
Today we ended up going to three museums, yes three, in one day. This is because we are all cheap and lazy! Or maybe savvy sounds better : ) We had a left over bus pass from the day before that happen to stop at each museum we needed to go to throughout our trip. So Dr. Long and her great mind (I’m sure Ben would take all the credit though) decided that while we had the chance we should do the three furthest away ones in one day. This is also going to give us two free afternoons now to study extra or you know, shop! I was in charge of writing about the third and final museum today, The Museum of Transport. I know, you are as excited as I was. But in all fairness it was a pretty neat museum. They did a very good job of showing you the many forms of transportation used throughout the years, especially in Scotland. When I walked in I was automatically attracted to this area that looked like a 1930s street in Glasgow, cobble roads and all. It was lined by cars from that generation and had street front shops on both sides. We were able to see what the first subways in Glasgow looked like. They were made in 1887 originally but gained a lot more use in the 20th century. Everything just seemed so much smaller in those times it is amazing how much bigger we have gotten, or maybe people were just super small!
Seeing all these trains and cars brought back memories of being a child because when my family went on road, we always had to stop and look at things like this, thanks to dad though I now can have those obscure memories. We were able to walk up high and look into the tops of all the old rail cars that used to run on the streets of Glasgow. Also on the main floor was a whole room of classic cars from all over. The Scots may think that they invented the world, but I saw an awful lot of Fords in this area! Upstairs I saw a ton of old motorcycles and these strange car/motorcycle things. I could not believe that they were ever actually drivable. There was also an entire room devoted to ships and boats. This seems appropriate seeing as how we have jut learned that Glasgow was a very industrial city, relying heavily on the ship yards and other industries. They had replicas of the Queen Elisabeth ships as well. These were made during the great depression which surprised me, but maybe it supplied Great Britain with a lot of jobs. As a shout out to Michelle (Harry Potter Nerd), a fellow student here, they had the same kind of car that was used in the second Harry Potter movie, a Ford Anglia. The museum even had gypsy coaches that were so extravagant and beautiful.
There were many bicycles too. It said that women began riding once the “Safety” Bike was produced. They then lowered the center bar specifically for women’s skirts. Little things like this allowed women to do “men” things early on. One thing that surprised me about all of the museums that we visited today was that they were very kid friendly. All of them had interactive parts and plenty of families running around, even in the art museum. I really enjoyed all of the museums today, but not going to lie, it was nice to kill three birds with one stone too!
July 6-Colin Davis a.k.a. "Moose"
Today we went on a open top bus tour of Glasgow. We started our day off with class which was just an orientation of what was going to happen for this class and just make us all realize how fast this class will move. We have a test on Thursday, and then on Wednesday of next week we have our final exam, our presentation of migrations, and our brochure due. And a lot of people are going to London this weekend which takes away three days.
After we had class we tried to get our bus passes and had no luck. I feel like Dr. Long was just having one of those days trying to get everything started and things were just not going her way, because in the end we did not get bus passes and decided that we could walk everywhere that we wanted to go like the People’s Palace tomorrow or the St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art. So instead of having bus passes we got an extra group meal which was a dinner after our bus tour ride.
I was really pumped to go on my first ever open top bus tour of any city. We all got on and sat on the top of the bus and outside, however it had been raining and all the seats were wet, so some people were kind of iffy about it. However, once we started our bus tour and got almost all the way through the east side of town it started to rain. But when everyone else left a few remained. I was amongst the brave few that fought the rain, the others included Xuan, Sarah, Tamara, and Michelle. We all sat out on the back of the bus while it was raining in order to see some of the wonderful sites that Glasgow has to offer. We drove by the Universities of Glasgow, and saw the museums that we will be going to in a few days we even saw a pirate ship that I really wanted to go on and set sail, but unfortunately we did not have time to stop on our bus tour. One of the buildings that I liked the most was a stand alone clock tour that look like a mini Big Ben. It was in the middle of a round about so that everyone could see what time it was no matter what. Although it was fun sitting up on the top of the bus in the rain I was soaked by the time we got off, but we paid for an open top bus tour and you better bet that I got one. It would have been really nice if the rain had let up because I’m sure that if you had to sit inside you would be unable to see all of the high buildings because the bus got right up to the side of them.
After the bus tour we went to a Chinese restaurant to eat dinner with everyone, and I feel like Dr. Long was a little mad at us for sitting up top of the bus in the rain but it all buffed out. (Editor’s Note: I was not mad about the rain, but I was a little irritated that the bus driver had to scold them for being too loud upstairs!) So we all had our food some of us ate noodles while others had rice, some meals had chicken and others tofu or beef. I had some duck gyoza (which is fried meat or veggies in a dumpling served with sauce) that I thought was amazing! I had only had duck once before this and it was on the highland tour in a baguette from a deli that we walked by on one of our breaks and that thing was MONEY! However, the duck meat gyoza came in with a close second. After the gyoza I had some really good curry chicken with sticky rice and a creamy curry sauce. Now for dessert I ordered a coconut ice cream with mango sauce and fresh cut coconut on top. If you could taste gold this is what it would be, because it was soft server coconut ice cream drenched in mango sauce with crunchy fresh cut coconut on top, this ice cream is something I would love to have with my last meal. When you hear people say “they could die happy now” this was one of those moments, I was so close to going into a food coma like during Thanksgiving when you eat too much but instead of eating too much I was just overly pleased with the meal I had just devoured.
After dinner everyone went their own ways and I ended up going back to the dorms and jump swiping the lock on the door. The door to the outside is a door that has a swipe key card to it so when someone needs to get in they don’t need to take the card out of their pocket they just jump up an inch and swipe the card on the reader, Jump swiping. It is really fun and makes it easy to get in when you have things in your hands.
After we had class we tried to get our bus passes and had no luck. I feel like Dr. Long was just having one of those days trying to get everything started and things were just not going her way, because in the end we did not get bus passes and decided that we could walk everywhere that we wanted to go like the People’s Palace tomorrow or the St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art. So instead of having bus passes we got an extra group meal which was a dinner after our bus tour ride.
I was really pumped to go on my first ever open top bus tour of any city. We all got on and sat on the top of the bus and outside, however it had been raining and all the seats were wet, so some people were kind of iffy about it. However, once we started our bus tour and got almost all the way through the east side of town it started to rain. But when everyone else left a few remained. I was amongst the brave few that fought the rain, the others included Xuan, Sarah, Tamara, and Michelle. We all sat out on the back of the bus while it was raining in order to see some of the wonderful sites that Glasgow has to offer. We drove by the Universities of Glasgow, and saw the museums that we will be going to in a few days we even saw a pirate ship that I really wanted to go on and set sail, but unfortunately we did not have time to stop on our bus tour. One of the buildings that I liked the most was a stand alone clock tour that look like a mini Big Ben. It was in the middle of a round about so that everyone could see what time it was no matter what. Although it was fun sitting up on the top of the bus in the rain I was soaked by the time we got off, but we paid for an open top bus tour and you better bet that I got one. It would have been really nice if the rain had let up because I’m sure that if you had to sit inside you would be unable to see all of the high buildings because the bus got right up to the side of them.
After the bus tour we went to a Chinese restaurant to eat dinner with everyone, and I feel like Dr. Long was a little mad at us for sitting up top of the bus in the rain but it all buffed out. (Editor’s Note: I was not mad about the rain, but I was a little irritated that the bus driver had to scold them for being too loud upstairs!) So we all had our food some of us ate noodles while others had rice, some meals had chicken and others tofu or beef. I had some duck gyoza (which is fried meat or veggies in a dumpling served with sauce) that I thought was amazing! I had only had duck once before this and it was on the highland tour in a baguette from a deli that we walked by on one of our breaks and that thing was MONEY! However, the duck meat gyoza came in with a close second. After the gyoza I had some really good curry chicken with sticky rice and a creamy curry sauce. Now for dessert I ordered a coconut ice cream with mango sauce and fresh cut coconut on top. If you could taste gold this is what it would be, because it was soft server coconut ice cream drenched in mango sauce with crunchy fresh cut coconut on top, this ice cream is something I would love to have with my last meal. When you hear people say “they could die happy now” this was one of those moments, I was so close to going into a food coma like during Thanksgiving when you eat too much but instead of eating too much I was just overly pleased with the meal I had just devoured.
After dinner everyone went their own ways and I ended up going back to the dorms and jump swiping the lock on the door. The door to the outside is a door that has a swipe key card to it so when someone needs to get in they don’t need to take the card out of their pocket they just jump up an inch and swipe the card on the reader, Jump swiping. It is really fun and makes it easy to get in when you have things in your hands.
July 5-Alicia Smith
Day Three in the Highlands
Yesterday was our last day to scope out the highlands before we traveled to our new destination, Glasgow. 8 a.m. came quickly and we all forced ourselves out of bed, got ready, packed up, and left the Bazpackers Hostel. After packing our luggage and ourselves onto the tour bus, we arrived shortly to our first stop at the battle field of Culloden, which is located a few miles outside of Inverness. The battle of Culloden took place on April 16, 1746. It was the final clash between the Jacobites and the British in which the Jacobites were greatly defeated. A key reason to their defeat was due to their lack of resources, including weapons and food. The field had blue flags on one end, representing the Scottish, and red flags on the other, representing the British. There were memorials spread throughout various places of different people and clans. The field was extremely marshy, filled with thistles, tall grass, pot holes and caverns. Sadly, it was easy to see how the Scots got abolished by Duke Cumberland’s army in such bad battle conditions. It’s hard to imagine being low on resources and energy and trying to run through grass that was up to one’s hips!
After Culloden, we headed off to Loch Ness. When we got there, we had the option of taking a boat tour. Although it was tempting, especially on such a nice, sunny afternoon, a few other students and I decided to save our money and explore the area by foot. We started off by having lunch right along the side of a canal. This was extremely interesting to watch, especially since I had never seen one in action before. We all watched while about 6 smaller sized boats would go into a section that was closed off by gates. The gates would control the water level in order to slowly lower the boats down to the next section so that they could then pass through to the next section. It took around an hour just for the boats to get all the way through. Although a tedious wait, it was fun to learn how it all worked. I took pictures because I thought my dad (aka Toddles) would especially find it interesting. After all of the canal excitement, we walked down to the Loch where we enjoyed the view. Unfortunately, we never saw any signs of Nessie.
After Loch Ness, we made our way south through the highlands. The highlands were unlike anything I’d ever seen. It was filled with luscious green hills, lochs, rugged mountains and tons of sheep. A few of the mountains we saw included the British Isles and the three sisters of Glen Coe. Around 6 p.m. we strolled into Glasgow. Right away I noticed that Glasgow is quite different than Edinburgh. Glasgow is very modern and looks more like an American city. The University is especially modern with such unique architecture. My favorite part about campus is our dorm rooms because we each have our own room with our own bathrooms :) Although it seems as though Edinburgh is missed by many, it is great to have change and Glasgow seems to go especially well with the new material we are studying about immigration.
Yesterday was our last day to scope out the highlands before we traveled to our new destination, Glasgow. 8 a.m. came quickly and we all forced ourselves out of bed, got ready, packed up, and left the Bazpackers Hostel. After packing our luggage and ourselves onto the tour bus, we arrived shortly to our first stop at the battle field of Culloden, which is located a few miles outside of Inverness. The battle of Culloden took place on April 16, 1746. It was the final clash between the Jacobites and the British in which the Jacobites were greatly defeated. A key reason to their defeat was due to their lack of resources, including weapons and food. The field had blue flags on one end, representing the Scottish, and red flags on the other, representing the British. There were memorials spread throughout various places of different people and clans. The field was extremely marshy, filled with thistles, tall grass, pot holes and caverns. Sadly, it was easy to see how the Scots got abolished by Duke Cumberland’s army in such bad battle conditions. It’s hard to imagine being low on resources and energy and trying to run through grass that was up to one’s hips!
After Culloden, we headed off to Loch Ness. When we got there, we had the option of taking a boat tour. Although it was tempting, especially on such a nice, sunny afternoon, a few other students and I decided to save our money and explore the area by foot. We started off by having lunch right along the side of a canal. This was extremely interesting to watch, especially since I had never seen one in action before. We all watched while about 6 smaller sized boats would go into a section that was closed off by gates. The gates would control the water level in order to slowly lower the boats down to the next section so that they could then pass through to the next section. It took around an hour just for the boats to get all the way through. Although a tedious wait, it was fun to learn how it all worked. I took pictures because I thought my dad (aka Toddles) would especially find it interesting. After all of the canal excitement, we walked down to the Loch where we enjoyed the view. Unfortunately, we never saw any signs of Nessie.
After Loch Ness, we made our way south through the highlands. The highlands were unlike anything I’d ever seen. It was filled with luscious green hills, lochs, rugged mountains and tons of sheep. A few of the mountains we saw included the British Isles and the three sisters of Glen Coe. Around 6 p.m. we strolled into Glasgow. Right away I noticed that Glasgow is quite different than Edinburgh. Glasgow is very modern and looks more like an American city. The University is especially modern with such unique architecture. My favorite part about campus is our dorm rooms because we each have our own room with our own bathrooms :) Although it seems as though Edinburgh is missed by many, it is great to have change and Glasgow seems to go especially well with the new material we are studying about immigration.
Monday, 6 July 2009
July 3-Michelle Cunningham
On Friday July 3rd, we woke up to take our final for the course in Edinburgh. Our last day at St. Colm’s International House, which had been our home for the past two and one half weeks had arrived. Having packed mostly everything the night before, I made and ate a leisurely lunch and hung out with some of my new friends. At one o’clock, I threw a few last minute things into my bags and headed out. There was a white minibus with “Rabbie’s” painted in blue across the side; our tour guide, Pete, helped us load all our luggage into the back of the bus and our group of 13 loaded onto the 16 passenger vehicle. I sat in the second to last row with my bus buddy, Colin. The travel company had a map of Scotland hung up in the front of the bus so that Pete could show us where we were at any given time and where we would be going next. As the bus pulled away, we all waved goodbye to our home and headed out on a new adventure. I wanted to get some reading in but little did I know that Pete is an expert at filling silence. He was enthusiastic and talked about all the things we had just learned about (and tested on just hours before) he spouted facts about the old monarchs and the bloody history of Scotland as we drove across the city and into the country side. The scenery was amazing and was only going to get better as we went on for the next three days through the Highlands.
Pete had to take a little detour because of the “road works” that were on the highway that would take us into Dunkeld, which was our first stop. We rode by the River Tay which passes through Dunkeld and right next to a church we stopped in. The church was built centuries ago (I don’t remember exactly when. Editor? Editor: 15th Century) and the sanctuary is still used for services today. Behind the church was an old grave site which was surrounded by old walls. Some of which were beginning to erode. Behind the cemetery was a belfry’s tower with a really small door way I am only 5’6” and I had to duck to fit thorough. The river flowing next to the church made the area very peaceful. The Five Squad decided to sit on the grass and take some fun pictures because it was so green and soft. Jen took the pictures for us when we decided to get cheesy and lay in a circle with our heads at the center in sort of a sunburst pattern, and the good doctor walked by and Jen joined us in our sunburst. This was one of the best parts of the afternoon.
Back on the bus, Pete filled us with more and more knowledge of Scottish history, which we are all experts on now, and took us to a little tourist place. I am sure that Rabbie’s had a contract with this place because it was just a money grabbing tourist trap, nothing historical or even very interesting about it. Luckily we only spent 30 minutes there. As we left, one of our group members accidentally got on the wrong minibus, but she realized it pretty quickly when there was no one that she knew on the bus so a crisis was avoided, but the rest of us got a good laugh. Thanks Inverness roomie =)
We finally arrived at our destination, Inverness, where we would stay the next 2 nights. A few of us went out to eat at a little Spanish restaurant. The food was good and the service was ok, but when we asked for separate checks, the waitress looked at us as if we were crazy. I have noticed that when we go out and don’t pay together, we are definitely not following “normal” behavior. I believe most of the time only one person pays for dinner. Especially, I think when they are in large groups but I don’t know the exact rules of etiquette when paying here.
That evening a few of us went out to a place called Maverick’s; they were celebrating their 1st year of being open and had free drinks at the door and contests to win free drinks. The bartender was really nice and carried around a whistle when he was making drinks and after I had a couple, he called me over and put a whistle around my neck too. Xuan and I won some mavericks dollars I think because we were having so much fun, and got to play black jack for drinks and won a shot each. We were feeling pretty good by the time we got back to the hostel and decided to let the other girls in our group know how much fun we had. They were staying in different rooms so we went to the one on the ground floor and, to make a long story short, tried to get everyone out of bed to go back out with us. When they all turned us down, Xuan decided to hide in a locker, at first she thought she couldn’t fit in it but I was convinced she could so I started shoving her into it to help. She finally got most of the way in when the bottom of the locker dropped out and she was folded in half with her feet next to her face. I tried to help her but I was laughing too hard so Cierra pulled her out. (We did fix the locker before we went up to our room, like responsible adults) At this point bed was the best option, but low and behold, Sarah and Tamara were still up (they were our roomies for those 2 nights) so we recounted the story to them and started talking about all kinds of things laughing and carrying on probably a little too loudly, when a knock came on the door. The young woman who works in the hostel came into our room and scolded us like five year olds for being too loud in a “family hostel.” When I offered up that we were sorry and we would be quiet, she looked at us and said “No. You need to go to bed.” She stood there for probably 30 seconds waiting for us to climb into bed or something, but we just reassured her that we would be quiet. She told us again to go to bed and shut the door. We were very quiet after that, talking and even laughing in whispers. Eventually, we all did go to sleep because we were excited to travel from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean the next day, with Pete, one of the best tour guides I’ve ever had. =)
Pete had to take a little detour because of the “road works” that were on the highway that would take us into Dunkeld, which was our first stop. We rode by the River Tay which passes through Dunkeld and right next to a church we stopped in. The church was built centuries ago (I don’t remember exactly when. Editor? Editor: 15th Century) and the sanctuary is still used for services today. Behind the church was an old grave site which was surrounded by old walls. Some of which were beginning to erode. Behind the cemetery was a belfry’s tower with a really small door way I am only 5’6” and I had to duck to fit thorough. The river flowing next to the church made the area very peaceful. The Five Squad decided to sit on the grass and take some fun pictures because it was so green and soft. Jen took the pictures for us when we decided to get cheesy and lay in a circle with our heads at the center in sort of a sunburst pattern, and the good doctor walked by and Jen joined us in our sunburst. This was one of the best parts of the afternoon.
Back on the bus, Pete filled us with more and more knowledge of Scottish history, which we are all experts on now, and took us to a little tourist place. I am sure that Rabbie’s had a contract with this place because it was just a money grabbing tourist trap, nothing historical or even very interesting about it. Luckily we only spent 30 minutes there. As we left, one of our group members accidentally got on the wrong minibus, but she realized it pretty quickly when there was no one that she knew on the bus so a crisis was avoided, but the rest of us got a good laugh. Thanks Inverness roomie =)
We finally arrived at our destination, Inverness, where we would stay the next 2 nights. A few of us went out to eat at a little Spanish restaurant. The food was good and the service was ok, but when we asked for separate checks, the waitress looked at us as if we were crazy. I have noticed that when we go out and don’t pay together, we are definitely not following “normal” behavior. I believe most of the time only one person pays for dinner. Especially, I think when they are in large groups but I don’t know the exact rules of etiquette when paying here.
That evening a few of us went out to a place called Maverick’s; they were celebrating their 1st year of being open and had free drinks at the door and contests to win free drinks. The bartender was really nice and carried around a whistle when he was making drinks and after I had a couple, he called me over and put a whistle around my neck too. Xuan and I won some mavericks dollars I think because we were having so much fun, and got to play black jack for drinks and won a shot each. We were feeling pretty good by the time we got back to the hostel and decided to let the other girls in our group know how much fun we had. They were staying in different rooms so we went to the one on the ground floor and, to make a long story short, tried to get everyone out of bed to go back out with us. When they all turned us down, Xuan decided to hide in a locker, at first she thought she couldn’t fit in it but I was convinced she could so I started shoving her into it to help. She finally got most of the way in when the bottom of the locker dropped out and she was folded in half with her feet next to her face. I tried to help her but I was laughing too hard so Cierra pulled her out. (We did fix the locker before we went up to our room, like responsible adults) At this point bed was the best option, but low and behold, Sarah and Tamara were still up (they were our roomies for those 2 nights) so we recounted the story to them and started talking about all kinds of things laughing and carrying on probably a little too loudly, when a knock came on the door. The young woman who works in the hostel came into our room and scolded us like five year olds for being too loud in a “family hostel.” When I offered up that we were sorry and we would be quiet, she looked at us and said “No. You need to go to bed.” She stood there for probably 30 seconds waiting for us to climb into bed or something, but we just reassured her that we would be quiet. She told us again to go to bed and shut the door. We were very quiet after that, talking and even laughing in whispers. Eventually, we all did go to sleep because we were excited to travel from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean the next day, with Pete, one of the best tour guides I’ve ever had. =)
We're in Glasgow...
At Loch Ness...
Skipping rocks at Ullapool...
It was a lot of hours on the minibus...
in the grass at Dunkeld.
We had a great tour of the Highlands. Her's a few pictures for you all, and posts to come from the students all week...
Dr. Long
Thursday, 2 July 2009
July 2-Update from Dr. Long
Hi All,
No post to come for three days now--we're off in the morning for the Highlands, and returning to Glasgow on Sunday night. Students are saying they have mixed feelings--excitement for the second half of the program but a lot of sadness about leaving Edinburgh. I feel the same way.
We'll be in touch on Monday!
No post to come for three days now--we're off in the morning for the Highlands, and returning to Glasgow on Sunday night. Students are saying they have mixed feelings--excitement for the second half of the program but a lot of sadness about leaving Edinburgh. I feel the same way.
We'll be in touch on Monday!
July 2-Xuan Nguyen
Both in and outside of class, we have studied and have been exposed to many different facets of the Scottish culture spanning anywhere from historical facts to the modern day way of life. Today, we visited Gladstone’s Land, a tenement house built in the 15th century and has been preserved/renovated to present day. Gladstone’s Land is located on the Royal Mile (road between the Holyrood House or the queen’s palace and the Edinburgh Castle). It was built by a wealthy merchant named Thomas Gladstone.
The building has 6 floors of flats and was used as living quarters for the wealthy in what is called the Old Town. Edinburgh’s city center is divided into two main halves, the Old Town and the New Town. When the Old Town became too populated and living space was a critical issue, the New Town was built to expand Edinburgh and to provide better accommodations for the people. Walking through the tenement house we could see various parts of the flats used for different purposes. The rooms were small and heavily decorated with wooden furniture and other hand crafted goods. I found it interesting that many of the cabinets used for storage had secret compartments in them. The wood work on the bed frames was extremely intricate and elaborate.
We learned what gardy-loo meant. The tenants disposed of fecal and other bodily waste matter by throwing it out the window and they would say gardy-loo to warn people in the streets to move out of the way. During this time, diseases were rampant. Rats helped to spread the plague and living conditions were needless to say unsanitary.
Many of the tenants had live-in servants. The servants often had family and also stayed in the flats, but their living quarters were in the kitchen. Entire families would have to sleep on the kitchen floor next to the cooking area. Another interesting fact is that, those with more money lived in the bottom floors and the ones with less money lived on the top floors. Thomas Gladstone lived in this building as well, and it was known that he moved from the lower floors to the top ones. Rumor has it that he lost a significant amount of money as a result of losing a ship during a trade and had to cut down on living cost. Once the New Town was built, most of the wealthy folk moved away from the Old Town to the New Town. Tenement houses such as Gladstone’s Land in the Old Town were leased out to the commoners.
Overall, I enjoyed learning the interesting facts, but I totally got shafted. Two reasons, one- I guessed the number farthest away from Dr. Long’s number so I didn’t get to pick which excursion I blogged on. It seems to happen like this for me in most of Dr. Long’s classes. I must learn how to become better at guessing numbers. While others talked about castles, parliament and cathedrals I get to talk about an old apartment. Second reason, Gladstone’s Land is interesting but definitely not comparable to any of the other excursions.
The building has 6 floors of flats and was used as living quarters for the wealthy in what is called the Old Town. Edinburgh’s city center is divided into two main halves, the Old Town and the New Town. When the Old Town became too populated and living space was a critical issue, the New Town was built to expand Edinburgh and to provide better accommodations for the people. Walking through the tenement house we could see various parts of the flats used for different purposes. The rooms were small and heavily decorated with wooden furniture and other hand crafted goods. I found it interesting that many of the cabinets used for storage had secret compartments in them. The wood work on the bed frames was extremely intricate and elaborate.
We learned what gardy-loo meant. The tenants disposed of fecal and other bodily waste matter by throwing it out the window and they would say gardy-loo to warn people in the streets to move out of the way. During this time, diseases were rampant. Rats helped to spread the plague and living conditions were needless to say unsanitary.
Many of the tenants had live-in servants. The servants often had family and also stayed in the flats, but their living quarters were in the kitchen. Entire families would have to sleep on the kitchen floor next to the cooking area. Another interesting fact is that, those with more money lived in the bottom floors and the ones with less money lived on the top floors. Thomas Gladstone lived in this building as well, and it was known that he moved from the lower floors to the top ones. Rumor has it that he lost a significant amount of money as a result of losing a ship during a trade and had to cut down on living cost. Once the New Town was built, most of the wealthy folk moved away from the Old Town to the New Town. Tenement houses such as Gladstone’s Land in the Old Town were leased out to the commoners.
Overall, I enjoyed learning the interesting facts, but I totally got shafted. Two reasons, one- I guessed the number farthest away from Dr. Long’s number so I didn’t get to pick which excursion I blogged on. It seems to happen like this for me in most of Dr. Long’s classes. I must learn how to become better at guessing numbers. While others talked about castles, parliament and cathedrals I get to talk about an old apartment. Second reason, Gladstone’s Land is interesting but definitely not comparable to any of the other excursions.
July 1-Cierra Sauls
Today was a bit more relaxed than most days. We had class at 11:00a.m. instead of 9:00a.m., which was great because it gave me some time to add some more information to my travel brochure that is due Thursday. After class Colin, Amanda, Dr. Long, and I went to the Surgeon’s Hall Museum. It was definitely way more than what I was expecting! There were statues, surgical instruments, and documents all relating to history and uprising of surgical procedures in Scotland.
When I walked in the first display I saw was of King James IV. Turns out that he stands apart from other Scottish Kings because he actually practiced surgery, which was not noted in our books that we read for class so I found that interesting. Gilbert Primrose, a prestigious surgeon that in fact was appointed as King James VI’s surgeon, aided to in the murder of Queen Mary’s secretary Riccio. As if Queen Mary is not controversial enough, I got gossip from a museum on a suspect in a murder! During the rise of surgical practices professors needed a way to teach their students how to perform certain procedures, but the laws of church did not allow them to have cadavers (dead bodies) in the classroom. But in order for the students to have a full understanding cadavers were necessary, so what they did was have the cadaver on a table that could rotate and whenever someone of the church was coming in the school or class the professor would flip the table over and it would be as if nothing was ever there! When Dr. Long explained that to me I first thought of how grateful I am to have the opportunities I have in the classroom, but then I wondered how much further would medicine and surgical practices be today had the church not held them back.
The first level of the museum went in chronological order by years and as each surgeon began to do new and different types of surgery. The lower level had many preserved skulls, muscles, blood vessels, hearts and aortas. I saw some feet in separate jars that showed the effects of gangrene, it was not pretty. Long was actually getting grossed out! They also had a big slap of human skin in a container, the skin had a large tattoo on it and it looked like a tattoo that you would see on anybody alive today. It wasn’t even wrinkled, it look un-aged. On the top level there were modern surgical practices and I was able to do a “practice surgery”. There was thin forceps forced inside a thick layer of synthetic skin and there was also a long tube inside the skin that had a little camera at the end that showed exactly what was happening on a screen above me. I used the forceps to pick up sugar cubes and lifesavers, by looking at the screen to know my direction. The task was not easy to accomplish because I had to do things backwards. I enjoyed my visit to the museum; it as well as other museums we have seen in Scotland and France have sparked my curiosity in museums. I plan to visit some of the museums in my hometown of Wichita, Ks when I return to the states because we have so many and I think I have only been to three of them. There is such an appreciation that comes from the presence of a museum that is not felt when you hear or learn about the certain topics in the classroom, on the television, or even in a book. Museums can bring it all to life.
When I walked in the first display I saw was of King James IV. Turns out that he stands apart from other Scottish Kings because he actually practiced surgery, which was not noted in our books that we read for class so I found that interesting. Gilbert Primrose, a prestigious surgeon that in fact was appointed as King James VI’s surgeon, aided to in the murder of Queen Mary’s secretary Riccio. As if Queen Mary is not controversial enough, I got gossip from a museum on a suspect in a murder! During the rise of surgical practices professors needed a way to teach their students how to perform certain procedures, but the laws of church did not allow them to have cadavers (dead bodies) in the classroom. But in order for the students to have a full understanding cadavers were necessary, so what they did was have the cadaver on a table that could rotate and whenever someone of the church was coming in the school or class the professor would flip the table over and it would be as if nothing was ever there! When Dr. Long explained that to me I first thought of how grateful I am to have the opportunities I have in the classroom, but then I wondered how much further would medicine and surgical practices be today had the church not held them back.
The first level of the museum went in chronological order by years and as each surgeon began to do new and different types of surgery. The lower level had many preserved skulls, muscles, blood vessels, hearts and aortas. I saw some feet in separate jars that showed the effects of gangrene, it was not pretty. Long was actually getting grossed out! They also had a big slap of human skin in a container, the skin had a large tattoo on it and it looked like a tattoo that you would see on anybody alive today. It wasn’t even wrinkled, it look un-aged. On the top level there were modern surgical practices and I was able to do a “practice surgery”. There was thin forceps forced inside a thick layer of synthetic skin and there was also a long tube inside the skin that had a little camera at the end that showed exactly what was happening on a screen above me. I used the forceps to pick up sugar cubes and lifesavers, by looking at the screen to know my direction. The task was not easy to accomplish because I had to do things backwards. I enjoyed my visit to the museum; it as well as other museums we have seen in Scotland and France have sparked my curiosity in museums. I plan to visit some of the museums in my hometown of Wichita, Ks when I return to the states because we have so many and I think I have only been to three of them. There is such an appreciation that comes from the presence of a museum that is not felt when you hear or learn about the certain topics in the classroom, on the television, or even in a book. Museums can bring it all to life.
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
July 1-Alicia Smith
Today was another great day in the city of Edinburgh! It was especially pleasant being able to sleep in a little later since our class was pushed back two hours. (whoop whoop!) Last night we had our second group dinner at Monster Mash located in old town. The Monster Mash is a retro café with a traditional British Menu. I, along with quite a few others in the group, got the macaroni cheese pie with tomatoes and chips. Others seemed to branch out a little more by trying things such as the Shepard’s pie, sausage, and haggis. Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish that involves intestines. I haven’t been able to bring myself to try it but I hear it is quite good. Moose sure looked like he enjoyed his because he left none behind. Half way through our meals we were feeling quite stuffed but since we had pre-paid for this meal before the trip we got dessert as well, we kept pushing through, all the way through dessert! Although I was feeling a little sick in the stomach from shoving down too much food, it was totally delicious and worth all that hard work.
During class, Dr. Long gave us three options to choose from as one of our excursions for the day. We could either go to a lecture on Rousseau and Hume, a museum on the origins of surgery, or hike up Arthur’s seat! I had been wanting to hike up Arthur’s seat ever since I saw it from parliament, and all of that eating from night before gave me that little extra oomph I needed to venture off on a scenic, yet strenuous hike. Michelle, Xuan, and Kat joined me as well. Arthur’s seat is located about a mile east of the Edinburgh Castle. Arthur’s seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park. The hill rises above the city to a height of 251 m (823.5 feet). The seat was formed by a glacier moving west to east about 2 million years ago. Many claim that its name is a derivation of a myriad of legends pertaining to King Arthur. Anywho, the four of us decided to conquer this seat! We didn’t want to take the easy way out so we took the path that looked the steepest and literally “Spidermaned” our way up the side. Half way up I looked down and immediately regretted this decision. We made it up however and decided to keep pressing forward. As we continued hiking and enjoying the beautiful scenery, we noticed that our path was starting to take us back down. As we continued walking we realized that our hike had not even begun and that we hadn’t even hit the bottom of the real Arthur’s seat. About 20 minutes or so later we made it up to the top! Although it was cloudy and then eventually rained on us, we were all feeling good about the mission that we came to conquer. Looking out on the city of Edinburgh made me think about all of the fun and interesting things that I have done on this study abroad trip so far. It was a nice way to say goodbye to a beautiful city that I will be leaving in two days. Although I will be sad to leave this city that has already felt like a new home, I am happy to have spent my first two weeks here and am looking forward to the next two weeks that lie ahead.
During class, Dr. Long gave us three options to choose from as one of our excursions for the day. We could either go to a lecture on Rousseau and Hume, a museum on the origins of surgery, or hike up Arthur’s seat! I had been wanting to hike up Arthur’s seat ever since I saw it from parliament, and all of that eating from night before gave me that little extra oomph I needed to venture off on a scenic, yet strenuous hike. Michelle, Xuan, and Kat joined me as well. Arthur’s seat is located about a mile east of the Edinburgh Castle. Arthur’s seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park. The hill rises above the city to a height of 251 m (823.5 feet). The seat was formed by a glacier moving west to east about 2 million years ago. Many claim that its name is a derivation of a myriad of legends pertaining to King Arthur. Anywho, the four of us decided to conquer this seat! We didn’t want to take the easy way out so we took the path that looked the steepest and literally “Spidermaned” our way up the side. Half way up I looked down and immediately regretted this decision. We made it up however and decided to keep pressing forward. As we continued hiking and enjoying the beautiful scenery, we noticed that our path was starting to take us back down. As we continued walking we realized that our hike had not even begun and that we hadn’t even hit the bottom of the real Arthur’s seat. About 20 minutes or so later we made it up to the top! Although it was cloudy and then eventually rained on us, we were all feeling good about the mission that we came to conquer. Looking out on the city of Edinburgh made me think about all of the fun and interesting things that I have done on this study abroad trip so far. It was a nice way to say goodbye to a beautiful city that I will be leaving in two days. Although I will be sad to leave this city that has already felt like a new home, I am happy to have spent my first two weeks here and am looking forward to the next two weeks that lie ahead.
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
June 30-Jennifer Lemons Again!
Today we went to the National Portrait Gallery of Scotland. It definitely was an interesting adventure since I was given invalid directions, (Editor's Note: Fine, I said right when I should have said left, but, come on, my first mistaken directions in two weeks!) but we made it to the museum just to find out the exhibit was moved to another gallery. I think lady luck must have fallen asleep. So we trekked it to the other place and ended up with free entrance into their rotating exhibition. The exhibit was of drawings and was purely awe inspiring. It consisted of sketches of some of the most famous painters and printers, including masters such as Renoir, Raphael, Van Gogh and Monet. When looking at a piece of art it is always nice to see where it started and the process by which it came to be and that is what these rough sketches showed. Sketches? They were masterpieces in their own right.
The tour itself gave a great deal of understanding in how to look at art especially for those whom are not art enthusiast. The tour guide did a great job of keeping us involved in talking about very influential artwork such as a piece by Titian. I enjoyed every minute of the gallery tour and stayed beyond the tour to see the rest of the exhibit. I had to revel in the presence of Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and Degas. It seemed surreal to be able to see firsthand the greatest influences in art; the masters to which I gain inspiration for my own work. I wished others would have stayed longer to see the rest of the museum. The most interesting part of the gallery was the Scottish artist collection; a demonstration of art that seems to be overlooked in the classroom unfortunately.
Arguably, I think the National Gallery of Scotland is more enjoyable to see than the Louvre. Their collection is not as extensive, but with the old furniture and tables, it was if you stepped into someone’s home to see the work of art removing the barrier that a traditional gallery poses. This was my favorite thing we have done so far. We got to get up close and personal with the works of art that came out of the Renaissance and Enlightenment of Scotland. It wasn’t just about writers and philosophers or doctors and politicians. Art was a step out of political and religious control. The Scottish art that we saw was more about the people and it tapped more into the Nationalistic views of Wallace. It gave the common people something to relate to unlike the Italian artist who only painted complexed Greek mythology for the learned. The art of Scotland I think was more advanced for its time, drawing from the past to create a better future. It was art for the people and I think that is what I loved.
The tour itself gave a great deal of understanding in how to look at art especially for those whom are not art enthusiast. The tour guide did a great job of keeping us involved in talking about very influential artwork such as a piece by Titian. I enjoyed every minute of the gallery tour and stayed beyond the tour to see the rest of the exhibit. I had to revel in the presence of Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and Degas. It seemed surreal to be able to see firsthand the greatest influences in art; the masters to which I gain inspiration for my own work. I wished others would have stayed longer to see the rest of the museum. The most interesting part of the gallery was the Scottish artist collection; a demonstration of art that seems to be overlooked in the classroom unfortunately.
Arguably, I think the National Gallery of Scotland is more enjoyable to see than the Louvre. Their collection is not as extensive, but with the old furniture and tables, it was if you stepped into someone’s home to see the work of art removing the barrier that a traditional gallery poses. This was my favorite thing we have done so far. We got to get up close and personal with the works of art that came out of the Renaissance and Enlightenment of Scotland. It wasn’t just about writers and philosophers or doctors and politicians. Art was a step out of political and religious control. The Scottish art that we saw was more about the people and it tapped more into the Nationalistic views of Wallace. It gave the common people something to relate to unlike the Italian artist who only painted complexed Greek mythology for the learned. The art of Scotland I think was more advanced for its time, drawing from the past to create a better future. It was art for the people and I think that is what I loved.
Monday, 29 June 2009
June 26-29: Jennifer Lemons
Paris and St. Andrews
I went to Paris this weekend with three other people. Paris will forever be a memorable trip because of its wonders and disappointments. My ending impression of the city is that it is dirty, tagged everywhere, very expensive (5 dollars for a little bottle of water) and there are some very rude French people; a lot actually. Cierra even got cussed out in French by some dude on the metro that ran into her. The touristic view was breathtaking with all its wondrous monuments, but we saw the real Paris. I think that behind the Hollywood glamour, a city is just a city. My painted view of what I hoped Paris to be was destroyed by a beautiful reality. The mix of cultures and people seemed to be the most beautiful thing of all; it is true when they say the city is colorblind. Yet, politics spend more time romanticizing the city center and leave the rest in ruins and dirty. When traveling, go with no presumptions so that you can truly enjoy the cultural experience with no disappointments.
Saturday was worst day and a waste of time and energy, we picked a friend from the airport and went to enjoy a relaxing cruise on the Seine river, but we got played and when the cruise was over it was discovered that our friend had her wallet stolen. The rest of the day was spent trying to get home and canceling cards. I never thought I would say this, but McDonalds saved our life two days in a row. Hungry and hating Paris, I got me a Big Mac with fries and a coke. Comfort food!! It is amazing how when you are outside your comfort zone and scared the first thing you do is find something that brings you back to home. Even though I never eat there, it was refreshing to get it. That’s what McDonalds did for me (twice) even though ordering sucked because I couldn’t speak a lick of French. All I wanted to do was go home, back to familiar ground. I couldn’t wait to have some fish and chips and a pint of Strongbow. At least Paris believes in ice.
Today my friend Janis took a few of us to Saint Andrews which about a 45 minute drive from Edinburgh. Saint Andrews is the birthplace of a world renowned golf course and the first university in Scotland. The University of St. Andrews was built in 1411 and is the third university in the English speaking world. We walked the grounds of the old basilica surrounded by thousands of graves. The oldest one I saw was from the early 15th century and even found a couple headstones with crossbones and skull, maybe they were pirates. I discovered how Scotland got the Saltire as their national flag which was first hoisted in 1512. St. Andrew was crucified on a cross that was turned on its side resembling the white X on the royal blue flag.
Even though we got lost (like a blind cat trying to find his kitty litter), misguided, and money was stolen, Paris was the best learning experience of my life. Personally, it amazes me how God will turn things around for good, what seemed to be a disastrous weekend ended up as a great adventure.
I went to Paris this weekend with three other people. Paris will forever be a memorable trip because of its wonders and disappointments. My ending impression of the city is that it is dirty, tagged everywhere, very expensive (5 dollars for a little bottle of water) and there are some very rude French people; a lot actually. Cierra even got cussed out in French by some dude on the metro that ran into her. The touristic view was breathtaking with all its wondrous monuments, but we saw the real Paris. I think that behind the Hollywood glamour, a city is just a city. My painted view of what I hoped Paris to be was destroyed by a beautiful reality. The mix of cultures and people seemed to be the most beautiful thing of all; it is true when they say the city is colorblind. Yet, politics spend more time romanticizing the city center and leave the rest in ruins and dirty. When traveling, go with no presumptions so that you can truly enjoy the cultural experience with no disappointments.
Saturday was worst day and a waste of time and energy, we picked a friend from the airport and went to enjoy a relaxing cruise on the Seine river, but we got played and when the cruise was over it was discovered that our friend had her wallet stolen. The rest of the day was spent trying to get home and canceling cards. I never thought I would say this, but McDonalds saved our life two days in a row. Hungry and hating Paris, I got me a Big Mac with fries and a coke. Comfort food!! It is amazing how when you are outside your comfort zone and scared the first thing you do is find something that brings you back to home. Even though I never eat there, it was refreshing to get it. That’s what McDonalds did for me (twice) even though ordering sucked because I couldn’t speak a lick of French. All I wanted to do was go home, back to familiar ground. I couldn’t wait to have some fish and chips and a pint of Strongbow. At least Paris believes in ice.
Today my friend Janis took a few of us to Saint Andrews which about a 45 minute drive from Edinburgh. Saint Andrews is the birthplace of a world renowned golf course and the first university in Scotland. The University of St. Andrews was built in 1411 and is the third university in the English speaking world. We walked the grounds of the old basilica surrounded by thousands of graves. The oldest one I saw was from the early 15th century and even found a couple headstones with crossbones and skull, maybe they were pirates. I discovered how Scotland got the Saltire as their national flag which was first hoisted in 1512. St. Andrew was crucified on a cross that was turned on its side resembling the white X on the royal blue flag.
Even though we got lost (like a blind cat trying to find his kitty litter), misguided, and money was stolen, Paris was the best learning experience of my life. Personally, it amazes me how God will turn things around for good, what seemed to be a disastrous weekend ended up as a great adventure.
Friday, 26 June 2009
Dr. Long, Checking In...
Hi All. This weekend marks the first of two opportunities for our students to travel independently--many left today, on to Paris, or Alnwick Castle for a Harry Potter party, or sticking around Edinburgh to soak up more of what it has to offer.
We'll have a new post on Tuesday morning, no doubt filled with adventure.
We'll have a new post on Tuesday morning, no doubt filled with adventure.
June 25-Kat DeWeese
I began the day wondering what the specifics were from the night before; a group of six of us went out and truly experienced the culture here, drinking. We went to many different pubs last night and actually got a lot of drinks bought for us, even our one guy did! Class came way to early this morning and lasted for three hours today. After class we all took long naps in our beds with fresh linens, amazing! This evening Dr. Long treated the winning scavenger hunt to dinner at a place right in our neighborhood called the Orchard. Everything was fresh and local and very good.
After dinner we made our way to the Grass Market bar district for the Pub Tour. This happened to be where we were last night so we were hoping we did not run into to anyone who remembered us! Once there we went up stairs, because everything here is up 4 flights of stairs or a mile up hill to meet with our tour guides. They were both actors and quite charming. As we sat in this room and drank our half pints they gave us some background of the bar’s name and filled us in with who they would be talking about. We walked from pub to pub in both old town and new town hearing these great stories being told by some even better entertainers. They really made the stories come to life about Robert Burns, Walter Scott, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and many other famous Scottish writers and philosophers.
Walter Scott has a huge monument in the middle of the center of down town because he gave Scotland a lot of pride through his many poems and novels. When he started writing his novels he did not use his name because he did not care about the fame. This goes along with the Scottish culture because they are known to be very humble people. He also apparently loved to drink and be out at night just like all the other writers. It is said that the pubs were major inspiration for them. Another main part of the tour was describing the good and bad sides of Edinburgh that have always caused some turmoil for the city. It seems like almost every story we have heard or read about has involved the person having 2 very clear sides. This also goes along with the personality part of this course that we are learning about.
Since being here we have already done and tried so many things. Dr. Long luckily wants us to be independent and venture out on our own. That makes it so much more of a learning experience. So far my favorite thing here ha been the chips (fries) with brown sauce on them that you can get in a little cone to walk around with. The food is so great and fresh here that anytime you order and you are not sure what you just ordered you still know it has to be good. They love their cider beers here too which are amazing! What is better than spiked apple juice?! Today Alicia and I are making our way to Paris; we have no plans and no maps, just backpacks. I can not believe I’m getting this opportunity and hope to take full advantage of it. Who knows what awaits us around the next corner in this trip.
After dinner we made our way to the Grass Market bar district for the Pub Tour. This happened to be where we were last night so we were hoping we did not run into to anyone who remembered us! Once there we went up stairs, because everything here is up 4 flights of stairs or a mile up hill to meet with our tour guides. They were both actors and quite charming. As we sat in this room and drank our half pints they gave us some background of the bar’s name and filled us in with who they would be talking about. We walked from pub to pub in both old town and new town hearing these great stories being told by some even better entertainers. They really made the stories come to life about Robert Burns, Walter Scott, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and many other famous Scottish writers and philosophers.
Walter Scott has a huge monument in the middle of the center of down town because he gave Scotland a lot of pride through his many poems and novels. When he started writing his novels he did not use his name because he did not care about the fame. This goes along with the Scottish culture because they are known to be very humble people. He also apparently loved to drink and be out at night just like all the other writers. It is said that the pubs were major inspiration for them. Another main part of the tour was describing the good and bad sides of Edinburgh that have always caused some turmoil for the city. It seems like almost every story we have heard or read about has involved the person having 2 very clear sides. This also goes along with the personality part of this course that we are learning about.
Since being here we have already done and tried so many things. Dr. Long luckily wants us to be independent and venture out on our own. That makes it so much more of a learning experience. So far my favorite thing here ha been the chips (fries) with brown sauce on them that you can get in a little cone to walk around with. The food is so great and fresh here that anytime you order and you are not sure what you just ordered you still know it has to be good. They love their cider beers here too which are amazing! What is better than spiked apple juice?! Today Alicia and I are making our way to Paris; we have no plans and no maps, just backpacks. I can not believe I’m getting this opportunity and hope to take full advantage of it. Who knows what awaits us around the next corner in this trip.
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
June 23-Raquel Rodriguez
I woke up with the sound of my alarm clock at 6:00 am but I was so tired that I decided to sleep for five more minutes and they turned into 2.5 hours! I jumped out of bed and hurried to my nine o’clock class. This is our 6th day in Scotland and I can tell that everyone in the group is so tired but still excited for being here.
We reviewed our time line and had a little exam review, which by the way the story of the royalty of Scotland would make a good Jerry Springer show. We talked about the differences of the Episcopal and Presbyterian Churches. The Episcopal is comparable with the Catholic Church however is not in line with the Pope. The monarchy elected the ministers, whereas the Presbyterian Church was elected by the people and for the people.
We also talked about Henry, James I son whom died young, just because he wanted to take a swim in the Thames River. Sad he lost the chance to be King L Instead his brother Charles I whom was not raised to be a King was crowned, becoming King of Scotland and England, like his father. Ironically, he only visited Scotland one time, since he lived in England.
On our visit to St. Giles church we learned about Geddes, the lady whom throw a chair protesting because Charles I wanted the Scots to once again read the Bible in Latin. The reformation kicked in, Oliver Cronwell became Lord Protector aka wanna be king, and got in 1651 Charles I beheaded. Charles II was then secretly crowned secretly by Scotland (they regretted turning Charles I to England to be killed, to late to take it back).
In class we also got to apply personality theory for some of the people we have read about like William Wallace, that matches the Adler perspective, and the one I got with Kat, David Hume, that is a mix between Adler’s and Jung theories.
After class my girls and I decided to hit the road and do some shopping, if there is one thing I love in this world other then God and my son/family it is shoes. We entered this store and automatically I felt in shoe heaven, but of course brought right down when I saw the prices. Anyway we needed to hurry the class trip of the day was going to be in the second most visited place in Scotland, the Edinburgh Castle.
When I entered this castle my mouth dropped, the view and just the grandeur of the place was breathtaking. I decided to take the audio tour rather than the group tour with our group. I have been reading about Scottish history for the past 5 days but the audio tour gave me a different insight, of course there was all I have read but I want to share with you guys some of the info that was not on the text books like:
Castle Rock was formed by volcanic explosions
The castle has the only pet cemetery (for only police dogs) in Scotland
People believe that there was people in that castle since the late Bronze Age (900 BC)
Of course Romance, that love story that we imagine when we think about castles with the exception that in real life they actually die. This was the home of Malcolm III known as Big Head. He married Princess Margaret whom was hiding in Scotland with her brother. She falls in love so much with her husband that when he was killed she died three days later in so much pain for the lost of the loved one.
There were so many more cool things to learn like about the stone of destiny (Scotland’s coronation stone) and that here is where MQOS (Dr. Long lets us abbreviate Mary, Queen of Scots for our exams) gave birth to James VI. (In the royal palace within the castle) that I can’t write all (even when I am dying to ;) it is an interesting place to visit.
We reviewed our time line and had a little exam review, which by the way the story of the royalty of Scotland would make a good Jerry Springer show. We talked about the differences of the Episcopal and Presbyterian Churches. The Episcopal is comparable with the Catholic Church however is not in line with the Pope. The monarchy elected the ministers, whereas the Presbyterian Church was elected by the people and for the people.
We also talked about Henry, James I son whom died young, just because he wanted to take a swim in the Thames River. Sad he lost the chance to be King L Instead his brother Charles I whom was not raised to be a King was crowned, becoming King of Scotland and England, like his father. Ironically, he only visited Scotland one time, since he lived in England.
On our visit to St. Giles church we learned about Geddes, the lady whom throw a chair protesting because Charles I wanted the Scots to once again read the Bible in Latin. The reformation kicked in, Oliver Cronwell became Lord Protector aka wanna be king, and got in 1651 Charles I beheaded. Charles II was then secretly crowned secretly by Scotland (they regretted turning Charles I to England to be killed, to late to take it back).
In class we also got to apply personality theory for some of the people we have read about like William Wallace, that matches the Adler perspective, and the one I got with Kat, David Hume, that is a mix between Adler’s and Jung theories.
After class my girls and I decided to hit the road and do some shopping, if there is one thing I love in this world other then God and my son/family it is shoes. We entered this store and automatically I felt in shoe heaven, but of course brought right down when I saw the prices. Anyway we needed to hurry the class trip of the day was going to be in the second most visited place in Scotland, the Edinburgh Castle.
When I entered this castle my mouth dropped, the view and just the grandeur of the place was breathtaking. I decided to take the audio tour rather than the group tour with our group. I have been reading about Scottish history for the past 5 days but the audio tour gave me a different insight, of course there was all I have read but I want to share with you guys some of the info that was not on the text books like:
Castle Rock was formed by volcanic explosions
The castle has the only pet cemetery (for only police dogs) in Scotland
People believe that there was people in that castle since the late Bronze Age (900 BC)
Of course Romance, that love story that we imagine when we think about castles with the exception that in real life they actually die. This was the home of Malcolm III known as Big Head. He married Princess Margaret whom was hiding in Scotland with her brother. She falls in love so much with her husband that when he was killed she died three days later in so much pain for the lost of the loved one.
There were so many more cool things to learn like about the stone of destiny (Scotland’s coronation stone) and that here is where MQOS (Dr. Long lets us abbreviate Mary, Queen of Scots for our exams) gave birth to James VI. (In the royal palace within the castle) that I can’t write all (even when I am dying to ;) it is an interesting place to visit.
Monday, 22 June 2009
June 22-Colin Davis
Today we went to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. This morning we had lecture and one of the things I learned was that King Henry VIII was “crazier than a s*$@- house rat.” This came up because we were discussing the fact that basically two generations of the royal Stewart family in Scotland were angry and did not want to be on nice terms with Henry VIII. James IV of the Stewart’s died in the battle of Flodden Field and for some odd reason James’ body was given to Henry and no one knows what happened to the body. After that event everything with the royal family just hit the fan.
After lecture we had three hours or so to eat lunch and do whatever, unfortunately I was the boring one and just took a nap but lucky for me it was the most delicious mid-summers nap in Scotland that I have ever had. We had to get on the bus to go to Parliament by two o’clock and my alarm ended the nap.
Once we got to the bus stop we needed to get off at, we then hiked through town to parliament and we have been walking soooooo much that by the time we were at the Parliament building my tendons felt like steel cables. After this trip my legs will be more powerful than a work mule. When Dr. Long went in to buy our tickets she told us that our reservations had been moved back to four o’clock instead of the planned two-forty. So we all got to cruz around on the Royal Mile, which is called that because the Edinburgh castle is at one end and the Holyrood palace is at the other end, which is right across the street from the new parliament building. However, since our tour started at four and we all got to cruz around Dr. Long suggested tea. So I went with her and a few other students to have scones and tea. This tea was the BEST cup of tea that I have EVER had, and I am a tea drinker I really do love tea. After the tasty tea we trucked it back to the parliament building.
Once inside the Parliament building we promptly started the tour. Our tour guide was this little old Scottish lady that had an all purple outfit with earrings that were purple thistles and I really wanted to touch them because they looked extremely soft. We started off looking at the model of the architects design and the tour guide told us that he wanted it to look like a harbor with boats anchored in the bay. And the different boats were the offices for the ministers that vote for the laws. This new Parliament building was opened October 9th 2004. This building was a competition of the architects to see who had the best design, kind of like the competition for the design of the new ground zero area in New York. The winner of this competition was a Spanish architect named Enrich Miracles. Unfortunately a few days after the final plans for the building were approved Enrich Miracles passed away. His design was finished and has many different hidden meanings inside of every part of the building. The main lobby on the personal only side had vents that were designed in shapes and some say that the shapes look like the main land of Scotland and some say that the shape is the Queens flag that is flown only when she is in Edinburgh. I personally thought that it looked like binary code, that would be awesome if it was and typed in and it was the answer to life. Also in the same lobby the roof was raised and warped to look like leaves to symbolize how the Scottish people have grown and blossomed from the ground up. We walked around more and into the voting room and what I noticed that the fronts of the podiums for each were curved and swayed into the same design that you can find everywhere throughout the building. There was a mace, as they called it, and it was more of a saber and it was sold silver with a golden ring and carvings at one side of it. The nice old lady ended the tour in a room where the ministers of parliament propose laws and discuss them.
After the tour I walked to the bus station and took the bus up the hill because my tendons still felt like steel cables. After I got off the bus I walked down a hill with a whole bunch of shops on it and then I came to them! IT was the Edinburgh version of the Exorcist stairs. Long, dark and a single standing street at the bottom. Those stairs are so scary. I hope that I never have to walk down them but if I do I am so totally going to have been drinking so I won’t be so scared. Hopefully the adventures in Scotland won’t bring me along those stairs.
After lecture we had three hours or so to eat lunch and do whatever, unfortunately I was the boring one and just took a nap but lucky for me it was the most delicious mid-summers nap in Scotland that I have ever had. We had to get on the bus to go to Parliament by two o’clock and my alarm ended the nap.
Once we got to the bus stop we needed to get off at, we then hiked through town to parliament and we have been walking soooooo much that by the time we were at the Parliament building my tendons felt like steel cables. After this trip my legs will be more powerful than a work mule. When Dr. Long went in to buy our tickets she told us that our reservations had been moved back to four o’clock instead of the planned two-forty. So we all got to cruz around on the Royal Mile, which is called that because the Edinburgh castle is at one end and the Holyrood palace is at the other end, which is right across the street from the new parliament building. However, since our tour started at four and we all got to cruz around Dr. Long suggested tea. So I went with her and a few other students to have scones and tea. This tea was the BEST cup of tea that I have EVER had, and I am a tea drinker I really do love tea. After the tasty tea we trucked it back to the parliament building.
Once inside the Parliament building we promptly started the tour. Our tour guide was this little old Scottish lady that had an all purple outfit with earrings that were purple thistles and I really wanted to touch them because they looked extremely soft. We started off looking at the model of the architects design and the tour guide told us that he wanted it to look like a harbor with boats anchored in the bay. And the different boats were the offices for the ministers that vote for the laws. This new Parliament building was opened October 9th 2004. This building was a competition of the architects to see who had the best design, kind of like the competition for the design of the new ground zero area in New York. The winner of this competition was a Spanish architect named Enrich Miracles. Unfortunately a few days after the final plans for the building were approved Enrich Miracles passed away. His design was finished and has many different hidden meanings inside of every part of the building. The main lobby on the personal only side had vents that were designed in shapes and some say that the shapes look like the main land of Scotland and some say that the shape is the Queens flag that is flown only when she is in Edinburgh. I personally thought that it looked like binary code, that would be awesome if it was and typed in and it was the answer to life. Also in the same lobby the roof was raised and warped to look like leaves to symbolize how the Scottish people have grown and blossomed from the ground up. We walked around more and into the voting room and what I noticed that the fronts of the podiums for each were curved and swayed into the same design that you can find everywhere throughout the building. There was a mace, as they called it, and it was more of a saber and it was sold silver with a golden ring and carvings at one side of it. The nice old lady ended the tour in a room where the ministers of parliament propose laws and discuss them.
After the tour I walked to the bus station and took the bus up the hill because my tendons still felt like steel cables. After I got off the bus I walked down a hill with a whole bunch of shops on it and then I came to them! IT was the Edinburgh version of the Exorcist stairs. Long, dark and a single standing street at the bottom. Those stairs are so scary. I hope that I never have to walk down them but if I do I am so totally going to have been drinking so I won’t be so scared. Hopefully the adventures in Scotland won’t bring me along those stairs.
Sunday, June 21-Michelle Cunningham
Today we went to Stirling. At noon we hopped a train which took us to our destination. On the train I met two women, one from London and the other, her friend from Atlanta. The woman from Atlanta graduated with a business degree four years ago and was traveling with her job. She just finished her work and came to London to visit her friend. The two of them were also going to Stirling to visit the castle. Miss Atlanta shares a love, bordering fanatic, of Harry Potter with me and I was able to direct her to the birthplace of the books. Hopefully, she will visit during her stay in Scotland. As we were talking she asked if we were here for school. (She had overheard us talking about our reading assignments.) When we confirmed that her suspicions were correct, she told us that not doing a study abroad trip was the one thing she regretted in her life. She said that although she travels for her career, she wanted the opportunity to go somewhere without the pressures of everyday work on her back. Having studied abroad more than once I believe it is an opportunity that should not be missed as well.
Once we arrived in Stirling, we walked to a café where we read a little about William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, two very influential Scots who fought for freedom from English rule. Wallace was a commoner who lived in the Highlands of Scotland and was tired of the tyranny of the English. He and his group of men tried to remove the English soldiers who were in his land. They fought against them so hard that eventually his wife was killed and that set Wallace on his movement. Wallace banded together his men and fought against the English and won Stirling for Scotland. Although Wallace’s other endeavors against the English were not as successful, he remained (and still remains) a hero for the Scottish people.
Robert the Bruce, who came to be king of Scotland through less than reputable measures, enjoyed Wallace’s work. Bruce killed off the threat to his crown and had himself crowned as King of the Scots. Eventually he was recognized by the Pope and England as the King but not before the people of Scotland endorsed him, saying that if he were not still working toward a common goal for the people then he would be removed by the people.
After our reading, we walked up the hill to Stirling Castle. The view was amazing. The skyline looked like a painting with rolling hills and green fields, off in the distance to the left were some wind turbines, Stirling was spread in front of us and behind us was a the Castle that was a strategic point for control of Scotland. Stirling is a much smaller town than Edinburgh and is more of what I expected Scotland to be like, quaint, green and spread out. From the Castle, we could see the William Wallace National Monument, from the distance it looked small, it was much bigger up close. We took a guided tour of the castle that was very interesting. The buildings have been used for many things besides housing the king and queen. The military have used it as a base and now the great hall is used as a venue for different things like weddings and parties; tonight the Scotland Fashion Awards were held there.
After the tour, two of us, Xuan and myself, went over to see the Wallace Monument which is located on the opposite side of the town. We had to hike up a crazy steep hill to get there but the view from the top was breathtaking. We had full view of the town and the castle was easier to see from there. A Polish man was at the top he didn’t speak English but he understood when we asked him to take a picture of the two of us. He began to speak to us excitedly even though we could not understand him until he said, “Richard,” pointed to himself, and looked at each of us and waited. Xuan offered her name and he repeated it back, when I told him my name was Michelle he exclaimed “Michelle Obama?!” and guffawed as he gave me a thumbs up and walked over to a man I think was his son. I have been in Scotland for three days and I love the diversity here. I have met people from all over Europe and the United States and I am excited to continue to do more of the same. The history here is extremely interesting, and I learned that my family name is Scottish. What will I uncover next? =)
Once we arrived in Stirling, we walked to a café where we read a little about William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, two very influential Scots who fought for freedom from English rule. Wallace was a commoner who lived in the Highlands of Scotland and was tired of the tyranny of the English. He and his group of men tried to remove the English soldiers who were in his land. They fought against them so hard that eventually his wife was killed and that set Wallace on his movement. Wallace banded together his men and fought against the English and won Stirling for Scotland. Although Wallace’s other endeavors against the English were not as successful, he remained (and still remains) a hero for the Scottish people.
Robert the Bruce, who came to be king of Scotland through less than reputable measures, enjoyed Wallace’s work. Bruce killed off the threat to his crown and had himself crowned as King of the Scots. Eventually he was recognized by the Pope and England as the King but not before the people of Scotland endorsed him, saying that if he were not still working toward a common goal for the people then he would be removed by the people.
After our reading, we walked up the hill to Stirling Castle. The view was amazing. The skyline looked like a painting with rolling hills and green fields, off in the distance to the left were some wind turbines, Stirling was spread in front of us and behind us was a the Castle that was a strategic point for control of Scotland. Stirling is a much smaller town than Edinburgh and is more of what I expected Scotland to be like, quaint, green and spread out. From the Castle, we could see the William Wallace National Monument, from the distance it looked small, it was much bigger up close. We took a guided tour of the castle that was very interesting. The buildings have been used for many things besides housing the king and queen. The military have used it as a base and now the great hall is used as a venue for different things like weddings and parties; tonight the Scotland Fashion Awards were held there.
After the tour, two of us, Xuan and myself, went over to see the Wallace Monument which is located on the opposite side of the town. We had to hike up a crazy steep hill to get there but the view from the top was breathtaking. We had full view of the town and the castle was easier to see from there. A Polish man was at the top he didn’t speak English but he understood when we asked him to take a picture of the two of us. He began to speak to us excitedly even though we could not understand him until he said, “Richard,” pointed to himself, and looked at each of us and waited. Xuan offered her name and he repeated it back, when I told him my name was Michelle he exclaimed “Michelle Obama?!” and guffawed as he gave me a thumbs up and walked over to a man I think was his son. I have been in Scotland for three days and I love the diversity here. I have met people from all over Europe and the United States and I am excited to continue to do more of the same. The history here is extremely interesting, and I learned that my family name is Scottish. What will I uncover next? =)
Sunday, 21 June 2009
Saturday, June 20-Sarah McConnell
St. Giles
This morning we got a tour of the St. Giles cathedral and it was AMAZING! Built in 1120 as a Catholic church, St. Giles cathedral survived the turbulent period of the reformation and, although most of what is there was not original, it still stands. Currently, St. Giles is a Protestant church and one of the biggest names in Scottish history, John Knox, preached in St. Giles for a long time. John Knox was largely influenced by Martin Luther and helped take Scotland away from Catholicism and toward Protestantism. In St. Giles stands a statue of Knox and it is gorgeous. The stained glass windows are all new—some built as late as 1992. One of the windows was put in in 1985, which I personally was excited about because it is the year of my birth.
The cathedral is free (or donation-only) to tour and wander around and everyone who worked there was incredibly nice. There were a few tombs inside the cathedral which was a little weird to me. Interestingly, these men had, at one point, been sentenced to death for being on the “wrong” side of the leadership. However, with Scotland’s history being as chaotic as it was, sometime after their deaths they were literally pieced together (their bodies had been cut apart and buried around the city) and placed in tombs to rest. One of the men is a beloved Scottish figure and poet/writer and to this day people bring flowers/herbs/cards to lie on his tomb. Today there were a few bouquets of flowers and a card resting on his tomb. We saw the room in which people in Scotland are knighted and each person has a commemorative plaque at a designated seat. Their plaque has an animal and that animal has a corresponding helmet. When each knight dies, their family gets the helmet. Both men and women can currently be knighted and one of their duties is to act as a “body guard” to the Queen. Our guide pointed out that this is a little silly as most people are in their seventies or eighties by the time they are knighted.
St. Giles was the patron saint of animals and around the church there are animal symbols. The pelican, for example, is often seen feeding her babies. This is to symbolize love as the pelican is apparently the best mother a creature can have.
One of the most fascinating stories to me was that of Jenny Geddes. Rumor has it that she, along with many other women, was a passionate support of John Knox (even though we’ve read that John Knox hated women) and the Protestant reformation. A new minister was reading from the Book of Common Prayer and telling the church members that they needed to read from it. Jenny got so angry about this—because she wanted to keep progressing Protestantism—that she yelled at the minister and threw her stool at him.
I asked the tour guide what happened to Jenny Geddes and she replied that she disappeared into time. Furthermore, she stated, it is unlikely that the stool on display in St. Giles is the one she threw as it is too heavy to throw, especially for a woman. Also, some people say it was not Jenny Geddes at all but gave her credit because she has a good Scottish name. The guide explained that so many of the stories are often just stories with small bits of the truth. I loved this answer because it was so realistic and true. Although it is fun to believe that some woman got so furious she chucked a stool at the minister, it is also realistically unlikely that it was that dramatic.
I’m planning on attending services at St. Giles tomorrow morning before we head to Stirling which I hope will be incredible.
Overall, St. Giles was amazing and I loved it!
This morning we got a tour of the St. Giles cathedral and it was AMAZING! Built in 1120 as a Catholic church, St. Giles cathedral survived the turbulent period of the reformation and, although most of what is there was not original, it still stands. Currently, St. Giles is a Protestant church and one of the biggest names in Scottish history, John Knox, preached in St. Giles for a long time. John Knox was largely influenced by Martin Luther and helped take Scotland away from Catholicism and toward Protestantism. In St. Giles stands a statue of Knox and it is gorgeous. The stained glass windows are all new—some built as late as 1992. One of the windows was put in in 1985, which I personally was excited about because it is the year of my birth.
The cathedral is free (or donation-only) to tour and wander around and everyone who worked there was incredibly nice. There were a few tombs inside the cathedral which was a little weird to me. Interestingly, these men had, at one point, been sentenced to death for being on the “wrong” side of the leadership. However, with Scotland’s history being as chaotic as it was, sometime after their deaths they were literally pieced together (their bodies had been cut apart and buried around the city) and placed in tombs to rest. One of the men is a beloved Scottish figure and poet/writer and to this day people bring flowers/herbs/cards to lie on his tomb. Today there were a few bouquets of flowers and a card resting on his tomb. We saw the room in which people in Scotland are knighted and each person has a commemorative plaque at a designated seat. Their plaque has an animal and that animal has a corresponding helmet. When each knight dies, their family gets the helmet. Both men and women can currently be knighted and one of their duties is to act as a “body guard” to the Queen. Our guide pointed out that this is a little silly as most people are in their seventies or eighties by the time they are knighted.
St. Giles was the patron saint of animals and around the church there are animal symbols. The pelican, for example, is often seen feeding her babies. This is to symbolize love as the pelican is apparently the best mother a creature can have.
One of the most fascinating stories to me was that of Jenny Geddes. Rumor has it that she, along with many other women, was a passionate support of John Knox (even though we’ve read that John Knox hated women) and the Protestant reformation. A new minister was reading from the Book of Common Prayer and telling the church members that they needed to read from it. Jenny got so angry about this—because she wanted to keep progressing Protestantism—that she yelled at the minister and threw her stool at him.
I asked the tour guide what happened to Jenny Geddes and she replied that she disappeared into time. Furthermore, she stated, it is unlikely that the stool on display in St. Giles is the one she threw as it is too heavy to throw, especially for a woman. Also, some people say it was not Jenny Geddes at all but gave her credit because she has a good Scottish name. The guide explained that so many of the stories are often just stories with small bits of the truth. I loved this answer because it was so realistic and true. Although it is fun to believe that some woman got so furious she chucked a stool at the minister, it is also realistically unlikely that it was that dramatic.
I’m planning on attending services at St. Giles tomorrow morning before we head to Stirling which I hope will be incredible.
Overall, St. Giles was amazing and I loved it!
Friday, June 19-Tamara Stimatze
We arrived in Edinburgh yesterday, exhausted. Today is the first day we can mildly function, so Dr. Long planned a photo scavenger hunt. For the record, I’d just like to mention that I hate scavenger hunts.
After dividing into three teams we split up and headed to three different areas of Edinburgh. My group began in “New Town” which is also the area in which we are staying as a group. We began searching for our locations. First was the Royal Botanical Gardens. They were around the corner from our house, easy to find, and beautiful! Unfortunately, we had no time to stay, so we began seeking our other two locations out. The other two were harder to find, so we hopped a bus and headed to “Old Town.” Here we found Edinburgh castle, which I cannot wait to tour, and a famous pub dedicated to a woman who survived being hung. My group then found two historical monuments, visited the Princes Street Gardens, then caught another bus and headed back to the housing, hoping we hadn’t missed the deadline. We arrived on time, but, unfortunately, did not win. As stated before, I don’t particularly like scavenger hunts, so I was only mildly disappointed.
Editor’s Note: This group found five of the required sites and subsequently learned the value of not waiting for the bus and just walking; the other groups found 13 and 16 sites, I’m just saying….
The scavenger hunt was good because it was an activity that I never would have done on my own and it helped us to get to know the city we’ll be staying in for two weeks. The scavenger hunt also provided support for our class as I spent time with students I didn’t know very well and visited a few places I’d read about only a few hours earlier in textbooks for the class! The castle and royalty were discussed in the reading and also executions were discussed in the reading. What’s really amazing is that I’d read a not-so-exciting history book about a man being hung in Edinburgh in 1697 and hours later was standing in the same place he was executed in.
In our wander around New Town with my scavenger hunt mates we found some great places. First we found a store with everything we still needed. We stumbled into this tiny amazing pub afterwards. Great place! I ordered an Irn Bru and vodka while others had beer. It was an amazing experience. Afterwards, we chatted with some locals in the pub and in an Italian restaurant which we’d dined at before returning home for the night. This town is great! The stores are great. The people are great.
After dividing into three teams we split up and headed to three different areas of Edinburgh. My group began in “New Town” which is also the area in which we are staying as a group. We began searching for our locations. First was the Royal Botanical Gardens. They were around the corner from our house, easy to find, and beautiful! Unfortunately, we had no time to stay, so we began seeking our other two locations out. The other two were harder to find, so we hopped a bus and headed to “Old Town.” Here we found Edinburgh castle, which I cannot wait to tour, and a famous pub dedicated to a woman who survived being hung. My group then found two historical monuments, visited the Princes Street Gardens, then caught another bus and headed back to the housing, hoping we hadn’t missed the deadline. We arrived on time, but, unfortunately, did not win. As stated before, I don’t particularly like scavenger hunts, so I was only mildly disappointed.
Editor’s Note: This group found five of the required sites and subsequently learned the value of not waiting for the bus and just walking; the other groups found 13 and 16 sites, I’m just saying….
The scavenger hunt was good because it was an activity that I never would have done on my own and it helped us to get to know the city we’ll be staying in for two weeks. The scavenger hunt also provided support for our class as I spent time with students I didn’t know very well and visited a few places I’d read about only a few hours earlier in textbooks for the class! The castle and royalty were discussed in the reading and also executions were discussed in the reading. What’s really amazing is that I’d read a not-so-exciting history book about a man being hung in Edinburgh in 1697 and hours later was standing in the same place he was executed in.
In our wander around New Town with my scavenger hunt mates we found some great places. First we found a store with everything we still needed. We stumbled into this tiny amazing pub afterwards. Great place! I ordered an Irn Bru and vodka while others had beer. It was an amazing experience. Afterwards, we chatted with some locals in the pub and in an Italian restaurant which we’d dined at before returning home for the night. This town is great! The stores are great. The people are great.
Friday, 19 June 2009
Day One and Two
We arrived in Edinburgh yesterday morning to sunshine. In fact, most of the students have remarked on what it is like to have sunshine about 18 hours a day. Very nice, they say.
We spent our first morning getting our bus passes and checking into our beautiful accommodation, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Gardens. From there, we had our first group lunch at "The Elephant House," a cafe on George IVth bridge just off The Royal Mile. This is where J.K. Rowling wrote much of the early Harry Potter books.
Several students tried their first can of Irn Bru or their first serve of Shepherd's Pie. There is still much delight and novely to the Scottish accent. Two have decided to move here someday, and most have discovered a local Italian eatery with "the best Italian food I've ever had." They've eaten there twice already:)
Today, we had class in the morning, (an introduction to the study of personality and the idea of mental mapping) and are spending our afternoon on a team photo scavenger hunt to learn the layout of the city.
Below is the hunt. The students have three hours. Think they can do it?
Edinburgh Scavenger Hunt
“Want a monument to the Scots? Look around you.” Arthur Herman, author of How the Scots Invented the Modern World
Rules: You can use your feet or a bus, but not a taxi. Photos must be taken of the entire group, so you will likely have to ask someone to take your group photo. You can utilize people along the way to get directions, but not technology.
I’ve divided the clues into the New Town, In-Between and Old Town areas. Each team will go to all three areas, but will start your hunt in the section corresponding to your team name. You have until 5:15 p.m. to get all the pictures taken and questions answered. You’ll likely need to be on the bus to return home by 4:50 p.m. (16:50 on the 24-hour clock system utilized in Edinburgh.)
New Town
1. Take a picture of your group INSIDE the Botanical Gardens
2. Take a picture of your group in front of the Old Entrance to Stockbridge Market; what does it say below “Stockbridge Market” on this entrance?
3. Take a picture of your group on the entrance to the Dean Bridge on Queensferry Road
In Between
4. There is a monument to Lord Nelson on Calton Hill. Take a group photo in front of this monument and record what is written on the plaque on the monument here:
5. Take a picture of your group in front of the monument to David Hume
6. There is a floral clock in the Prince’s Street gardens; take a picture of the clock, but not your group in front of the clock
7. There are six monuments in the Princes Street gardens: Take a photograph of three and name the person to whom the monument was erected:
Old Town
8. There are two castles/palaces and at least two separate museums on the Royal Mile—take a group photo in front of each and name the two museums you find
9. Find Maggie Dicksons in the Grassmarket and take a picture of the sign; no group needed in this shot
10. Take a picture of your group’s feet standing on the Heart of Midlothian. There is a book by the same name, and a monument to its author in New Town. Take a photo of your group in front of this monument on your way home.
11. Find the University of Edinburgh and wander around just a bit. Take a picture of Teviot Row House once you’re there; this is the first student union in existence.
Finished! Head back to find Dr. Long in the Moinet Room or Room 11. Winners determined by EITHER the first to return with the hunt completed OR with the most sites discovered at 5:15 p.m. If you are later than 5:15 in arriving back, your work will be appreciated but not eligible for the prize.
Tomorrow we're in class and then touring St. Giles!
We spent our first morning getting our bus passes and checking into our beautiful accommodation, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Gardens. From there, we had our first group lunch at "The Elephant House," a cafe on George IVth bridge just off The Royal Mile. This is where J.K. Rowling wrote much of the early Harry Potter books.
Several students tried their first can of Irn Bru or their first serve of Shepherd's Pie. There is still much delight and novely to the Scottish accent. Two have decided to move here someday, and most have discovered a local Italian eatery with "the best Italian food I've ever had." They've eaten there twice already:)
Today, we had class in the morning, (an introduction to the study of personality and the idea of mental mapping) and are spending our afternoon on a team photo scavenger hunt to learn the layout of the city.
Below is the hunt. The students have three hours. Think they can do it?
Edinburgh Scavenger Hunt
“Want a monument to the Scots? Look around you.” Arthur Herman, author of How the Scots Invented the Modern World
Rules: You can use your feet or a bus, but not a taxi. Photos must be taken of the entire group, so you will likely have to ask someone to take your group photo. You can utilize people along the way to get directions, but not technology.
I’ve divided the clues into the New Town, In-Between and Old Town areas. Each team will go to all three areas, but will start your hunt in the section corresponding to your team name. You have until 5:15 p.m. to get all the pictures taken and questions answered. You’ll likely need to be on the bus to return home by 4:50 p.m. (16:50 on the 24-hour clock system utilized in Edinburgh.)
New Town
1. Take a picture of your group INSIDE the Botanical Gardens
2. Take a picture of your group in front of the Old Entrance to Stockbridge Market; what does it say below “Stockbridge Market” on this entrance?
3. Take a picture of your group on the entrance to the Dean Bridge on Queensferry Road
In Between
4. There is a monument to Lord Nelson on Calton Hill. Take a group photo in front of this monument and record what is written on the plaque on the monument here:
5. Take a picture of your group in front of the monument to David Hume
6. There is a floral clock in the Prince’s Street gardens; take a picture of the clock, but not your group in front of the clock
7. There are six monuments in the Princes Street gardens: Take a photograph of three and name the person to whom the monument was erected:
Old Town
8. There are two castles/palaces and at least two separate museums on the Royal Mile—take a group photo in front of each and name the two museums you find
9. Find Maggie Dicksons in the Grassmarket and take a picture of the sign; no group needed in this shot
10. Take a picture of your group’s feet standing on the Heart of Midlothian. There is a book by the same name, and a monument to its author in New Town. Take a photo of your group in front of this monument on your way home.
11. Find the University of Edinburgh and wander around just a bit. Take a picture of Teviot Row House once you’re there; this is the first student union in existence.
Finished! Head back to find Dr. Long in the Moinet Room or Room 11. Winners determined by EITHER the first to return with the hunt completed OR with the most sites discovered at 5:15 p.m. If you are later than 5:15 in arriving back, your work will be appreciated but not eligible for the prize.
Tomorrow we're in class and then touring St. Giles!
ESU in Edinburgh!
Our group of thirteen arrived in Edinburgh just 24 hours ago! We will be blogging, as a group, about our adventures inside and outside of the classroom through July 16, 2009. Please be sure to check in and to encourage your ESU friends to do the same!
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