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.
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