I'm sorry for being a day late with my post. Today (or yesterday, rather, as it's after 12:47 a.m. on Tuesday) I had an exam-conditions essay in MB3005. Enjoy!
Scottish word of the week: Bonnie: adj. another word for beautiful.
Picture of the week:
On Saturday (10/10) I went down to Stonehaven to see the ruins of Dunnottar Castle. They were astounding.
What I've been up to - in bullet points
Monday:
- Struggling to stay awake in Safety Training. If you don't know what you're doing at this point, you don't have common sense.
- Practicing the piano
- Thoroughly enjoying performances of Mozart's Quartet K465 (dissonance) and Shostakovitch's Quartet No. 8 by the Edinburgh Quartet.
- Practicing the piano for the majority of the day
- Being forced out of the room due to the fire extinguisher being sprayed all over the flat. A thin layer of white powder was coating everything.
- Attending 4 straight hrs. of lecture.
- Practicing! (The big lesson was on Thurs.!)
- Serendipitously deciding to join the Choral Society! We're singing Poulenc's Gloria and Faure's Requiem!
- Beginning research in earnest for my essay on 12/10.
- Practicing yet more for my lesson.
- Actually having the piano lesson! It went very, very well! I'm going to learn a lot this semester.
- Having new things to practice, as I had my first piano lesson for months!
- Going to the Christian Union at night for fellowship
- Spinning around wildly in a circle at a céilidh (pronounced Keili)! It was great!
- Stonehaven! (More about this to come in the Highlight of the Week).
- Attending New Life Fellowship
- Preparing for hours upon hours for Monday's essay.
- Paying an arm and a leg for 2 x 500 mL containers of Ben & Jerry's. (No, I won't say how much it was...but it was ridiculous)
- Preparing even more for Monday's essay.
On Saturday I set my alarm for 7:50, as we were leaving at 8:15 for the train station to head South to Stonehaven. Sheepishly I turned the alarm off (which was a mistake) and ended up waking up 30 min. later to the sound of Andy's melodious voice through the mail slot of the door to our flat. After setting a world-record time for time spent changing we (Andy, Ella, Hannah and I) walked down to the station. For the majority of the train ride down to Stonehaven I attempted to sleep, as I had not yet fully woken. (And kindly had pictures taken of myself while sleeping...)
Upon arriving we made a beeline for Cafe Villa, where the Grey Earl came riding along with Duke Milk and Knight Sugar to my rescue. Following close behind was King Shortbread. Now fortified to face the day, we set out to find Dunnottar.
The castle is roughly 2.5 miles away from the town of Stonehaven. We started out heading towards the Harbor, and a little boardwalk lead to the feet of mildly steep cliffs that lead to the castle. At the base of the cliffs there was a relatively flat region (which was fit for walking), however, there were also ferns to about mid-thigh. Undeterred, Andy and I bushwacked for about 100 yards while the girls turned back to find the path. We were rewarded for our adventures with spectacular views of the harbor and town. After traveling for a bit further on the path, we realized that it didn't continue to the castle. Not wanting to bushwack any more, we found a not-so-steep region of grassy cliff (at roughly a 75 degree angle) to scale. We made it safely to the top and continued our merry way to Dunnottar. It was a scene like this that I envisioned when thinking about studying abroad in Scotland: striding along on a gray day next to the sea in a field on the way to see a castle.
Along the way there was a memorial to the soldiers from Stonehaven that gave their lives during WWII. The monument, a circle of large stone pillars, stands atop a hill facing the North Sea, and is visible for miles. On the inside of the stone ring above the columns the following inscription may be found:
"One by one death challenged them; One by one they smiled in his grim visage; And refused to be dismayed"
A stone with the names of the dead hewed into it was in the center of the monument, on which fresh bouquets were resting. It was beautiful. It was at this point that we met back up with the girls and continued our walk to Stonehaven. During the walk the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds and before we knew it, it was a beautiful afternoon.
The castle itself was incredible. Built directly on the North Sea, William Wallace and the Covanenters once walked its grounds. Today it is a shadow of its former glory, and has fallen into disrepair. Nonetheless, it was still impressive, and we spent roughly two hours wandering around the grounds.
After an uneventful walk back we set about exploring the town of Stonehaven. While there I found a briefcase at a charity shop for 4.50 pounds (!) and had my first ever deep-fried Mars bar, after which I made a living will due to the monumental increase in my risk of having a heart attack. We had dinner and got back on the train to Aberdeen; it was a wonderful day!
RANDOM SECTION OF THE WEEK: TECHNOLOGY AND THE 21st CENTURY
If one stops to think about it, the Internet is an incredible thing. During my lifetime (which only a score of years) the ability to connect to people passed from being a dream to being a reality. Just tonight I was able to talk with my cousin (for free!) over the Internet while playing our favorite board game together - Cities and Knights. Just the other day I video chatted with my Mom. I'm able to know that the Tigers lost to the Twins even though the game is taking place thousands of miles away. Distance, in a way, has become irrelevant.
Even though the internet connects us, there is something missing. Seeing someone on a video screen will never be the same as seeing them across the dinner table, and you can't hug a Facebook profile picture. Having coffee with a friend will always trump video-chatting with someone on Skype. Yet despite all of these shortcomings it's a big blessing. I'm glad to still know what's going in brother's lives and that I can share what's going on in mine, even if I'm thousands of miles away.
Anyways, that's all for now.
Cheers!
very dear john--how wonderfu to hear from you. we missed your call last night --alas-some news - we , with deb and dewey closed the cottage this afternoon. it was cold--brrr- in the cottage. no surprise as we are having november weather on october. lots of love, g and g
ReplyDeleteVery dear John,
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear that you've experienced your first ever deep-fried Mars bar. In Scotland, no less. If it had been a deep-fried DingDong I might have been tempted to partake of the offering!
I'm so enjoying your blog. You write beautifully, poignantly and whimsically. Your description of the WWII monument was really touching. I also could just picture the windswept castle and moor. (And you and your friend scrambling through the brambles.)
I am waiting to see a picture of you in a Scottish KILT!!! Is that to be your next purchase???? You would look quite dashing in a kilt. You do have quite the legs to show off, you know! Please just don't wear it high jumping. Speaking of high jumping, I hope your foot is healing well. As always, you are in my prayers.
Lots of love to you from across the big pond,
aunt patricia