The road goes on and on and on....

Hello from across the pond!

Sorry for the late update, but this last week was quite eventful - late night essay writing, concert seeing, walking in the rain, enjoying another country for a bit longer than I had hoped. Enjoy!

Scottish word of the week: Ahm: int. akin to the American word "um".

Pictures of the week:



On Inis Mor, one of the Aran Islands (west of Ireland) there was an incredible beach. Line after waves crashed up onto the beach, rushing up the sand in unison. It was a warm day, so I was compelled to take yet another swim.

















HOPE COLLEGE! Great school.
























The cliffs on the island were breathtaking. Credit for the photo goes to a nice dentist that I met who was from Ames, Iowa.
























There was a lighthouse on the highest hill on the island, and the roof was accessible.

What I've been up to - in bullet points

Monday

• Pulling my second ever all-nighter for my MB3005 essay. Even though it was finished after dawn on the day it was due, I was proud of it.
• Struggling through the rest of the day due to the fact that I hadn't slept in a very, very long time
• Heading to sleep at 8:00 (which is before my elementary school bed time) for a wondrous night of sleep
  

Tuesday

• Waking up - REFRESHED!
• Attending my one class for the day
• Killing time in the mall while waiting for a bus, only to fall prey to a salesperson (however, what I bought is very nice...)
  
• Trudging through the rain in Forvie Nature Reserve. The grasslands, dunes, ruined buildings, and coast more than made up for wet jeans.
• Enjoying a beautiful violin/piano concert
  

Wednesday

• Enduring 3 hours of lecture
• Practicing the piano
• Singing at Choral Society - only 11 days until the concert, and we are nowhere near ready...
• Experiencing a quickened heart rate while watching Hitchcock's Psycho. Brilliant film.
  

Thursday

• Enjoying a 5 hour lab!
• Practicing the piano
• Doing some homework and packing for Ireland!
  

Friday - THE BEGINNING OF THE IRISH "ADVENTURE"

• Missing lecture to be at the airport an hour and a half early. I know that it's better to be safe than sorry, but we sat in the terminal for that entire time.
• Having a positive (yes, positive) experience with RyanAir flying to Dublin
• Staying for a brief time in the Dublin Airport while waiting for the bus to Galway
• Meandering around the streets of Galway by night
  

Saturday

• Taking an early morning stroll around Galway
  
• Listening to Scheherazade while riding the ferry to the Aran Islands
• Biking up and down hills lined with old stone walls while enjoying incredible ocean views
• Gazing awestruck at the power of the ocean crashing on the cliffs below Dun Aengus
• Scaling to the very top of a lighthouse
• Parading through the streets of Galway to the pounding of Djembes

Sunday

• Traveling back to Dublin by bus
• Walking through the streets of Dublin in a pouring rainstorm, praying that a bus would not charge through the standing water on the side of the road, drenching me in the process
• Taking the Guinness Storehouse tour
• Having a poor (wait...make that abysmally poor) experience with Ryan Air
• Staying for an extended time in Dublin Airport (to be exact, 15.5 hours more than expected in fact)
• Meeting wonderful people from Finland and California
  

Monday

• Flying back to Edinburgh instead of Aberdeen
• Cramming myself into seats not designed for those who are 6'6'' on a MegaBus on the way back to Aberdeen
• Struggling through class, as sleep was lacking. It's becoming a trend - sleepless Sunday nights
• Savoring my latest culinary masterpiece - rice and beans...
• Making an extremely wise decision by going to sleep early

Tuesday

• Enjoying an abbreviated laboratory class period (30 minutes instead of 2 hours)
• Working on a personal tutorial with my new German friend - Mario
• Shopping for groceries at Lidl's
• Washing dishes while listening to Beethoven's 8th and 5th symphonies. Yes, that means that I washed dishes for about 55 minutes...
• Preparing and enjoying a meal for/with my friends in celebration of Chris' birthday
• Feasting on auditory buffet put on Daniel DelPino, a Spanish pianist. (It was supposed to be a violin/piano concert, but his violinist was stuck in Armenia. He put together an incredible hour program on short notice!)

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK: INIS MOR

Early Saturday morning we made our way to Inis Mor, one of the Aran Islands. Following a beautiful 40-minute ferry ride we (Chris and I) found the closest bike rental shop and set out to see what the island had to offer. (Fortunately, the weather was extremely cooperative. It was a 55 degree/partly sunny day with light ocean breezes.) Our first "pit stop" (I'm rather out of shape...) was at a tranquil beach. The waves lapped up to the shore in unison, and I stopped to sit for a while. Since it was nice out and I had no excuse not to, I embraced the cold waters of the Atlantic. Following my quick dip I biked to Dun Aengus, a fort that sits atop imposing ocean cliffs. I was able to lie on my stomach with my head over the edge of the cliff - it was quite a sight! After seeing Dun Aengus, I made my way to another fort (I forgot the name) which was atop a high hill. Stubbornly I lugged my bike up a rocky path, and was rewarded by a bumpy ride down. Following this I met up with Chris and we saw yet another Celtic fort, which was adjacent to a lighthouse. We were able to ascend the spiraling staircase that lead to the top of the lighthouse, and were rewarded with panoramic views of the entire island. At this point it was time to head back to the ferry. If I ever get the chance I'm going to go back in a heartbeat.

RANDOM SECTION OF THE WEEK - ON ATTITUDE

For the last four years everywhere I've gone I've had a piece of paper with me. At the beginning it was crisp and clean - now it's wrinkled, torn and dirty. It was on my bulletin board in high school, taped to the wall of the dish window at Camp Geneva, on my bulletin board in Durfee, and now is on my bulletin board in Scotland. On the paper is a quote by Charles Swindoll. It's entitled Attitude.

"The longer I live, the more I realize the importance of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is - we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.

I AM CONVINCED THAT LIFE IS 10% WHAT HAPPENS TO ME AND 90% HOW I REACT TO IT."

It is a funny thing how over time a certain quote, song, or memory acquires meaning. When I first put this quote on my bulletin board back in high school, it was rather hollow. Not in the sense that the words didn't contain substance - I had not acquired the life experiences that reveal the substance yet. It is now four years since I tacked the quote up and many dirty camper trays, difficult days in the lab, late nights as an R.A., and frustrating times in the airport later. And still, I feel that I still have yet to "make my way to the core" of this quote. The apple of life still has countless in store. Only the time will tell.

Anyways, that's all for now.

Cheers!