A Homestay in Edinburgh

Greetings!

I returned this evening from a weekend homestay in Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh. Edinburgh is about an hour and a half south, and all students from my abroad program must complete a homestay.

I was placed with two other girls from the program studying abroad at St. Andrews, Susanna and Allison. Both were wonderful! Our host mother, Eileen, was an older woman who is a serial homestay host. Often with only a few hours of turn-around, she constantly hosts students from around the world in the summer and autumn months. She said her incentive was "to be able to cook, clean, and get to know people from around the world." Susanna and Allison are from Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, and when Eileen first greeted us at the bus we travelled on, she said, "There should be a girl from Boston, and then two from the far end..." We didn't spend too much time with Eileen, as she had her own commitments and did her own thing in the evenings, but she cooked delicious food for us, often in ENORMOUS quantities. I'm still quite full...


Much of the weekend was spent:

                                                             Sleeping in this room.

Spending time with these wonderful ladies, Allison and Susanna.

Sitting/reading by this fireplace in Eileen's home.

Exploring Edinburgh.

Enjoying some hiking in Edinburgh.

Enjoying the same hike hours later.

Almost at the end of the hike...

At the top, almost being blown away!

It was windy.

But a gorgeous view of Edinburgh! The large stone way in the far distance behind me is known as 'Arthur's Seat,' it's a gigantic hill/stone/rock that overlooks the city.  

 

The hike was arranged by one of the host mothers who brought along the group of twentyish students. We began in the center of Edinburgh and ended up overlooking the city. It was a lovely day!

The first evening, Susanna, Allison and I watched a television program together that Eileen had put on for us, and the three of us talked for hours about every possible topic and so enjoyed sitting on a couch in a warm house by a warm fireplace. All that seemed odd were the television programs we witnessed that evening...besides the BBC or Aljazeera news, none of us had witnessed Scottish television before. While much of it was background noise, the three of us continued to be shocked throughout the evening at what we watched. The first program was a comedy show that used several offensive slurs that one wouldn't hear on U.S. television, next was a very strange but hilarious sitcome involving a family wearing the same Tesco brand dish towels each of us owns for hats, and in this Christmas special, the sitcom characters were climbing their christmas tree and performing all sorts of physical comedy. Next, came BBC News, and then another sitcom that we found to be quite racist and very different than what one might see on television.

We rode the bus together into the city the next morning using these nice tickets supplied to us:

After the lengthy hike, the three of us stopped in The Elephant House for a quick afternoon snack. I visited the cafe during my previous stay in Edinburgh, and it's quite famous (and busy!) as J.K. Rowling wrote much of the first Harry Potter books within the cafe. The bathrooms at The Elephant House were very cool as the walls were covered in thousands of letters or notes to J.K. Rowling. While I am not the biggest Harry Potter fan, it still was very neat, and as I photographed a few of these messages, more were being written:

One of the most wonderful moments of the homestay occurred out of interesting circumstances, and purely by accident. After the hike, I had felt quite dehydrated and hadn't drank much throughout the day as we were out in the woods. I drank a large iced tea and bottle of water at The Elephant House and in heading back to Eileen's house, was plannign on using the bathroom. She had given us a key to her home, and said she would be attending a family party all day and we would cook our own dinner. She mentioned wine being involved, but that she would get home safely. Once the three of us arrived back at Eileen's house by bus, we found the key she had left for us simply would not unlock her door. We each tried several times, and the key/door wouldn't budge. I called Frances, the woman who led us on the hike and the leader of the homestay program. She suggested we wait a few minutes for Eileen, and she searched for a mobile number for Eileen. There was another homestay family just a few minutes away and she suggested we call and walk over there if Eileen didn't turn up in the next few minutes. We each had been re-energized at the Elephant House, but were certainly tired, and began to get cold in the wind. I badly needed to use the bathroom, and sat on Eileen's stoop thinking we would just wait a few more minutes.

A middle-aged man then walked by the house and asked if we were locked out. I had considered Eileen's neighbors, but didn't want to be a burden. We each said we were, and he asked if we needed anything. I hesitated a few moments, but then asked, "Do you mind if I use your bathroom?" "Sure!" He replied brightly. His Scottish accent was heavy and I began to slowly walk in his direction. I turned back to look at Susanna and Allison still on the stoop, half-thinking I was leaving with this random man for his home, did either of them mind coming along? Allison quickly jumped up, and we walked with the man two doors down to his home. Entering, it was equally as lovely as Eileen's, and we immediately met his sweet wife Michelle and teenage son, Matthew. He showed me to the bathroom, and I was so appreciative. It was extraordinarily kind, and once finished, Allison and I both thanked him and slowly began to head out. Ronnie, as we learned his name was, spoke fast, and I struggled slightly to understand his accent, but he said, "Please, you don't need to wait in the cold, feel free to sit in here," he motioned to a mud-room of sorts, and both Allison and I hesitated and knew we would need to go meet up with Susanna, and didn't immediately accept the offer. Ronnie offered to try the key for us, and followed us out back to Eileen's locked and empty home. He agreed that it couldn't be unlocked, and he encouraged Susanna to come sit in his family's mud-room for a few minutes. I explained that the three of us were studying at St. Andrews for the year, and that we were from the States. He was aware of Eileen's interest in hosting students, and led us back into his home. He explained the situation to his wife, and he led us to a front sitting room with comforatble couches. Immediately, his wife came in and offered to make tea or coffee. Each of us half-declined, not wanting to be a burden, and unsure of how long we would stay. We all stuttered and spoke and thanked the family at each opportunity, and just marvelled at the kindness. Then, Ronnie and Michelle invited us into their kitchen and a large and open living room-like area saying, "Why don't you come on in" It was cozy and warm, and immediately, Michelle made a large pot of tea. We all were a bit wet from the hike and it was lovely to sit on a couch. As the tea was made, Michelle sat next to me and Ronnie sat nearby, and they asked about the States, our interests, studies, and families. They spoke of traveling to Florida and numerous trips to Disney World and Ronnie mentioned once being in Boston. Michelle then said in her lovely Scottish accent, "Yeah, but we were just in the airport, we just saw it from the plane." I asked them both about their recommendations of travelling around Scotland, and they gave great advice and spoke of other travels around Europe. Soon, the tea arrived and with it even more goodness.

Already, I couldn't belive the genoristy we were experiencing, and both Ronnie and Michelle were incredibly kind. I wrote awhile ago about craving my Aunt Lori's pumpkin whoopie pies, but soon after that craving passed weeks ago, I began craving banana bread quite often. I hadn't heard of it or seen it at all here, until Michelle unveiled a homemade loaf of it and brought slices over with the tea. It was entirely delicious and with the tea, tasted lovely. Soon came more conversation including Ronnie pledging his support to President Obama saying something along the lines of, "Our politics here, they're boring, yours are more interesting!" chocolate cookies were served, and the five of us continued to converse about everything. It had been over an hour, and the three of us thanked Ronnie and Michelle again, and were on our way. Eileen still hadn't came home, and we were able to speak with Frances again. It was quite dark and had become rather chilly. Coming from Ronnie and Michelle's though, we were each so warm, and I felt filled with so much love. :) We journeyed over to the neaby home of Margaret, another host mother. I called Eileen's home once we arrived, and she immediately picked up. I explained the situation and we headed back through the dark Edinburgh suburbs. It was 8 p.m. and Eileen didn't completely believe that anything had gone wrong with the key. The experience though, was so worth it, and proved beautiful hospitality and quite the adventure.

I brought along with me to Scotland a few cards I made at home fastened with photos I took of rural New Hampshire this past spring and summer on them. I've given away a few, but have saved them for very special people/occasions. I wrote a long note in one of them last night, and this morning poked it through Ronnie and Michelle's letter slot.

 

 

 

This morning the three of us headed into town and visited the Scotland National Museum. It's quite a bit like a very small version of the Smithsonian. It's free and we attended wonderful exhibits on ancient Eqypt, world cultures, evolving communications, ship-building, astronomy, geology, animals, and plants.

I myself loved this large African Elephant...

And this floating hippo among sea animals...

 

The trip back to St. Andrews was nice as I was able to avoid the motion sickness that tends to plague me on that route, and was even able to catch a few zzzzz's. Being back in St. Andrews was a wonderful feeling. The small town just felt so familiar, and it was great being able to see students walking about, the library and the academic buildings, and recognizable places.

Lastly, this is completely off-topic, but I love this article so much. It is inspiring and incredibly touching and since reading it Friday afternoon, I have wanted to share it with everyone I know.

http://shine.yahoo.com/women-who-shine/sikh-woman-balpreet-kaur-turns-cyber-bullying-incident-203500244.html

I first read it when my friend Amanda posted it on facebook. I opened it and realized nearly immediately that I had met Balpret Kaur this past January at the Interfaith Conference in Atlanta we both attended. We were placed in the same small training group and I remember speaking with her a few times, but after reading this story, and continuing to be amazed by it, I wish I could have gotten to know her better. Almost as amazing as the story itself is that when the photo was taken of Balpreet, she was wearing a 'Better Together' campaign shirt. The shirts were given out at the Atlanta conference and represent an ongoing campaign of all religions being 'Better Together.' While the words she wrote were stronger and more powerful than any tee shirt, it still is a nice and coincidental shirt to be wearing just at that moment.

Virginia Woolf and experiencing the Libertarian society

It's been an eventful Thursday here.

My group of four other students presented in our Virginia Woolf class today and thankfully, we were quite over prepared. The presentation went well, and I was comfortable presenting a few quotes and analysis.
The class in itself though, is challenging, and creative writing is reigning overwhelmingly as my favorite module (course). The course on Woolf is beneficial, educational, and currently (I think) doable, but I just don't seem to have an enormous natural interest in her work. I've enjoyed one of her books that I had read previously, but in reading Selected Essays of heres this past week, I struggled to comprehend much of it. The module itself is all English majors. Because it is a fourth-year honours (yikes!) module the other students are very, very into literature, and have a background of at least two to three years of reading solely classic British and American literature for each class.

While I enjoy literature and the classics, and have read a few here and there (and hope to read more!), my two years of concentrated journalism just doesn't compare. On a side note though, Saint Michael's journalism has prepared me for St. Andrews academics in many ways. The note-taking, attention to detail, analysis, work ethic, forthrightness in speaking to others/interviewing and intensive multimedia projects have prepared me for the amount of reading or assignments or writing here. Which, compared to the immense amount of work involved in Saint Michael's journalism, St. Andrews has yet to compare in quantity. There are very few other "overseas students," as my Virginia Woolf professor referred to presumably myself earlier in the class, which makes some of the comprehension difficult as I come from a starkly different background. There are about twenty of us in the module, and I know of at least one other study abroad student. I have Woolf's Jacob's Room to read this coming week, and look forward to. It likely will be the focus of my first essay for the class, due in about a month's time. We received several choices of prompts today and much of them relate to Woolf's development of characters in Jacob's room.

Both my academic Uncles Henry and Marc recently have been urging me to attend/join the libertarian society, of which Marc is the president and Henry is involved in. I belive my first reaction a couple weeks ago was something along the lines of..."Uhmmm...okay, but I don't identify completely as a libertarian...." Uncle Henry assured me I could fit right in despite my past political contributions (not financially, of course).

And tonight, it all came together! There are dozens of golf hotels all across St. Andrews (well, actually, they're all concentrated sort of together...) but the Libertarian Society meeting was held at The Golf Hotel.

Oh, and please understand I went in with an open mind. I've found in recent months I've been shifting slightly more moderate, and while I don't plan to invest in a Romney-Ryan bumper sticker tomorrow, I've certainly been re-evaluating my politics and beliefs in the last year. Something my brother told me earlier this year (or was it late last year?) was 'Extremism is extremism,' I've often thought back to that and very much like the thought behind it. As I've written previously on the aging Republican Party as well (to survive: need to energize youth, stress financial priorities, student loans, not social issues), I went in bearing some of these principles in mind, and putting away my liberal ones for at least an evening.

Upon climbing the concrete steps and pulling open the heavy wooden door of the Hotel, I soon found the Ballroom and was greeted by my Uncles, one of which referred to me as "Ms. Kendall." Four or five other male students were present and a few female students followed in behind me. We moved to a smaller, cozier, room with mahogany walls and dark upholstery. It felt very speakeasy-ish. The men all wore at least a dress shirt with a few wearing suit jackets, a couple wearing sweaters (not like Rick Santorum though....) and even a bowtie sprinkled in. As I had come from a day of library work and class, I wore jeans and a cotton top. Perhaps I should have changed...the men all ordered gin and whisky, and I chose my safe choice of white wine.

I found immediately it was an experience. Like the wonderful ceilidh a couple weeks ago, it was entirely new, and took minor adjustments, but in the end, very worthwhile. The meeting began with the nomination of the executive committee, and as the full group was only about ten people, three students ran for positions with speeches about their own interests in libertarianism and all were awarded the positions by our votes. I knew my beliefs didn't quite match perfectly, but throughout the commitee'selection and hearing the testimony of other students (one degree-seeking student from Chicago attempted to lead a libertarian club at her high school and had a rock thrown at her...it sounded like a terribly unfortunate experience, but became a great testimony and starting ground and certainly gained the sympathy and interest of the room...) I found my beliefs could be shared, and I could respectfully understand the beliefs of others. 'Ron Paul 2012' was a phrase uttered a few times during the commitee's election process.

Soon, the evening turned to debate. To my surprise, a mix of American and British politics were discussed, but mainly American politics and the upcoming election. I was able to keep up with the discussion, and was eager to participate. I found my knowledge of the best political speeches of the past couple of years, Mitt Romney, and certainly the effect and role of the media and the use of objectivity was all received well and fit into the discussion. The evening continued for a couple of hours, and closed shortly before 10 p.m. I walked back to my residence passing the beach and the golf hotels and bars, and reflected on what an interesting evening and day it had been. While I had struggled to find myself in the Virginia Woolf class, the Libertarian Society fit me...just slightly. I can'y say I'm a libertarian, but I loved experiencing it, and look forward to the social next week. :)

Also, tomorrow afternoon I'll be heading to Edinburgh for the weekend. My study abroad program requires a home stay experience, and I've been paired up with a retired woman who lives in the suburbs of Edinburgh. I'm very much looking forward to this, and hope to learn more about Scotland, my host mum, (whoa! I just realized I not only have an actual Mum, but also an academic Mum, and a host Mum. Wow...that's a lot of Mums...) and hopefully Edinburgh. The motto is 'Expect the unexpected!' I hope to do just that. I'll be leaving my laptop behind in St. Andrews for the weekend, but will likely have plenty of updates come Sunday evening. :)

My walk through St. Salvator's quad earlier today.

A staircase within one of the schools.

The women's bathroom. Specifically, for Women Students... :)

Yikes!

Good to know. :)

Why, hello!

I am pleased to be back!

My blogging hiatus was unfortunately caused by illness. I woke up Sunday morning with quite the head cold, and while I had plenty of activities planned for Sunday, I decided to cancel them all, and rested much of the day. Monday was similar, and today I've been feeling better but am still recovering.
'Freshers flu' here is an annual illness that strikes all (well, nearly all!) students at the beginning of the year. It's rooted in the belief that thousands of students are arriving from all over the world. I find whenever I'm in a new place (first year of high school and first year of college come to mind...) I tend to become sicker a little easier. However! I'm ready to conquer that this year!

Today looked a lot like this: It was typhoon-ish all day.

The waves were enormous! If it wasn't so chilly, I would love to wave-jump them.

I enjoyed creative writing today, and have been pushing along in my Virginia Woolf reading despite not feeling so great.

As of tonight:

So close!

I met up with my friend/uncle Marc for coffee/tea this morning at a nice cafe here called North Point. I have yet to try lunch from there, but I've heard it's quite good. A large sign outside the cafe proclaims: 'Where Kate met Wills! (for coffee!)' (Hmmm....I wonder about the accuracy...) Nevertheless, the cafe seems to be popular among Prince William and Kate Middleton pilgrimmage seekers as well as tourists taking pictures. 

 

Saturday afternoon on my run I returned to this field near where my friend Marissa lives and took these pictures. I love how a few of them came out, and (again) am so in love with this meadow.

Saturday night I dined with my lovely American friend Julie at her residence on campus. Her residence is over a century old and much of it looks very castle-like. These are just a few photos from inside, highlighting little areas that I find so beautiful and neat to have in a student residence:

Her Majesty looking good above a fireplace.

 

I know why the caged book sings...

 

Speaking of Julie...she's a wonderful friend and as mentioned previously, we both met for the first time at our gate in Boston. She had sat down and received a call from her Mom that someone with our study abroad program luggage tags was going through security matching my description...I soon arrived at the gate, and found a student reading the St. Andrews assigned reading (A Long, Long, Way by Sebastian Barry). Julie, and I spent the next 20ish hours together and were matched up randomly as roommates for three days in Edinburgh. We live in seperate residences, and spent the first week here away from one another to meet other students. Now, we get together probably twice a week and love that we are integrated and have met plenty of other students.

Tonight we had another family-like party. It was incredibly fun again and I brought Julie along with the hopes of finding her a Dad. Julie has a mum already, but has been hoping to complete her parental structure. As for that,

MISSION. ACCOMPLISHED.

After some mingling and talking to new people at said party, I brought Julie to the Dad I most hoped for her...my infamous and amazing...Uncle Henry. After a hug and some small talk, my work began. I introduced both and spoke of both's strong qualities, and soon, it was a done deal. Quite simple, actually.

I am not only pumped that Julie has such a wonderful father (who by the way, recently became my back-up Father if my (academic) father is ever absent), but am pumped to be cousins with Julie! Julie has joined an amazing family, and for that, it has been a fun and exciting evening. :) 

Ohh and P.S. More photos:

The 'PH' as referenced in an earleir post. DO NOT STEP ON. (If a a student at St. Andrews that is....belief is that one will fail one's final exams and degree) Here, Patrick Hamilton (a student of the University) was burned at the stake after being accused of heresy as a protestant reformer in 1528.

Supposedly, Hamilton's face has appeared in this chapel wall directly above where he was killed....I have yet to find it. Ohh, and it's not the purposefully carved face at the bottom of the left column unfortunately...

Reads: 'The initials on the pavement nearby mark the spot where Patrick Hamilton, member of the University was burned at the stake on 29 February 1528, at the age of 24. On the continenet he had been greatly influenced by Martin Luther, and on his return to St. Andrews he began to teach Lutheran doctrines, having been tried and found guilrt of herest. He was condemned to death. Thus becoming the first martyr of the Scottish reformation.'