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.