Time Flies...

Well folks,

That's it. After 105 days, my study abroad experience is over, I can't believe what I've managed to do in that time. As cliche as it sounds I feel like it was only a few days ago when I first met Savannah and then the roommate I didn't know I was going to have, Anjali.

For the last week there, I worked on an 8-hour essay exam, and turned in a semester's worth of lab reports. The school aspect of me study abroad was a little too real with having to write final essays and work on projects. Anyway, I made it out more than alive :) 

The morning I left was quite an experience in itself, as I (idiotically) boarded the bus to take me to the airport I realized I didn't have enough money for both that ride, and the transfer so as I'm in tears from saying goodbye, the nice bus driver just waved me through. Then the bus, being just a little later than it should have, wasn't going to get me to the connecting bus in time. So I frantically asked the bus driver what his suggestion was, he kindly told me he would let me know which was the right one. When he indicated such, he got off of his seat and slipped the next bus' fare into my hands and wish me Merry Christmas, I could have cried! What a generous man :)

So I got through airport security and made it to London Heathrow without a hitch. I even had time to be offered a dessert wine sampling and a chance to try on as many perfumes as my nose would muster. Knowing my previous experience in Heathrow, where I missed my flight and lost my luggage back in September, I didn't have high expectations. The time was approaching 20 minutes until we were scheduled to depart the as I sat in the terminal waiting. Then the PA came on announcing some technical issues that the plane was having and finally after an hour of waiting, we boarded the plane. When I arrived in Chicago, I had missed my flight, but thank goodness for one last one that they had flying out that night. I befriended a girl going to Minneapolis and we figured that whole situation out together, which was a relief after being awake for 23 hours at that point.

All in all, at 11:50 PM I was lovingly welcomed by my family into the lovely state of Minnesota :) And since then I've begun to be reacquainted with those I missed the most, so much happiness at such a wonderful time of the year!

I just wanted to give a big shout out to all of the people who have supported me throughout this awesome experience, and to the lot of you who actually kept up with my blog, thank you. It's a great feeling knowing there's people who stand behind you.

As for now, I'm signing off. I might throw in another blog about readmission into the States, but we'll get to that later.

Thanks so much,
Emily :)

Last night in Aberdeen

Slumber Party!!!!

Last Weekend Trip: Edinburgh

Good Monday everyone!

Seeing as I have a paper to write, lab write ups to do, and an exam to study for within the next 7 days I thought the most important would be writing this blog- obviously.

We began our trip late on Friday night by train- in tow with me were my favorites, Anjali and Savannah, as well as my Mac in attempt to write my paper due at noon on Monday. Once I was able to tune out the drunk middle age women singing 'Blurred Lines', I actually got something accomplished.

For about a month I had tried to find people to Couchsurf with in Edinburgh, but it seems like the bigger the city, the less likely people are to respond, interesting huh? So basically we ended up in front of a hostel asking if they had room in their inn- thank goodness they did :) The bed I slept in there was a million times more comfortable than the one in my flat so that alone was worth the money!

The next day we got an early start and meandered around the city- walking through cemeteries, churches, and the castle like it was our business. By 10 that morning we had already gotten asked on two different occasions to be in people's photos haha!

I'm fairly certain we stopped in every tourist shop in hopes of finding those stereotypical gifts everyone seems to want. It was almost overwhelming how many shops had the same things, but my favorite item I kept seeing time and time again was the full length dress- clad with a kilt-like pattern and corset to match in classiness. If only I had 100 quid to dole out for that gem!

As we made our way down the Royal Mile we came across the Mercat Cross, which we found had a nasty history of blood and gore. Directly across from it was St. Giles Cathedral, a gorgeous place, it even had a thistle chapel, how cute :) On that road we hit Holyrood Palace, the Queen's residence for a week or so and then we began the trek to Arthur's Seat-which is basically a lovely view of the city from atop a hill. It had rained earlier that morning so we saw a number of people eat it including one man who I swear managed to keep his balance for 15 seconds until finally succumbing to gravity. The view from the top was marvelous, you could see in all directions. The only issue was the bloody wind. On multiple occasions I thought my mittens were gone for good, but my agility outperformed Mother Nature's evil ways haha!

Then we headed back to see the Christmas market, what a happy place! We all got a brat and it was absolutely delicious. There was soooo many people and vendors there, and mulled wine and hot toddies were literally everywhere- if only drinking was free... There was even a ferris wheel (which they call the big wheel), an ice rink, and a carousal.

We then headed over to The Elephant House- the place where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book. On that note, did you guys know that in the UK the first book is titled: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone? I thought that was crazy! Anyway, we had some lovely coffee there and the bathrooms were superb- they were filled with notes to J.K. about how much people love her books and of course there was just some funny themed comments :)

Miss Savannah had heard that it was a must to go on a ghost tour so we did entitled Ghost and Ghouls. It even took us down into some catacombs five stories underneath Edinburgh where body snatchers and illegal drinking occurred. If anyone knows how easily it is to scare me, let's just say that I was scared poopless at one point and I SWEAR that there was something tugging on the hood of my jacket. Good thing I have friends to scare me when there aren't ghosts to do such….

At that point our feet were practically numb so to dethaw we hit up The Elephant House again, but this time for dinner. I had a very Scottish dish of chili nachos, super delicious. And we even got talking with an old guy who told us a bit about his life- it's always neat to hear how people end up where they do.

We wandered some more and came across the Greyfriars Kirk- the grave yard where the famous puppy spent the last 14 years of his life sitting beside his master's grave. At this point it was quite dark and as we walked through the first gate to the cemetery some guy thought it would be a great idea to startle one of his friends- well he scared me instead!!! For the rest of the dark graveyard venture, I held my umbrella in hand just in case, but I'm pretty sure the only things I had to worry about were the two goons with me who thought it was HYSTERICAL to frighten me…figures.

Late that night we were wandering around when we stumbled across a jazz bar. There was a live funk band playing all night long and it was just great. Everyone was dancing around and the beat was just so catchy that you didn't want it to stop :)

The next day we were pretty beat so we did a bit of shopping and stumbled across 'The American Candy Shop'. I didn't think it would be that interesting to go inside to see candy I can see every day back home, but ohh my goodness, the prices they were charging for things was outrageous! My favorite was the Froot Loops for eight pounds, which transfers to $13- incredible! After looking at all of those candies it reminded me of this things I hadn't seen for a few months- funny how you don't often notice when something is gone until it reappears like that!

We went to go check out a group of monuments (or statues as Savannah calls them) and then took off to a pie shop to get some fine grub in our tummies. After consuming too many of those and getting crumbs EVERYWHERE we headed off to the National Museum of Scotland where, instead of actually looking at the museum itself, we played dress up with all of the mock clothes they had everywhere :) We got some pretty strange looks, but let's be honest, they were just jealous!

After having walked more miles than I care to determine, we headed back to the hostel to chill out until we had to take the bus home. On the way back to Aberdeen, a guy started talking to us because he realized we didn't have the typical Scottish accent. We explained our situation and he told us he was from Canada and was making a surprise visit to see his girlfriend. We finally arrived at Union Square at 3 AM he ended up walking back with us most of the way as we were trying to give him directions to his girlfriend's flat. You just never know who you'll meet in the world.

So that about sums it up. There were so many things we did that I'm sure I missed something, but I guess you'll have to talk about it with me if you want more details- you probably don't considering I'm the worst story teller on the planet, but anyway I'll be home in a week so start preparing your questions now ;)

Christmas Market!

Only in Scotland...

Edinburgh Castle

Playing Dress Up :)

Highland Games

Hello there!

Well see as I said I would write this last Sunday, it looks like I'm finally starting to get a bit lazy with these, good thing I only have 12 more days left here! Actually that's super sad just thinking about leaving- it seriously feels like I just got here...

Anyway, I've got to say, this past weekend was quite lovely! I was able to spend it with some of my favorite Scotland peeps in a cute lil bothy in the Highlands. A bothy is pretty much a hut where you can stay while mountaineering and whatnot so you don't have to drive in and out of civilization, which would be a huge pain because the drive is rough (more to come on that!) It was surprisingly cozy and even had a stove top, bathroom, and running water (although it needed to be boiled), and a seating area fit with a wood burning stove.

We began our journey on Saturday morning, and after two of the most carsick hours ever, we stammered out- a good third of our party looked pretty grim after that drive, thanks Charlie :S After settling in we took to the trail for a small hike before it got dark. Walking through the Highlands is just one of those experience you have to have for yourself- the landscape is absolutely breathtaking :) As we reached the point in which we were to turn around, the woodland opened up into a glacial valley, fit with a running waterfall directly across from us. I could have stayed there all day, it was just so majestic.

When we got back we kickstarted our Highland Games with a drink, McEwan's Scottish beer, very fitting for a visit in the Highlands! We split into two teams, the Sap Sucking Caber Tossers (that was my team) and The Scrumps. The night was a wonderful time filled with friendly rivalry consisting of lard tossing, wellie tossing, fitness test, a potato peeling content, and food competitions. Following that we had to, of course, have haggis and potatoes- a staple on all adventures. I definitely can't say that I was thinking I would have that much of it over here, but then again, things never cease to amaze me :)

Such a good time, and another one to come tonight for me, Edinburgh tonight woo hoo!!!! Until next time!

Me and the team :)

The gorgeous valley

I would kill to have a house here...

A Scotland Thanksgiving

Happy Belated Thanksgiving ya'll! Well, I'd say I have a lot to be thankful for, being able to live in Scotland for a few months, having a family who supports me in all I do, friends who are always there for me, a pretty neat boyfriend, and of course, my lovely readers (that's you :D)

I got real sad when the grand day approached, Thanksgiving is literally my favorite holiday because it isn't clouded by gifts and the true focus is togetherness. In a way, I was definitely lacking the togetherness piece over here: I mean the vast majority of my friends and family were back home, and it just doesn't feel right to miss the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and hear my family complain about not seeing enough of the floats ;) In a way though, it was really funny- I was messaging a friend from back home and she said it was better to celebrate Thanksgiving in Scotland because, 'At least they hate the English as much as the Pilgrams did!' How true indeed :D

So instead of doing anything traditional during the day, I got up at 8 to go to class and then I finished and turned in a paper. I thought I would treat myself and buy a mocha so I used my reusable mug, bought a small, and then received a large! Now that's the Thanksgiving spirit and they didn't even know it :)

Anyway, in preparation the six of us in our flat (all American except the lone Canadian- she celebrates Thanksgiving too, just in October!) gathered together what we saw most fitting for the occasion, and my oh my it twas a spread! Turkey breast loaf (our oven was too ghetto and probably too small to fit a whole turkey), gravy, vegetarian stuffing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, mulled wine, and of course pumpkin pie.

We made the pumpkin pie the previous night, and in lieu in Crisco (because they don't have any over here…) we used lard. As repulsive as it was to deal with it at the time, it was probably the best pie crust I've ever eaten :)

The battle on Thursday was trying to time everything correctly. To give you a picture we have two small ovens, definitely inappropriate for making a classy meal like Thanksgiving. An added difficulty was the fact that we had class to work around- a couple of tutorials might have been skipped to make a grocery trip for crispy onions, but it was totally worth it! We had another individual, *cough* Anjali *cough* who found out while she was in class at 4 that it would be going until 6…the problem being that our food was all done at 5, whoops! With a little bit of rehydrating the food, and warming it up in the handy dandy microwave, I'd say we were all a force to be reckoned with (none of us had ever prepared such a feast!) I didn't even ruin the turkey- probably one of my proudest moments :)

In between checking the turkey and mashing the potatoes I was able to Skype with the fam for quite some time. It was an absolute day maker to be able to see them all- I don't remember the last time that happened all at once! Anjali came in for a while to talk with them too and it was fun to hear them joke back and forth- it was like they had known each other for years! I was lucky enough to talk to her family as well, they're great. As much of a bummer as it was to not spend Thanksgiving with my family, I wouldn't have had the experience of talking to both of our families on the same day if I had been back home.

As strange as it was to be celebrating with non-family members, it was really neat to see how we could all bring it together like that, and celebrate together in a country where such a holiday doesn't exist (side note: If you were wondering they have Christmas decorations and music up pretty much after Halloween, I even saw advertisements for reserving Christmas dinner in early October!)We were able to experience dealing with we had: bringing in mismatching chairs, attempting to find enough silver wear, and washing the dishes to reuse before eating pie. Anyway, we shared our traditions and appropriately finished the night singing both the Canadian and American National Anthems- so fun!

So until Sunday, I'll leave you with this!

Love you all,
Emily

This is what we cook on…somehow...

The Flats-giving :)

Life.

Hey everyone! You've succeeded in taking the views on my blog to over 1000- it's like I'm famous or something :D But seriously, thanks for reading, it means that someone beside me is getting something out of it!

This past week has been a fairly chill one. Seeing as papers are coming up, I thought maybe I should spend some time actually doing what I came here for. The stakes are a lot higher for individual projects, such as the essay I'm writing for 60% of my grade right now- I'm really glad we don't have that back home. Also, this is embarrassing, but it took me weeks to realize that when they say class starts at 10, it's actually 10:05. Good think I was thinking 5 minutes earlier, because I would have been late A LOT if that wasn't the case! Also, the first class in the morning is at 9, and everyone over here complains like the daylights about it. You people are wusses, just get up...

It amazes me that every day there is something new that I didn't know about the culture around here. Initially when getting here, I thought the UK was going to be the spitting image of the US, but I've been proven wrong many a times. Friday night Savannah and I ventured to the grocery store to pick up some things to make pumpkin rolls, one being shortening (we already had the pumpkin covered thanks to the lovely gift from mum- canned pumpkin is non-existent over here). We searched all over and finally tracked someone down to ask if they had any. He said he'd never heard of it before and he said how he thought it was crazy that there's an American food section in Tesco when our foods are so similar. Honestly, they're necessary. Needless to say, the only thing they have in comparison is lard…makes me cringe a little just typing that word, but it was worth getting :) After our trip there we headed to a place that I had been dying to get take-away from (that's right, not take-out). I got a doner kebab (basically a spicier and saltier gyro with a sweet chili sauce), which I heard is a staple in Scotland- although it appears to have Turkish origins. It was quite delish! The last bit of the night was a completely different cultural experience. Anjali's mum sent her henna (natural temporary dye for the skin) from India so we did some of that, I absolutely love that stuff!

Saturday was a filled with pumpkin pancakes and a trip to Union in attempt to hash out some essays. Since they don't have Caribou Coffee over here (I'm honestly going through withdrawals…), the next option was Starbucks. When I ordered a mocha they asked whether or not I wanted coffee in it, isn't that what a mocha is? So strange, oh, and they also sell minced pies- something one of the employees thought we must have back in America. Following that, Anjali, Savannah, and I went to go see Catching Fire in the cinema (not movie theatre, and it's a film not a movie tee hee). I thought that would be just like home, but I was wrong there as well. There was assigned seating as well as alcohol served in the theaters. The strangest thing though, were their adverts (not ads). Instead of starting 30 minutes before the movie showed it started when it said it said the movie would, and took up 30 minutes extra of our time. AND most of them were just commercials, not movie previews. It was even amazing how different the adverts are over here. I kept looking at the other two to try and figure out what it was trying to sell, but we couldn't figure it out. The movie was wonderful though! We rounded the night off in at our good friend Jess's birthday party. It was lovely time filled with mulled wine and cider, birthday cake, and amazing company. There I was surrounded by Germans, Scottish, English, Canadian, American, Irish, Welsh, and Italians (maybe even more cultures), it was amazing to have so much heritage in one small living room. I've really treasured my whole experience here, but that night was one where I really realized how fortunate I am to have a study abroad experience. You realize that everyone isn't as different from you as they may seem, and at the end of the day, people are just as curious about your culture as you are theirs.

Here's a few more things that are different between the cultures that I've noticed
- sledges instead of sleds
- splinter not sliver
- nobody (as in Americans and the rest of the world) understood the term 'flurry' in relation to snow
- porridge instead of oatmeal (also they have a 'honey' that resembles our syrup that they put over it)
- wellies not rainboots
- people from England pronounce plaid, 'played'…for real.
- 'oregano' is pronounced 'ore ah ghan oh'
- egg plant is aubergine
- candy is called sweets
- they don't say 'sidewalk', they just call it pavement
- paying for ketchup is common in fish and chip shops
- eggs are never refrigerated in stores (or homes for that matter)
- you pay more to sit down to eat/drink at a cafe than if you have it to-go
- sneezing into your arm doesn't exist here, they just go for the all disturbing hand sneeze
- also, nobody says 'bless you' if you sneeze and if you do say it they don't say 'thank you'
- speaking of 'bless': I forgot that there's an actual national church here, it's the Church of Scotland (or the Kirks)
- bars are only open here until midnight and clubs until 3 AM
- most people here smoke
- additionally, it's more common than not to roll your own cigarettes
- Westies are one of the most popular dogs to own around here- I'm not opposed :)
- 'Sorry' is the word to use when asking someone to repeat themselves
- instead of 'Salvation Army' or 'Goodwill' they call them 'Charity Shops' which often helps fund cancer related things
- there's only one fashion style here: classy (but then again you do have the few guys who walk around in all grey sweatsuits like it's their job…)
- I'm fairly certain I've consumed over my body weight in bread over here…whoops
- the UK (and probably others) think that it's cult-like to make kids recite the 'Pledge of Allegiance' in school
- I've gotten more comments on how awful my driver's license picture is over here by complete strangers than I wish to admit
- Minnesota has the same population as Scotland- I love this fact. Home sweet home.

I think that's about all I can think of for now. I hope you enjoyed the list, because I sure enjoyed discovering each and every one of them :)

Since I didn't have any specific pictures to include I thought I'd share one of the most Scottish foods I've bought. It literally makes me smile every time I grab the box :)

Canoeing Time!

Welcome back!

So a great adventure came up for me this weekend: camping and canoeing on the River Dee. We set out for an hour and a half trip south of Aberdeen to a site along the Cambus O' May suspension bridge late on Friday night. I seriously can't get over how great the names of towns and attractions are over here. Many of them are derived from the Gaelic (pronounced Gahlic to denote the Scottish version seeing as the typical pronunciation is Irish) word for them. For example the town where we ended our canoe trip was called Strathdee (Srath Dhé in Gaelic) means 'Deeside'-how clever! Sorry for the tangent, but anyway we ended up staying within the boundaries of the Cairngorms National Park. We got a surprise visit as we were setting up out tent- across the river two people in high visibility jackets started shining their flashlights at us. Thinking we were for sure going to get kicked out, we packed up our tent and waited to be told that it wasn't a proper camping ground (it wasn't- a sign in the parking lot read 'No Overnight Parking'), but they never came. So…we pitched the tent again anyway and had a more than marvelous evening of potatoes and haggis on the stove. 

The next morning cocoa was made and put in a thermos, right before we set off, we thought we'd have some. All of us had been poured a cup, when someone decided to shake the thermos. Only then did we realize that it had broken and that shards of glass had been poured (and partially drank) in everyone's cups- and that marked the beginning of the trip haha. After that fiasco, we unloaded the canoes and proceeded to be given a lifejacket, helmet, and wetsuit. I literally thought they were crazy. Only about two hours later did I realize how vital all of that equipment was. We weren't taking just any casual trip down a river- we were whitewater canoeing (or I guess they call it Canadian canoeing). Savannah and I hit some rapids and began taking on water, then the big one hit- and the canoe capsized. As we both toppled in, our breaths were literally taken away by the cold. Gosh, it's a pretty weird feeling being numb while being pushed by the current. That combined with attempting to move a sixty pound canoe filled with water when you can't even touch the river bottom makes for an interesting time. Eventually, after the other canoe tipped and all four of us were in the water, we recovered the waterproof camera from the perilous current, we set out again. Mind you the wind after this point became unbearable, I'm not sure I've ever been that cold and numb in my entire life- whoops! The entire landscape was beautiful though. I don't think I could have picked a better way to witness the changing leaves across the expansive rolling hills!

All in all we paddled about fourteen miles that day. We waited for about two hours to be picked up and driven to our take-off point that morning. In the mean time, I took laps around the park to stay warm. I can only imagine how ridiculous a girl in a wetsuit and lifejacket looked running around a rural park. After it had become dark a lady came up to us who had parked in front of a local hotel. Hoping she was stopping over to bring us tea- she asked instead if we could help her carry barrels into her car. We obliged and after being questioned on our attire we told the lady our story of the day. When she came back for round two of the barrel transporting, she came with four beers and water and offered to make us food and tea to warm us up and thank us for our efforts. We declined the second portion, but the beer was mighty tasty. People can be so nice :)

After being picked up, we began traveling back to our site and soon found out a tire had gone flat on the car. So while the car was being fixed we walked toward our destination and came across a village. This village had made an old church interior into a garden- it was a beautiful idea. Finally, we ended up back in Aberdeen- safe, warm, and able to tell the tale!

Such a good time, talk to you all soon!

Me and my three mates before setting out for the day

Suspension bridge-I couldn't get enough of it!

Part of the scenery...

St. Andrews and Other Shenanigans

Hey there,

I've gotten a bit detained this week (or finally a little lazy in relation to blogging-I'm surprised it didn't happen before now!) But never fear, here's another one for your enjoyment…

About a week before the 5th of November I found out about this crazy holiday they have here in the UK: it's called Guy Fawkes Night. It celebrates the fact that Guy Fawkes, a man who attempted to blow up Parliament in the 1600s, failed to do such! Some traditions that come along with the holiday are a fireworks show and having a bonfire with an effigy of Guy Fawkes within it…a little cruel I'd say- even for a traitor! From the stories I've heard from my friends from the UK, it sounds like a lot of times they just burn a paper face of whomever they hate most at the time; to me it just sounds like a national holiday to be openly angry, which is okay I guess! The only part we celebrated that night was the fireworks, especially seeing as I come from Minnesota, we're too nice to hate on anyone ;) Anyway, the fireworks were beautiful, it was right on the beach and the rain even decided to hold off for us. We were able to get so close that we could see the firework sparks falling in front of us, a little bit different than the US restrictions I believe :) It was great to see all of the buzz around the city center after that- it really reminded me of the Holidazzle back home and instantly a cup of Caribou's coffee sounded so good.

This past weekend was filled with yet another trip, this time to the ever beautiful town of St. Andrews. We arrived there Friday night at the bus station and we decided we'd make a quick stop at the Tesco. On our way we saw three guys in suits and enough women adorning non-Primark wear to be able to see that our level of class was a bit below par here (get it- it's a golf reference…being in St. Andrews and all :D) Anyway, we met up with our Couchsurfing host and then pretty much called it a night. The following morning was an early start to see the sites (and tastes) of the town. We stopped in a bakery where we tried the popular UK treat: butteries. Needless to say, it tasted just like butter- so similar to a croissant, but even worse for you.

We headed off to venture around the town, really we had no idea where we were going- I have literally said that in every place I've visited in the last three months. It's a really liberating feeling, for all of my life I've had someone to guide me in the right direction- but here I've had no idea what I'm doing while I'm doing it. Mama, I'm growing up!

 …Anyway, we walked toward the cathedral ruins and although the 900 years of its existence really didn't preserve it well. We headed off toward the castle, which had less to see, but when you turned around the neighborhood was a delight! It was the old portion of the university and my oh my, what I would do to live in those dorms. It's crazy to think that Will and Kate met there- then again it was not too hard because my fellow travelers reminded me quite frequently of the royalty that St. Andrews had recently seen! Next up was visiting the Old Course- one of the most famous courses in the world. Little did I know that one of the weirdest pictures I took during the entire trip was on the stone bridge there- which I later realized was quite famous as well. Shows how much I know about the history of golf! Next to the course we came across a rugby game, something I hadn't had the chance to witness yet in Scotland. It was definitely worth seeing- especially after witnessing the two spectators wearing kilts and bearing pints in front of us- I don't think that situation could have gotten more stereotypical if it had been planned! Any way, we cut back and hit up a free whiskey tasting. Although we were sampling quality whiskies aged 10-12 years, I wouldn't have been able to tell if my life had depended upon it. The employees were explaining the tastes and delicacies of each one and all I could do was pucker up and nod- I don't think that's a taste I'll ever get used to!

That night we treated ourselves to a nice dinner, which marked my 4th taste of haggis- it's actually quite good when you don't think about what's in it :) And then we went out for a drink- and they even had a local cider on tap, it honestly tasted JUST like apple juice. I think that hard cider should definitely become a thing back in the states!

Sunday was the day of remembrance in Scotland and the three of us happened to stumble upon a memorial service. It was such a unique experience because we were able to see it through the eyes of the Scots. The processional itself was so traditional- about 20 men with bagpipes were playing, it was really powerful. We moved on to check out the East Sands and spent a good chunk of the morning and afternoon walking along the coastline. The beach is where you see the best of people- humans and puppies, young and old simply enjoying the creations of the Earth, I love it! After the sun went down around 4 (yes 4…it's ridiculous) we traveled to a little coffee shop and spent the remainder of our stay in St. Andrews playing, 'Never Have I Ever'. With most people I would get bored of such a game, but with the two lovelies I was far from sick of it (or them for that matter)!

We got home without too much of an issue- beside for the hour train delay! Thank goodness for train waiting areas and the British version of Harry Potter.

That's all for now. My traveling is about to get a lot less extensive now that essays are rolling up- like now I actually have to do what I came here for, yuck!

Toodles :)

Some fireworks from Guy Fawkes Night!

Here's what the Old Course bridge is supposed to look like...

Here's me on the bridge- whoops!

The Bagpipers at the Memorial Service

Shetland Islands and its 'Firsts' for Me

Hiya!

Today I am writing as a very tired individual. Savannah and I traveled to the island city of Lerwick this weekend. There's only two ways to the island: ferry or plane. We opted ferry for the price and the timing- we could manage to get it there and back in a mere 12 hours each way. Now-I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking taking that route because I even get car sick. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly the most talkative, more like comatose on the booth attempting to let the waves slip away before my head (and stomach) did. On the brighter side of the ferry trip, the interior of that ferry will forever change my thoughts of them- it was so nice on the inside, it even had a bar (hard to believe in Scotland, right?)

Now before I get too far, here's a couple fun facts about the Shetland Islands and Lerwick. The cluster of these islands is at the 60 degrees North latitude line- the farthest north I've ever been :) Also, Lerwick is equidistant from Aberdeen, Scotland to Bergen, Norway- so only one short ferry away and I could have hit another country! The language up here is ultra unique- the people we were staying with even had a Shetland dictionary; it was quite strange to be speaking the same language as the locals, but with completely different slang than mainland Scotland. Lerwick is also the most northerly (and easterly) city in Scotland. And one last thing- I learned in the Shetland Museum that Shetland and Orkney islands were originally a part of Denmark, but it was given as a dowry because the Danish king was so poor, and it's still in the hands of the Scots!

After that we met up with our Couchsurfing host, who was a trooper to meet us at 7 on a Saturday morning! She was kind enough to take us around a scenic walk along the coast and then we hopped across the sea with the ferry to Bressay. I'm pretty sure that island had more sheep than people- everywhere we walked there was sheep running away from us…they were so darn cute! And I can't forget the ponies: we couldn't go to the Shetland Islands without seeing Shetland ponies- and thank goodness they didn't disappoint! We hung out with a couple for quite a while, and we just kept feeding and feeding them- which explains their stout figure haha! We did a hike up to the highest point of that island and saw a marvelous view in all directions. Savannah and I departed our host and headed down to explore the other side of the peak. That's probably the craziest bog I've ever trekked through- a quarter of the way through the walk we came to terms that having dry feet was not even a possibility. Along the way to the coast, we saw so many ancient ruins (including full villages), it's crazy how casual it is there, probably because there's over 6000 different archaeological sites on the islands. Along the rocks we spotted a couple of seals, the first ones that I had witnessed outside of a zoo. On the way back was an adventure in itself- we climbed over barbed wire fences, scared numerous sheep (and one guy fishing), and we somehow made it back to tell the tale!

Back in town, Savannah and I scoured the shops in hopes of finding the perfect wool 'jumper'. The Shetland Islands are known for their sheep's wool sweaters- especially the Fair Isle design. Low and behold, I found one. I think I'll treasure that thing forever, so if you see me around a lot in one sweater, you'll know why :)

We continued the rest of the night by being fed a feast of haddock pie, which was by far the best food I've had made for me since being home. We had been told that there was an Irish folk concert starring Sharon Shannon, and my goodness, she was phenomenal. I also never would have thought that such a small community would have such a wonderful concert hall! Afterward I asked for a Screwdriver at the bar and none of the bartenders had any idea what it was. That was practically the first mixed drink I had ever heard of and so it startled me that no one recognized it!

The next day we woke up to a down pour, which meant lots of tea for the morning- I don't think I've ever consumed so much! We bundled up in our most rainproof gear to see the local broch- the site of an ancient and complex stone roundhouse. After drying off we took a taxi into town- my very first one ever!!! Then we headed over to the Shetland Museum, which had a great display of history. Then we were whisked away by our hosts to a craft fair. The hall that was hosting the event was actually the location that Mumford & Sons played at in '11 on the island…it was honestly so tiny, it's crazy they would take the time to play there. There was a plethora of knitting and goods, but there was also tea where you could pay three pounds to basically have unlimited tea/coffee and snacks. And let me tell you- those Shetlanders know how to bake! I also had a smoked salmon spread which I could have devoured all day.

And that pretty much concludes the whole weekend. Sorry if that was a bore- this is largely for my future recollection so I wouldn't blame you if you skimmed! There's a couple of fun things on the docket for me in this next week, so stay tuned :)

The main road of Lerwick is to the left; I just loved the building style!

View of the islands

Feeding one of the ponies!

Savannah and I with our hosts and their friends at tea

Fall Life!

Good Day,

The rest of this past week was filled with attempting to finish my first paper, and let me tell you- it was not easy. I might actually say that finding the location to drop off that paper was harder than writing it though, which is probably the most embarrassing part of the whole story.

Savannah, Anjali (my 2 flatmates), and I were at a loss for what to do for the weekend by the time Friday rolled around. Our intention was to head to St. Andrews. But....long story short, we had no place to stay and the cost of the train ride doubled so we decided the travel gods didn't want us leaving Aberdeen this weekend. It panned out pretty swell though- we found out that the farmers market (which only happens once a month) was on Saturday. We hopped aboard the bus to shorten our otherwise 45 minute walk downtown. I asked the bus driver how much a day pass would be and he responded, 'Well, what would you like to pay?' I said one pound, and he said 'okay!' but I just stood there looking like an idiot because I thought he couldn't be serious...but he was! I guess that was his last ticket at a cheaper rate for the day, so I didn't complain :) The market was filled with lovely smells from fresh fish, tastings of homemade teas, a buzz-worthy amount of wine sampling, and the delicious consumption of a haggis and venison Scotch pie. It felt like a great way to see what unique goods Aberdeenshire had to offer- and I was quite pleased with the results.

Also, as we were walking back to the bus stop, we walked into a Pound Mart (aka the Dollar Store for most of my readers.) Right then I saw it- red hair dye for a pound...I showed it to Savannah and Anjali and before you knew it we had our hands full, ready for a sporadic day of hair dying. That night we also took the liberty to stop at Lidl's (the grocery shop right next to campus) and grab some wine. So I made it into a cheese, bread, and wine kinda night while watching Parks and Rec- not too shabby in my opinion!

The following Wednesday was one of those you can't forget. We had a lovely Highland Frontier Society event- a bonfire on the Don River. Bonfires are the one thing that I really crave during the fall and I hadn't gotten my fill yet! However, when I asked them if anyone had brought me s'mores, they just looked at me in bewilderment. I couldn't believe it- they hadn't even heard of graham crackers!!! However, they did have mulled wine and sausages, which weren't comparable to s'mores, but still amazing! The people who I've met through this organization are indescribable- I love every minute with them :) It's the only place I've been to in a while where tin foil is a fashionable item and someone compliments you on the brightness of your 'head torch.'

This past week being Halloween, there were some pretty interesting events happening around campus- one being from an organization I've been helping with. They were looking to put on a traditional Scottish storytelling inside a yurt! What's a yurt you might ask? Well, it's a traditional tent-like structure used by nomadic people in central Asia. The organization was asking for volunteers to build one, and of course I wanted to help. All in all, it took a couple hours of 5 of us laying down the flooring, stretching the walls, and attaching wooden rods to make a roof structure. When it came time to hear the story teller, the experience got even better! She told some great stories, some being of witches and wolves.

Well, that's a recap of a couple weeks right there…now I have a new one boiling in my head about this past weekend- but I thought it needed its own blog.

Cheers!

Part of the gang at the bonfire :)

Coasteering and Other Crazy Things!

Hiya,

First off, these seagulls are going crazy today!!!!!! And, when I think about it, that is pretty much the only species of bird I have seen here. I guess that makes sense when Aberdeen is considered a fishing city.

This week I felt an outpour of love from those around me, especially from those back home in celebration of my birthday. It's a weird feeling when I took a step back to understand that people care about me so much that they are willing to send something across the ocean (and not cheaply I might add), just to wish me well and give me some extra TLC! Maybe it's because of all of this, but I've really found myself reminiscing about home. I've never actually been homesick, so maybe this is my version. When I think about it, it's crazy, I'm already over 1/3 done here in Scotland- it's flying by :( I still have so many things I want to do and experience!

This past weekend was a pretty crazy one. Saturday was my birthday and my flatmates are particularly awesome so they made me crepes and did my hair. AND because we've been slumming it up (at least according to United Kingdom standards), we decided that it twas a perfect occasion to get dressed up! Mama Moot sent me a red velvet cake mix in the mail (they are quite hard to come by over here) and I baked it up and they sang as I blew out my Bic lighter 'candle.'

The rest of the afternoon was chill, and then a few girls and I went to O'Neill's, shockingly an Irish pub haha. The instant we walked in it was obvious that we didn't belong there- I'm fairly certain the male to female ratio was 30:1 (and by that I really only mean women above 45.) Needless to say, we got a bit of extra attention. When I walked in I wasn't expecting a legitimately Irish crowd (I don't believe I was thinking that Ireland is only a stones throw away from here.) Either way, multiple guys approached our table and we had absolutely NO idea what they were saying, we're still not even sure if it was in English. I did oblige to take part in a dance with a fellow, that was pretty great, and he said he was sure I had to have some Irish blood in me :) After all of that, we left and headed to a bar and then club where we danced the night away, it was a lovely night!

The next morning was not so lovely- for I had to be out of the door by 8:30 AM to depart for my coasteering adventure in Stonehaven. The actual event, however, was phenomenal! You're probably wondering what coasteering is (or maybe you don't care, but I'm going to tell you anyway), it's pretty much a crazy combination of swimming (or attempting) around intense waves, then timing it just right to where you can use the waves' force to try and clamber onto the rocks. Then you climb around for a while hoping not to slip on the uneven, wet surface and then jump back in (while trying to be conscious of the water depth) and do it all over again! That is probably one of the most unique things I have ever done, you really have to interact with nature in that if you time it wrong you can be left dangling on a rock with the water 3 feet below you because the wave disappeared- that is quite freaky. I did that for a couple hours, then headed into town to down a pint and try a deep fried Mars bar. Fun fact: Stonehaven was the originator of this fattening delicacy so it just made it that much more special consuming it :) The rest of the night was filled with tea, sausage, and pancakes (which are more like crepes here) and friends- it was absolutely perfect!

The rest of this week has been filled with paper writing. I found out that in the UK school grades for the first two years are on a pass/fail system...I can't even believe that. Additionally, they don't pay for schooling here...so if you want to be nice to your children, raise them here haha! Speaking of school, right now I'm trying to switch my major back home- this girl is going into geography :) And in continuation (I'm on a roll)- on the topic of geography, people always say 'the states' here, not the US. Shockingly (not at all), people have no idea where Minnesota is...classic.

That's all for now folks! This weekend I'm taking a trip to St. Andrews so for all of you golfers- be jealous :)

Much Love!

Climbing to overlook the picture right below this (I'm the one in the crazy shorts!)

At the overlook- it was gorgeous 

Jumpin' :)

Heading into the cave (I'm on the right!)

I'm on the bottom left!

Me and the flatmates celebratin' my birfday!

Endless Adventures Make Unforgettable Memories

Hello all, I hope all of my readers are enjoying this gorgeous fall as much as I am. The weather is just in time for me to really start craving some warm coffee. And as expensive as life is here, their coffees are quite cheap, which could possibly make it the most dangerous aspect of traveling here. Also, here's a neat little tid bit, the Scots say skinny mocha; it's not that it's really that weird, but I've asked for a mocha with nonfat milk every time and they give me the 'gosh, she's a foreigner' look and correct me EVERY TIME!

Today I got lost for the first time on campus. I had previously scoped out the entire campus and ran across this room that definitely looked like it had been a Senate room, and there can only be one on a campus right? Wrong. I had gone to the NEW one instead of the old one for class. I guess that's what I get for studying abroad in a place that's cool enough to have two senate rooms.

This past weekend started off pretty crazy. A couple of my flatmates and I decided that pancakes were in order for Saturday morning, the catch: no milk. So, what's a poor college kid to do? Grab my Bailey's and use it as a substitute! Not going to lie, those were absolutely delicious. Our next venture that day sent us to a gorgeous little village called Stonehaven just 20 minutes away from Aberdeen. Our main focus: Dunnottar Castle and a fish and chips shop. What makes the castle here so unique is that it's practically its own island, and it's right alone the coast of the North Sea, I don't think the view could have been better! When we walked back into town we stopped at the restaurant, The Bay, which was awarded the best fish and chips shop in the UK; needless to say, it was amazing. As we were eating we witnessed this continuous line outside of the next-door ice cream shop, and even though we were full to the hilt, we couldn't help but test it for ourselves. It was definitely worth the wait- I got a flavor called Scottish Token (which is like a more brittle vanilla fudge), which I devoured happily :)

The next day my flatmate, Savannah and I set out at 5:30 AM to begin our excursion to Ben Nevis- the tallest 'mountain' in the UK. I put it in quotes because it was more like a hill elevation wise, a mere 4,409 feet tall. However, I rudely underestimated its difficulty- the entire hike up was basically large stone stairs (it ended up more like lunges for me though!) After the fact, I discovered that it was an ancient volcano, which made sense because the top 1/4 of the hike was completely comprised of small stones. All in all we covered about 10 vertical miles that day. We were able to hike it on a rarely sunny day, which was a blessing! One of the neatest parts was seeing all of the cute sheep roaming around the hillside. A side note about my experience on the eastern side of Scotland (where Ben Nevis is located)- there they speak Gaelic as well as English, so all of the signs have both languages!

Continuing on I was able to do my very first geoarchaeological dig at the site of Bennachie. It was the site of an old farming community from the early 1800s. My partner and I dug a test pit to analyze the soils and compare them to other test pits in order to identify how the landscape was used back in the day. Our data is actually going to be used in the research project, which I think is pretty exciting- we even found a cute lil piece of ceramic in our pit :)

A couple of random side notes before I wrap this blog up: I've discovered that few people have middle names in the UK, let alone a fair portion of mainland Europe, to me that just seems absolutely crazy! Less strange, and more exciting though, is Aberdeen's plethora of pubs with quiz nights. It's some good fun where you can win prizes, and make some friends, as well as have a good excuse to go out on a Monday :)

And here's my last notable thing. I was watching Netflix last night and came across an American movie and while I was watching it a guy got out on the right side of the vehicle. All was normal until I realized that he hadn't been the one driving- I was actually THINKING that the driver was going to be on the right side of the car. I think this is probably my first truly notable cultural impact that I somehow got into my brain. Along with that I've learned not to say, 'What's your major?' but instead 'What are you studying?'- and never say that you're a sophomore, because to them it's 2nd year. You don't say you're going to class, but that you're going to Uni, and finally it's not, 'Where are you from?', but 'Where abouts are you from?

Well, that's about the craziness of the last week in a nutshell. Word has it that Scotland's supposed to have its worst winter here in quite some time so we'll see if it lives up to it.

Blog to you soon,
Emily

At the summit of Ben Nevis  :)

My roomie Anjali and I in front of Dunnottar Castle

My fish and chips meal in Stonehaven

Near the peak of Ben Nevis

A Day in the Life: Part One

Hiya!

Well I've had classes for a week now and OOOH my goodness it's different here! For example, 2 of my classes meet just once a week...that is crazy to me, and I'm not really sure if I like it either. I'm one of those people that lacks the motivation on their own to do the readings and such, but in class I can give the prof all of my attention. Needless to say, I have 6 chapters of Geoarchaeology that I need to read before tomorrow, whoops! But the good/scary thing is that I really don't have to know all of the material before the main paper is due, which is about half way through the semester. And then I can forget it all until the final paper/exam at the end of the semester. By the way, those last couple sentences were complete sarcasm, I need more structure than this! Additionally, most of my classes have around 25 students with lectures having around 130; the weird thing is that I went to my Petrology & Mineralogy lab and it had 60 people with only 2 professors as guides. Sadly, after having 6 hours of combined lab and lecture I decided I couldn't handle it...even though I was supposed to have been able to take it, the class was far beyond my knowledge, even the 'review' part. At home, a class like this would have 30 students and meet everyday with the good chance that you could ask as many questions as necessary. It looks like I'll have to grow up a fair amount in the next few months to manage the schooling aspect. However, the bonus of having so little class is now that I have a 4 day weekend- yup folks, I have managed the impossible. Now all I need is a person to travel with...

I've already started growing up in a few ways, school aside: like I've learned how not to burn the chicken in the oven unless I want to be scraping the pan for 45 minutes. Also, even though this skill was mastered when I was a wee lass (I'm becoming Scottish people!), I've learned that to get what you want you need to just flat out ask every single question to the porters on campus (they might already recognize me when I walk in...now that's pretty embarrassing.)

Here's a couple of this uniquely Scottish: all of the taps on the faucets are separate, so there's never a possibility of having the 'perfect temperature'; they drive on the left side of the road here- it literally scares me every time we get in a car and I NEVER know which way to look before crossing the street!; I learned that if a kettle isn't included in the flat furnishings people will get furious; the outlets have switches so make sure they're turned on before waiting 20 minutes for the stove to heat up when really it's been turned off the entire time; girls in sweatpants= hobos, sad day; just because the weather is always grey doesn't mean that every day can be a lazy one; their typical donuts are a lot denser than back home and they have this delicious filling in them (there's a social every Tuesday that I can go get free ones so that's going to become a ritual :) ); Seaton Park is frightening at night- even in a group; never underestimate Mother Nature- she changes constantly; haggis is good; Irn-Bru is more popular than Coke-I'm not sure I agree with that though; even though I'm almost 2 years older than the drinking age, they just don't believe I'm old enough and require me to pull out my ID EVERYTIME (like seriously, I don't look old enough?! haha); cake mixes don't exist here; everyone thinks I'm Canadian; when they flip a coin they use the 2p piece because it's the biggest; and my spelling has taken a downturn with all of the UK spellings I'm getting wrong.

I hope you've been able to follow my randomness, I don't want to say it's going to happen a lot, but I'm sure it will...

As always, let me know what you think and for now, cheers!

Me and my roomie, Savannah, taking a stroll through the woods on campus!

Freshers Week

Here goes my first blog completely dedicated to Scotland!

So when I arrived in Aberdeen this past Saturday, I was living out of my carry-on from my previous Euro venture (because I put my full luggage in storage and the storage facility is closed on the weekends.) Needless to say I looked gross... but my flat looked grosser. The place I'm staying at reminds me of a comfortable prison- minus the creepy cellmates (mine are really nice :) ) I recently heard that this semester is its last in commission, oh well, it's a place to sleep, and much cheaper than everywhere else! The rest of my flatmates are from North America- one from Canada and then 4 others from the US.

The Aberdeen campus is gorgeous- it seriously looks like Hogwarts. And what's even crazier is that the school was established before the US was even a country! It takes around 20 minutes to walk to campus, but it's okay because I get to walk through a gorgeous park and cemetery (kinda weird, but perty neat!)

So this past week was something called Freshers Week, which is just like a big party before school starts up again. The best part though: the free food- gotta love that on a tight budget :) Pretty much everyday they had a big tent where students could look around at societies and sports clubs and pick which ones fit their fancy. Right now, I'm signed up for the Highland Frontier Society, which takes regular adventure trips around Scotland. We're scheduled to hit up Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the UK, this next week.

During Freshers they were definitely emphasizing the clubs around campus. Sometimes they're pretty funny- they try to draw kids in through the 'typical American party scene' by theming some of their nights 'Frat Parties' with 'red Solo cups' and everything! But because the drinking age is 18, that's literally the focus of societies' social events...it's something so foreign to me. They also have student pub discounts, which are genuinely a good deal so I may or may not have taken advantage of those already :)

My favorite part of the week though was probably the ceilidh, which is a traditional Scottish dance. It was open to the University students and it sold out because it was so darn popular. We got to experience a guy playing the bagpipes and some actually good Scottish dancers (before the whole crowd ruined the quality!) There was a free whiskey tasting, but I don't think there's any way that I could ever get used to the potency...then haggis, neeps, and tatties were tasted and the world was good. The greatest was witnessing and taking part in the epic dance- I've never seen such an energetic, clumsy, and sweaty crowd of people in one room. You just couldn't help but smile at everyone while dancing.

A group of international friends and I went to explore the city centre and came across the greatest pub, and that's where I fell in love with their hard cider. It's the perfect 'look like a beer, taste a lot better' drink, and it's even reasonably priced! That night we were comparing cultures and it really surprised me how much people think American accents are great. I guess I think everyone else's accents sound sweet, so it makes sense, but for my whole life I've never really been the one with a unique accent- I like it :)

Another day I took part in a sailing venture to Stonehaven- about a 20 minute drive from Aberdeen. Being my first experience sailing, I couldn't have asked for a better location- in a quaint Scottish village on the North Sea. It was there that I saw a puffin swimming right next to the boat- simply adorable! One of our guides even said he saw a dolphin, but I guess I'll have to wait until my next trip there.

This week was just lovely. I'm pretty darn satisfied thus far- and it's only the beginning :)

View amidst the North Sea

A couple of my flatmates and I at a society social

Across the Atlantic... And Beyond!

Hello Everyone, 

I'm just warning the readers of this blog that it's decently long because it's the recollection of my entire Euro trip, so I apologize if you fall asleep while reading it, the next ones won't be this lengthy!

So I made it to Aberdeen a week ago! I've already checked some firsts off my list- overnight/ transatlantic flight, legally drinking wine on a plane, watching a plane movie, and eating a full airplane meal (which aren't nearly as bad as people say they are- give it some credit!) We hit a snag in London though- the customs line took two hours to get through. Now don't get me wrong it wasn't all bad- we made lots of new friends and I thoroughly used up all of my 45 minutes of free wifi- cheap London...Once we got through that line we talked the man operating the escalators into letting us jump ahead in line to get through security quicker in hopes of  making our flight in the final five minutes before our flight was scheduled to depart. Once I got through security I ran like I've never run before- just imaging my 5'1" frame sprinting through the airport with a 55 liter pack, I must have looked crazy! After all of that we still missed it :( By the time I got to London I had lost one bag en route and the one that did arrive was thrown at my feet: it's zipper completely undone and the baggage strap providing the only saving grace to the contents of my bag. 

We made it to our first Couchhost in Aberdeen safe and sound! Jayd and I made a big step in our adventure- we got trac phones :) They are literally the junkiest things I have ever seen, but they operate well and I've managed to communicate with people so it has done its job. We stayed with another couchsurfer that night from Argentina- he was really funny and couldn't stand the cold (it was like 60 degrees) The next morning we took off for Edinburgh via bus- still tired out of our minds from the 6 hour time change. We traveled RyanAir and managed to get into the plane with our very specific luggage limits (thanks mum and dad for buying that ridiculous backpack!) 

In Krakow we met the nicest Couchhost- he lived in the most picturesque home twenty minutes out of the city. Even though we arrived at 9 PM he had spend multiple hours of his day preparing a three course meal for us- a sausage soup, dumplings, and then an orange dumpling dessert as well. We went out and saw the city at night- absolutely stunning! This was Saturday night so our host said the night life would be the best, there we stopped for a drink at a bar called 'Singer', which was known for its sewing machines on every table. We woke up the next morning to find the largest bread selection I've ever seen. He had taken note from my Couchsurfing profile that I loved bread so he made a great effort to fulfill that! We traveled to the Saltmines for a tour- my favorite part: tasting the wall for its validity- they didn't lie! We then traveled to a national park that contained castle ruins- it was such a gorgeous area! 

Here's a few side notes about Poland: they are the craziest parkers I've ever seen! It's legal to completely park a car on the side walk, as long as there's 1 meter for people. Also, I give props to Polish speakers because as of right now it's the most confusing language to me, honestly I couldn't begin to guess what most of the words meant! And on top of that, if you don't speak Polish, good luck finding ones who do- thank goodness our host was our translator. 

We experienced another first- riding in an overnight train. There wasn't a lot of sleep to be had on that portion of our trip, but we did manage to get off at the right stop :) As soon as we got into Salzburg, Austria we met up with our next host. He suggested we spend some time at Hellbrunn Park/Castle, which turned out to be amazing. It had a gorgeous view of the city as well as containing healing waters (which I definitely walked through...I can always use some healing!) My favorite park was the tour of the trick fountains- let's just say that's the most I've ever laughed on a tour, and definitely the most wet I've ever gotten, you'll have to check it out for yourself. Being in Austria, which is where a large part of the Sound of Music was filmed, I periodically broke out into song (causing some strange looks, but it's all in the fun of life.) Then our host took us downtown to try some food- a typical street food consisting of a sausage with mustard-not to be confused with a hot dog, it was much better!!! The three of us wandered the streets and sampled some beer as well as checking out the most unique cemetery, which provided the landscape for a through street. Later we met up with our host's friend and we quickly realized how difficult it is to directly translate a word in German to one in English. 

I'm fairly certain my favorite day of the whole trip was this day- when we went hiking into the Austrian mountains- about 30 minutes east of Salzburg. Although it was a short 2 hour hike, it was just enough to be able to see one of the greatest views I've ever seen. The top of the mountain provided us with a marvelous sight with a nearly 360 degree view of the area containing clear blue lakes, chiseled mountains, and the villages below. From there we could even see the headquarters of Red Bull, which originated in Salzburg. I could have stayed up there all day, and really in Austria for a month plus to enjoy their vast collection of trails. When we headed down we came across old castle ruins (which turned out to be quite a staple for the trip, which I thought was so crazy because castles in the US are far from casual!) We arrived back in Salzburg safe and sound, and quite hungry, so we set off to find a great beer garden. The presence of the people in that building was incredible. It was cafeteria style so I got another sausage as well as a pretzel (that was on my high crave list for the area, just ask Jayd :) ) In addition we had the opportunity to buy beer in a way I've never seen: it consisted of picking a mug off the shelf, washing it out, and proceeding to the line to get it filled by a man pouring the house beer out of an actual barrel- I think I liked that experience even more than the beer!!! We sat down at a table with a group that had the table reserved. We eventually found out that they consistently met there every other Wednesday and even had a sign on the wall stating that our table was claimed as theirs during their specified time. 

Right before we left Salzburg I had the pleasure of enjoying freshly picked mushrooms that our host and his family had picked that morning....literally the best ones I've ever tasted! Then we hit the train for Bern, Switzerland.

When we got to the connecting train station in Zurich we were starving and decided to check out what they had open at 11 PM, which landed us at Burger King: a burger there was 14 franks (which translated to about $14.) Needless to say we starved and I was a bit terrified of our money situation after that introduction to Switzerland. It got better though...just so that isn't too much of a cliff hanger for you!

On our first full day in Bern we took the grand tour with our couch surfing host: Rosengarten (rose garden with a gorgeous view of the river) , Bärengraben (bear park), and the Zytglogge (clock). It was quite gorgeous, and the water was so much clearer than anything I've seen in the US (apparently they have very tight regulations in order to keep it gorgeous.) After that we bought chocolate and wine, because you can't go to Switzerland without it- that turned into a shameless daily activity. 

The next day we met up with Timon- a friend of mine who had studied as an exchange student in Owatonna for a year. As we were walking and catching up, we came across the casino he hadn't ever been to one so we checked it out. To me the most interesting thing was that they had specific rooms for smoking whereas in the midwest you can smoke anywhere (this was especially astonishing considering the vast number of people who smoke in Europe compared to the US!) It was a lovely time :) We also met up with Timon's friend and had pizza with him. To me it has been very interesting learning the ways of the European system on eating out: The waiter will only bring the check when you ask, they won't regularly check on you, water is NEVER free (my biggest annoyance), and you rarely (shocking bahahaha) tip! Anyway, we hung out until the rain caught up with us and departed our ways for the evening.

Our final day in Bern was pretty open to suggestion until Sarah, one of my friends who was also an exchange student, messaged me and  said she was living in Bern and would love to do something with us! So we went to a delicious gelato place where there happened to be a flea market going on and such. It was a such a perfect scene! Me and Jayd's main plan for the day was to cook up a grand American meal in thanks for the days that our host and her flatmates had to put up with us. So we took a trip to the main train station (because oddly that's the only place that's open on Sundays!) We snagged all of the ingredients needed for our feast of sloppy joes, garlic mashed potatoes, and Snickers salad...except for the Cool Whip!! Apparently Europe doesn't believe in the BEST topping for pies and pudding, which really surprised me. It was supposed to be a meal for 4, but 7 ended up showing up, but somehow we still had enough food for everyone, plus a little extra. They had never had anything like it before, but they must have liked it enough because everything was scraped clean :)

We bid Adieu the next morning and headed off for the fine city of Torino, Italy. However first came the 5 hour wait in the Milan train station (which lacked quality and wifi.) During these long hours we discovered that the bar in the cafe where we had set-up camp sold more espresso than any alcohol combined, which I thought was quite interesting! We met up with our host late that afternoon and he brought us to his beautiful apartment. After watching some European basketball (yes, he even knew about ALL of the white guys from the Timberwolves team, so funny!) we went with him and his friend for a tour of the city at night. It was such a gorgeous place, and so much great history around it- including the story that no building could be higher than the Mole Antonelliana (originally a synagogue and now the tallest museum in the world- and FYI it's the image on the 2 cent Italian Euro piece!!)...but Mussolini decided that he would give that idea 'the finger', by building an ugly and quite tall building close to it (pictured below). After that we ate at a restaurant which was serving a typical all-you-can-eat dinner buffet, which included a drink, not a bad deal if you ask me! 

Jayd and I did much exploring the next day before having to leave Torino to fly to Barcelona. The most difficult part was trying to obtain a 24 hour bus pass- literally no one that we spoke to could give us enough information in English to convey ideas to us until we finally understood a woman gesturing enough directions to make sense to us and after about 30 minutes we found it! Moral of the story: learn Italian, because they won't learn English for you haha! We took an elevator ride to the top of the Mole Antonelliana, which showed us a stunning view of the city and the Alps. Afterward we headed back to our host's flat and he made us some delicious pesto pasta and let us try some of his 'Nespresso' espresso (he said they don't drink cups of black coffee there!) Then we headed for yet another train and plane trip!

This evening marked the last destination in our trip...Barcelona! We got off the train and freakishly had no idea where we were to walk to, but for some reason Jayd was able to use her maps with a tracker to find our hostel (honestly an act of God, because without it we probably never would have found it!) The hostel was super clean and the first night there was sangria night, which was already a great start. We left to go out to a club and took the Metro. This is the part in the blog where Emily gets the most sad: my iPod Touch got stolen...yup, the Barcelona pickpocketers got me. Honestly, I thought I was being ultra careful, I guess not...However, the rest of the evening was great! 

The following day was filled with attempting to recover my iPod and sightseeing. Jayd and I set out with no plan and ended up running across Las Rambas, the single most happening spot for tourists, and just a gorgeous place with palm trees (we however, found out that the city imported all of their palm trees to attract tourists- I guess it worked out pretty well for them!) As we were walking around the marina we came across some people from our hostel and headed over to the beach with them and we made a day of it! It was a shame though because we didn't bring our suits along, even though it wouldn't have mattered because of all of the old naked women we saw. After that Jayd and I took a wrong turn to get back to the hostel and ended up in the nicest neighborhood in Barcelona: el Born. Which led us to the el Born ruins from the early 1700s, it was a beautifully restored area. 

The next day we discovered an amazing bakery right by our hostel, which we made into a daily routine. The sweetest lady owned it, and made the most delicious chocolate filled rectangular pastries (it's making my mouth water just writing this!!) so everyday I got one of those and a loaf of bread to munch on. We hit up a free tour of the gothic part of the city, which was probably the best decision we could have made there! We were able to hear some alternative facts about Barcelona and there was only 4 of us total on the tour- which made everything better because we joked the whole way. We got coffee with them afterward and headed to the beach. I got my first taste of salt water- literally!  Later that evening we ate with a guy from Canada and our roommate from Colorado- my favorite part of traveling there became how great it was to meet people! Then we went to a club that was way too fancy for my style...I was wearing my Birks while most girls were in their 6 inch heels - comfort over class any day.

Our final full day in Barcelona was somewhat of a joke- we finally got completely lost on the bus system, but we did get to see Sangrada Familia in all of its glory. Later we went to La Merce Festival- Barcelona's largest festival in celebration of the patron saint of Barcelona. We first visited one of the live music venues and then headed to the beach for the carnival that was going on- so much funsies. 

After all of that, we made it back to Aberdeen!!! A friend we met at the hostel was taking the same flight back to Glasgow so he helped us figure out how to take the train back, which was so helpful. I feel like I got a great taste of the area, I'd go back to any of those places in a heart beat! Also, if you made it this far in my blog congrats! The world's longest blog is now done- now off to another one to describe my Aberdeen adventures :)

Cheers!

The top of a mountain we climbed in Austria-one of my favs!

Me overlooking the city of Bern, Switzerland

Here's Mussoli's ugly building with his 'finger' up, haha I love it!