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