Discovering His World

The last week of the program was just as filled as the rest of the semester. Tuesday night a group of us went to a Ceilidh dance at the University of Edinburgh's Bongo Club. Several of the dances were familiar from our first Ceilidh at the beginning of the semester and quite a few were new to me. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad I got to participate in a "real" Ceilidh during my time in Scotland. On Wednesday I got my final dose of Edinburgh as Gabby and I spent the afternoon shopping. Thursday was spent cleaning the Palace. Everyone helped clean the kitchen areas, servery, and dining hall, then we split into our house jobs, so I helped clean the ballroom. After lunch we had the opportunity to see the attic of the Palace. It's very run down and we had to watch where we stepped, but it was cool to see the graffiti left by Polish WWII POW's on the walls. It was then onto cleaning our rooms and checking out. That night we had an end of semester/program party. W...

May 4-6, my last weekend in Europe. We made sure we made the most of our time and went out with a bang! Friday, May 4 had been eagerly anticipated for a majority of the semester. This was the day Gabby, Courtney, Kathy, and I went to Watford, England to tour the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studios!! We flew into Luton, England and took a bus to Watford. After lunch we still had quite some time before our tour time, but we couldn't wait any longer and got on the shuttle bus early.  Our shuttle bus to/from the Studios After perusing the very extensive gift shop we got in line for the tour. We began the self-guided tour a little after 2pm and came to the end a little before 5:30pm. During the nearly 3.5 hours, we walked through the actual studios where the Harry Potter movies were filmed. We walked through the Great Hall and saw the sets for the Gryffindor Common Room and Boys Dormitory, Dumbledore's Office, the Weasley's kitchen, Diagon Alley, and so many more! The wig...

For our second and last extended travel weekend we took a house trip to the Highlands of Scotland. The Highlands are what most people think of when they think of Scotland: mountains, rugged, not very populated. After traveling this area for four days I know why Robert Burns wrote a poem confessing that his heart is in the highlands. Gabby, Hannah M., and I at Glencoe Our trip started with a short stop in Stirling to pick up our Scotland: Society and Globalization professor, who would be our "tour guide" for the weekend. It was then off to Doune Castle (where parts of Monty Python and the Holy Grail were filmed) before heading into the Highlands. We stopped in the beautiful Glencoe and had an opportunity to take a wee hike before we headed to our hostel. Our youth hostel was at the foot of Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the British Isles. We explored the river at the base of the mountain before watching the sunset and calling it a night. Glenfinnan Viaduct   ...

Mom and Dad came to visit me April 19-25. It was their first time overseas and Mom's first time flying. I enjoyed showing them around Dalkeith and Edinburgh and we had some fun adventures! I met them at the airport just after noon on Thursday 19 April and we took the bus back to Dalkeith. That night was Host Family Quiz Night, so they got to meet my host parents and our team took second place! After a day of flying and being jet-lagged it was then off to bed for them. Chelsea, Virgina, Steve, Mom, and Dad Friday, we joined the rest of the house on a trip to Bowhill and Melrose. Bowhill Estate is the seat of the Buccleuch Family (if you remember, the Duke of Buccleuch owns Dalkeith House). A lot of the original furniture from Dalkeith House is now in Bowhill. After touring the Duke's Estate, we stopped at Melrose Abbey and explored the ruins. Our final stop was Scott's View, where we could see for miles and adore the Scottish landscape. Scott's View On Sat...