Wah Wah Wah

During orientation for Edinburgh, one of the slides they showed while I was doodling away was about culture shock. Pretty much they told us all that we would fall in love with Edinburgh, and about a month in we would hate everything about it want to go home and this sucks and blah blah blah, before slowly coming to love and appreciate the city once more in a new way only living there can inspire.

Well, its over a month in and I still love Edinburgh. But, I am starting to feel a bit (dun, dun, dun) Homesick....well, not homesick per say. Homesickness to me is what you get in summer camp when all you want to do is curl up on the couch and watch TV with mommy and daddy-and nothing else that happens can distract you from that feeling, and its all you can concentrate on even though it is swim-time and you should be listening to your instructor teach you how to do the scissor kick. Thats not the feeling I have here. (Not that I ever got that feeling while in camp. Sorry Mom and Dad, love you, but we got to climb rock walls in camp and you can't do that in front of a TV.)

Right now its just silly moments occurring and me going "Oh, I wish so-and-so were here" or me telling stories about my family and wishing my friends could meet them, because meeting my family is like an entire chapter on why Andrea is as crazy and loud as she is. I do miss some things about home like burgers and days where it isn't raining, but I am more then capable of waiting for those things and putting them out of my mind. The family and friend thing is harder.

I don't know if it's because its of the "month in" thing or because the upcoming weekend made me realize how far from home I actually am. This weekend it's both my sister's birthday and the breast cancer walk. If I was at Brandeis right now, I would have been home for both these things because it is only a four hour drive and I would have had Thursday off anyway, so what does friday matter? Heck, it probably would have been my second time home because I would have come up two weeks before for Rosh Hashanah. But here, I don't have that option. It also doesn't help that this weekend I will be going to a home-stay so I will be spending time with another person's family. It will be fun, but certainly not the same :) Also, Mock Trial tournament stuff is coming up and I'm not there which is so frackin weird.

Huh, I just realized I have never gone more then two months without going home for some event or another. Oh man, true test of character coming up.

But seriously, I love you guys and I miss you.

Also, last weekend I went to Inverness and I never finished the post I wrote about it because frankly, the post itself was super boring and I couldn't really get down in words how awesome the highlands were so y'all are going to get a summery instead:

We saw some waterfalls that Queen Victoria liked. We got to see the Hogwarts Express go over a bridge. I lost my shoe in some mud. We got to play with sheepdog puppies, and I saw a cow stick out its tongue. I also made the mistake of making a "hat of shame" joke with the bus driver, when he had one on hand. We went on a whisky distillery tour. We hunted Nessy on Loch Ness, and by that I mean I sat in the saloon downstairs and drank hot chocolate. Then we explored some castle ruins before stopping for some breathtaking views of the hills. My guide wore a kilt the whole time :)

And now pictures!

If anyone wants to hear more about my jaunt up to the highlands, or you know- just want to chat: send me a Facebook message or an email or leave a comment. I miss y'all a lot :)

I am going to go try and find a Rock wall to climb now.

Creative Writing and I love my flatmates

Last Monday I went to my Create Society meeting. For this meeting we needed to bring in an item and come up with a character to go with it. How did they get the item? What did it mean to them? Etc.

I came in with a small pocket mirror that I had picked up in a shop the week before.

When we got there, we had to write a short piece about the character and the item. I liked what I wrote, so I decided to post it here. 

Marla Woole

I was standing in the line at the grocery when I pulled out my mirror. I was convinced my mascara had smudged and that would never do.

“Oh what a lovely mirror!”

The voice behind me was one I knew. I had heard it before, at meetings, in shops. I spoke to so many people it was sometimes hard to keep them straight. I turned to the woman with a bright smile on my painted lips.

“Thank you.” I said as brightly as I could manage. I recognized her. Lillian or Lilly, her hair was a pale red- dyed terribly. She hadn’t made the choice to go gracefully into silver like I had. My color also came from a bottle, but it was professionally done.

“Where ever did you get it?”

The smile stuck on my face and I held the mirror closer. “This?”

Oh dear. It was very rare I was caught without a story. I had bought it at a garage sale in Pensy for 50 cents, but that would never do. My reputation would be ruined- Every one knew that Marla Woole had no use for garage sales. It may have been where most of my gathered things I had come from, but really- there was no reason to ruin the fun.

“My second husband gave it to me.”

The lie spilled from my lips almost effortlessly, it should after years of long practice, and I wasn’t about to let my moment’s hesitation undo me.

“He would travel often and he brought it back for me from one of his adventures- Thailand I think.” I felt the sadness creep into my face as I concocted the next bit. I didn’t really want more questions before I could think through all of it.

“He died about six months after. The plane he was piloting went down over Africa while he was on Safari. The man he was transporting survived but he…” I trailed off for effect, and the result I wanted was achieved. Almost on cue Lily or Lillian raised her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide. I slowly closed my mirror and slipped it away.

“I’m so sorry… I’m glad you have something to remember him by.”

I offered her a sad smile and turned to the cashier, as it was my turn in line. I paid for my chicken and eggs and with a wistful wave I walked out to the parking lot before I could say anything more. I think my best skill is in dramatic exits.

I didn’t have time to relish in my efforts though. I had more to think about. I had never realized I had been married before, and now I had two husbands to work out-maybe more. I delighted in the prospect. I always love a good story. 

I hope y'all enjoyed that :)

Oh! And if you guys wanted to know how my flatmates and I are getting on, here is a small photo story:

They are actually really sweet and a lot of fun. I just wished they weren't so messy!
I really need some Mary-Ann magic up in this joint :P

Until next time!

Edit: Marleigh is excluded in the flatmate complaint because there ain't nothing to complain about :D

Livin' for the Weekend

Okay, time is going by quicker and quicker. I'm afraid I am going to blink and it will already be December. But time is not allowed to go that quickly because a) I am having too much fun and b) I have five pretty big assignments due between now and then and I really don't want to think about all the work I am going to have to do in between all the traveling and things I've been planning.

Speaking of fun, last weekend was pretty kick-ass. On Thursday I got to chat with my family over Skype during Rosh Hashanah dinner, so I got to see my grandma and my aunts and uncles. I think the best part of that, besides seeing all their beautiful faces, was seeing who understood technology the least. I can't tell if I found my great-aunt talking very loudly at the microphone or my mother's inability to turn the program off to be more amusing. I was kinda sad I couldn't be there to celebrate the madness that is a Honig family party, but I know there will be many more new years and only a few short months to spend in Scotland.

After that conversation, I ended up going out with some friends. We went out to meet a group of people who were spending the night in Edinburgh. The pub we went to meet them at was pretty full of people over the age of thirty, and us "natives" (yeah, okay) thought it was pretty odd that that was where they had chosen to drink. The next pub we went to was a bit better though. It was on the Royal Mile and had a nice atmosphere, though it wasn't nearly as charming as the pub our group has deemed as its own (Though there will be more on that in a later post). I finally got to have some whiskey while we were there. I can now cross "drink Scottish whiskey in Scotland" off my bucket list. Next up is "Have beer with breakfast." Though, I don't know how keen I am on knocking that one off.

After the pub we parted ways from the group of visitors. We headed back to our flats and turned in early because some of our number had class the next morning (naughty, naughty) and we had planned a full docket for that afternoon. Sleep proved particularly difficult that night and didn't help that one of my flatmates had blessed me with a cold. But, I didn't let that get in my way :)

Friday was absolutely gorgeous. the sun was shining, there was a slightly cool breeze, and it was actually warmer in Edinburgh than it was in New York which was really something to celebrate. It was the perfect weather for our next excursion; climbing Arthur's Seat. 

A bit of background:

-ahem-

"Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park. It is situated in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. The hill rises above the city to a height of 251 m (823 ft) and provides an excellent panoramic views of the city."

Thank you wikipedia.

So yes, there is a giant hill in the middle of the city and because it was such a breathtaking day we decided we had to climb it. (We being Lucy, Lucy's boyfriend, Marleigh, Lindy and myself)

Orginally when we got to the seat, I was very much daunted by the height. I was already a bit tired and I was feeling very out of shape, but I began the climb anyway. The way up was really steep, but the rocks formed a kind of staircase so the climb wasn't too terrible and the views were abesolutely stunning. Stupid me forgot her camera, but I have lovely friends that let me steal their shots :)

Afterwards we headed home and for dinner that night we went to Mums (Another destination that will be discussed at a later date.). I was bad and got a milkshake, but it was delicious so it was well worth it. After we stuffed ourselves silly we proceeded to the Royal Mile to go on a tour called "Hidden and Haunted."

It was run by the same company that did the the other tour I was on, but this one focused more on stories about ghosts then on people being hung or having their head chopped off. Here is our guide. She added to the experience tenfold.

See what I mean?

We even went down into the vaults, which are supposedly one of the most haunted areas of Britain. Apparently there is little boy down there, a cobbler, and a ghost called the watcher who isn't very nice. I didn't spot anything, but I think something stepped on my foot. MAYBE IT WAS A GHOST!!! ... or it could have been the guy standing next to me. I'll let you decide which one is more reasonable. I guess I will have to look for hauntings elsewhere. I did have a good time though, whether I saw spectres or not.

One of the girls did catch a blue orb on her camera though.

Ghost or spec of dust? The world may never know...

On Saturday we headed to Stirling and explored the castle.

It was very pretty, but it was so rainy and foggy and they didn't give us enough time to really explore the city because they decided we were going to the William Wallace momunment. Because it was so foggy we didn't even attempt to see it. We swung right into the cafe and grabbed seats. It ended up being a good idea, because about a half an hour later the cafe was packed- but we were already comfurtable. It was fun hanging out, but we were very glad to get on the bus back to Edinburgh.

After a quick dinner we decided to head out to do a pub crawl. I ended up having to leave early because my cold and lack of sleep the night before had finally caught up to me. What lack of sleep you ask? WELL my very lovely flatmate decided it would be super awesome to come home drunk with a bunch of friends, dragging a traffic cone behind them and screaming-   at 4 am. Let's just say I was not too keen about that, and on Sunday I had a very nice conversation with said flatmate about not doing that again- minimal bodily threats were issued :)

Luckily, I was able to sleep in on Sunday. I also spent the entire day in my jammies drinking tea and bopping around on the internet. Oh! I did some work as well.

That night My friends, Erin and Lindy, and I went to the pub quiz once more where once again we suffered a stunning defeat. It was still a lot of fun AND because it was czech night, they raffled off some Czech imported beer. Guess who won some?

Awwww Yes :)

Overall it was a pretty eventful and fun weekend- But I don't know how it is going to compare to next weekend. I am going to Inverness on an organized trip with my IFSA-butler group. Three days going through the highlands of Scotland. I know, such a hard life.