Since I am studying for my Culture and Society in Modern Scotland final, and I am procrastinating, I will enlighten you with a few Scottish poems.
Elma Mitchell(1919- )
The Passenger Opposite
Everything falls asleep with sleep
- The wariness, the will -
It's hard to loathe a sleeping face
Lapsed back into a state of grace,
Naked, relaxed and still.
Even the hair is childish now,
Rumpled and damp and young,
The teeth unclenched, the hands let loose,
Both smile and frown gone out of use,
No message from the tongue.
The mouth has slackened, and the chin
Given up its thrust and drive,
The eyes have left their sentry box,
The ears have closed their subtle locks,
Content to be alive
Just breathing; and the eyelashes
Are delicate, and long,
They stoop, and soothe the fretted cheek
Which knows no words nor need to speak,
No scope for going wrong.
This is the sleep of train, and plane,
Of hammock, bunk and pram,
Deck-chair and hospital and cot,
Of slaked desire, of world-forgot,
Of I-Am-That-I-Am.
And if the shoulder's tapped, or shouts
Disturb the rhythmic bliss,
Will the face resurrect its fears,
Its irritations and its years
Or smile, and shape a kiss?
Here is my stop. I must get out
And cannot answer this.
William Soutar (1898-1943)
The Room
Into the quiet of this room
Words from the clamorous world come:
The shadows of the gesturing year
Quicken upon the stillness here.
The wandering waters do not mock
The pool within its wall of rock
But turn their healing tides and come
Even as the day into this room.
Hugh MacDiarmid
Empty Vessel
I met ayont the cairney
A lass wi' tousie hair
Singin' till a bairnie
That was nae langer there.
Wunds wi' warlds to swing
Dinna sing sae sweet
The licht that bends owre a'thing
Is less ta'en up wi't.
And there you have it.
Monday 18 May 2009
Sunday 3 May 2009
The rest of my semester...
So, I have both of my classes once more each, and then I am academically finished until finals which I have on May 20th and May 23rd. Then it's a week until I am HOME.
With my time, if money allows, I would like to take a day trip to go hill walking/see Loch Ness, which is not terribly exciting in itself so there has to be something else to occupy the day.
Get the best fish and chips in Britain, which is in Anstruther which is only a short bus ride away.
Go to Edinburgh for the day and take pictures, which I failed to do during orientation, and I haven't really spent too much time there since.
Possibly take a day trip to Glasgow, just to see the West coast of Scotland and see what it has to offer.
I wish I had more money because I would love to go to London, but that will have to be another reason to come back someday.
With my time, if money allows, I would like to take a day trip to go hill walking/see Loch Ness, which is not terribly exciting in itself so there has to be something else to occupy the day.
Get the best fish and chips in Britain, which is in Anstruther which is only a short bus ride away.
Go to Edinburgh for the day and take pictures, which I failed to do during orientation, and I haven't really spent too much time there since.
Possibly take a day trip to Glasgow, just to see the West coast of Scotland and see what it has to offer.
I wish I had more money because I would love to go to London, but that will have to be another reason to come back someday.
Things I Will Not Miss
- Having a roommate
- Being cold
- Being broke
- The food
- Living in a freshman dorm, without my own kitchen, microwave, mini fridge
- Most of the people
- Not having a gym
- Communal bathroom, and the shower which is basically a 2 by 2 cubicle with a sideways facing shower head that doesn't quite make sense.
Things I Will Miss
- The Scottish sky, clouds, horizons, sunsets
- Living on the beach, hearing gulls all the time
- Traveling
- Being surrounded by history, castles, cobblestones
- Being able to legally drink, in public...
- Randomly hearing bagpipes
Dublin
So I know I still haven't posted about spring break, but I am going to soon I swear!!! haha. Buttttt as a consolation I'm going to rant about how awesome Dublin is and how much I loved it.
So, I wasn't originally too psyched to go to Dublin because it wasn't until after I had booked the tickets and hostel that I realized how broke I am, but I am so happy that I went, and that it's the trip I will be ending on. Spring break and all the other trips I went on were amazing, and I got to see so much more than I saw in Dublin, but there was something about the atmosphere that I loved. It was a feeling of familiarity, and everyone was so nice. At this point I'm used to snobby English people, rude Parisians, and gross Italian men who cat call and harrass women. It may be connected to the atmosphere of drinking, but everyone is just so jovial!! hehe. I finally got to love life again, it's been getting harder and harder here because I'm homesick and need some warm weather for starters.
Maddie and I went with a friend from her program, Eric, and it was so nice to have a third person to add to the dynamic anddd it was nice to have a boy with us so we didn't have to worry about getting harrassed. Maddie and I were pretty traveled out so our expectations for Dublin weren't high. Mostly, we wanted a pint of Guinness and a relaxing weekend. Luckily, Eric had some tourist ambitions and we did a lot of walking and sight seeing around the city. We went to a history museum, took a tour of the Guinness storehouse and I enjoyed my first pint of Guinness, saw the castle and cathedral, saw Trinity college campus, went to an amazing open food market and I had the most delicious lamb and blue cheese sandwich and huge chocolate brownie that I have ever had in my life. Food is key in my life at the moment, I talk about food at least 3 times a day because it's so terrible at this school and in general in the UK. Being provided with full Irish breakfast every morning at the hostel was amazing. I'm well on my way to heart disease now and another 5 lbs, but I can't say I regret it.
It sounds ridiculous but not planning this trip made it that much more amazing. We were just wandering and happening upon things. Our first dinner was delicious and there was live music and a nice atmosphere, and it was the last restaurant we walked by, after searching for reasonable prices for an hour or more. Then, we went to a pub called the Pint the next night that we just happened upon and it was probably the best decision we made all weekend. Upon drinking in this pub, sitting at the bar, we got to chatting with the bartenders, one our age and one a stout bald man who must have been around 30. Eric was on one end, enjoying a beer and engrossed in conversation with an old man, talking about tanks or something ridiculous.....and I was on the other end with Maddie in the middle of us. A severely drunk, bumbling, slurring, swaying man saying he's a professor at Trinity College came up to me and tried to chat me up. Now Mom and Dad, don't be frightened, I had the luck of the Irish on my side this whole weekend. The older bar tender was amazing and kicked the guy out of the bar.
Then Maddie and I got to talking with him and he was telling us about the rugby match on the next day between Munster and Leicester which are two different provinces(or something) in Ireland. Both of which made up the Irish team that won the 6 nations championship this year. He also said he has a lot of merchandise because he used to work at the Guinness factory, and he said if I came back tomorrow he would give me a rugby jersey. So we left, did some walking around the next day and eventually made our way back so I could claim my jersey. This time an old man sat down next to me who was so sweet he was chatting with me about how bad music is today and how he misses love songs, and the first time he saw his wife Englelbert Humperdink was playing and when he saw her that first time he fell in love with her. And he showed me pictures of his grandchildren and he was so cute...a pleasnt change from the sleazeball the night before. We had a couple drinks and the bartender gave me the rugby shirt as promised, furthering the amazing mood I was in all weekend.
Unfortunately, our time in Dublin had to end. But I will most certainly be going back someday, and I really wish I had more time and money to go back now, to the countryside and coast to explore rural Ireland as well, but I need a reason to go back after all...
On a side note...take a look and listen at this. It made me laugh every time and feel like I was in Star Wars... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXL1BEkjVto&feature=related
So, I wasn't originally too psyched to go to Dublin because it wasn't until after I had booked the tickets and hostel that I realized how broke I am, but I am so happy that I went, and that it's the trip I will be ending on. Spring break and all the other trips I went on were amazing, and I got to see so much more than I saw in Dublin, but there was something about the atmosphere that I loved. It was a feeling of familiarity, and everyone was so nice. At this point I'm used to snobby English people, rude Parisians, and gross Italian men who cat call and harrass women. It may be connected to the atmosphere of drinking, but everyone is just so jovial!! hehe. I finally got to love life again, it's been getting harder and harder here because I'm homesick and need some warm weather for starters.
Maddie and I went with a friend from her program, Eric, and it was so nice to have a third person to add to the dynamic anddd it was nice to have a boy with us so we didn't have to worry about getting harrassed. Maddie and I were pretty traveled out so our expectations for Dublin weren't high. Mostly, we wanted a pint of Guinness and a relaxing weekend. Luckily, Eric had some tourist ambitions and we did a lot of walking and sight seeing around the city. We went to a history museum, took a tour of the Guinness storehouse and I enjoyed my first pint of Guinness, saw the castle and cathedral, saw Trinity college campus, went to an amazing open food market and I had the most delicious lamb and blue cheese sandwich and huge chocolate brownie that I have ever had in my life. Food is key in my life at the moment, I talk about food at least 3 times a day because it's so terrible at this school and in general in the UK. Being provided with full Irish breakfast every morning at the hostel was amazing. I'm well on my way to heart disease now and another 5 lbs, but I can't say I regret it.
It sounds ridiculous but not planning this trip made it that much more amazing. We were just wandering and happening upon things. Our first dinner was delicious and there was live music and a nice atmosphere, and it was the last restaurant we walked by, after searching for reasonable prices for an hour or more. Then, we went to a pub called the Pint the next night that we just happened upon and it was probably the best decision we made all weekend. Upon drinking in this pub, sitting at the bar, we got to chatting with the bartenders, one our age and one a stout bald man who must have been around 30. Eric was on one end, enjoying a beer and engrossed in conversation with an old man, talking about tanks or something ridiculous.....and I was on the other end with Maddie in the middle of us. A severely drunk, bumbling, slurring, swaying man saying he's a professor at Trinity College came up to me and tried to chat me up. Now Mom and Dad, don't be frightened, I had the luck of the Irish on my side this whole weekend. The older bar tender was amazing and kicked the guy out of the bar.
Then Maddie and I got to talking with him and he was telling us about the rugby match on the next day between Munster and Leicester which are two different provinces(or something) in Ireland. Both of which made up the Irish team that won the 6 nations championship this year. He also said he has a lot of merchandise because he used to work at the Guinness factory, and he said if I came back tomorrow he would give me a rugby jersey. So we left, did some walking around the next day and eventually made our way back so I could claim my jersey. This time an old man sat down next to me who was so sweet he was chatting with me about how bad music is today and how he misses love songs, and the first time he saw his wife Englelbert Humperdink was playing and when he saw her that first time he fell in love with her. And he showed me pictures of his grandchildren and he was so cute...a pleasnt change from the sleazeball the night before. We had a couple drinks and the bartender gave me the rugby shirt as promised, furthering the amazing mood I was in all weekend.
Unfortunately, our time in Dublin had to end. But I will most certainly be going back someday, and I really wish I had more time and money to go back now, to the countryside and coast to explore rural Ireland as well, but I need a reason to go back after all...
On a side note...take a look and listen at this. It made me laugh every time and feel like I was in Star Wars... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXL1BEkjVto&feature=related
Sunday 19 April 2009
update soon to come...
So I realize that I have neglected my blog lately, but ever since I got back from spring break I've been swamped with homework. Trust me, I'd rather be updating my blog than doing work. I will try to update soon though, hopefully in the next couple days. I have two essays due on the 27th, so I'm trying to get a head start on one today so I don't have to deal with both next weekend.
I will say that I am starting to get homesick, and I am pretty broke at this point. After these two essays I basically have nothing until my two finals, one on May 20th and one on May 23rd. Spring break kind of knocked the wind out of any motivation I had before, which was already minimal haha. Well it's off to work I go...
I will say that I am starting to get homesick, and I am pretty broke at this point. After these two essays I basically have nothing until my two finals, one on May 20th and one on May 23rd. Spring break kind of knocked the wind out of any motivation I had before, which was already minimal haha. Well it's off to work I go...
Monday 23 March 2009
Trip to Spain!
My trip to Granada to see Ally was awesome, and a welcome respite from the cold Scottish weather. Maddie and I made it to the bus station where Ally met us with virtually no trouble at all...my horrible Spanish helped out, but I should have brushed up a bit more haha.
Our hostel was really nice. Turned out to be an apartment across the street from the office, with 3 double bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and bathroom. There were people staying in the other bedrooms but Maddie and I only met two of the girls, and they left sometime during the weekend. The kitchen came in handy when we went to the BEACH on Saturday. It was so amazing. We packed up some snacks and sandwiches and headed out first thing in the am. The beach was amazing, and even though the water wasn't that warm I couldn't not swim in the Mediterranean!
That night we also got to see a flamenco show, which was incredible but I will admit that after walking around all day Friday sight seeing, and being in the sun all day on Saturday I nodded off a couple times...whoops! Still, though, it was so fun to see the dancers, and not understand a word of the announcers or commentary hahaha. The accent there is thick, and I'm lost with it.
(shout out to Ally here) It was so nice to see Ally, a little bit of home to get me through this whirlwind of a semester =]. Plus, despite all that we did, the trip was incredibly laid back and relaxing. Maddie and I also had the chance to meet up with a friend from GW and get dinner with him and his friend and a drink afterward. We had to get to bed early though so we could make it to the beach, so we didn't get to hang out with him too late. But it was nice to see him nonetheless.
My overall impression of Spain: it is beautiful, and I need to brush up on my Spanish. And also, there's no way I could handle the heat of a Spanish summer. It was in the high 70s while we were there and its only March, yikes! Oh, and they have a strange obsession with ham. Apparently there's even a palace of ham in Madrid...weird.
Our hostel was really nice. Turned out to be an apartment across the street from the office, with 3 double bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and bathroom. There were people staying in the other bedrooms but Maddie and I only met two of the girls, and they left sometime during the weekend. The kitchen came in handy when we went to the BEACH on Saturday. It was so amazing. We packed up some snacks and sandwiches and headed out first thing in the am. The beach was amazing, and even though the water wasn't that warm I couldn't not swim in the Mediterranean!
That night we also got to see a flamenco show, which was incredible but I will admit that after walking around all day Friday sight seeing, and being in the sun all day on Saturday I nodded off a couple times...whoops! Still, though, it was so fun to see the dancers, and not understand a word of the announcers or commentary hahaha. The accent there is thick, and I'm lost with it.
(shout out to Ally here) It was so nice to see Ally, a little bit of home to get me through this whirlwind of a semester =]. Plus, despite all that we did, the trip was incredibly laid back and relaxing. Maddie and I also had the chance to meet up with a friend from GW and get dinner with him and his friend and a drink afterward. We had to get to bed early though so we could make it to the beach, so we didn't get to hang out with him too late. But it was nice to see him nonetheless.
My overall impression of Spain: it is beautiful, and I need to brush up on my Spanish. And also, there's no way I could handle the heat of a Spanish summer. It was in the high 70s while we were there and its only March, yikes! Oh, and they have a strange obsession with ham. Apparently there's even a palace of ham in Madrid...weird.
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