So my future updates are probably going to be a bit more scattered and probably not as exciting unless I get out to do some traveling sometime! Yesterday was a bit boring, got a chance to sleep in a bit, do a little shopping for groceries, skype home for a while, and attempt at finding my classes. Realized that I need to wear my rain boots pretty much on a daily basis from now on since my shoes were soaked all the way through! I definitely should have bought and [...]

The first few hours of orientation were long and boring. Almost the entire lecture hall was falling asleep. The information helped answer absolutely no questions and took so long that we didn’t even get a lunch break before our city tour of Glasgow. The tour was also a bust, the first half we were on a bus with a broken microphone, so we had no idea what we were even looking at. We got onto a different bus on the second half so that we had a microphone which was quite [...]

This weekend a group of 12 CAPA students and I made a spontaneous trip to Scotland for a few days! It was a memorable trip with many funny stories! Let’s start with the megabus.. We all decided to take the over night bus from London to Glasgow at 11:45pm arriving eight hours later. For a round trip, it was fairly cheap, about 36 pounds, and now I know why.. it’s extremely uncomfortable! For our first trip we sat on the second floor thinking it would be more peaceful- definitely not the case! [...]

My parents raised me on golf. I can remember when I was a little girl, running around the golf course doing cartwheels, and perfecting my putt. I also remember when I went to the driving range, and a news reporter took my picture and dubbed me, “Tigress Woods.” The PGA Tour was considered a normal family activity, and so going to St. Andrews today to visit the Old Course was a given. Today was devoted to visiting the town of St. Andrews, and along the way our bus took a [...]

This morning I left London for good. Besides going back through via the airport, I won’t be able to walk around London until I return next. It still doesn’t feel real, and won’t feel real until I am back in the states. I feel as if I am in a dream, and I have yet to wake up from this awesome adventure. My parents and I got ready to go to the station, and made our way to King’s Cross about an hour before our train departed at 10:30 this [...]

Scotland was amazing. It was super packed though with it being Bank Holiday, so it was a little overwhelming at times. It rained a ton which was a bummer- today was the first day it didnt rain at all. But we saw amazing art, street performers, the castle, shops, it was wonderful. I was definitely consumed with nostalgia at times, and I for some reason got way homesick during this weekend.  We had our flight at 8 am so we left the hotel at six. For those who know me, [...]

Everywhere I have traveled thus far, I’ve thought, “THIS is my new favorite place!”, but I really mean it this time for Scotland! My friends and I were fortunate enough to have beautiful weather our first day there, the day that we spent exploring Edinburgh on foot (it’s a pretty small city anyway). Not far from where we were staying, we found Bobby. Greyfriars Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th century Edinburgh after reportdedly spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner, John Gray, until [...]

Hey, wait a second… I thought it wasn’t supposed to snow in Scotland! Apparently, this is the first time in 17 years that there has been snow in December… So, while Minneapolis experienced its first snowfall-free March on records, Edinburgh gets a massive snowfall. The prediction is snow every day for the next week. WOOOO! I hope everything gets cleared out by the time Chelsea and I are meant to fly to London. After a morning of steel-grey skies, the sun is beginning to peek out, and the sky has [...]

This entry will be another interruption of the regularly scheduled programming. This has been the hardest month and a half of my young life. It is not that I do not love Edinburgh with all my heart, because I love it here, and I love being here, and I love my friends here, and the way the sun shines in the late afternoon, and how the leaves are still golden, and how the crags and Arthur’s Seat stand over the city, but the distance from my home is quickly becoming [...]

After spending some time in London, I prepared to train it to my final destination: Edinburgh. Getting onto the tube during rush hour was quite the experience. I was smashed like a sardine into the train, and I felt like such a jerk to be taking up as much space as I was.  I ended up getting there just 10 min before the train to Edinburgh left, but I got on and it was all okay. Leaving London was actually really sad, even though I was really excited to get [...]

I know that having a blog for a study abroad trip is pretty cliche, but I’m doing it anyway. I will be spending my fall 2010 semester at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. “Why Scotland?” you might ask. Because I love dreary, rainy, cold places. I do choose, after all, to attend the University of Minnesota on a regular basis. But seriously, when I was probably in fifth or sixth grade, I read some historical fiction book about Mary, Queen of Scots. From there on out, I read everything [...]