Sometimes goodbyes are the hardest thing one will ever have to do

November 2010: My awesome friend Brandi gave me the necessary information

December 2010: Begun the lengthy application process

March 23, 2011: "Congratulations, Kelly. You've been accepted." 

Singer/songwriter Pink asks a very simple question in her song "Glitter in the Air": Have you ever wished for an endless night? I have. Last night was one of those times in wish I did wish the night would never end. Last night marked our closing ceremony and Ceilidh for the ISS program. Delicious food and excellent/sometimes questionable dancing were the highlights of the evening, as well as laughing along with one my my...tipsy educators. Good times; I'm smiling already. Quite a life changing experience this has been, probably one of the biggest. I hope that when I return home my parents and friends will see some sort of change in me, but for the better. 

I am better. I am a better person after this trip. I've learned so much about myself and the fact that I can survive on my own in a foreign country. There was never a dull moment here, and I will thank God every time I think about Scotland that I was able to be a part of this journey and time here. I will never forget the many people who helped get me here, where I am now: Brandi, my wonderful sister, my parents, church families and friends! I love you all and I want to thank you all so very much for your love and continuous support before, during, and hopefully after this trip comes to an end. I want to thank the friends I have made here for having to put up with me for the last month; we've had some really awesome times. I miss you all already and I hope we can all keep in touch, one way or the other. Who knows; maybe our paths will cross again someday! 

But my time back in the states will not be in vain, for I have much to look forward to upon my return. Tomorrow, I will see my sister for the first time in 6 and a half weeks; the longest we have ever been apart. I have missed her dearly and am looking forward to the moment where we will meet up again. At the end of the month I begin my senior year at Berea College; gosh that is so hard to believe. 2 days of clinicals a week in Lexington; here it comes!!! Please think of me often, for this will be a big adjustment for me. And of course, in a little more than 3 months I will be seeing (and HOPEFULLY meeting) some wonderful comedians. Oh buger, that reminds me, I owe my sister $40 for the ticket. Again, such another exciting and fun opportunity; I am counting down the days. 

Unfortunately, the end of my trip means this blog is coming to an end as well. I've already said goodbyes already; 2 of my friends left for Belfast on a class trip, and by the time they return I will probably be asleep. I will rise at 3AM tomorrow morning, airport transport is picking me up at 3:30, and then my very long day of airplane travels will begin. Then beautiful Scotland will be no more than funny photographs and cherished memories. Now, I sigh and look out my flat window for one of the last times; the sun is out and the breeze is blowing. Glitter in the Air is ironically playing on my computer as I wrap up this blog. Time really does fly if you are enjoying yourself, and enjoying myself I have. Now all that remains is a suitcase of clothes sitting on my bed, a last night's sleep on this uncomfortable bed, and...a smile. A smile that will remind me of how God is so good in my life and how He made me who I am and has given me this opportunity that I will soon be departing from in less than 12 hours. My friends, it has been a blast and an honor to write and share this blog with you. To all my readers and followers; THANK YOU for sticking with me through the ups and downs of this journey's beginnings, trials, adventures, and now, for this closing. It's been a great ride, but alas, the great state of Ohio is calling me back home. Thanks again. CHEERS!!!!! 

No captions necessary; just enjoy :] 

Those were the best days of my life

Just got back from my last night of karaoke...but my FLAT WAS UNLOCKED!!! Grrr. At least nothing was taken, but won't make that mistake again. Had such a blast singing tonight with my two friends I've grown really close to. Blasted out to Blink 182's All The Small Things. Was actually surprised that I remembered most of it...hahaha. We had such a good time! The opening song was actually "Time of Your Life" by Green Day, and I have. I have had the time of my life; didn't really know what to expect 99% of the time, but that was the fun of it.

Some other acts included; Heart of Glass, Love is a Battlefield, Hollaback Girl, Come on Eileen (didn't know that one), Ring of Fire, It's my Life, and so many more. Like I said, I just got back into my flat. Have to get some shut-eye; got a class field trip...ahem...excursion tomorrow. Should be...loads of fun. I'm sorry, I can't hear myself over my raging sarcasm. I don't know, maybe I'm counting my chickens before they hatch. On the plus side, my bee sting doesn't look like an angry sunburn anymore! It's just really really really really itchy right now; guess being in a hot sweaty place for a while upset it.

Kind of bummed out on going to Doune Castle today too, but as I told my friends, I wasn't going to lose any sleep over not seeing it. We still had our own mini fun adventure that involved my buddy drawing the on-campus castle and me and my other friend observing the golfers (we were very close to the golf course). After that we walked to the Airthrey Loch (campus lake) and fed the ducks. That stuff got NUTS!!!!!!! Reminded us all of Hitchcock's The Birds....seriously creepy! Soon we ran out of bread and we just left. Good day though. Tomorrow night though is promising to be bittersweet; it's our good bye dinner and ceilidh. It'll probably be the last time I see my two friends; they're off to Belfast early Friday morning. Yes, I will be very sad. Don't remind me. Off to hit the sack now; gotta get up a wee bit early, bus rolls out at 9:00. Cheers!

A belly full of haggis, chips, ice cream and a bee sting

Yes, it's in the title. I tried haggis. And it's actually not that bad...tastes like a spicy burger. Seriously; I thought I would hate it, but it was actually pretty good. My dad didn't think I would try it....so THERE DAD!!! hahaha. The venue was the Allan Water cafe, which was located at the Bridge of Allan, a town nearby the Uni. It was really fun and the atmosphere was nice and friendly. Prior to getting food, we went on a scenic walk around the town called Darn Hill (I am NOT making up that name). It reminded me of hiking Anglin Falls and the Pinnacles back in good ol' Berea; just full of vibrant scenery and a rushing river to look at periodically.

After the walk came ICE CREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was provided by the ISS coordinator, so we could have pretty much what we wanted. I got a double scoop of cookies and cream and mint chocolate chip...before I ate my actual dinner. What a treat! Probably some of the best ice cream I have ever had in my life...super super tasty! Then me and my two friends actually got dinner...I decided to be bold and tried battered haggis. Like I said, tastes like a burger. Really...it's not that bad. They gave me 2 pieces, but I only ate one because I was still pretty full from the double scoop of ice cream I got prior to eating. Oh well. On the way back to campus, I suddenly felt a burning sensation below my collar bone. I yelped and looked down to discover a small bee sitting there! So out of instinct I flicked it off; thanks to my buddy Andrea for pulling the STINGER OUT of my flesh!!!! Yeah...still in a bit of pain right now, just waiting for the feeling of being poked with a hot stick to go away. As the saying holds, this too shall pass.

On the agenda now, hopefully going to try and finish my paper, granted my bee sting stops...stinging. It just looks like an angry sunburn right now, but I've got an ice pack in the freezer screaming my name here in a wee bit. Tomorrow; DOUNE CASTLE!!! Looking oh so forward to it. That's all for now, time to chillax tonight. Cheers!

That's what Haggis looks like. Pretty tasty

Where the pesky varmit got me >.<

Good food, good friends, good conversations

Well, my plans to visit Doune Castle today were thwarted by the wonderful Scottish weather. Oh well; hopefully Wednesday will be calling for better weather. Anyway, enough about that. I made Mexican pizza for dinner tonight; the first time since last summer. The recipe was created by dear sis and I, and I was happy with how well it turned out tonight...yay nobody died!!!! I invited two of my friends up to dine with me and we just ended up talking about....well, anything. Some topics included; strange dreams, Whose Line is it Anyway?, relationships, our plans for Doune Castle on Wednesday, sinks, fish and chips, and what we were going to sing for karaoke on Wednesday night. It was one of the best times I've had in my flat; just laughing and talking without being totally intoxicated in the process.

You see, it's the stupid moments and conversations like that that I'm going to remember most about my time here in this beautiful country as I start the reminiscing process. Now as the rain falls, I feel this blog must end and I shall continue writing my paper that's due on Thursday...or not write it and say I did ;] Not really sure what the rest of this week holds, but I suppose I will soon find out. One thing is for sure; tonight I will thank God for the wonderful friends I have made here and will remember these convos we had tonight and smile and laugh all over again. Cheers!

"I like your sink."
"My god, we are so lame." "No we're not, we're FANTASTIC!"
"...I mean you're already the voice INSIDE MY YEAD!!!!" (us singing) :]

:D 

Let me tell you that I love you, and that I think about you all the time

Tonight was our traditional Sunday night pub quiz at the Med. Always been a lot of fun the times that I have gone; but my team got second place tonight!!!! Go IDK & DC (that was our team name). Past team names have included the Pudding Snatchers and Sex, Drugs, and Rock n' Roll. I take no credit for any of the names; I just go for the fun! I realized that tonight was our last one....waaah!!! My time here in Scotland is soon coming to an end, and it makes me a wee bit sad. I wish I had some pictures from here or past nights, but oh well. The memories will stick.

This is a relatively short post tonight, folks. By the way, I'm totally rocking out to MMBOP. I know; I'm such a loser....or like it says on my facebook an enigma. But some of you are probably wondering the title of my blog. It's actually lyrics to a song titled "Caledonia," and it's basically a love song to Scotland. Quite a beautiful song I must say. I'll post some of the words below. That's about it for now. About to endure my last week here in beautiful Scotland. I will cherish this song for quite a while because it's so dear to me and makes me think about my wonderful time here. Cheers!

Let me tell you that I love you and that I think about you all the time
Caledonia, you're calling me and now I'm going home 
If I should become a stranger, you know that it would make me more than sad
Caledonia's been everything I've ever had 


...lost a friend that needed losing, but found others on the way


and that's why I seem so far away today...

My last week in beautiful Scotland

Yes, sadly, the time has come. I will be on my way home a week from today. It's surreal already; I still remember vividly the first day I arrived here. No point in dwelling on that now; that'll probably come next week. I actually just realized that I can open my window further to make it cooler in my room. And I've been here HOW LONG?! That's actually the first of several different Scottish observations that I've made. I would like to share some of them with you now. Enjoy.

* The age requirement for obtaining a driver's license is 17, and you have to pay 21 pounds/hour to do driving school. Yikes!
* Food here generally tastes better and IS better for you. Most processed foods here don't use as many preservatives as in the states. And pop, soda, soft drinks, whatever are not made with high fructose corn syrup. Which means my first drink of pop in the US will not be pretty.
* Most cars here have standard transmissions. If I move here, I'm in big trouble.
* Again, with cars, the driver's seat is normally on the right side. However, I have seen a few cars with the seat on the left side.
* I will definitely not miss my shower in the US. Here in my flat, you have to repeatedly push the small button above the shower nozzle otherwise the water will shut off. I don't know if that's a kick to save water or what, but it is a wee bit annoying.
* Having said that, I have been known to slip random Scottish jargon into my every day vocabulary.
* Excessive drinking and smoking are unfortunately very prevalent here. Nasty!
* A lot of girls here wear leggings and shorts, mostly with flats or ankle boots. Now me personally I do not think leggings qualify as pants, but hey, certain people can pull it off. I just happen to be one of those people in which it doesn't, and I am totally ok with that. 
* Coke is actually not the number one selling soft drink here. Irn Bru would be (it's local). 
* There is rarely a full day of sun here. Although last week it was out 2 days in a row. Locals were stunned!
* "Cheers" is used frequently in place of thank you or it's what someone says after you pay them for a service (at a store).
* Despite lots of drinking and smoking, the locals are relatively friendly, with the exception of the rude bus driver. >.< 
* At most restaurants, you pay before you eat. There's only one place in Berea that does that.
* Shopping carts=trolleys. Lines=queues. More Scottish jargon 101.
* Contrary to in the states, pedestrians do NOT have the right of way here. Yes, I know this; I was almost hit in Edinburgh yesterday. If you do not pay attention or you assume you have the right of way, DON'T. They will run your bum over! 

That's all my observations for now, all in 3 weeks. Have fun reading. Cheers! 

Off to the Dungeons...BOO THE CRIMINAL!!!

So that was an interesting start to my morning. Alarm clocks I must say are quite useful...if one only remembers to turn ON the set alarm. I had this big plan to wake up at 9:00, take a nice shower, eat a nice breakfast and write a wee bit of my 2000 word paper due on Monday. NOPE. Woke up at 10:30, no shower, no breakfast and I was out the door in 2 minutes, thus making the group late for our class excursion. The destination; Edinburgh dungeons. I must say, though I almost peed myself about half a dozen times, it was very intriguing and well done. It was dark for the entire tour, so I wasn't allowed to take pictures. In lamens terms, it was a very large haunted house with the history of how criminals were tortured. The first stop was a courtroom like appearance, and this guy dressed like a judge picked random people and accused them of fake crimes. It was mildly entertaining.

Further and further down into the dungeons brought more and more surprises, including 2 rides. I know, right? The first one was a boat ride...in complete darkness. And I mean COMPLETE darkness. Near the end of the ride, some loud mist shot out from the ceiling and scared the blink out of over half of us. Throughout the venturing through the dungeons I said to myself "I'm going to lose my scare reflex after this trip." A little later into the tour and we were then seated into a "morgue" where there was a fake dead body, fake organs and all! Then, the lady turned all the lights off, started screaming and ran out. The lights started flickering and then the seats we were sitting in rocked backwards. Again, I screamed like a 2-year-old. Hey, you sit in a rocking seat in pitch black and not be freaked out! But the scariest came near the very end. We were taken into a room called "The Hangman's Noose." Basically, another ride, only this time we were seated in chairs and had to take all our loose clothing off. In other words, I had to take off my awesome Fedora hat and...my glasses. So not only was it dark but I couldn't see. Before that we had to walk through a mirror maze just to find the bloody room where this "noose" was.

We were raised on a platform and then these screens came on with this creepy-sounding guy started talking to us. Then he said something along the lines of "you all are guilty so now you're going to be hanged." The lights shut off and we DROPPED. Yes, I screamed, and there was photographical evidence of it. No, I did NOT get a picture, good grief it was bloody embarrassing. However I did get a group photo w/ me and my class that I went with from the beginning of the dungeons tour. It's a good photo; wish I had a scanner so I could scan it on here. Lunch was at the Jekyll and Hyde pub, which was about a 15 minute walk away from the dungeons. What was really neat about it was that you had to push this fake book case to go to the toilets. Super cool! We arrived back in Stirling around 6:00 and I've been back in my flat ever since. Just finished watching a really good movie called Driving Lessons. Definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it before! I have posted a quote...well a poem from the main character. It spoke to me and reminds me about life and the time that I've spent and enjoyed here. That's all for now; time to tackle this paper some more, but I have over 600 words written! I can do this. Thanks for reading. Cheers!

"Some mysteries I'll never understand: the way the Earth rotates around the sun, three minutes shorter every day. Or the way the dead are gone. Or putting down the phone or turning a corner. The future: that's another whopper. We can never know what we can never know, except, that whoever you are, and whoever I am, you made it allright to be me."  

Outside of the dungeons

This was the bookcase to access the toilets. WICKED COOL 

Probably the BEST chocolate ice cream I've ever had!!!