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!!!

Go Have at it with helpless citizens

Relient K puts this well "The party scene is kind of mean." No, nobody was mean to me last night, but I still stand firmly and say that I am not much of a "party girl." Last night was the traditional karaoke night at the Meadowpark pub (the Med for short). Along with some ISS students and locals was Fudge; one of the worker's chocolate labs! She was adorable and was just wondering around the pub as people stopped to pet her. I really don't think she minded all the extra attention. As for singing, my friend Lauren and I serenaded some international students and locals with Complicated by Avril Lavigne. I don't mean to toot my own horn but I think we did pretty smashing! And I had fun too; I was so nervous but I had so much fun! After we sang, we got free admission to the Red Room, which is an addition to the Med and it's like a nightclub...I think. Loud music, obnoxious lights, and whistling locals; yep, that was the one. Now my rule of thumb is that I try something once; if I like it, great. If not, then sorry. So I tried it, knowing already it wasn't something I was never really into to begin with. I didn't even stay an hour, it was NUTS. People were yelling in my face, grabbing me to dance, and me and my friends even got cat-called by some locals. Then to make matters worse I ended up getting a really bad headache so I just left. Moral for me; never again. That scene works for some people, but not me. My ears were still ringing this morning. Not good, boo boo. Not good.

To make matters worse, I was only running on 6 hours of sleep for the entire day. Now normally for me I like to sleep at least 7 or 8 hours a night. Someone said there is something everyone in the world is OCD about. Well I am OCD about my sleeping, and 6 hours is...ok. I can function, but it takes me a while to get the engine running. Anyway, so today was our last ISS excursion to...Edinburgh!!!! Wow. What a gorgeous city! Again, the architecture was stunning; like none other. I spent the day with my friend, and we didn't know what we wanted to do or see really; we just had a few ideas and that was it. Our first stop was the Elephant House, AKA the birth place of Harry Potter!! Author J.K Rowling was noted for having made several appearances in that very cafe. I was expecting the food to be expensive, but it really wasn't. My lunch was 5 pounds 55 pence. Not. Bad. And man it was delicious! Ciabatta with pesto, mozzerella cheese and olives. YUMMO. Had a ginger beer to drink. Again, YUMMO. After lunch, we wanted to go to Mary King's Close, which was a part of the town that was underground and closed off when the bubonic plague struck Europe. Sadly, the only tours were in the evening, so we couldn't go.

So we made a detour to Prince Street's Gardens, which were absolutely beautiful! We found a carousel on the way, and yes, rode it and had a glorious time! Along the way to several of these venues, my friend wanted to find different stops where her favorite movie was filmed (Driving Lessons). She acted like a kid at Christmas time!!! Anyway, eventually we found the Camera Obscura and world Illusions Museum. AWESOME. It was just...really cool. I'll post a few pics on here, but see my facebook for the rest of them. At the end of the museum, there was a camera obscura, which is basically a large camera positioned at the top of the museum and you could see points of the city. Again, really cool; hadn't seen anything like that before. At the end though, the guy threw these cards onto the camera and if you folded them you could almost "pick off" parts of the picture; it was just an illusion thing. Had such a fun day, but man we were all exhausted. The evening ended with me, Lauren and my other friend Andrea piling into her flat and making grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner. There was awesome Cadbury ice cream in the end too! CHA-CHING.

And I get to go to Edinburgh tomorrow too for a class field trip!!! Ska-doosh! Time to get a wee bit of a paper written that's due on Monday. 2000 words, and I only have like 100 something. Better get busy, but enjoy the pics. Cheers!

Good food. Great books! 

Edinburgh Castle

Fountain in the Center of Prince Street Gardens

Caledonian Hotel, one of the Driving Lessons venues

Inside a mirror maze at the Camera Obscura and world illusions museum

Rooftop view of Edinburgh on roof of museum. Gorgeous

If I become a stranger

Normally I wait until I'm close to my bedtime to start blogging, but after a pleasant encounter with a local and some interesting conversations with the sis, I deemed it appropriate to start now. I went grocery shopping in Tesco (the wal-mart of the UK...seriously they're freakin everywhere!!!), and I was in the check-out line, just minding my own business and waiting for 2 of my flat mates to finish checking out. Then, I hear this chipper-sounding "HELLO!" I turned around behind me and this guy whom I have never met before extends his hand as if for a handshake. So I smile and say hello back, but then he proceeds to move a little closer, smile at me more then put his head on my shoulder. I just stood there, not really knowing what to do until someone he was with told him to leave me alone. She then proceeded to apologize and I said it was no problem. To be honest I thought it was rather sweet; I'm almost certain this guy was...."not all there" if you can see what I'm saying. Ok enough about that.

In the midst of my paper writing procrastination, my sister popped me on Skype and we just started talking, mostly about going out and stuff that our flat mates have done. And I proceeded to tell her about my flat mates and the things they do. It's nothing bad; they just like to party a lot. Now if you've known me for longer than 2 seconds, you know that that's really....not my scene. Sure I go out to pubs and stuff with friends, but I don't drink alcohol. And the friends I'm with, praise the Lord, have been very respectful and understanding about the fact that I don't like alcohol. Now not at all have I felt pressured to do anything I don't want to, because I know who I am and I have held true to the standards I have set for myself. Anyway, onto our conversation. I was telling my sister that when the time comes that I return to the states and one of my friends or my mom asks me what I remember the most, I want to have a humble and honest answer, so here goes.

I want to remember the beautiful country that is Scotland. I want to remember the beautiful days of cool weather, a nice breeze and the sunshine not beating down on my poor sensitive flesh. I want to remember the awesome friends that I have made and I want them to remember me for who I was...not the random girl at a nightclub with a drink in her hand. I want to remember the plethora of places that I saw and the thousands of pictures I took. I want to remember the random and goofy conversations we shared so I have stories to tell my parents, grandparents, and friends back home. I want to remember singing karaoke and having total fun without being under the influence of anything but joy and the freedom to sing badly. I want to remember going to Sunday night pub quizzes and making up stupid team names (Pudding Snatchers and Sex, Drugs and Rock n' Roll) and writing down stupid responses for questions we didn't know. But most of all, I want to remember the primary reason why I even came to Scotland in the first place; to widen and expand my college education beyond the states and to explore topics that are not available in Berea. I want to be remembered for that one international student who tried her hardest and comes back home to the states to family and friends that say "I'm proud of you." And of course, I want to give God the credit that is due, because without him I wouldn't be here in the first place. I would probably be drinking a pint instead of a Coke or an Irn Bru (the Mountain Dew here is rubbish!). I want to remember that I didn't follow the crowd and instead enjoyed every moment possible while all the while maintaining my conscious.

To close, I am going to post a simple quote: "I am because I choose to be." Cheers!

:] 

Cheers to Brian!

This actually has nothing to do with Scotland or anything. But I would like to dedicate this post to Brian, my dear friend whose life was tragically taken six years ago today. I still remember what was happening; I had come home from band practice with confirmed rumors of his death. A sort of numbness came over me; it was like I was frozen. And then, the disarray of emotions started. First came sadness and emptiness, followed by a wee bit of joy during the funeral when we were laughing and talking with friends about the good times we shared. Then the anger. I was angry and guilty; guilty at myself because I wished that I had gotten to know him better. After the guilt came the anger. I was angry at God because he had taken away a good friend of mine and someone's loved one and family member. It seemed vile and cruel; how could a God who loves all rip someone out of our lives?

Yes, it was horrible. Those were dark days in my youth as I began my junior year of high school. I did what any other high schooler did; stayed after school for marching band, hung out with my friends, did my homework and obeyed my parents. But still...the anger. It was there, but I learned to suppress it. Eventually though I realized I had to let it go. So I did. Took me an additional almost three years to do so, but I will never forget that night. October 2008. 2-o-clock in the morning, there I was...wide awake. Crying, because the guilt and shame finally got to me. And I let it go. All of it. Ever since that night I haven't been the same, and my faith and relationship with God grew. Even today it's still growing. Now here I am today, almost three years later since that October night, sitting in my Scottish flat with a spider crawling on my wall. Looking back on that time in my life, I think it was meant to be. A blog that I avidly follow had a post titled "Everything Happens for a Reason." I must say that I am a firm believer in that statement, and I thank God for the life that I have led. I believe I never would have gotten into Berea College if it wasn't for Him. I wouldn't be here in Scotland right now if it wasn't for Him. I would have never met Brian if it wasn't for Him...didn't realize it then but I do now.

So I will close now by saying this; I am who I am because of a, the choices I have made, and b, God. That's it. I am so privileged to have known Brian for when I did, and he was such a good person. I think about him every now and then and wonder what he would have been like. He brought so much joy to all those who knew him, and he never failed to make me smile...trying not to cry now. So here's to you Brian. Thanks for being a great friend. Cheers!

One of few remaining pics of us together. I was just a wee 8th grader. O how the time flies

Last 2 days in the Highlands

It's over. No more beautiful Scottish Highlands. I'm back in my flat at Stirling, realizing I forgot to blog last night. It was a pretty long day, which is why I forgot, so I apologize to my avid readers who are awaiting photos and comments about the beautiful lush mountains and lochs. Yesterday was spent primarily on the Isle of Skye, which I thought was just one island on its own. It's actually several small towns and thriving communities, with everything to Enchanted Rivers, beautiful mountains, and sheep on the roads. Once again, the pictures speak for themselves. What I write about on here is rubbish unless you can see what I'm talking about. Lots of stories about fairies, giants and spells are prevalent around here...if that's what you believe. Me personally, I keep an open mind. I'm in a foreign country; it's nice to see what the locals believe in.

The Enchanted River

Such a stunning view!!!!

Why? Because I can

This just reminds me of something out of a nature magazine or something

In the Fairy Glen.

After we perused around the Isle, took lots of pictures and ate yummy food, we returned to our hostel and went on a boat ride with one of the local fishermen. We rode out on the loch, loaded up the net, and caught TONS of small fish and scallops, which apparently you can eat raw. I ate 3 of them! They were rather tasty. It was just really fascinating to see all the creatures on a boat within just a few feet away from me, and I picked them up and was looking at all of them. Best part of the night. Today was pretty boring, not going to lie. Our group was on the bus most of the time, but seeing Loch Ness was pretty stinking cool though! However, Nessie was not spotted today. :[ After we visited Loch Ness, we traveled through Inverness to Culloden, a very historical battlefield. I don't have room to explain, but feel free to do your own research on it; it's definitely worth a gander. Our last stop was the Hermitage, which was like a wooded area, which was rather beautiful. And now I'm back in Stirling, getting ready to meet up with some friends for some pub quizzing and for me to eat. I am incredibly bus lagged, and I need FOOD. I will also be posting along with pictures a song I really really like and was introduced to on this trip. Cheers! P.S Ginger Beer is GOOD! :D

Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3ueYxrA-Zs

On the fishing boat

Loch Ness! 

In front of one of the falls at the Hermitage

"Describe the most beautiful thing you've ever seen"

I've heard responses such as snow falling on a cold winter day, a newborn baby coming into the world for the first time, or smelling a fresh flower. But if I am ever asked this question in an interview or something, my answer would be rather simple: the Highlands of Scotland. Never in my life have I ever seen anything so incredible and beautiful. The journey there is breath-taking in itself; long, winding roads with beautiful green mountains on either side of the roads, and lochs that stretch for miles and miles with some of the clearest water I have ever seen. I was sitting in the bus, jaw slightly agape just taking in all the beautiful scenery.

The morning started off with a stop to meet Hamish, one of the highland coos (cows). We also got to meet his spouse Heather and their offspring Honey, but I think Honey is a boy. Ok...wouldn't be my first choice for a name for a boy, but I'm not from Scotland. Then we sat on the bus for a while; we left around 10:00 this morning from behind our flat and arrived in our hostel at about 7:00 tonight, but that's including the several stops we stopped at along the way. Ok, I'm not going to blog anymore. The pictures will speak for themselves. Now here I am, nestled into our country hostel that we are to call home for the next 2 nights. It  is cozy, but the weather is a bit nippy (probably resembles early spring time weather), probably low 50's high 40's and super WINDY. But just gaze at the beauty and prepare to be amazed! Cheers! P.S. to see more pictures, check out my facebook :]

Hamish

Glencoe

We did a wee wander down the glen

Doesn't this resemble Scotland?

Eilean Donan Castle

Our hostel :] 

All about Glasgow!

Today was the second ISS excursion. The venue today: Glasgow, AKA the largest city in Scotland. I pictured a very crowded, sky-scraper full, walking shoulder-to-shoulder on the streets kind of a city. But it wasn't like that at all! What a beautiful city though. The morning started out with a walking tour of the city, but it in my opinion it really didn't cover a lot of the city. The tour guide just liked to talk about her great-grandparents and showed us all these really old parts of Glasgow. I was a bit disappointed; I was hoping for more of the actual city. Oh well though; it was still rather nice to see some of the older parts of the city. After the tour of the "city," we went to lunch. I went with a friend of mine and we met some new friends :] We decided to go to an Italian place. Man, it was sooooo good. A bit pricey, but very high-quality and delicious!

Next came my favorite part of the day; the tour of the Glasgow City Chambers (would resemble a city hall in the states). The architecture and design was absolutely stellar! I really didn't pay attention to most of the tour; I was too busy gazing at the beautiful structure. Also, it had a revolving door!!! It was really cool though to see where the council held their meetings and all the different rooms that were a part of the building. Once we finished the tour of the city chambers, which took about an hour, my friend and I and our new friends from lunch went and walked around. My friend Andrea found a blue police box (as made famous by the TV show Doctor Who), so naturally we had to stop and snap a few pictures. Along our Glasgow city saunter, the group I was with stumbled upon the Glasgow fair that was going on! So we walked in...and rode on the bumper cars! I think my car was possessed or something...kept wanting to veer towards the direction of the wall.

So after we terrorized the fair and laughed our guts off while ramming into one another, we found the People's Palace, which was a museum. It was a museum of everything; political movements, poor and run down living arrangements, the culture, everything. I managed to sneak in a few cool shots of some of the things I thought were cool. When it comes to museums, I don't read a lot; I just like to look at everything! Now the day is over, and I am pretty dag-gone worn out. But I have such a fantastic week to look forward to; ISLE OF SKYE! I'll be heading out tomorrow morning, and I will have internet access available at the hostel we're staying at, so stay tuned for more updates! Thank you avid readers! Cheers!

Standing in front of the City Chambers on George Square

The place we went for lunch

The main floor inside the City Chambers. "Let Glasgow Flourish"

One of the hallways.

Proof I was actually inside the City Chambers. Marble staircase!

Meeting with old friends and new :]