Inverness and Loch Ness

First, I added a lot of pictures to the shutterfly site from this trip. I know they look repetitive, but I just couldn’t bring myself to delete any of them.
My day started out extremely early considering that I’m not used to having to be ready for anything before 11AM, which is my earliest class. Today, however, I needed to be to the bus stop by 7:45AM to catch the bus to downtown and make the 8:20 train. We (I went with 3 other people from the Scotland Program) made it with plenty of time to spare, which was good since you cannot count on a train leaving late. Of all the stops we made along the way, the train never left late. The trip took 3 hours to get to Inverness and even though the it was so early I couldn’t manage to get to sleep. I wasn’t really tired and I didn’t want all of the scenery going by to go to waste. I thought I would do a little reading for my English class, so started reading “The Grass Is Singing,” but I ended up looking out of the window more than into the pages. There’s something about the view that couldn’t be captured by my camera. I tried but it just didn’t look the same.
Inverness seemed liked a very touristy little town, or at least the part I was in anyway. There was a lot of eye-catching scenery and shops to stop in and look around. We got into a tour that included a very informative bus ride to the loch, a short cruise on the loch itself, an hour at Urquhart Castle, and a trip to the Loch Ness Monster Exhibit. Our bus driver, Kenny, gave us the entire history of the area in the 20-25 minute ride to Loch Ness. He was literally talking from the moment we left Inverness to the moment we stopped at the loch. He was going so fast, I’m not even 100% sure he stopped to take a breath. He was a very good guide.
Loch Ness has very dark water, it really looks black. This is because of the peat from the surrounding area is washed into the water. The whole area gives off a very mysterious feel, and not just because of the supposed monster living there either. The Loch is contained in a valley. Large hills and mountains surround the water and the tops of some of them were covered by misty clouds. Loch Ness is also the biggest body of fresh water on the British Isles, and has areas deeper than the North Sea. Between the foggy atmosphere, black water, and deep depths it’s easy to see how the lore of Nessie can survive after 1500 years. (the first monster sighting was around 500A.D.!) The mysterious atmosphere also gave Loch Ness its beauty. Even though it was cold, the sun trying to come through the clouds and its reflection on the water made for a very picturesque view. And no, I did not see Nessie. L
Urquhart Castle was actually the ruins of the castle that once used to be there. During the Jakobite Wars, the owners of the castle blew it up themselves, out of fear of it being captured. Plenty of the castle still remained. The hour we were giving to walk around was barely enough. One tower was still almost completely intact, and you were able to climb the spiral staircase to the top which gave you one of the best views of the loch. I took pictures of almost every wall and room left standing there.
From the Castle we headed over to the Loch Ness Monster Exhibit. I actually left here upset. The thirty minute exhibit pretty much said the monster couldn’t logically exist and disproved many of the famous eyewitness accounts and photographs. Then at the end they had the tenacity to say it just might be possible she exist anyway! I was a little confused why they would spend so much time disproving her existence than try to pretend she was out there somewhere. I’ve decided to just forget that part of my day though. So, besides the exhibit the day was perfect and Loch Ness was even more than I expected it to be.

Fish and Chips, Football, and Double Decker Buses

In my first tutorial for English we spent almost the entire time introducing ourselves. The professor asked us to come up with a top three favorite list. Since I had only been in Scotland for a week and a half, I decided to say my three favorite things I’ve tried since arriving. 1. Milk in my tea 2. IRN BRU (I’m not sure how but I haven’t explained what this is yet. Think what it would taste like if you mixed red bull, red pop, and orange soda. This is pretty much what it taste like and the first time you try it, it really isn’t that good. Then the next day you have the craving for it.) 3. Jaffacakes. These are slightly hard to explain. It’s a soft, less sweet, sugar cookie with chocolate covering one side. In between the chocolate and cookie is an orange flavored jelly. In other words it’s delicious. After I gave my top three list, one of the students from Scotland said that I had pretty much covered all of the stereotypes. It turned out to be a pretty fun tutorial. I finally got to accomplish some of the other stereotypical actions that all tourist should experience. I’ve eaten fish and chips, watched a football game at the pub, and road on the upper level of a double decker bus. Needless to say, the fish and chips were beyond tasty. I’m not sure what they do to the fish but there has to be something more than deep frying, because nothing comes out of a deep fryer and taste that good. I have a feeling it’s a very closely kept secret that I’m never going to find out.
On Wednesday, we went over to the Watering Hole to watch the football game. There were two games Ireland vs. Georgia and England vs. Spain. Having no idea about the teams I randomly chose Ireland and England for my teams. I was soon told that England was a bad choice and quickly switched to cheering for Spain. I have seen professional football before but it was still crazy to watch some of the things they can do with a football. Fortunately for me, both of my teams ended up winning so it was a good night. Also, during the games, the Watering Hole sells pints for £1.70. On top of this, they are giving away Famous Grouse hats if you collect three stamps. You get a stamp for spending £3 at the bar, so Anthony and I teamed up and got a couple hats.
Finally, today I got to ride on a double decker bus. Even though most of the seats were empty on the bottom the group I was with went directly to the upper level. We got to sit at the very front of the bus which had a big window for us to look out. I’m pretty sure we were closer to the front of the bus then the driver. Being on the top level made for quite a scary ride. The roads are already pretty small so this big bus was even closer to sidewalks and other cars than normal. Since you can’t really see anything right next to the bus, it gives the impression that you are running into everything around you. It was awesome.
Speaking of awesome, I am getting on a train tomorrow morning heading for Loch Ness. I’m definitely taking my camera and getting Nessie on film.

The Beach

I made a quick walk over to the beach today and it was beautiful...a little cold but still nice. There is secluded path that takes you along the River Don right up to the North Sea. Once I got there, I pulled out my IRN BRU and sat there watching and listening to the waves. I guess I haven't explained IRN BRU yet. It's a local favorite pop. To give you an idea of what it taste like, try to imagine the taste of mixing red bull, red pop, and orange soda. At first you don't know why they like it so much, but it really grows on you after those first strange sips. After finishing up the BRU, I took an excessive amount of pictures, which I put up on http://zachaberdeen.shutterfly.com/ . I'm pretty sure I ended up where I wasn't supposed to be because all of the foot prints slowly started to disappear from the snow around me. I did manage to make my way back to the path just fine though.
Next, I wanted to try some fish and chips. Even with the directions in my hand, I somehow ended up lost and had to ask for more direction. Finally, I found the fish and chips only to realize they didn't open until 4. I was 4 hours too early, so I'll have to try again.

Arbroath Abbey and Crathes Castle

Today was the planned trip with the Scotland Program. We started out the day with about an hour long bus ride south to Arbroath Abbey. According to Edith, our bus driver, George, was the best bus driver ever and I think she's right. Besides his awesome accent, he got us where we needed to be on time by going down streets even though the signs said they were closed. I think he said something along the lines of "signs won't hold me back." I can't remember exactly but that was the overall message.
Arboath Abbey was pretty impressive. The Abbey was mostly in ruins. Only parts of the church and the head abbots house were left standing. What I really liked about the Abbey was the size of the church, it must have been massive when it was all in one piece. I also liked the look of the red sand stone that they used to build it. We ended the tour by learning about the declaration of Arbroath. In a nut shell, it was one of the main writings that the writers of the US declaration looked to. I'll make you do your own research if you want to know anymore about it.
After the Abbey we went to the Old Brewhouse for lunch, which was a lot more fancier than the name implies. I had the Arbroath Smokie. It's a specialty that you can really only get in Araboath (even after the air in the town smelled like Arbroath Smokie), and it was delicious. For one thing, we were in a fishing village so the fish couldn't be much fresher. Also, I like my smoked food and it had a very strong, smokey flavor.
Next, we made our way to Crathes Castle. We took these winding roads through huge hills that were covered with very thick conifer forest. The trees may not have been native to Scotland, but it didn't change the fact that the view was amazing. Since the sun was out and the snow was still on the trees they were shining and sparkling. Eventhough George kept true to his best bus driver title, getting us to the castle just in time for our guided tour, we still couldn't go into the castle. Because of all the snow, the manager of the grounds decided to close down the castle for the day. I still don't quite understand the logic behind that choice, but I guess it made sense to him at least. We still got to take pictures of the outside of the castle though. I even managed to get into some of my pictures during the trip.

First Week

The first week of classes was a little confusing. Not because of the material, but just trying to get registered and finding the class. The way it works is that there is a tutorial with every class. The tutorials are when you meet with a smaller group of students from the class and talk about what you are learning in more detail. At least that’s what I understand them to be like, I haven’t actually gone to one yet. All I really know is that the first time you try to register for them they are a lot harder than they need to be.
The classes themselves have been going just fine, though. Art may be the hardest class, because I do not know any of the terminology yet. I’m hoping that once I figure out the meaning of things like naturalism, realism, mannerism, etc. (the list is longer than you might think), I will be able to follow little easier. My English class should actually be fun. The professor is pretty funny and the books should be interesting to read. I mean the class is called Controversial Classics, so obviously they interested somebody at some point. Finally, Organic Chemistry is just Organic Chemistry. It really doesn’t change much no matter where you go. The first class was just review, and I should be just fine since I knew everything that was taught. The lab is a little different. Its twice a week and only goes until Easter break, which will make the last six weeks amazing. It will make Tuesday class from 11-1 and 2-6 to 11-1 and 2-3. And Thursday gets even better. Instead of class from 12-6, I only have class from 12-3. Like I said…exciting.
It looks like we brought the snow over with us, as well. It snowed about 2 inches over the past couple days, and that’s unusual for Aberdeen. My lab professor was even trying to rush us out as we were cleaning up because he didn’t want to get snowed in. I took a few pictures of my walk to campus everyday because it was really cool with the snow.
Tonight’s the Bobbin, they have a really good dinner special, and tomorrow we are going to go see a castle! It should be a good weekend. Hopefully it isn’t raining too much so I can take a lot of pictures.

Tea

I can't believe how much tea I have had in the past few days. And it's really good tea too, but what makes it even better is adding a little bit of milk. I've never heard of adding milk to hot tea, and if you haven't either I highly recommend it. Most of my tea drinking has taken place in the Catholic center (Catholic Chaplaincy). In between classes, I have the choice to either walk 15 minutes back to my room or about a minute to the Chaplaincy. It's a pretty easy choice. At the Catholic center, they have a common room with a couch and 7 or 8 chairs where anyone can come in and grab a cup of tea and a biscuit while waiting for their next class to start. So far, I have gotten to meet people from all over the world in this room. There have been people from England, India, Paris, East Timor, Canada...I think you get the picture. It's a little strange because I haven't really met many Aberdonians, but I'm sure I'll be able to meet one before I leave.

downtown

I made my first excursion to downtown today (about a 40min walk), so I could run a couple errands and it turned out to be a little harder to navigate than I thought. After stopping to read my own map twice, I finally found a city map that actually told me where I was. This was a huge help and got me going in the right direction. Once I picked up my railpass from the railway station, I was pretty sure I knew how to get to the grocery store. Eventually, however, I ended up having to ask for directions. Oh yeah, just in case you didn't know, you have to pay for plastic bags over here, but you are also allowed to bring in your own bag. Since we were given one cloth bag by the Scotland Program, I decided to make sure everything fit into that one bag. This made for one heavy bag to carry back. The groceries may have only cost 10 pounds but it must have weighed 40. The only thing that got me through the whole ordeal is the cadbury egg I bought as a reward for making the journy. I don't know if it was the walk or the fact that I'm so close to the cadbury chocolate factory, but I'm pretty sure it was the best egg I've ever eaten.
Not only did I walk through downtown, I got to go on a free bus tour of Aberdeen today. We started at the harbor and got to walk through a really cool, old fishing village. The last fisherman to live there died about 3 years ago but people do live there still. We made it a lot further than I would ever go on foot where, all the granite mansions are. Most were converted to private schools or offices, I'm pretty sure none of them are still used as housing. If people do live there, they were split up into multiple flats. It was upsetting because my camera's flash didn't work through the bus windows and the pictures were almost always blurry without a flash.
I am just about to leave for Mass in the awesome church that was built in 1509. I'm pretty excited, I'll let you know how it goes.