Edinburgh: Part 2

Alright, so I will do as I promised and finish up telling y'all about Edinburgh.

So, here we go.

Day 2

We woke up early on our second day in Edinburgh, Saturday, to go on a tour of the Scottish Highlands. We met at a bus station and soon boarded, leaving the city around 8 am. The tour was awesome. We got to see some of the most beautiful scenery ever, and visited a lot of cool places.

Our route is the red line.

After stopping briefly at a whiskey brewery/cafe in Callander for breakfast, then went on to see Hamish, the famous Highland Cattle of Scotland.

Moooo we're adorable.

We then went on towards Glen Coe. Glen Coe is famous as the ancient home of the MacDonald clan, and for the massacre that took place there in 1692. The MacDonalds were killed by their rival clan, the Campbells, under from King William of England. It's actually a bit more complicated than that, but you can Wikipedia that.

A tiny bit of scenery as we approach Glen Coe. In the background, you can hear our driver telling us the story of the Massacre. (Please forgive the awful camera-work.)

I still can't get over how gorgeous this place is.

Our next stop at the Onich Hotel on Loch Linney. We had a lovely lunch, took some pictures along the Loch, and then continued on to our main attraction, Loch Ness! Loch Ness is mind-bogglingly huge. And deep. On our boat tour that we took, there was a sonar screen that showed what the sea-bed looked like, what fish were where, and the temperature and depth of the water. In some places, the water was as much as 650 ft deep. That is insane. The captain of our boat told us that the water is so cold that, if you fell in, you'd be dead in about 40 seconds. Needless to say, we all kept well away from the rails.

Our boat captain explaining how the sonar equipment on board works, and how to interpret the data on the screen. For those of you who haven't stopped asking me to post videos of accents I've come across (cough cough Mom).

Unfortunately, none of us ever did spot Nessie (although the captain had some very interesting photographs) and we had to leave Loch Ness pretty much as soon as the boat returned to the dock. So, we carried on to Glen Spean, alongside Loch Laggan, stopping in a lovely stretch of woods to take a quick hike and see a gorgeous waterfall. We got back on the bus and were off again, passing the Dalwhinnie distillery, the highest distillery in Scotland. It's quite good, actually.

NATURE!

Our final stop was the village of Pitlochry, where we really only had a breather, a biscuit, and a quick look round. We clambered back on the bus and headed home, arriving back in Edinburgh around 7:30.

After a long day of touring, we had a great dinner at a classy pub, then headed back to the hostel to crash.

If it's one thing the British know, it's how to make good sandwiches.

And that is day 2 our Edinburgh trip. I kind of summarized a lot of it, but 1) some of the details are a little fuzzy now (my fault, I know) and 2) I didn't want to bore you guys with random trivia. Day 3 will come eventually, but it won't be for a while, as I'm going to Dublin tomorrow! So, I will see you all in a few days, and hopefully this time I'll be more punctual telling you about it.

Cheers xx

Edinburgh: Part 1

I am perfectly aware that this post is 2 weeks late and a dollar short, but I've finally found the time and creative drive to get this done, so, hooray?

Okay so,  Edinburgh!

Day 1

Our train left from London's King's Cross Station around 10 am on Friday, October 5th. The train ride wasn't too long, about 4 hours, and we got to see some of the most beautiful countryside ever, traveling on the east coast of England.

Berwick-Upon-Tweed, situated on the coast. I have made plans to move there forever.

The ride itself was uneventful, except for when a small Scottish boy in the seat behind me decided to play with my hair, much to the horror of his mother (Oi! Quit playen' wit te lady's hair!), and we arrived at Edinburgh without incident.

The hostel we stayed in was pretty nice, and fairly inexpensive, conveniently located in the heart of old town Edinburgh. If you ever happen to travel to Edinburgh (and don't mind staying in a hostel) I highly recommend it. (As long as you don't mind sleeping over a bar. Things did tend to get noisy.)

Our first adventure upon reaching Edinburgh was to go to Edinburgh Castle!  The place is enormous, although we got a pretty good look 'round in the few hours we were there. There's multiple museums inside, including an exhibition of the Scottish Crown Jewels, as well as the military museum. I learned so much about Scottish history I'd never even heard of. Those of you who are friends with me on Facebook have probably already seen the photos, and if you haven't, go ahead and take a look! It's quite impressive.

left to right: Maria, Dea, Myself, Matt and Anand inside Edinburgh Castle. Not pictured: Mary
Photo credit: Dea Satrio

After Edinburgh Castle, we headed over to meet a Harry Potter walking tour that Matt had told us about. It's completely free, and has been running for the past 7 years or so (or maybe 5? My memory's a little rusty). Not only was it entertaining, but we got to see quite a bit of Edinburgh that way. I mean, aimlessly wandering and seeing a city is fun and all, but it's also nice to have a little background on what you're seeing.

Also, free candy! That looks like eggs (?)

We concluded our day by wandering about the city a little more, seeking somewhere decent to eat. We finally settled on a random Scottish pub, and decided to be super touristy with our meal. Whiskey, haggis, neeps and tatties for everyone!

Pictured: liquid fire

After our delicious and filling dinner, we made our way back to the hostel, where we promptly passed out, knowing we would be getting an early start tomorrow.

I think I'll stop here for now, as this post got wayyy longer than I intended. Again, if you really want to see all the pictures, head over to my Facebook. I'll post part 2 some time in the next week (or 2...or 3...NO PROMISES).

Cheers, everyone! xx

School is now in session!

Hello everyone!

Okay, first of all, let me apologize for basically never posting in this blog ever. I'm very sorry, I've just never been really good at these kind of things. Sitting down and writing out a bunch of words about myself has never been my strong suit. I prefer to write about ameobas or whatever. I'm a biologist, we don't do words. (Also, in my defense, the blogger website only works half the time over here anyway.)


Speaking of biology, boy do I miss it. Don't get me wrong, my anthropology courses are interesting, they're just very different from what I'm used to. I mean, I'm reading linguistic philosophy for goodness' sake. Heck, I'm reading.

Here is a small sample of my reading for this week:

" We need names for referring to this general distinction, so we shall call in general those infelicities A. 1-B. 2 which are such that the act for the performing of which, and in the performing of which, the verbal formula in question is designed, is not achieved, by the name MISFIRES: and on the other hand we may christen those infelicities where the act is achieved ABUSES (do not stress the normal connotations of these names!) When the utterance is a misfire, the procedure which we purport to invoke is disallowed or is botched: and our act (marrying, &c.) is void or without effect, &c. We speak of our act as a purported act, or perhaps an attempt — or we use such an expression as ‘went through a form of marriage’ by contrast with ‘married’. On the other hand, in the I’ cases, we speak of our infelicitous act as ‘professed’ or ‘hollow’ rather than ‘purported’ or ‘empty’, and as not implemented, or not consummated, rather than as void or without effect. But let me hasten to add that these distinctions are not hard and fast, and more especially that such words as ‘purported’ and ‘professed’ will not bear very much stressing."

Yeah, that's what I said.

But life here isn't all coursework. Half the adventure of living here is just navigating every day life. I've received some requests to talk about the cultural differences between here and the States more, so I guess I'll do that.

Awesome Things They Have in the UK But Not the US (at least where I am)

1. Minty Aero Bars
2. Kinder Eggs
3. Traditional Fish and Chips
4. Cornish Pasties
5. BBC iPlayer
6. Amazing public transportation

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of for now.

Also, fun fact, apparently British people really love American accents. Almost every local Brit I've met has said the same thing almost immediately upon meeting me: "Are you American? I love your accent!"

It's just hilarious to me, because in America, we love British accents. I guess it's a case of the grass being greener on the other side, or pond, in this case.

This weekend I'll be going to Edinburgh (pronounced Eh-din-BUR-uh) with Dea, so hopefully I'll post something about that next week.

Cheers xx

"Would you like some crisps with that, darling?"

Man, I can't believe it's already been a week since I moved into the University. It feels like much longer.

Everyone I've met here has been really lovely, both international and local. It seems almost like everyone here is more inclined to be...I guess familiar, with other people? For example, here are some names that total strangers have called me this week:

1. Darling (this is a popular one)
2. Sweetheart
3. Baby

Now before you start getting any ideas, they weren't hitting on me. Most of them were asking me if I needed help picking out a sandwich for lunch. Apparently it's really common in the UK for people to use pet names like this. It's just so strange, because you hardly ever hear people speak to someone like that in the States, especially with total strangers.

It's doubly weird when your usual pet names among friends are "woman", "blob", and "you there."

That's all for now. Cheers, everyone.

Commuting is hard.

Hello, all. I haven't officially moved into the dorm yet, but it's getting close! Today Amoo Mortezah, my dad, and I traveled all over London via nearly every method of public transportation possible: the tube, the buses, the overground train and walking.

Amoo Mortezah and my dad on the train

Needless to say, we are very tired.

We were taking all the routes that I would take to get to my dorm, to my classes, and to their house in Cuffley. We also got a chance to walk around my campus a bit, figuring out where my dorm is, etc.

As you can see here, it's got a lovely view of the Thames. However, it is also right next to an airport, so we'll see how that goes.

On left: Ailsa House, my dorm. On right: windblown Keri.

The area on campus is really nice. It has a vibe similar to UTD.

East Building, UEL Docklands Campus

UEL Stratford Campus. Had a heck of a time getting here, let me tell you.

In other news, Dea and I have officially booked our train tickets and accomodation for Edinburgh, Scotland! You can look forward to hearing about our shenanigans some time next month.

Move in day is tomorrow! aahhhhhhhh

We're here!

After a long flight in which I had the worst sleep of my life, we are in England! In the beautiful village of Cuffley, specifically.

We're lucky and got here just as the weather became gorgeous, a balmy 80 degrees. It's okay to be jealous, Texans.

This is going to be a short entry, because I am le tired. Next time, I promise I'll have pictures.

Packing, packing, packing.

As anyone who's ever been on a long trip can tell you, packing is a pain. It's particularly awful when you're trying to cram 4 months-worth of supplies into one suitcase, a duffel bag, and a backpack.

The first step is to make a packing list.
The next step is to promptly lose the list and just start putting things in.
At least if you're me.

I wanted to try to maximize space so that I could have room to bring back souveneirs. My favorite space-saving method is "bundle rolling". It's an awesome way to make everything fit!

Of course, I'm bringing along some light reading. I wouldn't be me if I didn't.

 

Eventually, I did manage to get everything contained, and if my scale is correct, just under 50 pounds!

Bring it, TSA
Departure in t-minus 2 days!

An Introduction

Hello! My name is Keri K. I'm a university student from North Texas.

This is my face.

About 3 months from now, I'll be in London, where I'll be spending a semester studying at the University of East London. I'm basically dying from excitement right now.

I'll be periodically updating this with stories, photographs, and other things documenting my time abroad.
Enjoy!