So I've returned from my wee trip to Scotland. It was a strange one. It was good, but strange. First of all, my mom and little brother were supposed to fly over so we could stay at this nice resort type place up in Scotland. Unfortunately, due to volcanic ash in the air, they couldn't come at all. So, we were bummed out for quite a few days together and then my mom recommended I go up to Scotland anyways. After some thought, I agreed, simply because a) it would have been money wasted to not use the train tickets and to skip out on the fancy hotel and b) I would be sitting on my butt in my room by myself anyways, so I thought I'd at least go and sit on my butt with the beautiful Scottish mountains in my back yard.
But in all seriousness, I was kind of looking forward to spending a couple days by myself to catch up on some needed R&R. I had books to read, studying to do, TV to watch (I can't remember the last time I just sat and watched TV), and pools and hot tubs calling out to me. Little did I know it would end up being a 10 hour journey. Well, I exaggerate - only because I woke up at 7:45 that morning and arrived at the hotel at 8:00pm. It's not like the traveling should have been exhausting - I literally sat through the entire trip :-)
I spent Tuesday night exploring the hotel and indulging my love for mountains and lakes. I also watched TV: And British game shows rock!
On Wednesday, I slept in, then considered doing outdoorsy activities (there was an outdoor adventure place nearby) but did not follow through. After attempting to cook without the proper ingredients, I set out on a 4 mile walk to the nearest store. Mind you, this place on hidden on the opposite end of the lake from the nearest town, Aberfoyle. I tried to soak in as much as I could from this little town - it was smaller than Egham! But the people in town were really nice. It was funny to me that seemingly everyone in the town flocked to this one gardening/general store. It was also funny that there were 4 ice cream parlors and candy shops (I tried Scottish Tablet ice cream), but no bank, gas station, or chemist to be seen. I stopped by the Wool Factory and got some treats and pet the sheep outside. Then, God knows why, I faced a sudden urge to try haggis. It was deep fried - apparently this is not 'proper haggis', as a townie soon told me. He also seemed interested, albeit slightly annoyed, in my American-ness and said: "Can I ask you something? And I don't mean to be offensive - but what exactly is beef jerky?"
Thursday was bizarre on many accounts. First, I woke up and ended up somehow losing a filling in my back molar. This led to me freaking out, but then I was eventually resolved when I kicked back and finished my novel that I've been working at for a year now. After taking full advantage of the gym and pool later on, I watched the UK political debates. Pretty interesting stuff. Not as thrilling as our CNN Obama/McCain wars. All relaxing came to an abrupt halt, however, when the entire hotel lost power. This is me, staying by myself in a huge apartment in the middle of the forest with no cell service, no internet, at least 5 hours away from anyone I know, in a different country. I ended up listening to my ipod in the hotel lobby, sitting in a room full of couples in a, quiet, romantic, candle-lit fire side setting. They all seemed to quite enjoy the blackout. It was an odd moment in the life of Eliza.
On Friday, I slept in again, contemplated going outside again, but then was hindered by a pounding migraine. Still not sure what brought it on, but I was kindly escorted to the doctor in town. The doctor, I kid you not, was my age, wearing glittery eye shadow, black rimmed glasses, and converse sneakers. She was very sweet though and prescribed Ibuprofen. I stupidly did not bring any with me, so I was thankful for the free doctor visit (yay European healthcare!) and the kindness of the people working there and at the hotel.
Saturday's journey back was a lot more exciting: I gave myself a project. I filmed the two hour bus ride from Aberfoyle to Glasgow, then spent a good chunk of the train ride back editing it into my first ever Indie film. It's pretty impressive.
So, though I didn't get as much work done as I thought I would, I spent a lot of quality time by myself witnessing the weird things happening around me (can someone please explain "Wife Swap"?). I have some fond and... not so fond memories of Scotland now, but I'm really glad I went. It was a whirlwind adventure, as per usual.
It's been, yet again, a busy few weeks. I went on a homestay as part of the Arcadia study abroad program. Candace and Sky and I went on an adventurous train ride down to the southern coast - Fareham to be exact. My host family was very sweet. It was a great feeling to be in a home... to be able to watch TV, to sit up and read, to have a bedroom, and to ride around in the car and just see what it is like to live in England. Plus the family had a puppy! A little black and white king charles spaniel named Buddy :-) Reminded me of our black and whites back home.
On Saturday, Sky's host mom took us to Portsmouth for a little sight seeing and shopping. Despite it being a frigid day in January, the little shore town was bustling. I can't imagine what it would be like in the summer. We went up Spinnaker Tower for some great views of the bay. Then we hit up the outlet shops for pretty much the rest of the day. In the evening, Candace and I went to a local pub called The Vanguard that is actually built out of a church. Pretty funny to go inside a church and find a pub! On Sunday we went back into Fareham for a bit, but then had to catch an early afternoon train back to Egham.
The next weekend I went back to London to check out Camden Market. It was AMAZING. Like a mix of St. Mark's and Chinatown and a flea market. But a couple miles long. Seeing this completely new side of London made me fall in love with the city even more. I went back with some friends later that night to go to a pub/club which was playing soundtrack music all night. Pretty fun. On Sunday I went to the National Gallery and browsed the paintings for a while.
More recently, I've just been hanging out on campus. Guys and Dolls is going really well. I'm starting to get so attached to the cast. But it's mid February, so class work is also piling up. So hectic!
On the bright side, I turned 21 this week! I wasn't in the States to celebrate and test out my completely legal license, but it was still a lot of fun. The cast organized a trip to a restaurant/bar called "Que Pasa" for some salsa dancing as part of our preparation for the Havana scenes. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my birthday. I tried a Sex on the Beach, a Pina Colada, a Margarita, and a "Monkey's Nuts". Needless to say, it was an awesome night.
Now it's another long week... but I'm happy because I really feel like I'm a part of this school now.
Until next time!
And here are some random pictures from the past few weeks:
I am a rising senior at Sarah Lawrence College.
This blog is about my yearlong study abroad experience. I traveled to Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, England, Scotland, and The Netherlands. I studied at Accademia dell'Arte and Royal Holloway University of London.
