The Ocean Doesn't Look That Far Away....

First, I'd like to apologize for not updating my blog as frequently as I was last week. However, my short time in Scotland has been extremely busy. So let me know backtrack to explain what I've been up to for the past three days.

We left London on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. Of course, it was a beautiful sunny day and of course, we were going to spend all of it on a bus. But alas, we left, and after spending about an hour getting out of the city, we were finally on the road and heading towards Edinburgh. Things that suck about long bus rides: everything. The bus was really hot, I lost feeling in my butt after sitting for four hours straight, and it was almost impossible to sleep on the bus. I was glad that I two seats to myself so I could spread out. Still, it was a long day on the bus.

We finally arrived at our destination at 7 p.m. and most of us were cranky and tired. However, Dalkeith House is a beautiful home, surrounded by several wonderful acres of land. We checked in to our rooms, got oriented (probably unnecessarily) and then headed into the town to get some food before they stopped serving. It was a small shock that it was so light out, until I remembered that we are closer to the North Pole and thus the sun sets and rises much earlier.

Spending 9 hours on a bus will take a lot out of you, even though you aren't exerting any energy. Thus, we only last a bit more before we all returned to the rooms and passed out.

On Monday, we were up pretty early to get into Edinburgh for our class/tours. Dalkeith is located about 15 miles from Edinburgh so we have to take a bus into the city and it takes about a half hour. First mistake of the day: purchasing coffee that I couldn't bring with me on the bus. Tossing that after two sips was really upsetting.

We had our first visit of the day at the Central Library of Edinburgh and that lasted two hours. Then we had time for a quick lunch at a local pub before heading to our second visit, which was at the National Archives of Scotland. Both were awesome, but left us both tired and a bit cranky. The weather was nice, so we wandered downtown Edinburgh for a bit and purchased some gifts. Then we decided to try this famous dessert that Jenny had heard of via a friend. We entered The Albanach, and into a magical world. Melissa, Jenny, and I each ordered a separate dessert. Best.Desserts.Ever. I had Belgian Waffles and Ice Cream. Melissa had the Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake, and Jenny had the Cranachan. All were awesome in their own way and it energized us to conquer the world.....

Or instead of that, walk to the ocean! It didn't look too far from the center of town and with the dessert courage, coupled with some liquid courage from my Scottish Coffee and Melissa'a Irish Coffee, we decided to make the trek. Our second mistake of the day....

One hour, three miles, and a lot of bitching later, we finally arrived at the sea. It was totally worth it. We got to walk on the beach and look our into the Firth of Fourth. It was still a beautiful day and made up for the pain coursing through our legs. Getting back to Dalkeith was quite a trek as well, for we needed to run to the bus twice. Both times uphill. We missed the first one, but made the second one, and finally made it back to the house by 830. A long but truly rewarding first day in Edinburgh. This is all for now. I will update on my second and third days in Scotland when I find the energy write again.

- Kate

Stop Touching the Statues!!

The British Museum is like the holy grail for students of history. (It's also really pretty.) So many amazing things are located in this museum that it could take one at least an entire day to go through and really soak up all of the items. Hell, you could spend more than an entire day there and not see everything that exists. The history that exists in this museum is paralleled in only a few other museums in the world and it is worth a trip if your in town.

Hey, you can totally see my reflection!

Alas, everyone and their mother agrees with my assessment that this museum is the place to be. What they don't understand and what drives me insane, is that if the sign says, "Don't touch the Object," you don't touch the object? What a novel idea! It was absolutely infuriating. If I saw one more tourist touching the hieroglyphics on a sarcophagus, I may have caused a scene. Are these people insane? Don't they understand that by rubbing their greasy, grimy, germ-ridden hands on the hieroglyphics, they run the risk of eventually erasing the images. Angry hands!

Well now that I've ranted to you about annoying tourists, I shall continue with my tales of 13 Friday, 2012. Our class met at the British Library at 10 a.m. for our tour of the British Museum Archives. We got an awesome tour, about which I blogged here, and then were on our own for the rest of the day. Thus, we went out on an adventure to see the British Museum in two hours or less. First Stop: Egypt! They have the Rosetta Stone, which obviously attracts everyone. But they have a lot of other cool things that were brought to the museum from excavations. The museum also has a great collection of Greek and Roman items, most specifically the famous Elgin Marbles, brought "legally" to England by Lord Elgin in the mid-19th century. Greece is still clamoring to get them back, but when one looks at the mess that Greece is in currently, one wonders if that is the correct decision.

The Olympic Medals!

After going through the ancient Mediterranean region, we quickly went through the more modern times, seeing artifacts from the Middle Ages. Cotswold and I took a picture together by a statue from Easter Island, and then we saw a special exhibit about horses! It was all awesome and we did it in under two hours. Inconceivable! (We do plan on returning during our last week here to see a special Shakespeare exhibit. So look for more on the BM in a week or so).

After the Museum, we walked through Soho to find the holy grail of mashed potato places: Mother Mash. They have the most magnificent mashed potatoes, and some seriously awesome meat pies, and truly glorious gravy. I'm hungry just thinking about it now. I'm eating well, my friends. Probably too well. Then we found Ben's Cookies, an amazing homemade cookie place tucked away on Oxford Street. So, so, good. Much to the happiness of my stomach, we stopped our food tour of London after that and headed back to the dorms to rest and blog. One more day left before my trip to Scotland!

- Kate

A Quick Jaunt Across the Pond

(Editors note: Sorry about not finishing my Ireland blog. I got swamped with school at the end of the semester and then it ended...and I moved...and then something else rather surprisingly happened...and now I'm leaving again. So it just never happened. Sorry! I plan on returning very soon so I promise to blog on that trip.)

I must say, I am insanely calm despite the fact that I am leaving the United States in two days. For those who know me, this isn’t usual. I’m seriously acting as if I’m merely going to one state over when really, I’ll be across the Atlantic in the United Kingdom for one month. Normally, I would be freaking out. I mean, I really should be freaking out. I shouldn’t be able to sleep at night due to excitement. I should be looking up every possible library/archive that I will be visiting. I should be planning all of my weekends and evenings. I should be worried about everything that could but probably won’t go wrong. This is what old Kate would be doing. However, it seems that Kate is now laid back about life. She’s mellowed in her old age and has learned how to go with the flow.

Right now, I’m positive you're rocking back and forth and muttering, Inconceivable. (In the most non-crazy way.) Well, I'm not sure how or when it happened but sometime in the past month or two, I’ve become more relaxed and laid back about life. It’s all too short to worry about all the minute details. And in the end, all the major ones get done. I’ve just somehow learned not to stress too much about it. NBD kids. I’m handling everything with extreme ease. Packing? Yeah it will get done. I made a list. I’ll be fine. I'm sure you have questions. Such as, will she have to resort to working the corner in Piccadilly Circus to pay for food and booze? Not at all. I'm totally flush with cash, being a grad student and all. (but really, I am good with money. I will not resort to such illegal activities and be forthwith deported.) How will I communicate, you ask? I got Skype working and I’ll get myself a phone in the UK to call people I meet while I’m there. Homework? Well, I have one of my book reviews done and I finished reading the second book. It’s not due until Thursday. It will get done. And it's a library science course - it shouldn't be too difficult.

Still, this trip to England is a pretty big thing. And since I’ve just rambled for two paragraphs, I guess it’s about time that I actually explain what I’ve been alluding to above. Back in January, I discovered a Study Abroad program through the University of Southern Mississippi. Their “British Studies Program” takes a large contingent of students across the pond to study and live in England for a month. When I saw that there was a library science component, I knew I couldn’t pass up this opportunity. I would be able to visit libraries and archives in England and Scotland? Sounds like a dream month. I applied, was accepted, and have been slowly preparing for my trip since April.

Well April quickly turned into May and then June and now my departure is finally here. On Thursday night, I will fly out of Dulles International Airport and by Friday morning, I will have arrived in Foggy London town. For roughly a month, I will live in the dorms at King’s College in London. The course takes us to different libraries and archives in London and the surrounding region. After two weeks, we pack our bags and head to Scotland for three days. Then I have a five day mini-break where I can go wherever I wish. My goal is to visit Germany, Austria, and/or the Czech Republic. Then it’s back to London for the last week of classes, final exams, some Olympic celebrations, and then I’m back in D.C. on Saturday morning July 28th.

It will be a whirlwind and I’m asking all of you to join me on it. I’ll be blogging in two different blogs. One will be for the University of Southern Mississippi and then my personal blog. (Here is the link to my first blog entry for USM: http://blogs.usm.edu/blogging-abroad/2012/06/19/there-and-back-again-a-grad-students-tale/ I'll try to remember to link that one to this one as well). There may actually be a third blog, for my actual course, but I will know more about that when I arrive. Suffice it to say, I will be writing a lot. And I plan on keeping a journal, as well as sending lots of emails to friends and family. So expect to hear much more from me in the coming weeks. And this blog will be much more interesting and open than the school one…..I don’t have to be politically correct on this one :) And I promise to have lots of hilarious stories….or at least I promise to make some up if nothing funny happens. (I also promise to refrain from talking in the third person).

See you on the other side!

- Kate