Sometimes, you have an experience that is impossible to put
into words and that would be the case with the past 4 days. Caitlin and I made two stops in Inverness and Fort
Williams, both really cool towns full of great culture and activities! But above and beyond were the people we met
as we explored these places, and the experiences we shared together. After arriving in Inverness we found a hostel
near the bus station where we met 3 incredible Spaniards just living life to
the fullest- an energy and attitude that was contagious! The owner of the hostel became our go-to guy
for great recommendations of neat things to do!
We took a wonderful walk around River Ness which was beautiful. Inverness was hosting a National Pipers
competition, which we got to preview in the street our first night, before stumbling
upon a Battle of the Bands and Hootananny’s- a pub famous for their live
traditional Scottish music. We went to
the pier, hoping to see the town’s two famous dolphins swim by (they didn’t…but
the walk and view was worth it!) We
bussed into town to find that we had arrived at a no-access point, but an ‘unofficial’
hike led us to a beautiful bay of Loch Ness…no Nessie sightings but stunning
scenery and a very peaceful, calming place.
Both nights we ate at the same pizzeria with friendly staff and really
great pizza! Day 3 we hopped on our new
friends’ itinerary and bussed to Fort Williams where we hiked Ben Nevis- the
highest mountain in the United Kingdom!
The first 2.5 hours of the hike were beautiful, unreal weather (10 days
of sunshine per year…we got one of them!) and beautiful hills, sheep, and
little waterfalls 360 degrees around.
The next 2 hours, we were hiking through a misty cloud up to the top,
which was bone chilling wet/cold, but complete with ruins of a castle and a
shack where we warmed up and refueled (apparently originally built as an observatory
to study the weather patterns at high altitude). We were so cold we ran down until we started
regaining feeling in our hands. After a
good night’s sleep, we took a bus via Glascow back to Edinburgh. Can’t stop smiling and couldn’t be happier to
be in my present situation- surrounded by new, fascinating people in a
wonderful country. (I took no pictures on the trip, but I hope to steal some from my travel mates and post them!)
Last night, I went to the ‘Welcome Ceilidh’ held at QMU as
the first event of Fresher’s Week. I’m
happy I went, and in addition to learning the traditional Scottish dance I made
my first QMU acquaintances. I slipped
out around 11 to meet my roomies who had found a bar showing American football
in the city not far from our apartment (great live music too)!! This was a very exciting discovery…the Steelers
performance was not so exciting…
This morning was my first day of induction at QMU! I was nervous, not knowing if the school/course
of study would be as it sounded online (the biggest disadvantage for me
studying overseas was not visiting any of the schools before
applying/enrolling). I couldn’t be
happier! We are an intimate group of 19, all with very diverse backgrounds and
coming from different parts of the world:
a doctor from Pakistan, a pharmacist from Germany, a nurse from Holland,
a recent graduate from Canada, a couple from Zimbabwe etc. Altogether, the 19 students represent 15 different
countries! The 5 professors at the
Institute for International Health and Development, where I will be taking all
of my classes, seem to be both passionate and knowledgeable. The teachers are very keen on incorporating our
(students) past experiences into the course study, and I am sure we will learn a
lot from each other! Orientation
continues tomorrow, and I am SO EXCITED for what lies ahead!!
Scotland bit: I have
done my shopping almost exclusively at second hand stores, very similar to
Goodwill in the states. However, in
Edinburgh there are a TON of them…I walk past three on my two minute walk to
the bus station! Each one benefits a different
organization (UK Cancer Research, Save the Children etc) and they have
everything from clothes to home goods to textbooks. It’s easier for me to spend money knowing that
it is supporting a good cause, and I wish we had more of these orgs in the USA!
No comments:
Post a Comment