With classes starting tommorrow, the last 10 days have been about prepping for next semester and handing in term papers that were forgotten over the holidays- but mostly about enjoying late mornings, later nights, and packed days. Jackie's choir performed 'The Messiah' in the Usher Hall on the 2nd. The choir sounded fantastic, and I recognized some familiar songs! We went back to their house, and later that night I taught J&K the family favorite card game, Wizard, that Mom and Dad sent over for Christmas. I squashed everyone the first hand but Ken caught on a bit too quickly and thrashed us the second. There will be a rematch soon :)
With Gianmarco (Giulia's friend from Italy) still in town, we had a tourist's excuse to go on a walking tour of Edinburgh. It was 3 hours packed with stories and history, most of which I did not know, about the city I've been living in for 4.5 months! Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is based on a 'burgher and the story of how the Scots came to acquire the Stone of Destiny from England is worth a read! As a closet Potter fan, I got really excited to see the building that inspired Hogwarts and the graveyard whose headstones contain many of JK Rowling's characters' names (including Tom Marvolo Riddle). The cookie in the picture with me is none other than a Gettysburg College Servo cookie, which arrived in a package that morning from my good friend Chuck!! The box also contained New Orleans jambalaya, a selection of hot sauces, Steeler's tissues (still crying), and a Christmas CD. The box of goodies made my month, and the cookies got some pictures around Edinburgh for the dining hall's website, which documents the cookies 'worldly travels'.
Last Friday-Sunday, I hopped a bus to Glasgow, Edinburgh's 'sister city' in the west, that I've wanted to explore for some time. I took the classic 'red bus tour' and learned a ton about the city: hub of music, unique arquitecture, and a museum metropolis. I met up with two Rotary scholars studying in Glasgow. We went to a pantomime of Cinderella, complete with outstanding costumes and thick Glaswegian humor, before they took me out to some of their favorite spots. Glasgow University is a beautiful, gothic building and the Glasgow art school is just one of Charles Mackintosh's masterpieces (the Willow tea rooms being another!) Glasgow Cathedral is really neat too, set against the beautiful Necropolis, the city's 'Land of the Walking Dead'.
Tuesday night was a great Ceilidh, but more importantly Susi's return from Christmas in Siena! It is so good to have all of the flatmates together again!
I had my first fiddle class this week! There are 10 of us in total, all from different countries (again, not one Scot). We covered alot of ground in one session, starting with tuning and bow strokes, progressing to scales and by the end we had learned 8 measures of Mary's Wedding! The issue now is where/when to practice- I like my flatmates enough that I can't subject them to the 'screeches' of a first-timer.
Yesterday morning, I met up with Caitlin and we hopped a bus to Rosslyn Chapel, made famous by the DaVinci code as houser of the Holy Grail. It is the most intricately carved building imaginable, full of stories and lessons in the fine workings of master stonemasons from the 15th century! Unfortunately, no pictures allowed but the 'dance of death' and famous 'green men' are worth a google! Caitlin's host dad from Rotary, Robin, picked us up from the chapel and brought us back to his house nearby where we enjoyed a lovely lunch and afternoon with his wife Sarah.
For Susi's birthday we got her a ticket to see the Nutcracker at the Festival Theatre by the Scottish ballet, as she is a phenomenal dancer herself! I snagged a last-minute student deal an hour before the show and got to join her! I thought it was great, and it got good reviews from Susi as well...Clara in particular was outstanding. I think ballet is a pretty amazing art of expression, and Tchaikovsky's music is incredible.
Last night we had a big suprise celebration for Susi: the house was packed, the food was abundant, and I think the birthday girl had a great night!! The kitchen this morning...yikes!
I am excited for my classes this semester, but also nervous about an overpacked semester. I overloaded my schedule for the next 6 weeks because I was really keen to take an extra course being offered. I may as well pay my rent to the library this January, but will enjoy a lighter schedule in March.
Word of the day: Ha'penny: Robin and Sarah told Caitlin and I about collections of 'half pennies' that were part of the British monetary system before it was decimilised in 1971. Before then, the British pound was made up of 240 pence, 12 pence were in a shilling, and 20 shillings were in a pound.
(I'm having trouble uploading pictures...As soon as I've sorted it out, I will post pictures from this post and last!)
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