Buried in the books..

It's like my laptop has a twisted sense of humour...as if he WAITS until three papers are due, presentation day is here, and a constant flow of emailing between classmates and professors is necessary...THEN he calls it quits.  Oh and the part that blows up- not available in UK shops! Thank you Amazon for coming through with a 2-day delivery!


Love from the US :)

But how could anything, even a blown laptop at a stressful time, get me down when that same night I returned home to find a Valentines package waiting at the door, filled with lots of goodies from the US:  peanut butter, chocolate, homemade goodies and my favorite snacks :) I have the greatest Mom and Dad and DEFINITELY felt loved <3
Not much to report in the past two weeks, with the majority of time being spent reading, writing, and researching.  But I've made it through my craziest block of classes, with just the final assessments to get through. My new, lighter, FINAL block begins this week!

To celebrate another block finished, a group of QM students headed for the Pentland hills on Sunday. With a rare day of constant sunshine, we climbed Turnhouse and Carnethy peaks from Flotterstone! It continues to amaze me how near to city centre we were, yet how peaceful and remote our surroundings seemed.

Willem and I @ Pentland Hills  

For a mid-week break/mental health day, my friend Yana and I went to the Surgeons Hall Museum in Edinburgh, where theres lots of history about surgery in Scotland and neat anatomy exhibits! We walked up the Royal Mile afterward and dipped into the 'Camera Obscura'. COOLEST attraction in Edinburgh, definitely recommended! Full of optical illusions, mind games and great photo opps!



Camera Obscura

Last Thursday, I spoke at the Rotary Club of South Queensferry. The club meets at the foot of the Firth of Forth bridge, which I got a STUNNING view after the meeting! I may have been convinced to abseil off the Forth bridge in June, which is S Queensferry's big fundraiser (Mom: do not google abseiling). Public speaking becomes less terrifying with each presentation, and I have been so lucky to have such wonderful audiences each time (although I got some playful abuse for the Irish spelling of 'whiskey' (whisky) on one of my slides...big mistake!)

Firth of Forth bridge..

Last night, a friend offered me a last-minute ticket to see SIX NATIONS:  SCOTLAND vs IRELAND today at Murrayfield stadium!! Scots victory 12-8! GREAT game and an awesome atmosphere to be in!

Fun fact:  The Six Nations Championship is an annual rugby tournament involving six sides:  Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales, Italy and France.  Each team plays the other 5 once, alternating home pitch each year.  The tournament's history dates back to 1883 when it was called the Home Nations Championship, a competition between only the United Kingdom teams.  Within the current tournament, a 'Grand Slam' is awarded when any team defeats the other 5, a 'Triple Crown' is when any of the original Home Nations defeats the other 3, and the team who ends the tournament at the bottom of the pack is awarded the 'Wooden Spoon'!

Time flies when you're having fun..

February 10th? When did that happen?
Another crazy week of university down..just a couple more weeks and I'll be through this block-  my head is just above water!


St. Mary's Concert

On Tuesday in St. Mary's Cathedral, Rotary held a fundraiser concert where the students of the St. Mary's music school performed: string band, brass band, mixed group and vocals.  They are an incredibly talented young group!

Caitlin brought me to her running group on Wednesday, the Hash House Harriers, who meet at rotating pubs weekly.  I've never heard of this group before, and amazed I've never seen them on their runs, because they are popular internationally.  Two 'hares'  lay out a trail around the city (marked by flour). The Hashers run round the city (in our case through graveyards, over fences) scouting out this path while going down false trails, clearing checkpoints and calling to each other.  After about an hour, everyone ends back at the pub for a social and a speech by the RA (religious advisor) about the night's events and to poke fun at members.  As a 'virgin', I got initiated into the group this week with a welcome pint. 

Friday was Yasmine's birthday! We had a great dinner at her place before going to the VooDoo rooms for a concert.  Great band..The Merrylees.  Earlier on Friday, Sammie and I went to the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art.  They're doing an exhibit 'Death to Death' right now, with different artists interpretations of the human body, sexuality, and death.  Nothing like jarring the psyche every now and then! One of the rooms I really liked was a giant human membrane, which included spices to engage multiple senses.

Ouside the Gallery of Modern Art

'Membrane Room'

I'm continuing with the fiddle and amazed how fast we are progressing! We've learned 3 scales and 4 tunes already! On Thursday, I found out that my professor was playing at the Italian Carnevale (Mardi Gras) that Susi and I had tickets too! There were two bands at the masquerade- Greek and Italian- and we danced to great, lively music 'til we sweat off our facepaint!



View from Blackford Hill

Whenever the sun is shining, I've started picking a direction and just running.  I get lost in corners of the city I may never have found.  This week, I ran into Blackford Hill.  Theres a nature reserve on one side, a beautiful pond on the other, and a great view from the top!







British Bit:  One of the most common, daily practice here in Scotland (and all of Britain) is 'tea time'.  Usually falling around 4 o'clock, pubs and cafes are flooded by Brits looking for their lattes, famous tea and of course, accompanying cakes and scones, to accompany good conversation!  There is a cafe nearby that I really like called 'The Brew Lab'! Sammie and I stopped in for some carrot cake after the museum..yum!