When I came into the UK on the first of January, I got some serious side-eye from the man who was in charge of letting me into the UK. Since I was in London this past summer for a two-week Study Abroad trip at Oxford, I already had a Student Visitor Visa stamp. And, due to timing, that visa wasn't technically yet expired. So this guy at customs/border patrol wasn't too keen on letting me in at first, because apparently he thought I was up to no good (Honestly, I'm harmless). After some hmm-ing and extensive examination of my University of Glasgow acceptance letter, he begrudgingly let me in (Thank goodness. I was sweating bullets). So, what he said to me as he stamped my passport, and after I emailed with CNU's Study Abroad Advisor (the AMAZING Mandi), I was pretty convinced that I would not be able to exit and reenter the UK while I was here - which means I wouldn't be able to go to Ireland. I was not okay with this, so I made a meeting with a woman from the International team here. She took my passport to her superior, who told her that I should be good - I was signed in with a Student Visitor Visa again and the six month visa started from when I came in on the first.... So! In summary, (we think) I CAN GO TO IRELAND!
Anyway. Friday, the 25th of January, is Robert Burns Day here in Scotland. Robert Burns is a famous poet, and the Scots love him. So, in honor of his birthday, people go crazy and celebrate. Typically, alcohol is a pretty big component. My flat decided to host a party (organized by my amazing flatmate Jennie, who is a goddess for all the chaos this party involved). So, it was a potluck, with everyone bringing some sort of dish. The party ended up having over 30 people, and it got pretty crowded because our flat isn't huge or anything. But, there was a lot of good food (and some bad food... Jennie forced Sarah and I to try haggis..... NEVER AGAIN. IT WAS DISGUSTING. As Sarah put it - imagine going into a barn, and taking a huge wiff of horse/cow smell. Now imagine you could eat that smell. That's haggis. We almost couldn't swallow it.) and some alcohol. Being the non-drinkers I am, I only tried some white wine and then made myself a coconut rum and coke. We met some new people, and talked to a few girls that are in our Principia class with us. It was super fun. Of course, after about four hours, we escaped to my room and watched Doctor Who.
Saturday was incredibly lazy - I literally left my bed like four times. Otherwise, I spent the day relaxing and preparing myself for today.
TODAY Sarah and I went with Student Tours Scotland to Edinburgh (pronounced Edin-burra)! Unlike the first time, we had a tour guide. Gary took us (and about fifty-five others) all around Edinburgh.
We started with some monuments up on top of a grassy hill. Of course, it's Scotland so it was raining and was pretty muddy. No more than ten minutes into our time here, I attempted to make my way down a muddy hill.... It didn't go as planned. I slipped and landed in the mud.. Luckily it was a pretty tame fall, I kind of just sat down and then popped back up. Of course, my butt got all muddy. Luckily, I was wearing leggings under my jeans, or else I would have been a LOT colder.
From there, we went to Edinburgh Castle and got to go inside for about two hours. Since we were with the tour, we didn't have to pay the £16.50 entrance fee - the £15 we paid Gary covered transportation AND entrance to the museum - YAY! It was pretty cool inside, and we spent the better part of two hours wandering around (freezing).
Sarah & I in front of Edinburgh Castle!
Cool backside view of Edinburgh Castle
I love this building... it's so pretty. If you take a picture of Edinburgh Castle and then turn around, that's where this building is.
Gary took us around the city to see a couple other really cool areas, including some really pretty scenery and architecture. He dropped us off at Princes Street (not Princess, as much as Sarah and I keep calling it....), which is the main shopping strip in Edinburgh, where we had about an hour before we had to be back for the bus. Sarah and I wandered in and out of a few Scotland-themed merchandise stores, before finally purchasing 3 postcards for £1. We didn't really go into any clothing stores, but we had fun nonetheless.
Overall, it was a fantastic day. Despite being damp and chilly from basically 8:30 in the morning to about 7 in the evening, I had a great time. It's less than £13 to get to Edinburgh by train, so Sarah and I are actually planning on going back a third time sometime this semester to wander the side streets. It's a great day trip and the city really is beautiful.
We're so cool.
Literally.
We were so cold.
Well, that's it for today! I've finally regained feeling in all of my extremities and ate some dinner; the only task remaining is to brave the giant tangled mess of curls that is my hair... Not looking forward to that.
Alas! Tomorrow, I have class, and I need to go get milk and bread, but otherwise I think I'll stay in and give my knee a break from extensive walking (:
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