First Sickness

Long time no update... my bad. I have been getting less busy but more into a routine that apparently does not involve updating this thing. But I'm doing it now and I think that's what counts really. Like usual I will start from where I left off last time and when I get to the end... I'll stop.

I guess two weekends ago a few friends and I went looking for famous graves around Edinburgh more specifically David Hume and Adam Smith... two very famous Scotsman. It was cool because we got to explore the city even more. The craziest thing about this city is no matter where you are the view of the castle is absolutely awesome and always a little different. While we were out I got some delicious fudge too. In the cemetery where David Hume is buried there is a giant Abe Lincoln statue in honor of the Scottish American soldiers during the civil war. It was a little strange. There were also a lot of really cool headstones that we got to see. I felt weird wandering off the path to take some of the pictures and I kept verbally apologizing to the people buried there as I walked through the headstones. My friends just laughed at me. It was a good weekend just in Edinburgh.


Unfortunately right after having a good weekend I got really sick. I'm fine now but from Monday night and all of Tuesday I had a really bad fever that left me stuck in bed freezing even with the heater on. I got a little better on Wednesday but still felt pretty crummy so I went to the doctor on Thursday and they gave me some antibiotics and now I feel 100%. Still have a little residual in my sinuses but other than that I feel fantastic. The antibiotics started working right away so I decided that I was healthy enough to take up an offer a friend made. So last weekend I took the train to Perth and went white water river rafting!

I am so happy I went on this trip. Just getting there was a little adventure. Ben, the guy in the picture, is one of my friends from UCSB was the one who got the offer to go from Kaitlyn, who is on the left. She had met Simon, our Kiwi guide on the river, in a pub in Edinburgh and he invited her up if she brought some friends with her. So after she asked her flatmate Jolene, the short one, Ben and I got the nod. It was so fun and I definitely plan on going once I'm back in California. The rapids were mostly grades 1 and 2 with one part that was grade 3 but it was fun nonetheless. We all got in the water at one point and it was SOOOO COLD! We were ok once we got out though, those wet suites do there job well. We ended up heading to the pub with the guides afterward and it was just so neat meeting new people and sharing that experience with friends. On Sunday a group of us walked to the oldest pub in Scotland(14th century) which is only a 20 minute walk out of town which we effectively turned into a 45 minute walk because we took the long way. It was ok though because we built up our appetites for one of the best meals I have had here. I got steak and ale pie which was so tasty. The table shared a side of haggis, neeps (turnips) and tatties (mash potatoes) which was fricken delicious. I would definitely go back there and order that for my meal.


Other than that I'm just going to classes. I'm really enjoying my materials chemistry class because I'm learning more about structural importance in materials and how it effects their properties. I'm looking forward to next term when I get to take some non-chem classes. I'll be taking a Celtic civilizations class and another class that is basically a sociological look at Scotland. :D tres pumped for that one.

Love you all and hope everyone is doing well

Peace and Love
Liesbeth

Back to School

School has started officially and I have been at it for a week now. Right now it's all review material and it's really hard to sit through not only because I have heard it before but also because the make you sit through three hours of lecture here. Everyday I feel like I'm about to pass out. I'm not used to focusing for that long. I've made friends with a very nice guy from New York and he's in one of my classes so that's nice. I'm used to sitting on my own in lecture in UCSB but going to and sitting in lecture here is a very social thing. It makes me a little lonely sometimes.

A group of us went to Glasgow for a night for some shopping. The train ticket was only £10 round trip. Unfortunately I broke my camera by dropping it and I don't know when I'm going to get it fixed. I got to see the coolest street performer, he was doing tricks with a soccer ball. I was in complete awe and watched him for nearly 15 minutes. He balanced the ball on his shin... HIS SHIN! It was so cool.

I didn't make the soccer team which I'm not too upset about. To stay social I've joined the Chocolate Society with one of the girls I've met here. Chocolate instead of working out is always a good trade off.

A few fun adventures are in the works right now. A group of us, mostly American, are going to the Scotland vs Australia rugby match in November, and in December we are going to travel up to the Orkney Islands to see prolonged darkness and experience very cold temperatures. Shall be fun.

They said that coming here and staying here would be an emotional roller coaster and I'm starting to come off that high that I had when I first got here. I'm not home sick as much as I am frustrated. I've been listening to an abnormal amount of Jack Johnson. I know one thing I'm going to get out of this experience is how lucky I am to live in California and go to UCSB where girls can play soccer whenever they please and with whomever they please and are damn good at it. haha.

Love you all

Peace and Love
-Liesbeth

Culture Shock is REAL

I love it here but my personality seems not to really work into the culture here and it's starting to get pretty frustrating. The cultural difference are far greater than I expected and I find myself really limited, mostly when it comes to football. Women's football here is no where close to being as excepted as it is back home and they don't ever play co-ed. Not even in intramural games. It's so strange to me. I'm used to having to fight for respect on the field back home but I wasn't expecting to have to fight to play at an elevated level here. No offense but the women's tryout wasn't the best football I've seen. I have seen better co-ed B games back home while reffing and that's saying a lot.

Other than that I haven't quiet gotten used to looking right when crossing the street but it is getting a lot better and I have to say that I am doing better than my friends haha. I'm starting classes this week so the real test of differences in teaching will be found out. I have to buy a lab coat... which makes me a little sad because they are a bit dear (expensive) but I'm also really excited to have a lab coat haha. future halloween costume much?? I think so!

The EAP program treated us to the Edinburgh Castle and the Falkirk Wheel and lots of free food. The Falkirk Wheel is actually a giant boat elevator pretty cool.

I think the greatest part of my weeks right now is when I find something new. Like today I found a kebab place that makes a mean falafel that is only £2.80 with my student ID. That is amazing.

I may be going to Glasgow soon for a little shopping at a great discount store and to visit my friend Jeanine who came here to visit me. When she was in town we got Mexican food for fun and it ended up being pretty tasty. I enjoyed it very much! After we went to a fun pub and did some dancing and singing and looked hugely like a group of Americans... which honestly I really don't care anymore. All I care about is having fun!

Love you all and miss you all bunches and bunches.

Peace and Love
Liesbeth

Sunshine days

For being in Edinburgh and being told that the weather was going to be terrible this last week and a half has been excellent. Very sunny very pretty and around 60 degrees most of the day. So much has happened in the last week that I think it would take me a day to write all about it. I very much enjoyed my three day of the highlands and got to see so many amazing things and met a bunch Aussies. I'm so glad they were part of my experience here.

I put most those pictures up on Facebook but I know not all of you are on there so let me know if you want a link to the photo album.

My first nine days here I got the pleasure of staying with friends of friends. They have to be some of the nicest people I have ever met and made my first days in Edinburgh absolutely amazing. Most of the time I just wandered around the city on my own but they treated me to a wonderful zoo visit and some absolutely delicious food and a wonderfully warm bed.

Freshers week has been really exciting but I'm definitely spending more time with Americans than Scottish people. haha. They are everywhere. really everywhere. I've got two football games under my belt but only in the pubs. I've yet to watch a match live.

I had my tryout for the football team here and a major language difference came up. Apparently a ball shagger(one that fetches the ball) is the funniest thing that these two nice Scottish girls had ever heard. haha. I've saved the life of a few other people in my program by pulling them back on to the sidewalk. The drivers here are crazy and we all habitually look the wrong way... like a lot. Pedestrians don't have the right of way and I swear to you these taxi drivers are looking to kill tourists. hahah.

Class starts Tuesday. I am taking a lot of chemistry classes and I'm a little nervous about how everything will go.

Love you all

Peace and Love-
Liesbeth

Touch down Edinburgh

Ok so there is a lot to talk about. Firstly I'm here and I'm safe and it's wonderful. I don't know where to start so I will start at the beginning and when I get to the end I will stop.

I left SeaTac, saying goodbye to Grandpa and Sophie, with little incident. The older couple I sat next to on the plane were really nice and gave me half a wrap. It was really tasty. I arrived at O'hare and went and bought some chap stick and realized I had planned to exchange some money here with my card. Unfortunately the little currency exchange dude only took cash and COMPLETELY ripped me off on the exchange rate. The actual rate was .69 USD and I ended up paying less than .50 for a total of $62 for only £30. That really pissed me off but I needed money for the taxi. Got on the plane and sat at the gate for about 40 minutes because they over booked the flight. They offered $800 vouchers and a hotel stay to rebook and I would have done it if I didn't have Rebecca and Bret(the couple I'm staying with) waiting for me and no way to contact them. Anyways they had to get the luggage of people who did take the vouchers off the plane which takes a while. The older couple I sat next to on the way to London were also very nice to me. There were a lot of cute boys on the flight and some people who just looked ridiculously British.

Now I have heard some terrible things about Heathrow, so going into it I expected a terrible experience. Didn't happen but it took a rough beginning. I took a wrong turn because they didn't print me a boarding pass for my flight to Edinburgh so I was under the impression that I had to collect my bags and re-check in. First I went through immigration... apparently someone at the LA consulate made a typo and my student visa expires in 2020. Yeah so the lovely lady who was helping me went and talked to her supervisor and they made a note of it so if I try and use it again they wont let me in. No big deal. She was super nice and I was fairly light hearted about the whole thing. Then I get to luggage claim... no bags. I start freaking out a little then it occurs to me that my bags may have been transferred. Yeah they were freak out over. The wrong turn was the little passage way that said flight transfers. woot go me. I get out of the terminal and find the transfer train platforms and spend about 10 minutes waiting for my transfer to terminal 5 when I turn and read that the terminal 5 train is on the other platform... WOOPS. Right so I get to terminal 5 and the stupid self-check in doodad wouldn't read my passport or my e-ticket number because I purchased the ticket through American Airlines and the flight was a British Airlines flight. I go and ask the passport check center what I should do and the dude literally told me to wait around, not helpful at all... so I go back to the self-check in doodad and I must have looked confused because this really nice woman asks me if I need help. She goes to the special employee machine and can't get in because she's been off for three weeks and forgot her password. The whole time making really cute and terribly British remarks about the situation. So she finds someone else. She's not a floor employee and hasn't a password but then goes and fetches someone else who eventually prints me a boarding pass. It only took three wonderfully British women to do it. I then go through security and set off the machine cause I kept my watch on. I was patted down a very nice woman who told me I get a free massage, I told her it was part of a the deluxe service. haha. If you fly through Heathrow try and fly through terminal 5. Excellent shopping! It was huge and all I bought was an overprice coffee.

The flight to Edinburgh was short and on a beat up little plane but they gave me tea and a biscuit so I was content. It was raining lightly when we landed. Once I got to the Edinburgh airport I kept thinking about how much I got ripped off with the exchange so I took the shuttle to the city center for £3.50. So glad I did! It was a double-decker bus and the driver had a sweet Scottish accent. I felt like I was on the Knight Bus with the type of buildings we were passing. Once I got to the city center I took a taxi to the address I had for Bret and Rebecca for £5.10. When I got out I was really confused because there was some scaffolding on the building so I walked down the street with all four of my bags and popped into a coffee shop to use there phone to call. I had been at the right place. I went back and Bret met me on the street and helped me up the stairs. I could not be staying with a nicer family. They are both so nice and I have my own little room and their daughter Havalah is the cutest baby ever. After dinner which was quite tasty, Bret took me for a walk around Calton Hill in the rain. I immediately realized after walking one block that I desperately needed a rain jacket. We walked around the hill and Bret explained some of the history and showed me a few of the views. VERY COOL!

I had every intention of waking up early this morning and ended up rolling out of bed at noon. Even with the late start I was determined to get done what I had planned to do which was find a Barclays cash point and get some money and to get me a cell phone. So around 1:30 PM I rolled out thinking the simple directions I had written down would guide me. WRONG. I got so lost and ended up three blocks and four streets farther than I had intended but I had remembered there was a cash point in the shopping center I ended up at so that worked out. After walking through the mall I took a different route to get back and ended up walking through Waverly Station which was really cool be cause I got to hear the ticket takers whistle off the all clear for the train to leave and the signals going up and down the platform. I knew I wasn't going to find the phone place so I decided to explore a little so I walked about a mile or more down Leith Walk and got to hear some excellent accents. I got one of the best mochas I've ever had a little cafe and found a charity shop (thrift store) where I got a rain jacket and a Gordon Ramsey cookbook (in metric!!) for only £11. WOOT. Just to tell you rain jackets are REALLY expensive just go on the North Face web site if you don't believe me.

When I got back to the flat I put my stuff down and then Rebecca, Havalah and I headed out to pick up some food at this awesome organic market like the food co-op in Isla Vista and to get my phone. I was a very successful day and tomorrow we are going to go to the zoo which I'm very excited for. I haven't taken many pictures yet cause I feel really awkward taking pictures when I'm out by myself. I feel like it really targets me as an outoftowner. Not that looking the wrong way on the street and my UCSB sweatshirt don't already do that enough. Really the street thing really freaked me out in the taxi. I thought he was trying to kill us.

Love you all and hope is all well. this was long thanks for reading!

Peace and Love
Liesbeth

The Evergreen State

Hello!

First full day in Issaquah with Grandpa and Sophie. I love this state and I am seriously thinking of coming up here and living at some time. A friend suggested grad school... maybe.

The plane ride up was fairly uneventful and for air travel I guess that's a good thing. I just had my headphones on and stared out the window. I think the only time I said anything was when I asked for a coffee and a cup of water. I really wasn't in the mood for small talk especially because it seems like I've been telling my plans over and over again for the last three weeks. It would have taken a very cute guy to encourage me to start a conversation and though the plane had several adorable and well behaved babies it was lacking in the cute guy department. I did make friends with the ice crystals that formed on the window though. I was tempted to try and name the really unique ones but I gave up.

There were absolutely no clouds until we got to SeaTac so I got to watch the land below the whole flight. It was really fun to try and figure out where we were. I followed the 5 for a while but then got lost. Lake Tahoe is really blue from the air. haha.

So far Issaquah has been lovely. It was unreasonably hot today for no apparent reason, perhaps the weather followed me. Tomorrow is suppose to be much cooler and we have a hike planned.

After much deliberation I have decided on a final suitcase arrangement. Grandpa is letting me borrow one of the fairly large Tumi roller suitcases. I swear the one I am using could fit a small child in it. Along with that I'm checking in my rugby duffel bag. I was having a real issue with the weight and fitting everything but just settled on stuffing my small library of books into a Doors shoulder canvas bag I have and carrying them onto the plane. Less weight and more room WOOT!

That's it for now. I will post again once I'm in Edinburgh. Love you all.

Peace and Love
Liesbeth 'LB'

Happy Birthday America

Happy Fourth of July everyone!! I am spending this Independence day with my mom and my little brother and sister. It's been a fun couple of days and not too hot but nice and warm. My little brother has taken to playing FIFA 08 for Wii and always plays as ManU. The kid is well on his way to following in my foot steps as an avid red devils fan. He even knows all the players names and tell me the details of the plays during the games he plays. It's old so Ronaldo's move hasn't happened and apparently his character in the game is offside the most. Pretty accurate if I don't say.

School has been done with for a couple of weeks and I've come to the pinnacle of total boredom so I've spent the last couple of days coming up with some goals to fill my time.

1- get into better shape. essentially if I'm bored going out and working out. Yoga, cardio and some goalie agility work outs.

2- finally learn how to drive after putting it off for four years. It's about time I can drive myself.

3- get involved in a community volunteer group

4- obsessively plan for Scotland so that I am knowledgeable and extremely self reliant when I get there.

Initially I wanted to get a job but that proved to be harder than I thought. I have some ideas on making some money still but not sure if those will pan out.

Other than that things have been fairly quiet for me. Just a lot of time with my sister's rabbit Elway and my dad... I really can't complain about that.

Today I taught myself part of Fur Elise on piano which was fairly entertaining and fun.

Hope you all are enjoying the fourth and I love you all.

Peace and Love-

Liesbeth