normal till Thursday

The week went fairly normal until Thursday night. Monday I went to my pub quiz and had a good time with my friends. We came in 12th overall... not bad but not good. Tuesday night I went to the pub with a friend just to catch up cause I hadn't seen him in a while which was nice. Wednesday I had no class and did my federal income taxes, some homework and my FAFSA (federal application for student aid). I love that all those things were done online... made my life very easy. Then on Thursday the flat decided to go out to a new club. It was so much fun but I did fall down coming down some stairs at the very beginning of the night due to lack of grip on my cheap boots and copious amounts of drinks being spilled on the floor. I have pretty nasty bruises from it. The video is my friend Johnny. He's from near Belfast. He's hilarious. I sound like a five year old in the video but just ignore that and the bad quality and enjoy.



Friday I woke up to my flatmates sister making us a proper fry up for breakfast with bacon, eggs, sausage, toast and beans. We just all sat in the sun filled kitchen talking for hours. It was so awesome and comfortable. Then someone, I don't know who, suggested we all go to St. Andrews for the night that night. So by 7:45 that night Johnny and I were on a bus heading to St. Andrews. We had a great night just walking around and meeting my flatmates sisters friends. One of them, who we visited, lives in Prince Williams old student flat which was pretty cool to be in. (I guess) The next morning we walked down to the beach and saw the old course which was covered in snow. St. Andrews is absolutely beautiful. I am definitely going back to thoroughly explore everything. Needless to say I was pretty exhausted on Saturday when we finally got back to Edinburgh so I went to bed at 5:30PM (waking up a couple of times due to a developing cough) and finally got out of bed at 10:30AM this morning. Good sleep. Now I need to finish off my reading for tomorrow.

Everton vs Chelsea

This week was really fun. REALLY REALLY FUN. I did so much and even made it to class all week. It was great.

Monday Ben (my UCSB friend here) and I joined up with some new people for our weekly pub quiz and we actually won something. Instead of coming in 28 out of 34 we got 5th place. It was so fun to actually do well in the pub quiz. The team won a bottle of very cheap Californian wine... it was a rose. Needless to say I didn't actually partake in consuming the pinky cheap wine but instead was just happy we actually did well. Tonight I think we are joining their team again, which is promising. Tuesday wasn't nearly as exciting I just went to class. Funny story though, in my Scottish History tutorial (small discussion group) we were discussing if Scotland has had a social revolution and if so when was it 1914-1945, 1945-1970 or 1970-present. The conversation was hitting all the normal points.. increase in housing, women in the workforce, establishment of the welfare state, ect. I brought up the point that the 1990 marked a period of time where Scotland really created an image for themselves with movies like Trainspotting and Braveheart. I also mentioned that Scotland got parliament in the 1990's but I literally said, "but it's important to remember we got the parliament in the late 90's... wait what do I mean we... I'm not Scottish." At least I got a laugh out of everyone in the room. haha. Sometimes I think I'm Scottish. I really do.


Wednesday was fantastic! Ben and I (I do a lot with Ben... we just sorta get one another and it is a purely platonic friendship) went down to Liverpool to go to the Everton vs Chelsea game at Goodison Park (Everton's stadium). It was a fantastic game to go to. Two American players, one of them my favorite player, play for Everton. Landon Donavan(forward that Everton has playing on the wing) is on loan from the LA Galaxy and Tim Howard (National team goalkeeper) both had a good game but Donavan had a great game! I was just so excited to see Tim Howard play that I didn't really care if they lost. They were suppose to lose because they were playing the team in first place. Much to the surprise to Ben and I they won and it was a very exciting game to watch. Every time an Everton player got the ball and had a defender coming toward him you heard the entire stadium (well less the small Chelsea fan section) yell 'ON'. It was such a great environment to be in. I bought an Everton scarf with the Scottish flag on it. Two birds with one stone. :D After the game came the awful yet hugely entertaining part of our trip the overnight train back to Edinburgh which turned into a real adventure. When we got back into the Liverpool city center we walked around a bit eventually found an Irish Pub to spend an hour an half in. We got kicked out around 1:40 and headed back to the train station to find out it was closed until 15 minutes before our 3:38 train... did I mention it was -4º outside. Ben and I just walked around until 3:15 and saw some cool buildings doing it but dang it was so cold. We finally got back to Edinburgh after two train transfers at 9 in the morning. We both went home and crashed. I woke up for one class and then came back and slept till 6 Thursday night.

Oh Thursday was ridiculous. Because I slept till 6 on Thursday my entire sleep schedule was hugely messed up. When I woke up I got a quick dinner and headed off to Whisky Society with my friends. It was a Ardbeg tasting which is a distillery on the Isle of Islay. There whisky is know to be very smoky and full of peat flavor.

peat (pt)

n.

Partially carbonized vegetable matter, usually mosses, found in bogs and used as fertilizer and fuel.

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[Middle English pete, perhaps from Medieval Latin peta.]

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I actually winning a free bottle of whisky, the Ardbeg Uigeadail, which is really peaty... so I traded with another guy for the Ardbeg Ten Year. It's sitting in front of me right now unopened waiting for a good occasion to drink it. I've never had a bottle of £30 Scotch before so I'm not sure what to do with it.
After the tasting was done we went back to Ben's flat and just watched movies... neither of us were really tired because we had slept all day. I got back to my flat at about 6 in the morning and as I got into my room heard my flatmates phone go off. In the back of my mind I could help but think who the heck is calling her at this time in the morning. The next thing I know she is standing in my doorway asking me if I wanted to hike up Arthur's Seat to watch the sunrise. Beside the slight headache I had I wasn't remotely tired and thought it was a great opportunity to really do something unique in Edinburgh so naturally I went. It was a lovely hike that I took very very slowly knowing that I needed enough energy to last through Friday to get my sleep schedule back on track. It was definitely one of the coolest things I've done here.


The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet because I came down with a bit of a sinus infection. I think the lack of sleep and the cold weather kinda caught up with me. Valentine's day with the flatmates was fun. I bought the flat a dozen yellow roses which stand for joy, friendship, gladness and jealousy... which I found hugely fitting. All of us but one is single right now and we are close and happy flat too. haha. We went for a walk to get some extremely chocolaty cake too... which made my week and took me three sittings to get through. That's it for now... more next week.

Peace and Love,

Liesbeth

snow rain and sun

This week has been remarkably refreshing. Every part of my life has seemed to pick up a little which is nice, well almost every part... I'm finding it hard to put down the beer and chips and pick up a salad but I really need to focus on getting healthy. That's really not what I'm here to share though... moving on.

Monday morning I had a really lovely walk to class as the sun came up and the weather was just great. My history classes are getting very interesting. I'm learning a lot about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ironically I also learned that bringing up said subject at a lunch with a boy I like was a terrible idea. I got to listen to 15 minutes of very passionate America bashing... and believe me I tried to change the conversation topic several times but failed. That being said the salad I had was absolutely delicious so I just focused on that. I don't think we will be doing lunch again anytime soon. haha

Tuesday it snowed which was nice even though I had to walk to class. Every time I go to class in the snow or rain I think about how in Santa Barbara there would be no chance of most of my friends roughin it for an one hour lecture. no way no how.


On Friday a few friends and I went to an Indian buffet for lunch for only £6. Most definitely one of the best ideas yet. The food was so good and £6 for curry, naan, and a dessert coffee is a steal.

Six Nations started today which means that Ben and I will be spending a lot of time at the pub watching rugby. Other sport related news, I'm going to the Everton vs Chelsea game at Goodison Park on Wed. It's going to be AWESOME!!! I get to not only see Tim Howard(US National team goalkeeper) in action but also Landon Donovan who is on loan to Everton from the LA Galaxy. Of course I get to see all the stars of Chelsea too which is cool, but not as cool as seeing Tim Howard.

I've started this other blog which is more just daily notes instead of my now weekly updates.

http://liesbethcamille.tumblr.com/

check it out.

I'm off to write an essay about the Catholic and Protestant conflict in Scotland in the 1920's and 1930's. Basically I get to talk about why Celtic and Rangers (the two soccer teams in Glasgow) hate each other on account of their religious affiliation.

Peace and Love,
Liesbeth

This last week

This is a haggis. Unlike what most Scottish people will tell you, a haggis is not a small animal that runs in the hills that has three legs. It's actually a traditional Scottish dish. January 25th is Burns' Night in Scotland. It is a night that celebrates the life and works of famous Scottish poet Robert Burns. Usually you have a Burns supper consisting of haggis, neeps (turnips) and tatties (mash potatoes), and most times a wee bit of whisky too. We were able to do all of the above. I made it my job to make the supper and that required me to go off to the butcher and get the haggis seen above. Oh it was most delicious. I just had to think really hard not to think about what I was handling.

hag⋅gis

Use haggis in a Sentence

See images of haggis

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–noun Chiefly Scot. a traditional pudding made of the heart, liver, etc., of a sheep or calf, minced with suet and oatmeal, seasoned, and boiled in the stomach of the animal.

The rest of the week went fairly normal. Went to class and learned some. The flat just got a new member. Her name is Samantha and she's from Vermont. She's just lovely and fits in very well with the rest of us. Every once in a while we just sit down each with our own cup of tea around the kitchen table and just have a chat. It's quite nice. We all went for a hike up Arthur's Seat on Saturday because it was just absolutely beautiful outside. The sun was so energizing. Sam is in the picture up on Arthur's Seat. She's also the girl to the right in the other picture. My friends Nick and Jack decided to redecorate their kitchen area in their flat and went for tie-dye which came out very very cool. Those boys are just creative like that. They make me pretty happy. haha. I have become very close with my flatmates and I'm going to miss them oh so very much when I leave. I finally have a set date that I'm coming back to CA. May 31st. It seems so far away but at the same time I feel like I have no time left here at all.

This term I'm taking two history classes that I'm really excited about. Modern Middle Eastern History and Scottish History since 1914. I'm learning so much in both classes. I am also getting a very unique brand of anti-American sentiment from my Australian professor in Modern Middle Eastern History. I sorta giggle when he refers to some of Carter's and Nixon's actions in Egypt with such disdain and distaste. It's a great way to learn and I mean that most sincerely.

That's all for now.

Peace and Love,
Liesbeth

Update on Bonfire Day!

Hello, Hello. Sorry for such a lag between the updates. I haven't done anything nearly as exciting as rafting or traveling in a while so I haven't really had much to talk about but I think after so many weeks I have a few things to write about and a few pictures to share. Like a traditional Scottish conversation I'll start with the weather. I am still getting used to the fact that they actually have seasons here. Literally all the leaves are losing their leaves after they turn the most amazing colors. It's a nice change of pace really but I could leave the weather change any time for California.


It's getting cold... really cold. As my friend Ben, also a UCSB student here, said, "It's not a matter of getting used to how cold it is but learning how to look like you're not cold." haha so true. Last Saturday on Halloween it was so nice out. The sun was shinning... that right there was enough to celebrate! I used this brief break in general gray and cloudy to wear my flip-flops out when a friend and I went to a fancy dress shop (costume shop). And of course in true Scottish style while queuing up outside the shop (everyone was getting costumes for the night) it started to rain. Not drizzle but rain. Last time I ever try and leave my flat with my rainbow flip flops on. The funniest thing was as soon as I met up with Amanda she looked at my sandals and told me it most likely would rain now, lucky she brought her umbrella.

The Sunday following Halloween it decided to rain, really rain, all day. I went out once and my fake ugg boots are still recovering. I bought some wonderfully colorful Wellies (aka Wellingtons/rain boots) at a really cool vintage store for only £8. My feet will not stay dry on rainy days. :] Other than the rain it's just cold. About 12-10ºC in the day and 5-3ºC at night. burrrr.

A few weekends ago a group of us made a trip down to Leith, which is an area just outside the city center on the Firth of Forth, near the ocean. Even though we were told that there wasn't much going on down there we were still a little disappointed how literal that was. Two great things came out of the trip though. 1- one of the best meals I've had here. It was absolutely delicious. I got mussels in a garlic cream sauce and just demolished them. 2- we saw the most perfect rainbow.

Halloween was fun here. I thought maybe it wouldn't be celebrated as much but I was very wrong. I dressed up as a bee. It was a good time. Several of the local student pubs put on Halloween parties that we went to. What I remember more from the weekend is Sunday night. A group of about ten of us, all American but one French girl who spends time with us, went to the student union sports bar and watched the Greenbay vs Vikings game. It was so funny. We were all yelling at the TV and we were one of the two groups of people watching the game. The other group was a single guy in a Bears jersey and cap. hahaha. It was really nice to do something that was extremely familiar. Our French friend, Anna, had no idea what was going on but we showed her the SNL superfan Bears clips so now she will just randomly say DA BEARS. Which has to be the best things ever or at least really close to the best.


I have purchased my plane tickets, yes tickets plural, for my Christmas break. I'm going to Belgium to spend Christmas with family. I'm so excited for that. So very very excited. I fly back to Edinburgh on the 31st of Dec for Hogmanay. Hogmanay, which means New Years in Gaelic (not gay-lic, in Scotland, the Scottish Gaelic, it's pronounced gah-lic), is the huge new year celebration in the streets with music and art performances and fireworks. Then late on the first I fly to Madrid to be with my best friend for a week. She's studying in Madrid for the year and I will be there for her birthday which is really exciting!

School is school. It's going. Two weekends from now I have my trip to Dublin so I will have more to talk about. Miss you all.

Peace and Love
-Liesbeth

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