Week 2: The Scottish Adventures Continue

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Natalie Wallace

Wow, I can’t believe that week 2 here in Scotland is coming to a close. I feel like I have done so much since the last time I posted! Let’s see… last Monday, we had a golfing event at the campus golf course (which is right next to a castle I might add) where we practiced various skills and even got to play a few rounds of golf. I’m not going to say I am good at golf, I’m not, but I did end up winning a prize for the longest drive! My Dad and Grandpa will be so proud!

The campus castle next to the golf course.

Then later in the week, we had a day trip to Glasgow. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, I didn’t know much about the town, but I had a blast. We went to a couple museums (all of which were free), did some shopping, and even had tea at the famous Willow Tea Room (which was delicious). It was also fun because Glasgow is hosting the Commonwealth Games this year, and they were setting things up and had merchandise everywhere (it was like the mini-Olympics).

My favorite part of the day had to be finding not one, but three police boxes (like the TARDIS from Doctor Who) and taking pictures with them, I was nerding out pretty hard to be honest. Another great part of the day was going to the Glasgow Cathedral and Necropolis. I have never been in such a beautiful building in my life. It was HUGE! Then, walking around the necropolis and looking at all of the graves was actually cool, and not as creepy as it sounds, I swear! Oh, but the best moment for me was going into Waterstones (UK version of Barnes and Noble) and buying Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It may not seem significant, but that day also happened to be the 17th anniversary of when the book was first published! Needless to say, it was a pretty magical moment for me.

Me with a Police Box!

Inside the Cathedral

Another picture in the Cathedral

The Necropolis

Then Friday, I went to Edinburgh on an excursion to see St. Giles Cathedral and Greyfriars Church and Kirkyard. The cathedral wasn’t as large as the one in Glasgow, but still quite a sight to see. Then, we walked down the road to Greyfriars Church, which also contains the Covenenters Prison in the graveyard, which is supposed to be one of the most haunted (and best documented) places in the UK. They keep it locked up and you can only get in with a tour guide, I didn’t find it too creepy, but then again, I wasn’t there in the dark either. Also in the graveyard are headstones that JK Rowling got inspiration from when writing Harry Potter. We saw one with the name McGonagall and one with the name Tom Riddle (aka Voldemort), which was pretty cool. Then we headed back to Stirling, and when I got back, I went to bed because I had had two long days of traveling and sightseeing.

Me next to Tom Riddle’s Grave

Sign that was next to the gate leading into the most haunted part of the graveyard (the prison).

Then today (Sunday), after a good days rest, I went to Bannockburn Live, which was a celebration/festival commemorating the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, where the Scots (led by Robert the Bruce) beat the English and drove them out of Stirling. The activities included storytellers, music, food, ancestry tents, games, and even a reenactment of the battle. The battle reenactment was a lot of fun to watch, it was very well done. After watching the reenactment, we got the chance to walk around the “camp” and see what life would have been like back then. There were soldiers, animals, crafts, artisans, and even a blacksmith. It was a really cool and unforgettable experience. With so much to do, we pent nearly all day there checking everything out, there were people from all over the world there, I even met some more American Wallaces! Even with all of the fun events and places I have been going to, I still have to remember to do my homework, that is where I am off to now. Until next time!

Natalie

Robert the Bruce during the battle reenactent

Robert the Bruce during the battle reenactment

Week 1: Life with a Scottish Accent

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Natalie Wallace

So, here I am, with my first full week in Scotland coming to a close. Man, there is so much to talk about. My two classes (British Journalism and the Psychology of Evil) have both been going pretty well, I am enjoying them more than I thought I would since neither really has to do with my biology major, but it’s nice to take a break from all of the science. For the first few days, I was a bit stressed out and would be lying if I said that I didn’t miss home. I knew that coming to a new country, living, going to school, and meeting a bunch of new people would be difficult, but I was surprised how hard it hit me at first. Yet, after meeting some people and catching up on sleep, I am feeling better than ever!

So, my week was an interesting one. I have classes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday with excursions for those classes on Fridays. Since I am taking only two classes, I have a lot of free time, which I used to go into Stirling and explore a bit both by myself and with some friends. Thursday, all of the International Summer School students had a day trip to St. Andrews, which is pretty much the birthplace of golf. At first, I wasn’t too excited to go, but once we got there, I wanted to live there. It was on the coast, the sun was out (which doesn’t happen in Scotland, like Oregon), and the town was full of beautiful old buildings. The University there is pretty famous as well, because both Prince William and Kate Middleton attended school there. While there, we went to the castle, the cathedral, went to a kilt shop, and even tried haggis nachos (yes, they are apparently world famous), which weren’t too bad as long as you didn’t think too hard about what you were eating. My day ended sitting on the beach, while listening to a man play the bagpipes on the beach, it was pretty amazing!

Friday I had two class excursions. The first one was a trip to the Daily Record in Glasgow, which is a tabloid newspaper. We got to meet the editor, sit in on a meeting, and talk with some various other people, which was pretty interesting even though I am not a journalism major or minor. The other excursion for the day was the one I was most excited for, a trip to the Wallace National Monument, which is here in Stirling! We walked from campus to the Monument, which wasn’t too far. The stairs to go to the top were very tight and small, it was bad if people were trying to go up and down at the same time. Yet, there were three different rooms that you could stop in on the way to learn more about William Wallace’s history, as well as other famous Scots of the time. One of my favorite things was the Wallace Sword, which was taller then I am! It was amazing to learn so much about someone I share a last name with (and am probably related to). Once we made it to the top, it was breathtaking. The pictures I took just don’t do it justice. You could see for miles, it was beautiful. I was talking to a Scottish woman who said she had been to the Monument multiple times, but this was the first time it have ever been sunny. I felt lucky to have such great weather because the views were fantastic!

If all of that traveling and walking wasn’t enough, today (Saturday) me and a group of other students decided to walk up this hill (which is an understatement) behind campus called Dumyat. Even though we got a little lost on the way, we eventually found the path and started walking up these beautiful green hills through sheep pastures to get to the top. Even though it was steep and exhausting, it was worth it for the views from the top, and again, the pictures don’t do it justice. At the top was a beacon that was full of stones which represent the wishes of everyone who had made it to the top. Apparently the beacon was placed there in 1977 as part of the Queen’s jubilee. We eventually made it back to campus after nearly 10 miles of walking and hiking being both exhilarated and exhausted. I am already feeling the pain from all of the climbing and walking I have done this week, but I wouldn’t trade any of it for anything in the world, and it is only the end of week 1! I can’t wait to see what the rest of my time in Scotland will bring!

Cheers,

Natalie

Wallace Monument

The group when we made it to the top of Dumyat

Me next to the Wallace sword (they wouldn’t let me take it even though it had my name on it )

View from the top of the Wallace Monument

Trip to the Daily Record in Glasgow

Beautiful day in St. Andrews that ended with a bagpiper on the beach.

Haggis Nachos!!

St. Andrews Cathedral

St. Andrews Castle (or rather, what’s left of it)

Finally Made it to Scotland: My Arrival

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Natalie Wallace

Hey there everybody, after nearly 17 hours of traveling, practically no sleep, and a lot of hanging around in airports, I have finally made it to the University of Stirling in Scotland. I flew from PDX to Calgary, then to London, and finally to Edinburgh. On my flight from Calgary to London, I didn’t sleep much because there were two crying, unhappy children sitting in the row in front of me. Oh well, I found other ways to pass the time (I almost finished the book I brought with me).

A farewell to Portland as I get ready to board my plane to Canada.

Nearly to London!

As I said before, my flights were all on time and I had no complications getting to and from different terminals. I flew into Edinburgh, where I would meet a shuttle to take me to the University. My shuttle driver’s name was Hamish (how much more Scottish can you get), he was super nice and pointed out all kinds of things on our 45 minute drive to Stirling. After saying goodbye to Hamish, I was given the keys to my flat, which I share with four other girls for my eight weeks here. No one was there when I got there because everyone was on a day tour of Stirling, which I sadly missed because of previous engagements at WOU.

My view of the Wallace Monument from my flat.

Since then, I have unpacked and met all of my flatmates. I have found out that some Scottish accents are a lot harder to understand than others, I have had to ask people to repeat things so many times, which can be a bit embarrassing. Today was my first day of classes and was a bit overwhelming for me. I had missed registration and a lot of the information at orientation, but luckily one of the program coordinators helped me out and now I know what’s going on. I also went to the store with one of my roommates to pick up some food supplies. Other than that, I am still settling in and figuring out just what I am going to do and where I want to go with the rest of my time here in Stirling. Even though it is a bit stressful now, I know everything will work out fine in the end!

Natalie

Pre-Departure: One Day to Go

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Natalie Wallace

So I have less than 24 hours left until I leave for Scotland. After taking my last two finals, and finishing all of my RA check-out duties, it’s finally hitting me that I am going to Scotland! I am so excited to live and experience the culture and people. I’m surprisingly not that nervous about it, which is surprising sense I tend to worry about everything. The closer and closer I get to leaving, the more and more sure I am that I made the right choice in going to Scotland. If you ask my parents, they will say I chose Scotland because I am determined to find Hogwarts. While I would be lying if I said that wasn’t totally true, I really chose Scotland because of the rich culture and the ancestral ties I have there.

I will be at the University of Stirling for the next eight weeks and I couldn’t be more excited. I know that I will be exhausted and tired from all of the traveling, but I can’t wait to see and do everything over there, I have a huge list of things that I want to see and do. Hopefully I will get some sleep tonight so I can start off my journey on the right foot. I’ve included some pictures that I think best represent my preconceived notions and ideas of Scotland (I know that Scotland is more than highlands and castles), because I think it is important to log every step of my journey, both physically and personally. So until next time (when I will finally be in Scotland) then!

Natalie

Introduction: Hello

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Natalie Wallace

Hi, as you probably already saw, my name is Natalie Wallace. I am currently a sophomore (almost a junior) here at Western Oregon University. I am a biology major with a chemistry minor (yes, I like science) and in the future I want to work in the medical field. I’m not exactly sure what I want to do after I graduate yet, I am just exploring all of my options.
I’m using this post to tell you a little about myself before I begin my study abroad journey in less than a week! I will be going to Scotland for eight whole weeks. Why Scotland you may ask? Well, ever since I was very young, I have been obsessed with the United Kingdom in general (I think it all started with Harry Potter). I also wanted to go to Scotland since my ancestors are from there (my last name is Wallace) and wanted to learn more about the Scottish culture and people. I just find the differences between our two cultures fascinating for some reason.
I’ve wanted to study abroad since high school, when my family hosted several exchange students (from Germany, France, and the Czech Republic). Seeing how much they enjoyed their experience just made me want to do it too, so here I am heading to Scotland in less than a week! I am so excited for this adventure and will post my pre-departure thoughts soon.

Week Thirteen: Collecting Pictures

Posted on May 7, 2013 by pricemv

The weather had been getting steadily warmer to the point where the coat I brought with me is now too heavy, but I still need some sort of light jacket when I go out. Which I don’t have. I went to several shops trying to find something, with no success. I did, however, notice that all of the tags on clothes said “KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE” in bright red letters. Even the towel I bought says this now that I know to look. None of my clothes from the states have this. Why did manufacturers feel the need to say this? Has this been an issue? Were people complaining because the outfit they bought in Marks & Spencer turned out NOT to be fire retardant, imagine that? If I was in the U.S. with our sue-happy culture, I could understand the warning, but Europe seems to assume a certain level of intelligence from its costumers.

Greyfriars Kirk was finally open for visits, so I took the opportunity to go in there.

There’s a Latin phrase written across the tops of the different segments. I asked what it meant, got my answer, and promptly forgot what I had just been told. Something about music. Which makes sense. If it was something about cooking that would be a little weird.

There was a small monument to Bobby near the entrance to the churchyard. Some people had left flowers but the vast majority seemed to have left sticks. Which I’m sure a terrier would appreciate more anyway.

Other than that, and finishing my papers for creative writing, my time was spent going to specific locations just to get pictures of things.

My dad had commented when he was here on the lack of things to do with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the city, especially given the amount of things commemorating Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson. My response was “Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh?” Not only was he born and educated here, but the man who inspired Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Joseph Bell, was Scottish as well. This statue and one restaurant near by is the only acknowledgement Edinburgh makes of this. Given how important tourism is to Scotland, this does not seem like a smart move.

There are planter boxes all along Rose Street that have poems along their sides. I don’t think I need to explain why I took pictures of that.

Week Twelve: St. Giles and Women of Science

Posted on May 7, 2013 by pricemv

I went back to the portrait gallery to pick out someone to write about. My mother had responded strongly to an exhibit on the Stuart princess Henriette, so that was the first place I looked, but most of her life involved the French court and political relations between France and Britain. Which really isn’t an issue at all until you take into account the fact that I know next to nothing about the politics and monarchy in either country during any time period, meaning I would have to do a lot of research if I wanted to try and write anything about the people shown.

Luckily, right next door there was an exhibit on Women of Nineteenth Century Scotland. Among the women was Mary Somerville, who contributed to the mathematical and scientific field during her time. Normally science and math, while subjects I understand and am good at, aren’t at the top of my List of Subjects I Really Like, but the blurb on Mrs. Somerville spoke to me because her parents tried to actively discourage her scientific pursuits and she went on teaching herself math anyway. Triumph through adversity is a very common theme in stories that people feel are worth telling, and it’s a theme that I respond to. So during the rest of the week I spent time researching her life and reading her Personal Recollections.

“Sorry dad, I can’t hear your concerns that math will make me lose my delicate female mind over the sound of Algebra.”

I also visited St. Giles, though my reason for doing so was a little odd. I’d walked by it before and taken pictures of the outside, but hadn’t felt the need to go in. When my parents were visiting they’d gone in and visited the gift shop, where my mom bought a booklet of stamps, only to later realize that three booklets had gotten stuck together, so she’d accidently robbed the store – which exists to help maintain the church – of two books of stamps. Since they were already back in the states, I was tasked with removing this bad karma. I went to make a donation and paid to take pictures as well.

The Thistle Chapel had an insane amount of details. I shall give you, as an example, this very dejected bear that was carved into one of the seat dividers. Look at him. He just wanted to maul people. Is that too much to ask?

This is probably my favorite stained glass window ever. It manages to accomplish the only goals most stained windows have – telling some sort of story first, being artistically pleasing within each individual frame second – without sacrificing the comprehensiveness of the window as a whole or forcing the artistic side to play second fiddle.

This week also marked the last classes I had for both writing classes. In one we got the opportunity to listen to one of the other teachers at Napier tell his life story, in particular the trips that he’d taken with Habitat for Humanity.

Speaking of houses, this is the second place I’ve seen that house spray-painted and I. Don’t. Know. What. It. Is.

Easter Break: Week Two: Green Houses and Hibernation

Posted on May 7, 2013 by pricemv

Overall another low-key week. I began to seriously think about what writing prompts I wanted to do for the final assignments in my writing classes. I’m the sort of person that needs to spend a lot of time thinking about something before I start writing, so just having something picked is a huge step. I decided to set one of the stories on Mars (don’t ask,) and do a semi biographical piece for the other one. I didn’t make any concrete decisions on who I was going to write about, but, still, progress.

I also went back to the botanic gardens to go through the green houses they had. It was a pretty miserable day, so being inside buildings meant to house various types of warm climate plants was a very welcome reprieve.

If you thought I was addicted to taking close up photos of architectural details, you clearly know nothing of my relationship with plants.

And circular things. Circular plants or architectural details are the best. I really liked the desert green house for this reason.

I can quit whenever I want.

Beyond that the week didn’t consist of anything beyond hibernation. Sometimes literally. I was like a really lazy, floral obsessed bear.

Easter Break: Week One: Garden and Gallery

Posted on May 7, 2013 by pricemv

My mother had mentioned wanting to go to the Royal Botanic Garden, so, since we didn’t get the chance to go when my parents were here, I went on my own this week. Most of it was in that hibernation state where you wonder if everything just up and died on you over the winter and you’re going to have to replant everything. The most obvious example is the Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden. The actual garden part looked like someone had set up the skeletons of all the bushes and shrubs then went to lunch before putting all the leaves on. And then forgot to come back.

There was, however, a hut/house/thing decorated with seashells, so I took lots of pictures of that.

According to the informational plaque – which I actually took the time to read, wonder of wonders – the shells and pebbles used were collected from the beaches by Scottish school children, which is simultaneously adorable and child labor.

There are a couple streets in New and Old Town that have street venders selling the sorts of things that street venders and farmers’ markets usually sell. I adore farmers’ markets and street venders, so I made sure to take the time to check them out. The merchandise. Not the venders.

A couple of my friends also make sculptures out of soda cans, so this made me think of them. None of this guy’s stuff was made using Irn Bru cans though, which, given where he’s selling his stuff, seems like a rather large missed opportunity. I would have bought something from him if there was Irn Bru stuff, but it was all brands that I could get in the U.S., so it felt like I could just make my own. Or get one of my friends to.

On the way back from the venders, I got stopped by a gentleman from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, which I’d never heard of before. I ended up having a very interesting discussion with him about what exactly the group was (they’ve got a website, if you’re interested,) but the most striking thing about the conversation didn’t occur to me until later when I was relying the conversation to friends over Skype. If it had been an individual of any Christian denomination that had come up to me I would have just told them I wasn’t interested and been done with it. I try to be open to all religions, so it was a reality check to be presented with an instance of my own religious prejudice.

The week was rounded off with a visit to the National Gallery. This is different from the National Portrait Gallery. There’s also a National Gallery of Modern Art, because things weren’t confusing enough. There were more sculptures there than the Portrait Gallery, which only had a few busts, and the interior architecture was more interesting.

Staircases. Yet another thing to add to the List of Things I Take Far Too Many Pictures of.

I didn’t make it through the whole gallery, but so far this portion of one of the paintings is my favorite. Just because this horse DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS.

Week Eleven: Parental Visit

Posted on May 3, 2013 by pricemv

This was the week my parents had set aside to visit, so of course the weather decided it wanted to be Windy Beyond All Belief. I’m more or less used to it, but my parents definitely weren’t. I heard all about it being cold. Which I guess it was, but not that bad.

Since I had people who weren’t on a student’s budget with me to pay for things, we went to visit some of the more touristy places you have to pay to get into.

First up was the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is where the queen stays when she’s in Scotland. We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the interior, so I can’t illustrate just how much it was a place I would not want to live in. The whole place was full of the crazy amount of intricate detail and empty space that people seemed to think necessary to announce that, yes, these people are important. The fact that the details are on everything makes the whole place feel stiff. Impressive, yes, but at the cost of comfort.

I finally decided to look up why there were so many images of unicorns around. Turns out its part of the Scottish coat of arms the same way the lion is part of the British coat of arms. I feel like I should have known that. Interesting detail (that I wouldn’t have noticed on my own,) the unicorn, when depicted as part of the Scottish coat of arms, is always shown wearing a collar with a chain attached. Because unicorns are dangerous. Scotland knows what’s up.

Right next door was The Queen’s Gallery, which had an exhibit about the tour of Egypt King Edward VII took back when he was Prince of Wales.

Of course what resonated most with me was the railing. Not the cool pictures or artifacts. That would be too normal of me.

We got to go the Viking exhibit at the National Museum of Scotland as well, though photography wasn’t allowed in the exhibit, so I, yet again, don’t have visuals. The two things that really stand out as worth sharing are 1) Viking is a verb and 2) almost all of our days of the week come from Norse mythology (Thor’s day being the most obvious example.)

And to round the week off we went to the Edinburgh castle.

So of course it had to try to snow. Edinburgh is like that puppy that’s perfectly well behaved until you have guests over.

Castles and palaces serve different purposes, and this was reflected in the sorts of things that were at the castle. Namely mostly military things, up to and including a military museum.

I send separate emails to my friends and family updating them about my status using mostly pictures with some explanation. The reason I keep those separate from this blog rather than just send people here is I tend to take creative license with my descriptions. This photo was accompanied with an entire paragraph explaining that the etchings are to imbue the sword with properties to fight against the supernatural. I didn’t actually read the plaque for this item, but I think it’s a safe bet that’s not actually the case.

Then I got myself an egg for Easter. Since I know little of the candies here, I relied on the tried and true “hey, that box looks cool” method.

The box is shaped like a lion. How could I not buy it? Also, they were out of the Maltesers eggs.

My mom brought me some Easter chocolate from the states as well, and after getting used to chocolate here, I can almost taste the wax. A friend of mine lived in the UK for a while, and now I understand what she was talking about.

WOU Students Abroad

Category Archives: Scotland

Week 2: The Scottish Adventures Continue

Week 1: Life with a Scottish Accent

Finally Made it to Scotland: My Arrival

Pre-Departure: One Day to Go

Introduction: Hello

Week Thirteen: Collecting Pictures

Week Twelve: St. Giles and Women of Science

Easter Break: Week Two: Green Houses and Hibernation

Easter Break: Week One: Garden and Gallery

Week Eleven: Parental Visit