I love Scotland

A Picture Party

FINALLY! I haven't been able to post pictures in ages... I don't know why. BUT... here are the highlights of May.

I might try and go back and add pictures in the approprete spots... like especially back to Venice and when my Mama was here, so check back in the April archives once in awhile. I'll let ya know when that happens.

Liza in Ireland!

Friends I made on an Ireland bus tour. Joan from Ontairo and Sam from Australia

Everyone IS Irish on St. Patty's Day!

At the Guinness Factory

Mary, Me, Rachel, Matt before May Ball

Mary and Liza. Mary was my date for the Ball

She might be short, but she's a strong Nebraskan...

My babie duckies

Dumfermline Abbey... Burial spot of Robert the Bruce

Seriously the coolest encounter with a bird ever! I took more pics of this peacock than anything else the entire trip!

Horsing around at the Old Course

Psychin' myself up for a splash in the sea

Out with flatmates and friends at Ma Bell's

Three!

My room is clearing out... the packing situation looks pretty good... saying some good-byes... its all kinda crazy.

Oh wow. I'm on the HOME page in my planner. I drew fireworks on "Thursday" because I'm cool like that.

I'll Miss...
Jannetta's.
Oooooohhhhhhhhhhh. You know the Grand Ole Creamery On Grand Ave? Right. It definetly has a soul sister in Scotland. We have gone every week we've been here, without fail. It was the first place Rachel and I ate on our first day here. (Of course ice cream!) Sundaes come with funny decorations and my fav cone combo is caramel shortbread and espresso. Mmmm.


Jannetta's!

Ooooo, I finally got pictures to post again! Hurrah!

I can't wait...
Man... just to be home!
I'm ready to bring a lot of self-knowledge about my self... some worldly knowledge... some excitement for the future in front of me... back to what is waiting for me.


Self-Portrait (at the Guinness Factory in Dublin, if you must know... )

Four Days!

I'll Miss...
The Albany Park Zoo.
Just kidding, it's not really a zoo. But inevitably everytime I step outside my door around Albany Park I see: baby ducks and their mama, lots and lots of bunnies and rabbits, male ducks (who don't seem to take care of their babies!!!), birds, and a cat. But I'm not so fond of the cat because it looks at me weird. Oh, and sometimes I see snails.

I can't wait...
for real grocery stores!
Will aisles and aisles of all kinds of different food. No more of this tiny Tesco Metro buisness.

Five Days!

I tried to start packing today... My suitcase looks TINY! A miracle is needed and soon. Maybe someone can hook me up with a carpet bag like Mary Poppins'??

The countdown continues...

I'll miss...
how drinking is perceived here.
Drinking is SO different here. The goal is NOT to get as trashed as possible, but it is as completely social as getting a cup of coffee with a friend.

I can't wait...
for a summer in Minneapolis!
I'm just looking forward to soooo many things... the list gets longer everyday! Twins games, movies in Loring Park, the Farmer's market, bike rides, running around the Lakes... hooray!

Six Days!

I'm done with SCHOOL! I had a three hour exam this afternoon and woof... that is not a fun experience. It was SO awesome though because one of the essay questions was "Give a summary of John Wesley's Social Ethics" and I left that one for the end so that when my brain was totally about to shut down, I got to write an essay about my hero! It made me so happy!

And we're gonna see Star Wars tonight... exciting!

I'll Miss...
a stress free life.
My four month vacation is almost over... oh no! There have been certain stressors in my life, but mainly trivial things like worrying about bus schedules, and dirty bathrooms, and what pubs to go to at night. Nothing at all like my last semester at the Ham where I was drowning trying to balance 18 credits, 3 jobs, 2 roommates, several orgs and always important social engagements. I have learned to RELAX here! At first I felt SO guilty that I wasn't busybusybusy from morning til night... but I got over that pretty quick!

I can't wait...
for the delicious selection of resturants in the Twin Cities metro area, including:
Pad Thai
Chipolte
the Black Sea
Noodles
Pizza Luce
Dairy Queen
and Pad Thai

Seven Days!

I'll Miss...
Walking.
I walk everywhere I go in St. Andrews and even when I leave St. Andrews, I walk to the bus station. Its about a 20 minute walk into town for classes or groceries or to the pub and I walk to town and back at least once a day, sometimes three times. But oh, I can't even describe what an amazing walk it is. Along the sea, over the teeny harbor and past fishing boats and lobster cages, up to the ruins of the cathedral, and then into town.

I can't wait...
To go on dates.
Mostly I mean the romantical kind, and for that I am all covered. But I also like other kinds of dates like: coffee dates, ice cream dates, play dates, knitting dates, movie dates, and crazy random dates... so if you want to see ME and like those things, you should give me a jingle after May 26th, okay?

EiGht dAys!

Whooooooooo

I'll miss...
Getting dressed up and going out with my flatmates to the pubs. It has been so fun everytime... even when they told me I needed to wear more "bling-bling." I wish I had gotten to go out with them more.

I can't wait...
To to go church. I've gone to church here... but not reguarly. I was on adventures too many weekends to go to a church of a regular basis and find a church home. I miss it like you would not believe. I've been to mass at Notre Dame, a Good Friday service in Venice, evensong at St. Patrick's in Dublin, and several here in St. Andrews and they have been amazing. But not like at home...

Nine Days!

I'll miss...
How incredibly kind the Scots are. From the second I got to the airport in Glasgow to just this afternoon, I have been shown again and again incredible kindness by these people. Sincerly helpful in every respect... ready to talk, to tell their story and hear yours. This afternoon I was walking home and since I'm a fastwalker I caught up and passed an older man. He was strolling along, wearing a plaid tweed cap and smoking a pipe. He turned and commented on what a lovely evening it was. I agreed and he started talking about how much he loves to walk past the cathedral ruins down to the sea. And we walked down to the harbor together before we went our seperate ways, talking about where he was from and where I was from and how my studies at university were going. Completely awesome.

I can't wait...
To drive my car! Oh I love my beautiful baby car! [...love is surely blind since that car is neither beautiful nor a baby...] I can't wait to clean her up inside and out and drive with the windows down and the radio up! I hope she's still kicking...

The Countdown!

I have been alternating between laughing and crying lately because... well, my semester is just about over. In just a few days I'll be packed up and traveling back to Minneapolis. I am ridiculously giddy to get to the airport and see a tall blond boy and then spend the evening with my fam. But... I can't imagine what I am going to do without the sea as my backyard and WHO is going to watch over the ducklings who live at my doorstep???

So to countdown the last ten days in Scotland, everyday I'll post one thing I'm going to miss about my semester here and one thing I'm excited to do when I get home! Hurray!

TEN DAYS!

I'll miss...
Treading cautiously over cobblestone sidewalks and cutting through the narrow alley ways in town. (That have names like: Loggies Lane and Butts Wynd... heeee hee)

I can't wait to...
See the shoes I left behind!!! Oh those poor poor shoes that haven't been worn since January! I miss them. Especially my Docs. And my blue reeboks. And my green cordory ones from Old Navy. And my red MaryJanes. And alllllll my flip-flops!

IRELAND

Here I am in Dublin, Ireland... the eleventh country of my travels. Dublin is a super awesome city... it has a little bit of everything that I like... cathedrals, museums, parks, shopping, bagels, babies, castles...

I was a little unsure how traveling along was going to go, but now I wish I had gone on a solo trip earlier... it's really great! I like spending time with me, which is a good thing, because if i didn't like spending time with myself, why would anyone else?

I spent a lot of yesterday walking around, getting acquainted with the city... walking in larger and larger circles like our study abroad book said?? Not quite! And today I saw the Book of Kells at Trinity College and had a little epiphany. Not so much the Book of Kells, which is totally awesome and exactly how I think the Bible should be celebrated... as a work of art, and seen that way through art on the pages as well as the words. But in the Long Room of the library. I walked in thar room and tears leapt into my eyes. It is magnificent. Like... the same architechture as great cathedrals, vaulted ceiling and columns stretching up up up.... but filled with books! And just like those cathedrals were build to magnify God, this building was such a tribute to books and education... ah. It got to me. I loved it.

Oh and of course I went to the Guinness factory/museum today too. How could I not? It was a trip... a multi-media extravaganza. Plus a pint. So... it was worth it.

Although there is still TON to see in Dublin, I decided I want to see the land of Ireland. So tomorrow I'm going on a day bus tour to Wicklow, through the Wicklow Mountains. I'm very excited too see Ireland be GREEN and maybe there will be more baby sheepies because I love them.

Wrapping Up?

Crazily enough... It's MAY! And my time abroad is winding down. It is hard to think about, I'll be honest... but there will be plenty of time for reflection on that later on.

Now, I am busy planning out my last weeks here! Like usual I'll be on the go for a majority of the time. There are big events this weekend... May Ball is on Friday night and sounds like it will be quite the night! You can't turn around at St. Andrews without getting handed a flyer for some sort of ball... but this is the Biggie. The Biggie Ball. I think they should call it that... it has a nice ring to it. Anyway, super excited for that and looking bea-u-ti-ful!

Then, Saturday night we're heading down to Edinburgh to cheer Rachel on in a 10K race on Sunday morning, with plenty of time for shopping included.

And it just keeps getting more and more exciting because on Monday I'm taking off on a solo trip to Dublin for a few days. I just booked my tickets and there is a book about Dublin on my desk waiting to be picked up. Extrordinarily excited to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College, but other than that, does anyone have any suggestions for must-see Dublin activities?? I'm still trying to decide if I should trek out to Cork and the Blarney Stone... I'll see how it all shakes out.

I'll be back in Scotland for two more weeks, my two final exams, and the frightening task of packing up what I came with... plus the few odds and ends I've picked up since I arrived in Europe on January 16th. Yikes.

May 25th, I'll head down to London and spend the night with MacKenzie Moon, another Hamline study-abroader and London expert... she's studying abroad for a full 12 months!! And she'll send me off to the airport on Thursday morning... and next stop?

Minneapolis!!!

May Dip

Ahhhhhhhhhh

Lemme tell you something about the North Sea.

It's cold.