Scotland!

Well, I'm off to Scotland in the morning. I'm getting up at 5:30 to leave at 6:15... kill me now. But! Apparently, the first three hours of the train ride has a boring scenery so I'll end up sleeping.

My Royal Ring!

This is a very pointless blog entry, but I wanted to brag a little. I found this Royal engagement ring (Will and Kate's engagement ring) look-a-like at the Portobello Market yesterday for only 20 pounds! It's so beautiful, and I can pretend I'm a British princess for the rest of my life :P. It's the perfect souvenir.

Midterm Exams!

This week I'm taking my midterm exams. The courses here are way easier than the ones at Wofford so I'm taking comfort in that, but there are fewer opportunities to make good grades, because instead of a lot of graded assignments, there are two major assignments. There's no room for mistakes. In three of my classes, I just have to write a paper, but I have two actual exams in my other classes: Architecture of London and Women's Studies. Women's Studies is open note, but Architecture of London is going to be difficult. My architecture professor just gives us reading and expects us to teach ourselves. We've had two lectures in 2 months. Soooooo I'm nervous. BUT! In this program, a 70 out of 100 is considered an A, and Wofford takes my letter grades rather than the number. So, if I bomb the test, I'll still get a decent grade. I mean, I'm still going to try, don't worry, parents, but at least I'm not going to die overseas of a panic attack. Anyway, that's pretty much all I'm doing this week except for Thursday when I leave for Scotland!

Skrillex Concert

My friend Sarah came to London! She was a debutante with me and is studying in Copenhagen, Denmark for the semester. We decided to get tickets to see a DJ called Skrillex. His music is a genre called Dubstep. If you're over the age of 25, I don't think you'll like his music haha. Anyway, the concert was fun, but instead of enjoying the music and dancing, the British like to mosh to this music. Mosh means to shove and push, which usually goes on at the front of the crowd. Sarah and I accidentally got in the middle of this so we moved to the back. In America, it's unthinkable to mosh to this kind of music, it's the new hippy music so Americans dance and sway. But Sarah and I stayed out of trouble. After the concert, a new friend of mine got us into the VIP lounge of a popular club... very posh (like how I'm using British slang now?).

The next day I took her to some of the markets here. That's the thing to do in London on the weekend: Wake up early and shop at the markets. I think there are over 6 in London. They're full of food stands from all over the world, jewelry stands, clothes, purses, leather jackets, art, prints, posters, pretty much anything you can think of. Every market has some of the same stuff, but each one has a unique atmosphere.

Trip to Scotland!

So next weekend, I'm going off to Scotland with my IES program. Here's what I'll be doing:

Thursday: We're taking a train to Edinburgh, visiting Edinburgh castle, and spending the rest of the day exploring the city. I've been to Edinburgh before, and it's one of my favorite places in Europe because nothing has been restored yet, so all of the cathedral facades are still black with pollution and soot. It perfecting matches the gloomy atmosphere of the city's weather.

Friday: We're going to see the William Wallace monument in Stirling! I've also done this before, but it'll be fun to do it again. It's a tall tower that you can climb and at the top, you get this gorgeous view of the Scottish country side. I was there in the summer, so it'll be interesting to see it in the winter. Then in the afternoon, we're going to Glen (Scottish word for valley) Coe for a nice hike. It's going to be cold, but I've been hiking in the winter in New Mexico, and it actually felt refreshing. I need to go buy some hiking boots! That night, we'll stay at Morag's Lodge where we will enjoy a traditional Scottish meal (Haggis stuffed chicken), followed by Celidh (traditional Scottish dancing).

Saturday: In the morning, we're going on a Loch (Lake) Ness boat trip!! I hope I see Nessie! Then we'll visit Urquart Castle. In the afternoon, we're going to Aviemore, the only ski lodge in the United Kingdom! After we've settled, we're going on another hike and a train ride on the Cairngorm Mountain Railway to Funicular railway to the plateau of Cairngorm Mountain. Cairngorm Mountain is a National Park in Scotland. This reminds me a lot of the kind of activities my dad would take us on in Colorado. Dad, you'd absolutely love this trip!

Sunday: The next morning, we're going hike to Cairngorm Reindeer Centre where the only reindeer in the United Kingdom roam free! If we're lucky we can hand feed them and live out our childhood dreams! After that, we'll go to a town called Inverness and have some free time before our flight back to London.

I'm so excited to go back to Scotland. It's one of the friendliest countries I've ever been to, despite the gloomy weather. I'm also glad this trip will be more of a nature trip. I love the city, but it'll be nice to get away from all of the noise and bustle. I'll post pictures as soon as I get back!

Happy Birthday to me!

For my birthday, a small group of us went to The Texas Embassy in Trafalgar Square. I had a Texas Twister for my first drink as a 21-year-old. The whole thing was very anti-climactic since drinking in London was completely legal as a 20 year old, but it was still very fun. I still don't feel 21... I feel like I'm 18 some times.

Roman Baths!

The water was so warm that it was steaming. We were told not to touch the water, however, because thousands of people over the years have been using the baths to cure their diseases. Pretty gross water, but the structure was beautiful.

Stonehenge!

Went to visit Stonehenge! It was about 20 degrees colder out there than in London, hence my furry hat. We couldn't get very close, but it was still really cool to see something that momentous built over 4,000 years ago. After 3 trips to England, I finally saw it :).

I know I haven't posted in a long time, but I've actually had a lot of class work. Don't want me to fail do you? But I did just post a lot of pictures on Facebook. Soon, I'll try to load some from my birthday and Bath.