Saturday May 26

The day began at 9 am sharp while the ladies decided to do some more touring Ireland, and us computer nerds went to a convention at the University of Limerick about 3D products. As I cannot account for the women I shall go over the males point of view. We arrived at the University of Limerick at 10 am and signed in at 10:30. We went into the main hall and saw three speaker the first was discussing his companies work in building 3D into phones. The second was working with 3D in many things. The last speaker was working in ways to view data in unique artful ways such as pottery and vibration so you can see and feel the data instead of just looking at data on paper. After those three presentations there was a break. After the break the guys joined a workshop with a device called the aurdino. It is an external machine that runs simple time based operations to light a light bulb as we did and had it blink on and off every second. Later that night we went to dinner and a music show at a pub where we had another night of authentic Irish food and Irish folk music. The night concluded our night in Ireland and our last night abroad.

And just like that... it's done!

The alarm went off at 5:15 AM!  Lois and I got up and finished packing, weighed our bags (and moved some items from the too-heavy bag to the lighter bag), and went down to meet the rest of the group at 6:00 AM.  (Even Sarah came down!  She is staying an extra week to visit with her aunt, and was not leaving until lunch time.)  The entire group arrived within a few minutes of the designated time.  Pre-arranged cabs were there to take us to the Shannon airport.

We arrived about 6:30 AM and proceeded to check in with the airline.  From there we went through the airport security.  Next up: US customs pre-clearance where we forfeited our apples, and other dis-allowed fruit and vegetables (like lettuce on a sandwich!).  We eventually got through all of this and arrived at our gate a bit before 8:00 AM.  Our flight was to leave at 9:00 AM, or so we thought.  It turns out there was an hour delay.  We finally took off a little after 9:00 AM.  The flight was long (7.5 hours), but uneventful.

We arrived in Newark, NJ, about 11:30 just in time to start our five hour layover before we catch our flight to Indianapolis, IN.  The first item of business after getting off the plane was to either turn cell phones back on that have been off for three weeks or to go to the bathroom.  That being taken care of, we found a seating area at which we could “comfortably” spend our long layover.  We sat.  We walked around.  We sat.  We sat some more.  We walked around.  We sat.  We discovered that a five hour layover is a loooooong time to wait in an airport.  Eventually it came time for our flight so we took an inter-terminal shuttle to our gate and boarded our flight to Indianapolis a few minutes later.

Another uneventful flight plus a couple of hours put us in the Indianapolis airport.  We proceeded to the luggage pickup area.  It appeared that our bags had actually arrived on an earlier flight.  Too bad we couldn’t have caught that flight!  Shortly after, Josh’s ride was present and he disappeared.  A few minutes later, Kayla’s family arrived and welcomed her back with hugs all around.  Benaiah, Steven, Lois and I then headed towards Muncie.  (Remember, we left Sarah in Limerick.)  After dropping each of them off at their apartments, we arrived home around 9:00 PM.

Thus ends our last day of our field study.  We’ve been in or traveled through six countries (Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the United States of America).  We’ve visited many cities, castles, universities, museums, pubs, and hostels.  We’ve been in buildings just a few years old, and others that are 800 years old.  We’ve been to earth formations that are thousands of years old.  We met lots of interesting people and heard lots of different languages along the way.  We’ve ridden on uncounted trains, tubes, busses, coaches, and even a ferry.  Collectively, we walked around 900 miles!  We learned how to use two different currencies (Pounds and Euros).  We experienced 40 degree and 85 degree weather.  We experienced rain, sunshine, and even hail.

May 8, 2012

26 May 2012

Was it a perfect trip that went exactly as planned?  No, but I didn’t expect it to.  There were way too many things happening for something to not go according to plan. I feel it was a great trip.  The group of us got to know each other a lot better after spending three weeks together.  I believe we each became a wee bit more comfortable with being in new places and experiencing new and unknown things.  I think each of us pushed ourselves to try something new.  We may each have become a bit more independent.  I learned that the world is both much bigger than I understood, and yet at the same time very small.  There is so much going on in the world that we have no clue about.  But people are people the world around.  We may speak different languages, or use different accents, but fundamentally we’re all the same.  With the possibilities of computers and networks today there are very few reasons why we can’t all share what we’re doing with everyone else in the world.  It is through sharing of new found knowledge, wisdom, and feelings that we can move the world forward toward a better place.

So I now post this entry a few minutes past midnight from my home in Muncie, Indiana, USA.  My day started at 5:15 AM in Limerick Ireland.  Since there is a five hour difference in time, that means my travel started 24 hours ago.  (Yes, I’ve had some naps along the way.)  We’ve just completed in three weeks what would have taken months to accomplish a hundred years ago.  I wonder what travel will be like a hundred years from now.

The aftermath of opening our suitcases!

We're baaaaack!

We're back in the USA (except for Sarah - we left her behind - as planned) at Newark waiting for our connecting flight to Indianapolis. More later.

Pure Beauty

The morning began with boarding a Paddywagon bus for our day trip to the Cliffs of Moher, The Burren, and Bunratty Castle. Our bus was extremely hott and they crammed 30 people in this bus with very little air flow...it was both stinky, and HOTT! Our first stop was the burren the word "Burren" comes from an Irish word "Boíreann" meaning a rocky place. It is a very rocky area the rocks are limestone the area is very unusual looking but beautiful in its own way! 

After the Burren we headed to lunch at a small town area and we all enjoyed different items and had time to look around at the stores. Once lunch was complete we headed to the Cliffs of Moher! I must say they are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life! They are huge...for those of you have seen Princess Bride these are the cliffs of insanity! The views where amazing they just took your breath away!  At our scheduled time we left the cliffs and headed for Bunratty Castle for a quick photography stop and to grab a pint if we wanted to at the pub! Once we got back to Limerick we stopped off at a University of Limericks senior showcase...everything was really interesting and creative! After we finished up at the senior showcase we had the night to ourselves which was nice and relaxing! 

New city, new adventures

Today was kind of a slower day for us. This is mainly due to the fact the fact that it was our first day in limerick. We started off by getting up early once again to catch the bus. The bus ride was only about three hours long. Most of us spent this time sleeping. Upon arriving to Limerick, we headed straight to the Strand hotel. Yes, i said hotel and not hostel. I knew it was going to be a great hotel just by walking into the lobby! However, when we got there we found out our rooms wouldn't be ready until 3pm. But the good news about that is they were nice enough to take our luggage from us and put it in our respective rooms when they were ready. So, after leaving the hotel we split up to grab lunch. We also had some extra time to walk around and get to know the city. We then caught a bus to The University of Limerick. We had a meeting with one of the Professors in the computer science department. Not too many question were asked because I think a lot of us were suffering from that "2:30" feeling. However, she was very informative about how they do the program there. After that the international student office gave us a tour of the campus. I think we could all agree that we wish Ball State has a campus as nice as theirs. After the tour we went back to the hotel. We pretty much all just hung out in our air conditioned rooms over looking the city of Limerick for the rest of the evening.

Dinner and a show!

Here are some video clips that will give you a flavor of what we enjoyed earlier this evening.

   

Today, we got a very good understanding of the Irish culture, modern and past.

Our first stop for the day was Trinity College, which is renowned for owning the illuminated manuscript, the Book of Kells.

The university was a lot like Ball State in that the buildings where relatively close together, but the lawns were groomed and manicured, and no one was to step on the grass. That would never fly back in Muncie, where droves of us college kids slowly come out of hibernation as the weather warms to play frisbie and pick-up football on the lawns. 

We met up with the head of the computer science program and Trinity, and he kindly answered all of our questions, and treated us with free tickets to see the Book of Kells and gave us a quick tour of the campus. 

My favorite part of the tour was the Long Room. It was, well,...long. And full of books. Lost and lots of books. My kind of room. I could stay in there for hours just looking at the books. Reading them, breathing in the history. 

The Book of Kells was impressive, but you couldn't see much, because it was open and there were only two pages shown. 

After the college, we got lunch, where Josh and I found a local cafe where nothing was over 4.50euro and was quite tasty! 

The Leprechaun museum was next. I was a little wary of what the museum would be like. I imagined it to be boring, with just a lot of videos and a little man walking us around. 

I was pleasantly surprised!

Our tour guide was very excited about the Leprechauns, and gave us all the information about these mythical creatures that we could ask for. She got us to find the inner kids in each of us, which was refreshing. 

Everyone climbed on the furniture in the Giant room, and after the tour was over, we were expected to draw her a picture and give it to here to be framed and put up in the museum. Oh goody. 

The rest of the evening was left for us to do whatever we pleased, and Josh and I went off finnish off our shopping for family and friends. 

At 7:20, we walked over to the Arlington Hotel for dinner and a show. I was expecting it to be boring and super expensive. Thankfully I got one of those wrong. 

The band Púka that played was amazing! They really got into their playing and singing and I really enjoyed the band and dancers. 

Benaiah got invited to dance on stage with one of the dancers and he gave his best shot. He didn't do too bad!

Overall, a great day in Ireland.

Besides being sick, I've enjoyed it!

Last official post of the trip. 

Peace out!!

Kayla

After a cab, two trains, two coaches, and a ferry we made it to Ireland!

(Sorry for the last few posts from us being a bit out of sequence.  I think we’re all caught up now, however.) Note that you can click on the photos to see a larger image.

Sunday was another big travel day for us as we moved from London, England, to Dublin, Ireland.  We arranged for two cabs to pick us up from the hostel at 6:45 AM and take the seven of us and our luggage to Euston Railway Station to catch our train because the tubes didn’t start running early enough.  We got breakfast and lunch at the station and boarded our first train only to discover it was very full and had very little space to store our luggage. We did eventually get it all stored and evicted other passengers from our reserved seats.


Train travel here is a bit different than in the USA in terms of seating. You buy a train ticket which means you can board the train, but does not guarantee you a seat. If you want that, you pay a bit more. We’re very thankful we paid the extra and had reserved seats because we were traveling the morning after a big rugby match and the trains were packed with fans headed home. About half way to Holyhead, Wales (where we caught a ferry), we transferred to a second train that took us the rest of the way. Unfortunately virtually everyone else transferred to the second train as well and luggage space was still an issue. One of our bags ended up sitting in the aisle the whole trip.  On our train rides, we had the opportunity to see lots of contryside, including canal boats, the ruins of a castle, and cattle and sheep in fields.

We arrived at the Holyhead station, and discovered signage in both English and Welsh.  After a brief wait were checked in for the ferry.  We were shuttled out to the ferry on a coach.  Unfortunately virtually everyone from the train transferred to the ferry as well.  At least we didn’t have to deal with our luggage this time as it was checked.  We eventually found a couple of tables that we claimed as ours and everyone settled in for the Irish Sea crossing.  All was uneventful; a nice smooth trip.


We arrived at the Dublin port and learned the ferry company was now charging a small fee to ride their bus from the port to city centre.  We paid up and were on our way once again.  We got off the bus, walked across one of the many bridges that cross the River Liffey, turned left and walked less than a block to the Abbey Court Hostel, our home for the next four nights.

After checking in, we gathered and walked to the Brazen Head, as it was dinner time.  Dating back to 1198, the Brazen Head is officially Ireland’s oldest pub.  No, I didn’t type the year wrong, we’re talking 800 plus years old.  We were able to find a table that would hold all of us and had some great food and drinks.  I had a traditional  Irish stew.  As we were finishing up, a local Irish band started showing up one by one.  As they arrived, they started practicing.  They didn’t actually start playing until after we left, but we got to listen to little pieces of lots of songs for half an hour or so.  Good stuff.  After dinner, most of us headed back to the hostel for bed, while others headed other directions.
  

I’m looking forward to our first full day in Dublin tomorrow.

All day bus tour of Ireland (Northern Ireland)

Another Tuesday, another day of required blog posts. Do not fret, I will entertain you with my words yet again.

Woke up at the buttcrack of 5:50AM to catch the 6:45 PaddyWagon to both ends of Ireland. After having a less than familiar Burger King breakfast, we made our way to the bus pickup area around 6:25 and waited until 6:47 (late! ... jeeze) to be picked up by the big green bus that we would learn to love for the rest of the day.

The trip up felt the longest and was mostly a nap time for us tired adults. When arriving in Belfast we all got out for a 5 minute toilet break and regrouped with our new tour guide to take us on our journey. His name was Tory.

Our first stop was the Carrick-a-rede bridge. The 15 minute walk to the bridge was quite the journey, but well worth it for the views we were able to witness. I was excited to cross this bridge and was not nervous at all, but that was not true for the entire group. I was able to look down and even bounce a little on the bridge as I walked across. The members of our group that were nervous made it across no problem and the sights were not limited to just the brave-hearts. Here are some of the views I captured:

Our next stop on the tour was Londonderry/Derry, to see the the culture of an area still separated from a recent war within itself. There are two sides to the fight, Protestants and Catholics and the communities that define both sides are separated by a giant stone wall. This stone wall has many writings and art drawn onto it that expresses the people of the towns feelings and struggles throughout the fight and during the recovery. The paintings were stunning and very well detailed.

The final stop was at a location known for its unusual rock formations that stick out from the ground in a mess of hexagonal pillars. Said to have been created by giants, these rock formations were a good spot to sit back and take in the views while we waited for our lunch to finish cooking.

Overall, the tour was long and full of beautiful sights. Returning back at almost 10PM from a trip that started around 7AM leaves you tired and ready to rest for another great day in Ireland.

Monday again already?

It's Monday and we're off to explore Dublin. We arrived Sunday evening after traveling all day. Our hostel is the Abbey Court Hostel and is in the City Center, the center of activity.

We started the day with breakfast and then went in search of a phone store and pharmacy. Several of us have come down with colds so we made a stop to get medicated! Dave and I needed to get new sim cards for our phones so we took care of that.

Dublin Hop On Bus tour became our transportation for the day. We got on to learn about Dublin and to see the sights. It was a wonderfully sunny day so we sat out on the top of the bus. Several people have told us its the first time they have had a sunny day in months. I told them we brought it with us!

The highlight of the day seemed to be the tour of the Guinness Storehouse to learn all about Guinness. Steven and Josh earned certificates in pouring the perfect pint while the rest of us got to sample a free pint of Guinness in the 360 degree Gravity Bar. We got to take lots of pictures of Dublin from the the highest point in town. Everyone was even more excited to have the rest of the afternoon and evening to do what they wanted to. It was nice for the two of us to have some time too. Kayla, Sarah, Dave and I went to dinner at Hard Rock Cafe and had a nice evening.

It's nice to be able to walk around without an umbrella or heavy coats. We had cold, rainy weather in Edinburgh and London was cool. So it's nice to have sunny weather.

What I haven't quite gotten used to yet is the fact that the skies are still light at 10 at night and starts to get light at 4 in the morning. Our room has a skylight in it and it is a bit challenging to sleep in very late. We find ourselves getting up early and watch the kids drag in at 9:00 am! Our room is on the fourth floor and there is no elevator so I'm getting lots of exercise! Unofficially we have walked over 80 miles so far!

Tomorrow is a very early morning as we head on a day trip to Northern Ireland. Going to be a great day. Can't believe that we head home on Sunday. The time has gone fast. Have to make sure I take time to really savor the rest of the trip. I may never pass this way again.

Saturday's Ravenous Renedevous

Saturday we had two places to visit, the first being the Science Museum in London and the latter being Stonehenge two hours outside of London. As is usual we were up at the crack of dawn around 8 am. Being quite drained from the previous evening the men joined up with the women for breakfast and our morning meeting. As we concluded our meeting we set off for the tubes. If you are not familiar with the tubes, they are the wonderfully designed passageways of the deep. In simple they are the subways of London. Also to note that we are quite far from the center of London so our tube ride averages 30 minutes a morning. So we hopped on the tube to the Science center. While at the science center I observed the history of the beginning of what we call “natural energy” to modern machines that now harness “natural energy.” I took a visit to the computer and mathematics exhibits which were quite small for what I was expecting. The computer history normally interests me quite a bit, however I was not that impressed with the exhibit. So we moved on to the mathematics side of the wall which was quite interesting to see some of the problems that were solved such a long time ago that seemed so complex to me even now. Those were the main areas that I was able to view. After this it was time for a 2 hour trip to Stonehenge which I used mainly for napping. When I woke up I was quite drenched in my own sweat. The seats on the bus were very comfortable but the fans were not working. We finally reached the site of Stonehenge and hastily got off the bus to cool off and tour the area of Stonehenge. It was very cool to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I did not listen to the history very much because right off the bat I knew the Stonehenge’s ancient use was long forgotten and so the history is very much speculation. I speculate that Stonehenge is a portal to an alien world. After a long day and another 2 hour bus ride the last day in London ended with all of us viewing one of the Seven Wonders of the World and all in all one of the more exciting days we had in London and on our trip as a whole.

Thirsty Thursdays!

Once upon a time, seven Americans got up early for they had a train to catch. This was a magical train that did not lead to Narnia, but Instead to Cambridge. On this train, seven Americans fell fast asleep. To their surprise when they awoke, they arrived in a land far far away. The end. So, we arrived at Cambridge and the first thing we noticed was the literally hundreds of bicycles sitting outside the station. We departed on a bus that took us near the Cambridge market. After we got off the bus we met a man named Mike. Apparently he's been friends with Dave and Louis for a few years. After meeting Mike we went to the Cambridge Visitors Center. We purchased tickets for a tour. Additionally, I purchased a neat shirt as a souvenir. We then split up into groups for lunch. After our lunch we went on a two hour tour. During this tour we visited King's College, King's Chapel, and Queens' College. These are all parts of the University of Cambridge. Following the extremely exhausting tour, we split up once again to do some shopping in the local market. We then took the bus back to the train station and rode the train back to London. Upon arriving back in London, we split up into three different groups. The girls went to a musical called Billy Elliot, Two of the guys went to Stomp, and Dave and I headed back to the hostel. I took a nice long evening nap. Then I started my laundry and hung out with our roommate from Manchester. I also met two Canadian girls. We agreed to meet at Cedar Pointe sometime this summer! After my laundry was finished and the conversations were over, we went to sleep.

New day, new city!

We made it to Dublin, Ireland last evening.  More posts coming soon.

It looks like this blog will go over the 1000 page-views mark sometime today!  :-)

Castles, Cathedrals, Cruises..OH MY!

                 Our adventure began today by traveling to Victoria's Station where we boarded a coach to take us to Canterbury. The first stop on our bus tour was Leeds Castle it was so big and magnificent. It reminded me of something you would see right out of a story book it was beautiful! This was the first castle I have ever been to unless you count Medieval Times Dinner Theaters as a castle! Around the castle was a huge moat around the base there was also a 9 whole golf course on the grounds! After our tour we boarded the coach and where off to a British monument and the Cliffs of Dover. When we got there we did not really realize until we walked out further we were at the Cliffs of Dover we thought we were just at the monument. The view from on top of the cliffs was magnificent so beautiful you could see  so much of the landscape form there. There was a lot of fog that day but I guess on a clear day you can see France...how cool is that! We then headed to lunch where we ate at a costal Best Western I choose to have fish and chips. 

           After lunch we headed to Canterbury. Canterbury is a very cute calm area with lots of history for me it was so much more enjoyable then being in the hustle and bustle of London. In Canterbury we visited Canterbury Cathedral it was beautiful. The outside of the Cathedral just made your mouth drop by how detailed and intricate the stone decorations where. Right before you came into the door they had a set up of the tomb where Jesus was laid after his death with lots of beautiful flowers. Once inside of Canterbury Cathedral your eyes where instantly searching everywhere everything was so unique and beautiful! I was especially drawn to the stained glass windows and the ceiling everything was so detailed and unique to the cathedral. After leaving Canterbury we got back on the coach and headed towards Greenwich where we boarded a boat on the Thames River. The river cruise was very relaxing and from my seat I enjoyed my blueberry muffin and tea and watched as the city sites went buy. After the cruise we headed to the tube station for the hostel!! 

Laundry, London and Lounging

Have you ever taken a almost 2 hour bus ride without any air conditioning and full of sweaty people you don't know? It isn't a very dry event, let me tell you. Seeing Stonehenge at the end of the trip was worth the struggle however and I was able to get some pretty sweet pictures of the stones.

First time doing laundry overseas and so far so good, now I just hope that they will dry correctly! It's a good thing these couches near the WiFi hot-spot are so comfy.

New words/phrases & quotes

The words/phrases and quotes pages have been updated.  Click on the links above.

Avast!!! Nine miles of walking SO worth it.

You read that right. Nine miles. At least for the girls of the group.

We finally had our chance at shopping!

Earlier on, we visited the Royal Observatory, and the National Maritime Museum. The Observatory was interesting and the view was totally worth the almost 90 degree incline trek.

There at Greenwich, the Meridian of the world, that devices the world into two hemispheres, is located. We were able to talk a picture with our feet on either side.

The National Maritime Museum was the best of the two, because there were more interesting pictures and artifacts to look at.

I was itching to get out of the museums though, so I could scour London's shops!

Some of us wanted to see Olympic park. It turned out that no one was allowed to even walk around in the venues, so we had to take a long distance photo from a tube platform.

We finally were released to do our own thing.

Thats when my day got exciting!!!

We started off on Oxford street, with many uptown shops and nicknack stores.
I found my mom a purse, got my grandmother some tea, bought my brother a stupid Chelsea jersey that cost me a fortune.

And then came the event that made this trip worth it.

I went into the Nike store, searching for football stuff, and sure enough, I found my beloved Manchester United Jerseys!!!

I bought a red home jersey for a steal, and got free name and letter ironed on the back!

I never want to take it off.

I will for the sake of the group, but I really, really don't want too.

Anyway, for dinner, we went to the ultra-technologically advanced restaurant Iamu.

It was different to say the least.

To get your food, you had to put your hand on the track pad and order directly from the table.
Something new for me. The bright colors of the table gave me a headache, but thank God the food was good. Expensive food I ever had, but the technology part of the dinner made it worth it.

Good day overall.

Can't wait for Ireland!

Until then,

Peace out.

Kayla Jayne

Touring Alan Turing

This year is the 100th anniversary of Alan Turing's work and to celebrate, we went to see the museum at Bletchley Park. While we were there we were to try to learn at least one new thing about computers or computing in general. If I were to tell you I only learned one new thing while there, I would be lying to you. Learning how military information could be pumped out of a 5 bit punchline into a machine with no RAM was rather surprising.

In addition to the museums and tours given around Bletchley, there was also a competition involving creation of a computer chat bot program that was attempting to imitate a human so much as to trick the judges into thinking that they  are humans. As to my expectations, there was no chat bot program that passed the test and all of the judges were able to find the computer and the human respondent. While that was all fun within itself, the group felt done with the exhibit rather quickly and I felt that everyone was ready to take the rest of the day off and do nothing of extreme academic worth.

Hopefully the laundry room will open up so I can do my overdue laundry, I'm feeling... salty.

If it's Monday it must be Harry Potter!

Monday brings to an end our first full week. We began the day by taking the tube to Westminster and got to stand in line for 45 minutes in the cold drizzle waiting to buy tickets to get in to see the magnificent Westminster Abbey. The wait was worth it. The history that is everywhere is amazing. Queen Elizabeth I is buried there along with lots of other dead people! The BBC was there filming a documentary and we watched them for a short time behind the scenes. After leaving the Abbey, we headed to Victoria Station to begin one of my favorite activities - visiting Warner Brothers Studio and taking the tour of the Harry Potter sets. For Harry Potter fans like Kayla and myself, it was great! There were lots of props, pictures, sets and memorabilia. Dave and I even shared a butterbeer. And of course, there was the gift shop where you could spend all kinds of money.

Things are going well. We've had a few glitches but nothing that couldn't be handled. I'm learning to be flexible, which can be difficult for me. Our hostel is nice but would be better if we were a little closer to the tube stop. We spend the time walking each day talking and having a good time. Things were a bit bit rowdy with the arrival of three buses of students we think are from Belgium. They seem to like running up and down the halls. We hope they don't stay long.

I've been wearing a pedometer since we left (except I forgot it on Sunday) and we have logged over 35 miles of walking so far according to it. No wonder my feet are tired!

We have a great group of kids and I'm enjoying getting know each of them. I think we are all a little tired but we are keeping them busy! We have traveled by plane, train, bus and tubes and soon will be adding ferry to the list. I love watching them as they try new things like food and other things. They are getting really good at getting us around London on the tube system. Watching them interact with people around them is amazing. They enjoy getting to know others and their stories. They aren't shy! They are giving me incentive to talk to others as much as they are. It is all good!

Towers, buses, debaters, afternoon tea, worship, and dinner, all in a day’s time!

In case you’ve not yet noticed, each member of this field study is taking turns posting entries about our activities and experiences on the trip.  Today is my turn to blog.

Having arrived Saturday afternoon, Sunday was our first full day in London, and a full day it was!  We gathered “early” for breakfast and our morning meeting where we’ve been collecting new words/phrases and quotes to post on the blog, reviewing the previous day’s activities and experiences, and learning from our daily topic experts about the day ahead of us.  Sunday was a very full day involving towers, buses, debaters, afternoon tea, worship, and dinner.  It started with a 45 minute tube ride to the …

Tower of London which is one of the historic royal palaces.  This particular one is famous for housing the crown jewels and many notorious criminals of the state over the centuries and is located in the center of London along the river.   The yeoman warders who give the guided tours always do a great job.  There were also a few re-enactors that brougt history to life.  After grabbing a quick lunch at neighboring restaurants, we then got on a …

Hop on/hop off bus by which we saw some of the city and learned a bit about it.  I was not real impressed with this particular pre-recorded tour, but if nothing else, it did transport us to the …

Speaker’s corner at HydePark which is an amazing place and event that happens every Sunday.  One of the students described it as an internet chat room in real life.  You walk down a road in the park, and are bombarded with speakers on both side of you yelling their thoughts at whoever will listen, and a few others as well.  They seem to draw an audience who are intent on taking the opposite view.  I believe some of these people simply enjoy arguing and will take an opposing view point simply so they can have an argument.  The topics can be anything.  After spending a few minutes here, we took a city bus to …

Afternoon tea at Harrod’s, which wasn't everyone’s cup of tea, but all seemed to tolerate it, and most enjoyed the traditional English tradition.  All seven of us were seated at a large round table where we ordered and consumed a pot of tea and five small desserts.  Tasty!  After looking around Harrod’s for a bit, some of the group went back to the hostel for a while.  Lois, a couple of students, and I took the tube to …

Evening service at Westminster Abbey.  This was a wonderful experience.  The message included a discussion of community and supporting each other.  To be inside the huge space that is Westminster Abbey and worship with a few hundred others is a bit awe-inspiring, especially when you realize this has been happening for hundreds of years in this building.  Afterwards, the others rejoined us for…

Dinner with another group of Ball State University field study students and their professor.  This group included my daughter, so Lois and I were able to spend time visiting with her, while the students shared their experiences of the field studies thus far.

Over all, I’m proud of my field study group.  Over the last week we have become closer as individuals and we’ve all learned more about who each other is.  We’ve learned about some of each other’s strengths, as well as some of their weaknesses.  We’re starting to look out for each other and support one another, just like some of us heard about at the abbey.  There is one person I must publically thank on this day, for without her help and tireless efforts, this trip would be but a shadow of what it is.  When we first arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland a week ago, Lois commented she felt like a mother duck with a bunch of ducklings following her.  We presented her a hand-drawn card with ducks on the outside, signed by the entire group.  Inside it read “Happy mother (duck) day!”  Thank you Lois.

Arriving in London

Our day trip to London was started at 8 am in Edinburgh with a 4 hour train trip through the country to London. When arriving in London we made our way to the 9 and 3/4s Harry Potter spot to get a photo. We then got our tickets for the tubes, (the subway) and were off to our second hostel of our journey. After arriving in our hostel we went to a restaurant called the Crypt to eat. I drank a herbal sunflower soft drink and the house pork chop and vegetables. After this we called it a night as a group and Steven, Josh and I went to do a tourist attraction known as the Camden Pub Crawl. So far this was the best night of this trip and I doubt that it will be beat. During the pub crawl we met and talked with over 20 of the 80 people in the pub crawl, the majority being Australian. The craziest thing happen as we bumped into a guy who was from Indiana and when we asked where he responded Ball State. Truly a small world this world of ours. I enjoyed most of my time with a few Australians, a few Canadians, a few Germans, and some Brazilians just chatting most of the night. Apparently in Australia there are only a few degrees to go for to make more money than a miner so the guy we were hanging out with opted not to go to college to mine. Some of the most interesting conversations were had that night and the environment was incredible everyone wanted to talk to everyone else. Incredible night. When finding our way home we ran into an Italian girl who works in London and caught a cab back to our hostel and her to her abode. A fitting start to our time in London.

ALRIGHT! I'll admit it, this trip is really fun.

This trip has convinced me in so many ways that being abroad is an excellent idea for anyone. You can have such a good time the locals of a distant town. So far the most memorable events have been the ones I could share with people I've never met before and would have never met if I hadn't have come here.


The sights are more beautiful than the cornfields of Indiana, but the way of life is rather similar, but yet different enough to be refreshing and remind you what your every day norms are. You can't really grasp what normal for you is until you see what something other than normal is. (Although tights as pants still happen in the UK... what a shame)


And on a final note, we are extremely similar to most everyone here. We all listen to American music, wear t-shirts with jeans, go to work from nine to five, and drink Jager bombs. However politically different we are it seems the only real thing that makes you stand out from a social situation is what you call a bathroom (well, and that whole accent thing).

Our Last day in Edinburgh

            The morning started with some breakfast at the hostel. We had the choice of eating bread with an assortment of toppings, and cereal. After breakfast we walked to the Museum of Scotland. The museum consisted of five floors and is free to the general public it reminded several of us of the Museum of Science and Industry in Indianapolis. The museum featured different wings about science and industry, art, communication, animals, and Scottish heritage. Kayla, Josh, and I had a lot of fun exploring the communication wing on the first floor we powered a light bulbs, radio, and a small TV with our arms. We also pulled our body weight by lifting ourselves up on a lift chair with pulleys. Beniah & Steven really enjoyed looking at the Science and Industry wings. At the museum they had Dolly the first cloned mammal on display.

            After the museum we began walking towards The University of Edinburgh for our 1 p.m. tour. By the university they had a place called The Little Bistro it was a Portuguese restaurant. I enjoyed a warm ham and cheese croissant with a small side salad. Kayla got a chicken shish with pita bread and cous cous. Steven got hummus with pita bread. Josh got salmon and cream cheese panini.  Beniah got mousaka with cous cous and tea. After we enjoyed our lunch we headed over the University of Edinburgh to the Visitors Center for our tour.

            Once arriving at the University of Edinburgh we met our tour guide Brian. Brian is a student at the university and he is Scottish. The University of Edinburgh is a beautiful campus full of rich architecture and a warm sense of community. On our tour we had a family with us a couple with their daughter. I began engaging in a conversation with the mom. She said that she was from Poland and her husband was from Belgium but they live in Switzerland. She told me that her daughter had gotten into the university and was trying to make her final decision on which school to attend. The mom also said the higher education system in Switzerland is very poor so her daughter only applied to schools in the UK.

            On our tour I noticed many things that were different than from American Education college system. One thing particularly I noticed was the open mentioning of drinking in the campus student center there is several pubs. The credit hours are also different they take 120 credit hours a year. Students have more time on there own instead of in the classroom. They don’t even begin their major until their 3^rd year so it’s very difficult to switch majors. When referring to the year they are in school they don’t say freshmen, sophomore, ect.. They say year 1, 2, 3, and 4. Most students get out of college on an average of 3 or 4 years. In Europe it is very easy to go to a different school in a different country and if you go in the UK you could even go free.

            After the university tour everyone had the opportunity to go his or her separate ways. Lois, Kayla, and myself went out shopping and picked up a few things at the grocery store. We also enjoyed a lovely desert at M&S café. For dinner we met up with Nathan a University of Edinburgh student that is from the United States and graduated from Indiana University. Lois and David got into contact with Nathan through a facebook post on the NPR facebook page. We went to a small quant pub and he told us about living in Edinburgh and traveling around Europe. Nathan was very knowledgeable about the Scottish and their customs. After dinner we had the opportunity to have free time.

            Once we got back to hostile Kayla, Josh, and I went to the chill out room for a bit to get on the Internet. After being there for a while Steven and Beniah came down to the lounge also and talked for a bit. Later on Steven, Beniah and Josh went down to the pub. Kayla and I had a conversation with an older man that was in the chill lounge also. He told us he lives in Paris but is originally from the United States and lived in Cincinnati, Ohio. The man said that he moved to UK in 1960 and has lived in Paris for the last 20 years. We asked him what he was doing in Edinburgh and he said that in the UK everyone is assigned a doctor. His doctor is from Edinburgh so every six months he has to travel from Paris to Edinburgh to go the doctor. He asked Kayla, and I where we from and we said Indiana. He told us both that we spoke good English. The man mentioned that we had no accent so he thought we were from California.

            Since tonight is our last night in Edinburgh, Kayla and I headed up to our room rather early to pack and go to bed early. When we got back to our room we met our new roommate she was from Australia. She was in her 40’s we guessed, and we are pretty sure she was drunk and high. The lady informed us that she just came from Ireland and is planning on going to London on Sunday. Soon after meeting her she left the room to go to the pub.  We were packing and talking when two more girls came in the room. The girls were from Brazil. They were so friendly they told us they just came from London and were staying in Edinburgh for a few days. Kayla and I were not surprised when all of our roommates had met Steven at the pub! We swapped stories with the Brazilian girls about life, homesickness, traveling, and about places where we should each go. Our conversation was full of life and laughter you could tell we all very much enjoyed each other’s company. I must say they were my favorite roommates we had thus far on the trip. Tomorrow we will be leaving for London for a new city with new experiences:) 

New pages added!

We've added two new pages to our blog!  Check out the new links above to view the new words/phrases we've learned and some interesting (to us) quotes.

Miss the sun, eh?

So I'm posting this blog a wee bit late. I am blogging on our adventures for Thursday, May 10th. This was our second day in the good 'ol town of Edinburgh. We started off the morning with a free continental breakfast provided by the St. Christopher Hostel consisting of cereal, toast, and milk. We then proceeded to the infamous Edinburgh castle. By the time we got to our first destination, we were already shivering from the 40° temperature as well as the ever lasting drizzle. It will be a miracle if none of us come down with a slight cold from the nearly treacherous weather! The castle provided us with historical and architectural beauty. I can't speak for anyone else, but i think the magnificence of the landmark greatly outweighed the unfamiliar weather that Scotland has adopted. After the tour of the castle, we walked down the extinct volcano in which the castle was built upon and onto the tourist inhabited Royal Mile. We spit off into groups to do our own thing. From there I immediately went into a cozy Starbucks and enjoyed a splendid hot chocolate. We then walked back up the Royal Mile to vist the Camera Obscura. This place is known for the impressive illuminations that they have put on display. Proceeding the Camera Obsucra, we window shopped in a couple of the stores along High Street. By this time we were all getting a bit hungry and so we decided to have lunch at the Elephant House Cafe. The cafe's trademark is "The Birthplace of Harry Potter". Unknown to most, this is where JK Rowling wrote most of the Harry Potter series while peering out the window at a gorgeous view of the Edinburgh Castle. Following lunch, I went back to the Royal Mile to do a little actual shopping. I am not a smoker, however, I did end up buying a box of five assorted Cuban cigars. I think that they would look quite classy in a display case after returning to the states. After the exciting adventures of the day, we just kinda hung out until the interesting lecture that took place at the University of Edinburgh. This lecture was about the importance of Alan Turing and the scientifical research and discoveries that he provided during his unfortunately short lifetime. After the lecture, we all had dinner at a Chinese buffet. The food there seemed to be prepared quite differently than it is in America. Nevertheless, we all filled up on food which made us happy. From there we all split up to do our own thing for the rest night. I would consider Thursday, May 10th a success.

Here we are, there we go

Today's the last day in Edinburgh, and I am feeling the excitement for London. I've been most excited about going there, and what do you know, I'll be there in 24 hours. This stay has been too short and I hope to return to Scotland one day.

Another day in Ehdinbahdah

Second post comment for Edinburgh, this one isn't required for my grade so I will be short and sweet.

Main observations of Edinburgh, Scotland:
there is no low calorie anything
everyone is skinny
how do the previous 2 mix?
the city closes at 5:30
the bars close at 11
a cheap meal is £6 ($9.70)

What to watch out for:
look right first when crossing the street
sweaters are not waterproof
wind overwhelms umbrellas in tunnels
level 2 German in high school won't help you help a German gain wifi access on his smartphone