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

It's Thursday so it must be Edinburgh!
Actually we keep asking each other what day it is!
I'm having a great time, seeing lots of new things as well as familiar things. Getting to know our kids has been a treat. I've joked with Dave that I fell like a mother duck leading her ducklings as we go from place to place.
Wednesday was a nice day weather wise. We got to the hostel with no problems except that we couldn't check in for 3 hours so we got to walk around, get our phones and had lunch.
In our room, I have a window over my bed so I can look out at the sky. This morning I woke up to the sound of rain. Normally, I like laying in bed listening to the rain. However, it didn't bode well for today. We've had a cold rain all day and despite the rain, we still made it around town. It was agreed that warmer coats were a plus along with hats and gloves. Those that needed warmer things have taken care of the wardrobe problems.
Our kids are great to get to know. They make all the hours that we've put into planning the trip worth every minute that we spent. I hope we can deliver on all they are expecting and make it the trip of a lifetime. They are definintely making it the trip of my lifetime!
We have one more day in Edinburgh and then we are off to see Londontown, one of my favorite cities. I'm anxious to share it with them and hope they like it too.
Be back later.

Today has been a lonnng day to stay the least. The plan rides were long, but thankfully some of us upgraded our seats so that we had a few inches of leg room.

The group chose to eat lunch at our hostel, Belushi's, in the back bar room. I was apprehensive about what kind of food would be served here, but I ordered a chicken, bacon, and avocado wrap with a carmel macchiato, and it was shockingly edible. Steven and Josh tried Bangers and Mash, and they said it was delectable. Beniah was the daring one of the bunch, with an order of Haggis. I refused to try it. Those in the group who did said that it was bearable, with a bit of a spicy kick to it.

By then, the jet lag had started to kick in around 1'oclock.

Tired and almost out of it, I had to learn quickly to look to the right when crossing the street, or I'd get up close and personal with Edinburgh's many tour busses. And meet them we did.

We chose to take a ride on a double decker tour bus with a live tour guide, which proved to me more entertaining than just listening to a dry recording. Beniah was quite happy with the open top of the bus. Earlier, he mentioned that he wanted to take a ride on one of the open double deckers seen on Mary Kate and Ashley. Don't worry, Beniah and the rest of us were all sleep deprived at that point and I won't hold that remark against him.

The tour guide had a clear scottish accent and a dry humor that you had to actually listen too to catch his smart cracks.

A lot of history comes out of Edinburgh, from literary genius Sir Walter Scott to the newly popular J.K. Rowling.

One of my personal favorite tour stories was the story of Edmund Burke I believe his name was, a scientist, who at night would make his money by taking unsuspecting people out and getting them drunk, and then taking them back to his place and smothering them to sell their bodies for 60pounds a body at the local medical school. He was found out and hanged in Edinburgh.

Overall, today has been good. Its about 5:30, and I am TIRED. Hopefully I can get some rest for our visit of the Edinburgh Castle, the museums, and of course shopping at the Royal Mile tomorrow!!

Until next Wednesday,

Cheers,

Kayla Jayne

May 8th, or was it the 9th? I don't know

Day 1, flying out from Indy was no issue at all. I showed up a little early to the party myself, but only had to wait a few minutes for the rest of the crew to arrive out front of the United Airlines luggage check-in location. Our flight was delayed by 45 minutes and we were to wait for the small plane that would be taking us to Newark to arrive. During the wait we decided to grab some grub and have some light chat while constantly looking up into the center of the food court to what looked like giant blue Pringles chips with holes and chains (this was a rather interesting social experiment to see what each of us thought they were, oh and a red dog-shaped cigarette extinguisher was involved).

From then until Newark was pretty casual and not much stood out to me. However, when we arrived at Newark our adventurous experiences began with a Newarkian woman discussing a new phone that an older fellow that had just recently got. We could overhear them talking about how the film won't ever run out and how they were both having troubles finding the camera app. Steven offered a hand in taking the picture for them and they both laughed along and smiled as the bumpy bus trip to the next terminal caused all of Steven's photos to be blurry and everyone had a good laugh at the silliness of the whole situation. And again, business as usual for waiting for the plane from Newark to Edinburgh.

The trip over to the UK proved to be a rather awkward one for a 7 hour flight that left at 8:55am home time and arrived at 9:30am. Of course everyone didn't get a lick of sleep, and we all stumbled out of the plane at the new morning we are to get used to.

Overall, we are off to a good start, it feels like we left 2 days ago, when we really just arrived about 3 hours ago.

Benaiah Carlstrom's Expectations

                Going to a different country may be the best experience of my life, and frankly I am full of excitement. This next month will be one of the greatest adventures I ever embark on.  It may sound silly but I am currently watching the movie that created the largest fascination of Scotland, Braveheart. Ever since I was a child watching that for the first time I knew that Scotland was on the top of my wish list countries to visit. I never thought that I would one day have the opportunity to visit this country. It may have been a juvenile dream, but it sees maturity in a very roughly days.

                Scotland is the first on the list of countries we are visiting and I couldn’t have it any other way. When we arrive in Scotland I plan on taking as much in as I can; cuisine, culture, and history. I am most excited about the National Museum of History in Scotland. I never thought that I would ever think that I would enjoy a museum over tourist attractions, but I have such a strong yearning to learn more about this country and its history. I very much hope to see someone in a kilt and gown with bagpipes because that is what I have always thought about when I think of Scotland.

                Exploring the castles in Scotland will be one of the most enjoyable attractions. I grew up only seeing castles in movies and in most video games I’ve played. It will be a great experience walking through structures the have captivated the heart of so many people’s fantasies. I know very little about the castles in Edinburgh that we are visiting so I can’t wait to learn more. I haven’t been this excited to learn anything since a child. The only thing I see as a problem with this trip is that the least amount of time of our visit will be in Scotland. This means that I will have to do my best to get the full enjoyment out of Scotland while I’m there.

                Following Scotland we shall be leaving for one of the most well-known cities in the world, London. This is where the computer side of the journey starts. This was the majority of why I picked this program to Study Abroad. While in London we will be visiting King’s College where I expect to meet with international students studying computers. Kings College is great university for the study of computers. The second venue of computers that I am looking forward to is visiting Bletchley Park and the National Museum of Computing. I can’t wait to explore the museum to see where computers have come from and where computers are going in the short amount of life that computers have seen so far. Viewing the exhibition of the code cracking in World War II will also be quite interesting.

                With computers aside London offers many tourist attractions that I plan on eating up, literally and metaphorically. We shall be visiting one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Stonehenge. This was the one location that I wanted to go to in London no matter what. As it was everyone else on the trip also wanted to experience what Stonehenge was all about as well. It will be the one and possibly only wonder of the world that I will visit. Another thing we visit is the Olympic Village near the location of the summer Olympics will be hosted. This maybe the only time I am able to visit a city that is hosting the Olympics. I have no idea what is in store for me there yet I am still excited.

                There are many museums in London that I don’t much care for such as the Maritime Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum, and several churches. However even though I am not excited about I still plan on enjoying every moment.

                Ireland is next on our list. Ireland is a place one of my best friends told me I needed to go to, so with her advice I am going to take in as much as I can. We have many colleges to visit while we are in Ireland and it looks like it will be quite educational as well as entertaining. I can’t wait to visit the Guinness Brewery and see the ins and outs of the brewing system. Among other things we will get to visit the Cliffs of Moher which is more of a tourist attraction for me than anything. If you have seen the Princess Bride then you may recall the “Cliffs of Insanity.” For that reason and that reason only I am pumped to view these cliffs.

                Northern Ireland has been planned as well. I’m not too excited about this trip, but as I said before there are people to see and places to go and I shall enjoy it. All in all I am most excited this journey and it shall be one of the greatest I take in my whole life. My only regret is that I won’t be able to share this experience with more people. I can’t wait for this life changing experience. Bring it on United Kingdom.

Josh Lowe's Expectations essay

The following is a short essay concerning my expectations for the trip.

International Expectations

               Soon. Soon I will be in a different country, something that I have never done in my life, and frankly, I’m nervous. I am one who finds it rather easy to get used to new surroundings and new lifestyles, and I am sure that these skills of mine will be tested in the 3 new countries I will be visiting. Being someone who is good at adapting to new situations I tend not to expect much out of new things, but instead love to be surprised when things turn out to be amazing.

After doing a little bit of research into the areas we will be visiting (as part of another assignment for this course) I was able to excite myself into all of the natural landforms on the itinerary. I personally enjoy seeing massive landmarks on the earth, both natural and man-made. Seeing the beautiful sights as just part of the everyday scenery will be interesting, and I am jealous of the residents in these areas for their backyard views.  Along with the research of the landscape, I discovered how important religion is to the areas we will be visiting, and how lucky I am to not have to worry about the prominent social struggle from regions only a few miles away from my own.

We will be starting our adventures in Edinburgh, Scotland. Scotland is the country in the bunch that I know the least about and I would love to see what all it has to offer. Traditional Scottish attire and musical culture are very alive today and that is only possible if the traditions are truly excellent, otherwise no one would still be carrying them on into later generations. My previous roommate’s favorite place in the world was Scotland and his family had a love for Scottish things. Hearing everyday people speaking with an accent similar to how my old roommate did be the norm and having myself speaking like an American as the “different” voice will be an interesting experience.

Only 3 days after arriving in Edinburgh, Scotland our group will be taking a train to London, England. England is the area we are visiting that I am most familiar with. I have a few people on my mind when I think of Great Britain in general, and they are all from England. Seeing the people and conversing with the community is what I am looking forward to the most. I know that there are going to be some people that might react negatively to me by just my accent, but I trust that most of the people there will be as willing to converse with me, as I would be willing to converse with a person with a British accent if they were in America. I am hoping that London will be a good place to kick back and get to know new people.

8 days later after arriving to London, we will be heading to Ireland. I have heard a lot of positive things about Ireland and nearly every one of them concerned the bar scene. Being 20, I have never been to a bar for a drink of some alcohol, but I feel that I have enough knowledge and experience with alcohol to not make a fool of myself and get into trouble. However much drinking will be had in the British Isles, the overwhelming majority of my time will be spent enjoying the sights and trying to get to know new and interesting people.

Drinking while overseas I think will be able to take the load off of my nerves for getting to know new people. I am typically shy around new people, but I am willing to put away my shyness to better my experience in Scotland, England and Ireland. Steven is a guy that will hopefully be spending evenings with myself some nights getting a drink at the local bars and talking with the locals (as well as be a team for safety purposes) so at least we’ll know one person there. Now don’t get me wrong, I won’t be drinking every night, but I will want to go out and have a fun night every now and then.

This trip is going to be a really good experience for me. Even if everything I had in my mind for what would happen goes completely backwards, that will still be a learning experience.  I love being educated and I love learning I was wrong so that I can know what’s correct. I guess my only true expectation for this trip is to learn something. Personally, I don’t care what I learn, as long as it makes me a more informed individual.

One day I am sure that looking back on this trip will be a positive memory. I cannot wait to get started.

Sarah's Expectations of this AMAZING ADVENTURE!

           Hi Everyone! My name is Sarah Robinson I am a Senior at Ball State University studying Family Studies with a minor in Human Development. I have the wonderful opportunity to study abroad with the Computer Science Department. I will be travelling with seven individuals my professor/ program coordinator David, his wife Lois (she is like the trips encyclopedia she knows so much and she helped plan it), Benaiah, Josh, Kayla, and Steven. The countries we will be going to are London, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. We will be visiting museums, castles, parks, universities, and many historical sites. A short highlight reel, we will be going to Royal Mile, Westminster Abbey, Olympic Village, the Queens Jubilee, a Broadway play in London, Stonehenge, Guinness Storehouse, National Leprechaun Museum, The Burren, and experiencing the night life.

            My philosophy for the trip is you get out of it what you put into it. I know I am going to miss my family, boyfriend, and being surrounded by things I know. I also know this that this is an experience of a lifetime that I may never get back again. I want to make the most of this trip and I want to push myself further than I believe at this moment I can do.  What I mean by saying to push myself is that this trip will push me completely out of my comfort zone and down a cliff. I plan on taking in everything and I mean everything I want to take in the people, the places, the smells, and the tastes. I am going with individuals that I don’t know the best more than a weekly to biweekly meeting all semester but I know we will all have fun and enjoy each other. I am a worrier by nature and I have been worrying about this trip for a while and as its getting closer I have this mix of pure excitement but pure fear as well. I am so excited to go to a new place see things I have never seen before and experiencing everything I can. I am fearful of being mugged, the hostel beds (praying for no bed bugs), and most of all the unknown. The unknown is part of the excitement but also part of the fear but I think I just need to remember that’s part of the adventure!

            My motivation for studying abroad is simple it’s a once in a lifetime experience! I remember in high school and just other random individuals coming up to me saying make sure you study abroad in college. I mean, it makes sense after college is done you don’t have as much time, money, or mobility to travel abroad. Plus studying abroad is easier and cheaper for college students.  My Aunt Cathy and her husband Peter also live in Ireland and after the field study ends I have the wonderful opportunity to go to their house for a week. A big motivation for this trip especially is we are visiting three countries and one of them is by far my favorite; Ireland. I also know this is a great opportunity to develop my self identity more to become more confident, independent, and just know I can do so much more than I think.

            I am really looking forward to finally going to Ireland! I have wanted to go since I was a child. We had the opportunity to help plan the trip and pick places that we wanted to go and see. I am really looking forward to just the overall experience and seeing new places. I am really interested in going to the castles, the National Leprechaun Museum, Olympic village, Guinness, the Broadway show, and possibly high tea. I am also interested in just getting to know the culture and regular day-to-day life in these three countries. As a college student I know what to expect but I think it will be interesting to hear someone else’s college experience that lives on the other side of the world. I have been talking with my Aunt and researching the food over in each country eating. I think it will be interesting to experience a new cultures food and what is typical to eat somewhere than in the U.S.. I don’t feel like it will be too different except I may eat a ton of potatoes in Ireland.

            I know this will be a life changing experience and I know it will be one for the better! I expect to be different after coming back from this field study in many ways. By having an experience such as this there is so much opportunity for personal growth. I believe after this trip I will be more confident in my abilities, assert my independence more, be a better communicator, and have a new outlook on life. I feel this trip will build by personal relationships and make me more aware of how much I rely on my family and my boyfriend. I believe it will give me a great appreciation for my family, boyfriend, and how important they are to me. I also feel I will be more aware of other cultures, customs, beliefs and value sets. This will be a trip I remember for a lifetime and I will cherish the memories I make. 


Hope you enjoy going on the adventure with us:)
Sarah