Mine was a flying story with a happy ending – I arrived in all pieces with both suitcases, all the money I left with, and no horrific gate-switching incidents. Jet lag, however, managed to sneak in a visit over the Atlantic. When the plane became ambient and dark for the 8 hour passage to Amsterdam, my internal clock had a good laugh over my attempt at a 7 PM nap and I had officially been up over 20 hours with little more then 15-minute periods of light sleep. Interestingly, things seem to be balancing themselves out, and I have been enjoying the past few days without being too exhausted.
Scotland is beautiful. While descending into Edinburgh from the plane, the woman beside me pointed out a quintessentially Scottish castle-like mansion and a field dotted with sheep. My initial impressions driving from the Edinburgh airport to Stirling consisted of complete bafflement over driving on the other side of the road (I will not say it’s wrong, but it’s just not right.
It’s left.) and how much the countryside resembled wetter, lusher areas of Montana, if the Big Sky Country had old, adorable houses with stone facades and decided to outlaw pickups. The majority of cars on the road were small, possibly two-door, with an occasional mini-van or small Land Rover, but I saw absolutely no SUVs.
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| It's like a parallel universe! |
I later checked in to the front desk at my residence in Geddes Court, an architectural monstrosity that was, according to
The Student Room, based on a Norwegian prison, and lugged my huge suitcases up the stairs with help from a hall assistant – one of four assigned to take care of over 200 students in the building! The building itself will take some adjusting to, but I was so surprised at how friendly and enjoyable all the international students are. I have probably tripled my knowledge of Canadian politics, lifestyle, and geography in the past two days thanks to some amazing Canadian friends, and have also met students from all over the States, Norway, Germany, and Australia, and more. I am really enjoying meeting new people and am so grateful for the community here that’s already formed in just a few days!
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| The Wallace Monument |
There is so much going on it’s difficult to decide what to talk about next. I haven’t studied or traveled yet but I have become acquainted with the campus, Scottish transit and shopping, and the general atmosphere of my university. The campus itself is absolutely stunning – it can be crossed in just a few minutes, but the view from the bridge that stretches across the man-made loch is picture-worthy every time I walk by. Looming out from a massive stone cliff covered in deciduous trees is the Wallace Monument, a deceptively short tower with a beautiful design reminiscent of
something from Lord of the Rings. It can be seen anywhere on campus and in downtown Stirling. Hopefully I will be able to provide more information about its background when I visit it myself!
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| Airthrey Loch on campus is full of swans! |
Monday I felt the remnants of Hurricane Katia, which hit the west side of England and Scotland and thoroughly doused Stirling with wind and rain. Some friends and I trudged through it from the bus stop to the grocery and back; while it was invigorating, it was with some relief that I heard this was not the usual weather, and that I would be able to walk most places without my umbrella twisting itself inside out and the rain dripping off my face in streams! The weather today was more placid, with rolling cloudy skies and a little mist now and again to remind me I am in Scotland. I don’t notice the cold much, and the moisture in the air makes it warmer, so I would highly recommend a nice light coat with a hood for anyone thinking of traveling here.
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| On the top floor of the double-decker |
The day of the hurricane the bus was so foggy with humidity that it was impossible to see out the windows, but today I was treated with the sights of downtown Stirling when we went to shop at Thistles, a large mall in the city centre. The buildings are gorgeous, with picturesque chimneys and dark brown stones brushed with moss, but the city is very modern. We rode a double-decker into town from the university and set up our phones with new UK numbers! (Unlocking your phone to use a UK SIM card is a snap if you have certain carriers, and it worked perfectly on start-up with my new pay-as-you-go plan from Orange.) The clothes and accessories in the mall are fantastic but perhaps deceptively cheap – Seeing £15 for cute shoes is exciting until you remember the 15 is truly $23. Poundland and Pound Stretcher, the UK’s answers to dollar stores, are much more rewarding and were a definite help in outfitting me with necessities. I feel so much more comfortable now that I have a phone plan and some utensils to eat with!
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| Stirling homes |
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| A Baptist church downtown |
This has been a long post and I think I will stop here for now, but I hope to be back with more on my classes, which start Thursday.
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