Lens Shifting & Comparative Thinking: In the Moment

The Cougs Abroad Blog Squad asks me to consider a nuance of life in my country that is distinctly different for me than home. While I am in Scotland I often compare my experiences to those at my university in the US, and one of the notable differences here is Scottish students’ ability to live in the moment, as it were, through an easygoing attitude and the surreal lack of interest in constantly texting or using mobile phones. I am as guilty of this as anyone at university at home. In between classes, when walking with other friends, at lunch, or even in class, there is a compulsive drive to check who has texted (and for those with internet, the almost reflexive action to flip through the latest posts on the news feed). I never realized how truly routine this phone-checking was until I arrived at my university here and found myself the sole individual texting rapidly between classes.

This is just one of many examples of the “in the moment” attitude I am witnessing all around me. Every time I return from class, I spot multiple families taking walks around the campus loch, pushing strollers or holding their children’s hands. In town, older couples take slow walks past storefronts. Everywhere in Stirling and other parts of the country are dedicated dog-walkers, simply out for a stroll with their pets without iPods or a phone pressed to their ears. This is not to suggest that these things do not happen in my part of the US, nor am I writing this in any sort of irritation of personal mp3 players and phones. I am still guilty of being the one to rush between activities at school, and after every class I seem to be checking my phone. I can count on only one hand the times I have taken a walk for the sake of taking a walk, and I become easily irritated with slow moving queues, delays in receiving something in the post, or other “inconveniences” different from the hurried pace of life in the US.

There is a strong emphasis on the value of patience here that I hope I can absorb the longer I stay. Before I arrived I had read that in general the folk of Scotland are praised for being understanding, laid-back and friendly, rumors I can definitely confirm from my encounters. Of course it is ridiculous to apply personality traits to an entire nation, but I find that if anything people here are consistently patient, a virtue I lack, especially when standing in line for an hour to sign up for something I felt could have been carried out more efficiently another way. But that is just the point – in order to live in the moment, I have to take everything as it comes, and I certainly hope that during the rest of my time here I will learn to be more restful and relaxed.

Pre-Break Post

Unfortunately with the rush of finishing schoolwork before my week of travel over break, I haven't had time to sit down and write a bit more about my experiences! When I return I will post about the Castles and Coasts tour I took with a friend into Northumberland, England.

I have found that lately living in Scotland has become more normal and I have developed a routine at the university. That's not to say there aren't new and different things everyday to interest me! I have learned a lot of local words and customs in the past few weeks that I will have to take note of.

For now I need to prepare myself for my week long trip. Beginning tomorrow my group will fly to Dublin for a few days, explore the city and outlying country, then stop into Wales to visit Cardiff, then on to London for a few days to see the city! I will be sure to post a few quick updates sans pictures along the way, and hopefully longer posts will be to come!

Edinburgh

This Saturday I took a trip with some friends to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland (the eighth most populous city in the UK with only a little under 500,000 people)! I was surprised at the convenience of taking the hour-long train into the city and impressed with the price- £8.50 on the weekends for return fare seems like a great bargain. Once off the train I was mesmerized with the architecture of this historical 12^th century city, especially the dark rock and spires of Old Town, fading in and out of a nice morning Scottish mist. We walked up part of the Royal Mile, an artery clogged with tourist shops that runs from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse (the queen’s official Scottish residence during her weeklong stay- luckily the Royal Family was out, so I was able to take the tour). 

I love these buildings!

I believe this is along the Royal Mile

“Entering” a castle is a bit of a misnomer, as there are often so many different buildings behind the fortifications that it is hard to determine what part is actually a “castle,” but suffice it to say I visited several places inside Edinburgh’s walls and will have to come back again to catch the rest! 

Edinburgh Castle

Among a few things we had time for, I took a brief walking tour, saw the chapel built for St. Margaret in about 1130 (I cannot believe I am able to see things roughly 300 years older than the written history of my country), looked out over a misty New Town, and briefly passed by the Crown Jewels of Scotland reposing in a dimly lit glass case. 

Part of the Scottish National War Memorial inside the Castle

Me in front of the War Memorial (built in 1927)

A ceiling in the Royal Palace

A view of the city from the Castle

A piper on the street

The magnificent St. Giles' Cathedral

Yes, Scotland has these too!

Lovely!

We walked to the end of the Royal Mile to take a tour of Holyrood Palace. While there were not many buildings towards the end of the mile, the palace sits at the feet of a beautiful group of hills, the tallest of which is called “Arthur’s Seat” and looks out over the city (I will have to walk this next time I visit). Unfortunately for beautiful Edinburgh, some architect erected a really weird art museum next the pal- wait, that’s the new Scottish Parliament building?! I couldn’t believe it. Stuck between wonderfully quaint brick-and-chimney houses and the Hogwarts-like Holyrood is the home of the Scottish Parliament, an expensive and homely creation circa 2004 (think M.C. Escher meets Pick-up Sticks).

Myself in front of the lovely Palace of Holyroodhouse

The courtyard inside

While inside the Palace I was not able to take pictures, but please take a look at the official website or Google to see some of the gorgeous rooms I was able to visit! The audio walking tour was informative and pleasant, and I felt humbled to see all the rooms as they have existed for royalty for many years. There was a small room devoted entirely to the collections of past monarchs, with small trinkets, hand-written notes and portraits that have been somehow preserved for hundreds of years. If the interior weren’t beautiful enough, at the very end we were able to visit the Palace Gardens and the incredible ruined nave of Holyrood Abbey, which may be my favorite thing thus far! There is something very powerful for me in old churches, and this abbey also had the glamour of being mostly destroyed, with a missing roof, mossy pillars and weathered rocks. I have a free pass to visit the Palace again so I may definitely come back to enjoy its presence! 

In Edinburgh I also did a little shopping and bought a beautiful Celtic knot necklace (Celtic jewelry was very popular with vendors here) for just 10 pounds. I tried a bit of haggis that my friend ordered at a restaurant, and while it looked infinitely more appetizing than I expected, it tasted like a creamy ground beef. I am aware that haggis is lamb, but to a person who rarely eats any meat but turkey and chicken, everything else tastes the same; so to my unsophisticated carnivore’s palate, haggis tasted like a hamburger!

That day we also stopped in at The Elephant House Café, proud to claim JK Rowling as an occupant in the days of first Harry Potter manuscripts. A friend I met recently who lives in Edinburgh actually has the author for a near neighbor and saw her at Starbucks writing something that could have been the last book! There were no famous authors milling about on Saturday but I had wonderful chocolate cake and a small pot of nettle tea. We walked through Greyfriars Kirkyard as the sun went down and the rain started, and saw the famous grave of the man whose loyal dog would not leave his master even in death. We ended at Grassmarket street and then turned for home. Even with a good 9 or so hours in the city there was so much left to see, and I am thankful we are close enough to visit again anytime!

In Greyfriars Kirkyard

Sunday I visited St. Mary’s Catholic Church for the first time and forgot to take pictures of the beautiful, towering rose-colored exterior and lovely windows, but I will remember next time! After church I attended a lunch with other members of the church in the priest’s house next door and was spoiled with an assortment of wonderful foods- soup, fresh bread, Scottish mince meat pies, “millionaire’s shortbread,” rhubarb-raspberry pie and thick squares of something called “flapjack” in Scotland that does not refer to a pancake but rather a soft and chewy sweet like a granola bar. I also had my first student radio show with my friend that day. This weekend was a lot of fun!