November Recap

I have a little time on my hands in between frantic essay writing to mention a few trips I have taken recently to Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as a few thoughts on life in Stirling.

Earlier in the month I took a quick trip over to Glasgow with some friends to look around the city. Compared to the capital Edinburgh, this city (the largest in Scotland) was much more spread out and appeared more modern, although I still managed to see some wonderful architecture. We meandered into the city chambers to see what is allegedly the largest marble staircase in the world, then peeked into the awe-inspiring Glasgow Cathedral before riding the bus out towards Hampden Park, Scotland’s national football stadium (with 52,063 capacity, it is larger than Martin Stadium but not anywhere near the massive Husky Stadium). Here we stopped for a tour; while my friends and I are not fans of “football” in the UK sense, we enjoy stadiums and sports in general and had a good time seeing the locker rooms and field.

Glasgow City Chambers

Myself outside of Glasgow Cathedral

The beautiful interior

Hampden stadium

Giant foosball players in the Scottish football museum

The next day some of us revisited Edinburgh (my favorite city of the two) and walked up Calton Hill for an absolutely beautiful view of the city. For lunch along the Royal Mile, I had a memorably huge piece of fish and chips! That day I also saw a lot of the “new town” area of Edinburgh and took a walk down Princes Street.

Probably my favorite work of architecture in Scotland, the "Gothic rocket" or Scott Monument in Edinburgh

Myself on Calton Hill

The Dugald Stewart Monument on Calton Hill

The National Monument was never completed

A street performer along the Royal Mile

St. Giles' Cathedral

Back in Stirling, I have stayed busy between finishing up work before the exam period and enjoying a few festivities, namely a huge Thanksgiving dinner put on by a few residents of my hall that had over 60 people on the guest list from several countries and the most varied, amazing spread of Thanksgiving food I will probably ever eat! I contributed sweet potato biscuits and enjoyed trying everyone’s favorite meals from home. The other nights that week I had fun out with friends, including my first official attendance to a Scottish ceilidh (pronounced like kay-lee) where I learned a few traditional reels and other dances. It was a lot of fun and I got to go to another just two nights after; this time I had at least a faint idea how to do the dances beforehand! This second ceilidh was part of a Christmas part with the hall, and I had a lot of fun getting dressed up with friends (for girls, the suggestion is just to wear a nice, semi-formal dress and shoes you don’t mind dancing in; for guys, it is optional to rent out a kilt with its corresponding formal-wear jacket!).

Part of the Thanksgiving spread

Friends and I at the ceilidh

While the past few days I have been frequenting the library to work on essays, I have also just finished up classes last Tuesday and had my very last show with the student radio, Air3. My friends and I also climbed up the Wallace Monument for the first time – after mounting a skinny spiral staircase up 246 stone steps, we were treated with a wonderful view of the town, campus and the distant scenery, obscured somewhat with Scottish mist and rain.

In the studio for our radio show!

The campus from the Wallace Monument

I officially am in the last stretch of my study abroad experience, and hopefully I will be able to do everything I haven’t had a chance to see yet! Next weekend I will be visiting the Isle of Skye on a three-day tour, and this weekend my goal is to see London again, providing essays are completed. I can’t wait to come home but I can’t believe my trip is almost over!