It's the Great Scottish Spring, Charlie Brown!

Well I'm back after a bit of a hiatus on writing posts...

You know that saying; 'In like a lion, out like a lamb'? Well it couldn't describe the Scottish Spring any better. It started off with howling winds, driving rains, a snowstorm and a washing of sleet - as if the weather was saying 'Remember that lovely weather you arrived in? Sucker!' Oh well - it appears the worst is over now, and the weather is steadily warming up, the trees have buds and the Daffodils are sprouting everywhere you look. Its beautiful here, even more so than it was in February, and I know I said it was gorgeous. The heather has even started to bloom - whites and purples like blankets across the high peaks and craigs, and even in nicely potted gardens outside academic buildings. You don't see that back home - that's for sure.

Along with this nice weather has come a number of things - first of all, an unlikely friend and ally. I won't lie, upon meeting Tyla, my first instinct was that it would be tough to get along with her - it just felt like our personalities might clash. Boy, was I wrong. While my first ally upon arriving, Cara, has slowly faded into the background, I'm finding myself more and more drawn to Tyla and Saori. We have more in common than I ever imagined. Maybe its the stress of school work, maybe it's something else, but Cara has withdrawn a bit and seems more introverted than initially. Tyla, on the other hand, has become my go-to girl.

While Cara and a few of the others are content with blazing through seven museums in a day, I've discovered a fellow wanderer in Tyla. She enjoys taking her time and getting the feel for a place, rather than just being able to say she saw it, or she was there. Same goes for Saori. In fact, as plans fell apart around me, I began making new plans with Saori and Tyla, and lo and behold everything is working out. Its a wonder to find fellows in historical enjoyment and theater taste.

Because of these new developments in my personal relationships, I'm planning trips to places I thought I'd never see. On April 21st - 24th the three of us will be heading down to London, and perhaps spending an afternoon at Windsor. Also, I'm finally going to see the play War Horse, which I've been dying to see since Sarah told me about it in Janruary - I've actually got a front row seat, bought and paid for! We also plan on making a trip to Westminister, St. Pauls, Tower of London, the Globe, Baker St, Abbery Road and a few other little places along the way. I can only say I'm very excited about this trip!

A HUGE deal for me is the trip we intend to take in May. To Rome. To see the VATICAN. In all my dreams I never thought I'd get there until I was 30 or so, but here I am, 21, checking the airfares and planning the routes/days. I cannot wait to see the Colesseum, Castel Sant Angelo, Trevi Fountain, Fountain of the Four Rivers, the Pantheon and the Vatican most of all.

But, while this trip is my most anticipated, it is also causing me the most worry. Airfare is jumping up every night by 10 pounds - which is adding up to a lot of money. We can either go before exams, which we can book airfare now and get the cheap seats as well as being guarenteed to not have interference with studying - OR - we can wait until the final schedule comes out in April and plan around exams, and pay more. I'm stuck between a rock and a mentally hard place here. This may sound silly, but I feel like I'm on a mission to get to the Vatican, and nothing's going to stop me from getting there. But you'll be surprised how much stopping power cost can have. Yes, I can borrow a little bit if need be, and yes, I can work it off no problem. I was convinced on waiting to see what happened with exams, thank you to my wonderfully level headed mother for that, but now, with arifare creeping up on 170.00, I'm not sure what to do! (I can only imagine how far its going to climb by April...UGH)

On a happier note, I am off to the Emerald Isle on Sunday morning for a week rediscovering my roots there. Its a five day tour around the entire Island (except for Northern Ireland), and I cannot wait to go!

So, in short, the weather's nice, the trips are falling into place, and I'm between a rock and a hard place with my mission to Rome. But, so far, things have worked out perfectly. So long as I don't spend on silly things, watch my grocery bill and try to do less laundry, I think I can pull the trip to Rome. Here's for hoping.

Changing Our Way of Life

Been thinking lately about the American vs UK way of life, and how much we could learn from our ancient brethern across the pond. I feel like all we do in America is live to work. We're constantly on the run, working 8-10 hour days, driving miles and miles to work, running errands, eating on the run, going to the malls and shops after work so that we don't return until after dinner. It's like we're content to always be moving, as if the standard of living is achieved by how much one can accomplish in a day.

Well - I've come to the conclusion that we're dead wrong. One should not measure their day by how many errands they've run or how many hours its been since one has been able to sit down. They should measure it by how many hours they've spent in good company, or eating a homemade meal with friends and family, about how many places they've travelled leisurely in the past year.

Coming to this conclusion was easy enough via observation. The shops here close down at 5:30pm, and on Saturdays they close down around noon, with none really open on Sundays. Though it startled me at first, as I was still running on the American, open 24 hours or until midnight sort of schedule, I have come to appreciate it. The early closing time fits with the work schedules over here, as it gives people enough time to get to the store, grab a few things for dinner, and then be at home or do whatever they please afterwards. Walking the campus at night, once dinner time rolls around, laughter rings out of every open kitchen window, often accompanied by music. People tend to gather and enjoy each others company, or go for walks or go to play a sport together. They're not always running errands or complaining about the length of their day. They're markedly happier here because of the societal schedule.

Yes, things still run on a schedule around here - just because they care more about spending time with people than objects, doesn't mean they start classes or other things whenever it suits them. They get it done and get on with their lives. And they do it cheerfully. Haven't met a single Scottish grump since I've been here. Try saying that after spending almost three weeks in America. Bet you couldn't!


Hey America - you could learn a thing or two from Scotland.