Offsite Adventure - Glasgow

 #Glasgow

Today's off site excursion is in Glasgow, Scotland. Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland.
Aside from it being a shopping mecca for those tourists that come to see the life, this year it is home to the Commonwealth Games which is similar to what you may know as the Olympics. It is held every four years with athletes that participate from the Commonwealth Nations - the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) with total competing countries being Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland, Canada, and Wales.  Similar to the United States, the Commonwealth games. The host city is chosen seven years in advance and Glasgow has pulled out all the stops to attract even more tourists as well as the locals that have come to visit to partake or view. George Square is at the heart of Glasgow and is usually a large open space to allow that leads north, south, east, or west to start your bus, foot, or cab trek into Glasgow. This year, it was decorated to welcome the Commonwealth Games along with setting up tents to sell merchandise and welcome those that came to view.

Welcome to the Commonwealth Games 2014

George Square 

Glasgow is much larger than Edinburgh and my home city of Stirling. An extra £2 will give you an unlimited bus pass to travel the entire city. One eight hour day is not nearly enough time to take in the major sites - you can either briefly tour the major attractions or pick two or three major attractions and see in depth. I chose option B passing up the Necropolis Cemetery, a 37-acre cemetery with massive monumental tombstones of over 50 thousand people buried with large amounts of wealth. I also decided to pass on the Glasgow Botanical Gardens as the bus ride was over an hour. As with all of our excursion, Glasgow too is filled with museums for artwork. The most famous of the attractions is Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Having an eight hour day in solely in Kelvingrove would not even begin to touch the surface of being able to explore this 22 themed museum with over 8,000 objects to include Dutch, Scottish, Egyptian, and other world cultures like African, South Asian, Americas, and Oceana influences on art. Among the art are several cool, interactive, attractions to include....

Sarcophagus of Pa-ba-sa, Egyptian, about 664–610 BC   

Elvis Lives - From the American collection - strictly taken for my mom who is an Elvis fan 

Christ of St John of the Cross
Painted by Salvador Dali, this image of Christ's crucifixion came to Dali in a dream. It is devoid of any blood coming from the hands or from the head because Dali felt this would destroy is perception of Christ. Dali's portrayal created controversy but attracted public viewing in droves once on display at Kelvingrove. The picture has been damaged purposely twice and has since been repaired with no noticeable fading or aging to this day. For more information, click here

 http://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/kelvingrove/about/collection-highlights/Pages/Christ-of-St-John-on-the-Cross.aspx

My bus ride to return back to George Square (our central meeting spot) was met after an hour walk through the town shopping center which spanned several city blocks taking in sights such as the Duke of Wellington statue. The Duke of Wellington statue was made to salute Authur Welles, a British soldier with leading political figures but since the 1980's, every morning the Duke greets Glasgow with a traffic cone on his head. At one point, the cone was removed every day just to have it replaced before the morning sunrise. Now, the police no longer utilize man power to remove the cone everyday and the Duke is now an attraction, not for his history and prestige, but to laugh at the bright orange cone that stands out on his head. 

Glasgow is also home to a widely recognized LGBTQI community hosting the largest pride parade in Scotland. Glasgow publicly lists several resources for the community for everything from medical care to LGBTQI night clubs. I missed the pride parade by one day, not being aware of the date and unable to arrange transportation from Stirling but news reports that the turn out this year was one of the largest in history - perhaps because friends and family were in for the Commonwealth games or perhaps a larger awareness of support is being presented for the community. The attached link shows in depth the detail and success of the 2014 Pride Parade in Glasgow. 

http://pride.scot/

Offsite Adventure - Stirling Ghostwalk

#Ghostwalk

Ghost walks in Stirling and surrounding cities are a popular tourist attractions and an entertaining way to discover and learn about the historical aspects of a city and it's very reasonably priced with an additional discount for being a student. 

The city of Stirling has a ghost tour that has been operating for over 20 years. Each group is led by our tour guide, the Happy Hangman, who is dressed and in character to provide ghoulish tales as you learn about the historic context of why the environment being explored is now considered haunted. Happy Hangman is crass, sarcastic, and funny! He tailors his tales for his audience so that everyone is included and understands what is being explained. 

The tour itself was quite beautiful - though I'm sure that the intention was meant to be creepy. Because the sun literally sets around 11pm in the summer in Scotland, the Auld Kirkyard graveyard where a majority of the tour took place did not have an eerie unidentified feeling to it, but rather an appreciative tour of art. The sun setting on gravestones cascading rainbows after a light rain storm could hardly be classified as spooky on the tour and our entire group seemed to share that mentality. 

The graveyard is filled with stories passed down from generation to generation. Such tales include eye witness accounts of souls battling Satan, luminescent and trapped spirits the locals see on certain holidays, and explanations of clash encounters with spirits. 

My personal favorite was about a woman named Mary Witherspoon whose grave was robbed and body stolen for the purpose of a profit to universities for their medical students. The grave robbers were arrested but never confessed to where her remains were. The arrest was also short lived for the robbers as one fled the country and the other was released because there was no evidence to prove their guilt. Even better!! The robber that fled returned back to Scotland 33 years later avoiding prosecution because of large financial accumulation and connections that ignored any of his wrong doing. It is said that Witherspoon still haunts Auld Kirkyard searching for her body. Many locals have sworn to seeing her - searching for her body. So many so that funds were set aside from local government to provide her with an "official" burial plot built decades after her death in and effort to provide her with a final resting place. The graveyard is said to sometimes have an overwhelming powerful smell of roses - proof that Lady Witherspoon is still searching for her body. 

Our tour group was quite large, meeting people from various walks. Studying abroad can be a realization of how big the world can be followed by the eerily conception of six degrees of separation. I met a couple that lived thirty minutes from where I currently am, a student that lives in the hometown I grew up in as a child, and someone who attended the middle school I grew up with in Texas. Who knew? :-) 

Not only did I have the opportunity to make friends extending past this trip but our Happy Hangman turned out to be quite the hidden resource as well. As the tour concluded and our group dispersed the local couple I met and myself stayed behind to talk to him about his ventures being a guide for such tours. We found him to be just as funny in person outside of character. Our 10 minute walk back to the bus stop ended up being an in depth tour of the city of Stirling - so in depth (almost 2 hours) that I missed the last bus back to the university. Conversation in between laughter and banter included things, that as American's we don't necessarily consider - like David (Happy Hangman) asking us to seriously rate our interpretation of his American accent that he's been practicing for almost 6 months. I don't think I consider people "practicing" an accent that comes naturally to us but behind closed doors, I have to confess that I've been trying out my Scottish conversation piece horribly so it was quite amusing when we received a glimpse of an American, Boston, New York, and Southern accent with a Scottish "twang" behind it. Or the fact that David was really, sincerely, placing an effort for the accent so that when he travels to the states, he can blend in. Personal stories of his ghostly encounters, his best crowds, impressing diplomatics, and how he is able to tailor his stories by reading crowds ended our night at almost 1a.m. (the tour is over at 9p by the way) Yet another solo encounter as an older student that I thoroughly enjoyed. If you want to see more about his services, you can visit Stirling Ghostwalk on his Facebook page. 

Happy Traveling!

Offsite Adventure - Edinburgh

#Edinburgh 

The University of Stirling has been an awesome experience. It is unique having a multi-faceted classes that are not monotonous lectures, notes, text, and study. Our professors involve curriculum and hands on learning which often consist of field trips and excursions. Additionally, our classes are arranged so we have an opportunity to piggyback and participate on other excursions of other classes as well as a weekly excursion scheduled for Stirling students that introduces them to the beautiful country of Scotland.

Excursion - Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. It is a big, little city - small enough to learn your way around quickly but large enough that there are various things to do depending on your interest. I arrived in Edinburgh one week before I actually went to the University of Stirling. Lodging in local hostels and hotels, I experienced a lot of Edinburgh's unique history and people. So when I saw that it was offered as an offsite excursion from our location in Stirling, I jumped at the opportunity to get back to familiar grounds and explore some more.

I mentioned in the beginning of my blog that Edinburgh is filled with the arts - museums, plays, historic sites are all almost free to the public. Almost everything worth seeing is in walking distance. One can find themselves lost in buildings, historic sites, museums, plays, festivals celebrating culture, and history - both watching and learning and making history.

 I personally visited everything I could get my hands on that was free to the public. I am fully aware that museums, plays, etc. can be quite costly in the United States. I remember my father taking my family every once in a while and being fascinated by the different era's of art - now at my fingertips I had several different era's laid all out in a day's walk and wanted to partake in everything I could. One of my most favorite places to visit was the Scottish National Gallery. This place was enormous filled with continuing centuries of of paintings through out several eras.

It was fascinating to see how the colors, sizes, and even the stroke of the brushes against the canvas changed depending on the era of the painting. Several floors provided insight from the 1600's to the early 1900's and I spent many hours (sometimes full days) reading and learning about the influences these creators had on the world. The month of July was encapsulated with Venetian, American impressionism, and a display of 25 years of contemporary art in Scotland. Scotland is also known for its' belief in expression as many students attending primary and secondary school had their drawings right next to a famous exhibition. It was very inspiring.

Art is everywhere. Expressions are in the buildings, the music, even the coffee shop where I often hung out early in the morning. The place was called Granton's Square and though it was not "fancy" on a scale of size or meals or a hang out, I loved being there early in the morning and taking the elevator to the top floor to enjoy a coffee. I had an opportunity to take my friends on an excursion to to show them why I loved this simple place so much. Click the link below and you'll see why the elevator was my favorite part of incorporating breakfast and art all in one.

Edinburgh caters to tourists and locals alike. You can get lost for miles shopping for clothes, tartans, souvenirs, and indulging in fried ice cream, fried Mars bars (yes the candy bar), and making pit stops in five story book stores that leave you in awe of time when you leave. There is culture on every block from native food to the bagpipe players (called pipers) and the people who are star-struck enough with the culture to take pictures with them at every corner.

Each trip to each offsite excursion lasts about 10 hours (2 for travel time). The cities we visited continue to amaze, educate me, and inspire me to travel

Offsite Adventure - Battle of Bannockburn

#Bannockburn

This year marks the 700th anniversary celebrating of one of Scotland's most valued and anticipated events called the Battle of Bannockburn. It was a significant battle establishing Scotland's independence in which Robert the Bruce, using strategy and guerilla style fighting tactics, defeated the English. The grounds in which these are held is accompanied by several other events to include music from local artists, storyville for children, the land of food and drink, and the clan and family village.

Tickets originally began for this event at £83.50 and were reduced to £20 as the event did not sell as anticipated. However, with the lowering of the tickets, the event began to sell out quickly. The Battle of Bannockburn can easily stretch a students' budget between entry, food, alcohol, and additional £20 to see the actual re enactment of the Battle of Bannockburn itself so budgeting is important. Many students purchased their tickets well in advance and arrived early to get in the gates.

I shall say in casual chat speaking with locals, by time I went to Bannockburn I did not have to pay to get in.

This year Bannockburn was highly anticipated because of the Association of Highland Clan's and Societies. These were clans from all over Scotland where people could inquire and ask about ancestry and possible ties - down to DNA sampling.

It was flooded with people looking to identify and connect with roots and ancestry. This followed by beer, great food, and local music could be taken in along with local music to enjoy. The bands ranged from classical, traditional, to contemporary. My favorite was a band called Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire. Dressed on state with black suits and harmonic voices, they reminded me of a cross between Muse and Dave Matthews Band. 

Concluding but ever popular was the re enactment of the actual Battle of Bannockburn. With my unrestricted pass, I was able to forego the line that was so long it backed up to the entrance gates and arrive to receive a seat an hour early.

An hour BEFORE the actual re enactment began 

Even arriving early, the stands were already beginning to crowd. By time the place was seated there were hundreds, if not a thousand or so, people eagerly awaiting the battle. The battle was narrated (I'm sure for us that had no idea of it's significance) ladened with humor, sarcasm, and participation from the crowd supporting Scotland's vigilant and successful will at overthrowing England.

Towards the end, audience participation drowned the narrator with the thumbs up/thumbs down approach of the final capture being the leader of one of the English armies with an off with his head? or show mercy. The vote was unanimous from faithful Scots to show no mercy for the enemy.

The Realities of Being A Non-Traditional Student

#StudentLife 

Morning Routine - Just Saying Hello 

Studying abroad, I feel, can be a different experience when you are a non-traditional student. At 17, 18 years old, one can tend to think studying abroad is something that you can do again if you feel like it. As an older student, you tend to appreciate the experiences as unique opportunities knowing that even if you did come back to the exact same country, it provides a much larger sense of appreciation and responsibility to the experience. That is NOT to say that younger people don't appreciate traveling, just that I have come to realize how unique and awesome being awarded this scholarship is.

There are patterns that immediately emerge when viewing the students I shared my time with here in Scotland. For one, realizing studying abroad can be an intimidating process is real is important to note. It's fun, in theory to think about until you actually arrive in a new country, unaware of customs, being transported and dumped on massive campus with people you don't know, no friends, no family, and alone. The first thing all students naturally do is look for something that adds a sense of familiarity that they can gravitate to - maybe something like identifying someone from your state, someone close your age, someone with the same interests - to quickly to form friendships and find a sense of belonging.  Over time, these friendships will become salient as people form different identities from from group to another group. In one group Sally may be friends with Sue, but because Sue doesn't hike, she isn't included in another group of friends Sally hangs with. So, as a non-traditional student where do you "fit"? What exactly do you do at a welcome ceremony that has 200+ students, all awkwardly gathered, feeling their way through trying to find a comfort zone where they all fit in? On the surface, there is no one intentionally seeking to identify with another African-American face or someone my age or someone or another person that could possibly be a parent - and that's because, short of me, there weren't any. 

Realizing your uniqueness in this situation can make or break how you experience being a non-traditional student studying abroad. It is a matter of perspective. I realized the following. 

First, your classmates are not your only outlet. Both of my classes are filled with a much younger crowd - late teens and early 20's. Other than sharing a class, I had no other commonalities with the students I interacted with. It was evident in class who had passions for learning, contributing, and relating to the subjects being taught. That introduced lively conversations before and after class with certain people but, unless I had a group assignment outside of class, there was very little exchange outside the classroom with other students. That did not, however, prevent me from establishing a rapport with others on campus - from casual conversation with staff (and by staff I mean EVERYONE from other teachers to the janitor). My favorite people on campus served at a registry desk (names with held on purpose). It was evident that they enjoyed helping people acclimate to the Scotland and the culture. Through them I had several conversations, often in the company of a great glass of wine, with stories, suggestions of places, and inside scoops on many things most students would absolutely not be aware of had they not got to know these people personally. Additionally, both of them had fantastically sarcastic sense of humor which made it simplistic and fluid in making great acquaintances.  

Second, realize reaching out to students on campus is not asking to hang out 24/7. Though I did not go out with my flatmates, they were still awesome. My interactions with them were brief and intermittent, but really fun when I could catch them. There are 6 (including me 7) people on my floor and most often we often bumped into each other in the kitchen. The conversations were lively, saturated with story telling of experiences, meeting boyfriends that flew in for the weekend, moms and dads, sisters, and best friends. Every once in a while, someone would make an additional plate or offer a glass of wine or beer to continue the conversation - like planning a last minute party. Afterwards, we would part ways until we next saw each other. 

My flatmates extended invitations to me to do a lot of things they did and once or twice I accepted - finding it was not my calling to be in a group who deserved to have the experiences of  pub crawls and nightlife. My attention span and liver could not handle back to back nights like that. Perhaps when I was younger, but not as an OCD student who wanted to be able to make it to class on time. So, I often cut my nights short so I could be to class on time and able to fully participate. This, however, did not segregate me from enjoying being in their company. 

Third, don't assume you're alone as a non-traditional student. 
Truthfully, I assumed I would be the only middle aged student on campus. Surprisingly there were others and at first we all began to gravitate toward each other, only to find that that we all had the same views about being visitors in Scotland. Our down time was was spent either doing homework, or being an explorer of unseen and unfamiliar places. My weekends stories did not consist of being excited to shop familiar stores like Nike-town, or Old Navy, but rather purchasing a train ticket and getting off at a stop in a city never heard of and go camping for the weekend. Thus, the other students my age kept in touch only to pass on information about suggestions of spots to explore, hidden secrets we knew as older students that we assumed wouldn't be appreciated by younger students, and connecting on off-site trip bus rides to trade stories. These little diamonds of information paid off hugely. As I connected with the culture and the locals, I had many doors open to many adventures that I was not expecting that I will talk about in stories to come. :-) If you aren't sure about other non-traditional students, use the resources such as registration to pass on your contact information for other students that may be looking to reach out and find someone like you. 

Fourth, be true to who you are. If you know it's important to find someone who enjoys your hobby of knitting while you're studying abroad, do some research before you arrive so you have that outlet. 


I have learned being an older student that studying abroad is not so much about being with people who make your comfortable but rather being part of the experience. 

Happy traveling!!

University of Stirling Tour (Video Tour)

#StirlingCampusTour (Video) 

This my attempt at giving a small visual tour of the campus. :-) It is in parts with each video lasting anywhere from 4 to 13 minutes. I hope it all is able to give you a glimpse of what I see as a student walking these grounds everyday.

Introduction to the campus

Walk along the grounds, golf course, and Airthery Castle 

Finishing the walking path. The wildlife on the grounds of Stirling University 

Back to our starting point 

To the flat 

University of Stirling Tour (Overview)

#StirlingCampusTour

June 15, 2014

I chose University of Stirling upon being awarded the Gilman Scholarship to study abroad because it had one of the highest student feedback of the curriculum in the UK, and the school seems to recognize and value the high diversity of attending students here. Additionally, the location of the campus is situated so that you are able to explore a lot of the surrounding cities such as Glasgow, Inverness, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and St. Andrews - all cities the have unique and historical contexts that add to the entire country. Scotland also sits just a plane, bus, or train, or ferry ride away from the country of Ireland, the Netherlands, England, and Germany. Last minute get away's are fairly inexpensive if you plan right and know what to look for. 

The University of Stirling is an amazing campus with one of the youngest of histories of colleges in Scotland. Founded in 1967, it sits on 300 acres of land about 2.2 miles outside the actual city of Stirling. Man made Airthery Loch* as well as Airthery Castle are part of the what adds to the already breathtaking campus views. It feels like a secluded sanctuary. It is large enough that it could easily provide what students need if you didn't want to travel. There's a grocery store, the Macrobert Arts Centre which plays newly released movies at £4.50 a ticket for students, an art centre that features students creations, student clubs, a full gym with state of the art equipment, on site counseling, banks, an amazing four story library, swimming pool, hiking trails that you could get lost in for hours, and even a golf course. The William Wallace tower sits in the background and it's something you see everyday walking to class. There is a plethora of wildlife that makes the university its home. From outside my dorm window, there are a family of swans, species of ducks, and birds that sing songs I've never heard before bright and early at 4a.m. on queue like an alarm clock. 

Pictures do not do this place justice and I've attempted capture the essence as best I can by attaching a few videos and pictures for review. As I get more, I'll update more!

Happy Traveling!

Loch* - pronounced lock - Scottish or Gaelic word for lake and sea inlet

P.S HAPPY FATHER'S DAY
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOST AWESOME SISTER!!