European Curling Championship
Posted by Kalie on December 17, 2009
Quite a ways back, I saw that the 2009 European Curling Championships would be held in Aberdeen. I’d never really seen curling before except for a little in the Olympics but thought it would be neat to watch. The tickets were a bit pricey though, so I decided to instead volunteer. I ended up volunteering for 4 days as a steward. (Basically all I did was help people find their seats and guard the fire exits, but hey, I got to watch the matches!)
Going into it I hadn’t a clue what curling entailed. All I knew was that it was on ice and there were brooms involved somehow. After watching the matches and asking other volunteers, I caught on pretty quickly. There are 4 people on a team: 1 throws, 2 sweep, and 1 stays by the house (or the bulls eye at the far end) to yell directions and play a defense of sorts. The stone can either knock the other team’s stones out of the house or play offense and stay inside the house. The team whose stone is closest to the center of the circle wins the round, and gets points for all of their own other stones within the larger circle.
Aside from learning about the game of curling, I also got an insight into the curling community. I had the opportunity to talk with several other volunteers who were big into curling. Every single one of them was truly a kind person. Many of them invited me to join the Aberdeen Curling Club (unfortunately I had to decline since I leave soon!).
I had a front row view of the opening ceremony (complete with a pipe band and the Lord Provost of Aberdeen), as well as for the women’s championship between Germany and Switzerland (Germany won the close game). All in all, it was a great experience and I hope to someday try out curling for myself!
Cheers!
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We Wish You a Merry Christmas…
Posted by Kalie on
This song has been the soundtrack of our flat since the beginning of December! It can be heard (especially whistled by Pauline and sung by Nicki) at any moment of the day. We have done many things to get into the Christmas spirit…
One night after a flatmate food night, we played a German chocolate game. Here’s how it works: a bar of chocolate is wrapped in many layers of wrapping paper. The object is to use a knife and fork to cut through the wrapping paper and be the first person to take a bite of the chocolate. Before being able to cut the chocolate, though, the person must first put on a hat, scarf, and gloves. A person is able to try cutting the chocolate once they roll a six. The dice is quickly handed around the table, each person rolling the dice to try and get a six. We played this traditional children’s game with six girls, all over the age of 20. Needless to say, it was quite an entertaining way to spend the evening!
One morning we woke up to find a large Christmas calendar taped to the kitchen wall. Each day leading up to Christmas, a different gift is opened (usually it’s chocolate). We also each have our own smaller calendars. In Germany, the calendars are often homemade by parents and given to their children.
Another morning (December 6), we found our entire kitchen table filled with chocolates from Pauline. It was St. Nicholas’ Day, which is celebrated in Belgium. The tradition to celebrate this day is for children to put their shoes outside of their house, which St. Nicholas will fill during the night with a gift. Rather than filling of our shoes, though, she used our table instead. Later that day some friends and I decorated a gingerbread house and baked Hershey’s Kisses cookies. Kisses don’t seem to be sold in Europe, so it was a new treat for my friends.
Just the other night we exchanged Secret Santa gifts. Nicki’s sister who is visiting dressed up as Santa Claus and distributed our gifts. My gift from Sarah was a homemade 2010 calendar filled with photos from my time in Scotland. It’s such a special gift that will always remind of these great memories!
Tonight we will be doing another European tradition of Christmas crackers (which are in a way similar to fireworks, but without explosives). I’m told that everyone stands in a circle, each holding onto one end of a cracker. At the same time, everyone pulls and the crackers explode and out comes various goodies. I’m excited to try this as I’ve never seen it done before!
So from my flat to you…We wish you a Merry Christmas! We wish you a Merry Christmas! We wish you a Merry Christmas! And a Happy New Year!
Cheers!
P.S. We had a bit of snow today and there is more snow in the forecast, so perhaps it will be a white Christmas in Scotland!
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Santa Run
Posted by Kalie on December 10, 2009
Last Sunday I participated in Aberdeen’s Santa Run. This entailed running 6 kilometers along the North Sea coast in a Santa costume with 999 other Santa Clauses! It ended with a lap around the Aberdeen Football Club pitch. The run was to benefit the WildHearts Foundation. It was such a neat experience and not a site you see everyday!
Footage of the run begins at 4:43 in this link: http://video.stv.tv/?bcpid=1610699553&bctid=54703676001
More photos can be seen by visiting these sites:
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1514485
http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1513909?UserKey=
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Family Time: Days 7 & 8
Posted by Kalie on November 30, 2009
Saturday was once again spent in Aberdeen. Rather than dealing with finding a parking spot for our vehicle all day, we decided to explore the city by bus. The bus that ran from our flat to the city centre was a double decker. I made my dad ride on the top, even though he’s somewhat afraid of heights. I think he enjoyed it though. We spent the morning in downtown and then on campus. As it was nearing noon, we made our way over to the Pittodrie Football Stadium to watch the Aberdeen vs. Glasgow Rangers football (soccer) game. This is what Shawn was looking forward to the most. (In fact, when I asked him what he was most excited about before he came, he said the football game. Jokingly offended, I told him that was the wrong answer; the right answer was seeing me. To that he said, “Oh. Right.”) This game was a pretty big deal as the two teams are big rivals. Tickets are only sold to people who have been to Aberdeen games before (thus, I went to the St. Johnstone game earlier this month). Unfortunately, hooliganism hasn’t escaped northern Scotland. When looking for the correct entrance to the stadium, I asked a passing Aberdeen fan where our entrance was. He pointed out that it was just down the street, but warned us that we shouldn’t go that way since we would have to pass several Rangers fans, so instead we walked around 3/4 of the stadium just to avoid being taunted. The football game was exciting, both on the field and in the stands. While it didn’t have nearly the same atmosphere as a Husker game, it was still entertaining and filled with emotion. Aberdeen surprisingly ended up beating Glasgow 1-0, despite playing 25 minutes with 10 players instead of 11. After the game we spent the evening packing up and cleaning the flat.
The next morning we left early for the airport where we then split ways. I had such a great week with parents and Shawn! And for now, back to classes and the real world…
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Family Time: Day 6
Posted by Kalie on
Friday we spent the morning traveling to and exploring the area around Cruden Bay, a small coastal town north of Aberdeen. First we stopped at the harbor, then my dad, Shawn, and I hiked a kilometer to the ruins of Slain’s Castle. This castle was different from all the others I’ve visited. While it’s open to the public, it hasn’t been kept up. In the early 1900’s it was abandoned and the roof was removed. It lies on the North Sea coast along sheer cliffs. The general atmosphere of the castle is creepy as it is nearly fully in tact aside from having no roof. This castle was inspiration for Bram Stoker’s story of Dracula. After visiting it, I understand why! Creepiness aside, it was a nice venture and made for some great photos on the sunny day. The scenery of the ocean cliffs alone was worth the walk down the muddy lane.
From Cruden Bay, we drove to Turriff to visit Delgatie Castle. This was the castle my family and I stayed at for a week two years. This castle is also very different from the others, as it has been refurbished into self-catering flats. It has ties to the Hay clan, which is special to my family as my mom’s maiden name is Hayes. We stopped in the tea room and chatted with the owner who we had gotten to know two years ago. (It was also my first time to have proper high tea while in Scotland. I had black tea and a scone prepared with butter, jelly, and cream.)
That night we found a pub in Aberdeen, The Blue Lamp, that had live music. It was open mic night, so good music wasn’t a guarantee. Fortunately, most of the acts were very good and we even got a taste of some traditional Scottish music.
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Family Time: Day 5
Posted by Kalie on
Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving in Scotland! The day was filled with preparing for our evening meal. We hosted a Thanksgiving gathering at my parents’ flat. Seventeen of my friends joined us to see what Thanksgiving was all about. We prepared a feast: appetizers, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, corn, stuffing, rolls, pumpkin and cherry pies, and the native to Nebraska drink, Kool-Aid. In total there were 7 Germans, 5 Americans, 3 French, 3 Belgians, 2 Scottish, and 1 Hong Konger. As my friend Brenda told me, it was a “world class Thanksgiving!” Before the meal we explained the history of Thanksgiving and some traditions that go along with it. Then we chowed down! The food must have been tasty, as very little food was leftover. One of my friends claimed it was the first time he had truly been full since coming to Aberdeen. The rest of the night was spent talking, laughing, and having a good time. At one point the song “I’m a Little Teapot” was sung…I’m still not sure why. :) The party wrapped up around 11:30 and a solid five hours of Thanksgiving festivities. It was a great night and I’m so glad that my parents and Shawn could finally meet all the people I’ve gotten to know over the past few months. I had a lot to be thankful for this year – getting this wonderful experience to study abroad in Scotland, having amazing friends both here and at home, having my parents and Shawn visit me, and the list could go on and on. … I’d love to know what you are thankful for!
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Family Time: Day 4
Posted by Kalie on November 29, 2009
Wednesday we woke up very early to get to Inverness (3 hours away) and make the most of the short amount of daylight. One of the things Shawn wanted to do most was go to Loch Ness, so he and I took a bus to the Loch where we then took a boat ride to the Urquhart Castle ruins. The day was very rainy and windy. The boat ride was cut short ten minutes because the wind was creating 10-15 foot waves in the middle of the loch. Shawn enjoyed both the boat ride (it was his first time on a boat) and the castle. We met my parents back in Inverness, did some souvenir shopping, then began our journey back. On our way to Aberdeen, we stopped at the Black Isle Brewery. It’s one of the smallest breweries in Scotland. There were four men working: one putting on labels, one filling the bottles, one capping the bottles, and one who stopped whatever he was doing to give us a short free tour.
Not far from the brewery was the Culloden battlefield. We stopped for just a bit to have a look around. I was interested in this stop because I’ve learned a lot about the Battle of Culloden from my Gaelic Culture class. The Battle of Culloden took place in April 1746 between the Jacobites and the British government and was the battle war to take place on British soil. The battle essentially ended the traditional Highland clan system and was a stepping stone for the Highland Clearances that happened later in the 1800s.
That evening we headed downtown to the Prince of Wales pub. We met up with my flatmates Sarah and Lizzie, as well as three of Lizzie’s friends. It was cool to have my parents and Shawn hang out with my friends and some real (as opposed to fake?) Scottish guys.
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Family Time: Day 3
Posted by Kalie on
Tuesday was a laid-back day. We drove up to Oldmeldrum to tour the Glen Garioch whisky distillery since I had free coupons from the time I was there before. We arrived at 11:15 and there wasn’t supposed to be another tour until 1. Lucky for us, though, the owner gave us a tour himself. It was very similar to the last time, what with wee drams before and after the tour. He added in a free glass of the “water of life” as they call it in Scotland. In America we would call it Everclear. The owner of the distillery is such a nice man. Both times I was there he gave us a tour when there weren’t tours scheduled. He remembered me this time around, and even offered me a summer job working for him! So if you’re ever in Scotland, I highly recommend touring the Glen Garioch whisky distillery.
We ate lunch in Oldmeldrum, then set out to search for The Store Company. My dad had found out about it online and this was one of the places he had really wanted to go. It is a small store in the country that sells local food. Becky (our GPS) was usually very useful in helping us find our way, but unfortunately we didn’t have the street name for The Store Company. An hour of searching and a couple of stops asking for directions later, we finally found it.
That night Shawn and I split ways from my parents. My flatmate, Nicki, was celebrating her birthday with a flat party. Shawn and I, along with 18 others, helped her celebrate. It was a great way to introduce Shawn to all my friends. I think he was a bit overwhelmed, though, because there were about five different languages being spoken by 20 people in my little kitchen. At midnight we (the flatmates) presented Nicki with her birthday gifts. First we gave her a really ugly mini-skirt we found for one quid, pretending like it was the only gift we were giving her. Then we gave her the real gift which was a hat she’d been wanting. We sang Happy Birthday (in several different languages) then called it a night.
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Family Time: Day 2
Posted by Kalie on
Monday morning I gave my parents and Shawn a tour of my stomping grounds. I showed them my flat and the Hillhead Centre near where I live. Then, since I love Seaton Park, I made them walk the entire loop around it, then through the middle to campus. I think it was at this point in time when they realized just how much I walk over here (I regularly walk 40 minutes to the city centre and 30 minutes to the Sports Village, and 15 minutes to campus). To make the walking better for them, I promised them donuts once we got to campus; it helped keep the whining to a minimum. :) By the time we had walked around campus and gotten back to my flat, it was past noon and we needed to get going if we wanted to see Stonehaven by the time it got dark (which is around 3:30 now).
We drove to Stonehaven and walked to the Dunnottar Castle. I had been there before, but on a drizzly day. We enjoyed looking at the castle ruins and even walked down the muddy hill to the beach. I think my parents and I have spread out photography fever to Shawn. After entering a few photographs in the state fair last year and not winning anything, he’s determined to get a ribbon this year…or at least beat out my family! Once Shawn uploads his photos, I’ll post some from each person and let you all decide who has the better pictures. 🙂
Since it was getting dark, we went back into town for dinner and tasted a deep fried Mars bar at its birthplace. It was quite delicious! On the drive back to Aberdeen, we stopped at a few stores just to browse and compare them to stores in the states.
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Family Time: Day 1
Posted by Kalie on
My parents and Shawn arrived in Aberdeen last Sunday around 3:30. It was a long couple of days for them, leaving Omaha at 5 the day before and making stops at Memphis and Amsterdam before arriving in Scotland. They decided to visit because my parents love Scotland (almost as much as I do), Shawn had never been abroad, they had time off of school for Thanksgiving, and because maybe they missed me just a little.
I met them at the airport, giddy with excitement to see them! Once they arrived, we rented a Pathfinder for the week, equipped with a GPS system. Thank goodness we had her (it was a female voice – we named her Becky), otherwise we would’ve been very lost! From there we went to the flat they booked to unload, and ate dinner at a nearby hotel. We stayed in for the rest of the night and planned out the rest of the week.
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