Stonehaven

Posted by Kalie on October 19, 2009

On October 10, I took a day trip to Stonehaven with four friends.  Stonehaven is a fishing community about 15 miles south of Aberdeen.  We arrived early on the drizzly morning.  Not letting the rain stop us, we hiked 1.5 miles to the famous Dunnottar Castle ruins, dating back to the 13th century.  It was a gorgeous trail along the coastline, even on a foggy day.  The castle grounds were neat to see, with a lot of buildings still fully in tact.  After an hour of exploring the grounds, we were all a bit hungry and decided to head back into the town.  At this point I was really missing the wellies that I left back home; water had seeped through my tennis shoes and my socks were completely soaked!  They dried out a little while we ate lunch, but I wasn’t completely satisfied until I was back at my flat a few hours later with my dry, warm fuzzy socks on and a cup of hot chocolate. 🙂

Cheers!

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The Downfalls of Scotland

Posted by Kalie on October 7, 2009

After being here for a few weeks, I’ve come to realize that I miss a few things from back home, such as…

• Mixed Water Faucets – All the water faucets here have hot and cold separated, making it exceedingly difficult to wash hands without being frozen or scalded.
• Iced Tea – Hot tea can be found everywhere, but finding iced tea is a bit tricky.  I’ve now accepted the fact that in order to get iced tea, I first have to order hot tea, let it cool for two hours, and then drink it.
• 12-Hour Clocks – Military time is used far too often here, which gives me trouble.  I always have to stop and count on my fingers what time it is after 12 noon.
• US Measurement System – I really miss miles, pounds, and Fahrenheit.  I simply cannot get used to meters, kilograms, and Celsius.
• Amigos – There are lots of fast food restaurants here similar to places back home, but nobody can make a soft shelled taco without lettuce like Amigos can.
• Crunchy Leaves – There are plenty of fallen leaves here that have the potential to be crunchy, but the constant rain really puts a damper on that potential.
• Everyone who took the time to read this (in other words, you!).

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There Is No Place Like Nebraska (Except for Some Parts of Northeast Scotland)

Posted by Kalie on

While I strongly believe there is no place like Nebraska, I think northern Scotland and Nebraska have a similar feel.  The people are just as kind here as they are back home, and the weather and terrain of this area comparable to the midwest.

This past weekend I got a taste of home as my flatmate Sarah and I ventured through the Bucksburn Valley trails, an area on the western outskirts of Aberdeen.  The weather that day felt like typical fall Nebraska weather.  With the temperature being around 50 degrees, it went from being warm and chilly all afternoon.  The air was crisp and smelled of autumn.  The wind was quite strong, up to 60 mph gusts.  With the wind, the yellow crunchy leaves were falling to the ground.  The terrain was even similar to Nebraska; flat with a few hills.  At times I felt like I was in Nebraska City with lots of different trees around.  Other times I felt like I was at home by the sandpit on a narrow trail.  I saw (and smelled) Angus cattle in a nearby field, which was a comforting sight.

It was great to get out of the city and enjoy the countryside.  Sarah and I walked about 3 miles on the trails and wound up in the village of Kingswell, where we took a bus back to the Aberdeen city center.

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Haggis

Posted by Kalie on October 3, 2009

According to Wikipedia, haggis is “a dish containing sheep’s ‘pluck’ (heart, liver, and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal’s stomach for approximately three hours.”  Now if that doesn’t get your stomach grumbling, I don’t know what will.

A group of friends and I decided to try out this traditional Scottish dish for ourselves.  The venue we chose for this monumental event was The Archibald Simpson pub on Union Street.  We ordered one dish of haggis, complete with tatties (mashed potatoes) and neeps (turnips), to share between the eight of us.  It was the last dish to arrive.  As I watched everyone else try it, I was slightly relieved to see that nobody ran for the bathroom ready to blow grits.  Then it was my turn.  I reached for the haggis with my fork, drink ready in hand to drown the presumed-awful taste, and ever so slowly brought it closer to my mouth.   The haggis made contact with my taste buds and…it wasn’t that bad.  Really, it wasn’t.  I’m not saying I would ever eat it again, but it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever had.  I would try to explain the taste, but I couldn’t do it justice.  Mostly the texture didn’t agree with me; it was kind of gritty.

All in all, I would say my first (and most probably last) haggis experience was a pleasant one.  Not exactly my cup of tea, but I think it’s an experience everyone visiting Scotland should have.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the plate of haggis, tatties, and neeps was taken from the table with most of the food remaining.

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Classes – Week 1

Posted by Kalie on October 1, 2009

Week 1 courses, done.  (Done on a Thursday?  That’s right.  No Friday classes!)  After many confusing emails, dropped and added courses, and calls to UNL, I decided on a much different course schedule than my original plan.  I am now taking World Geography, Philosophy of Art and Literature, Gaelic Folklore, and Gaelic Culture.

World Geography was a course I initially signed up for with hopes that it would transfer back to UNL as a required natural resources class (whether it actually will transfer back is still unknown).  But after the first day of class, I decided the professor was far too amusing to drop the course.  He’s bloody crazy (but in the best possible way)!  Today he dumped a geography book in the trash can and jumped frantically in the air trying to imitate the Earth’s systems.  I have a feeling I won’t even be tempted to fall asleep in this class…

…Philosophy of Art and Literature on the other hand, maybe.  Luckily I only have this class once a week, with a tutorial thrown in every fortnight.  (Yes, they actually use the word fortnight here.  I still become giddy every time I say it.)  The professor is fittingly thoughtful, taking excessively long breaks mid-sentence for us and himself to ponder what he’s saying.

I have the same professor for both Gaelic Folklore and Gaelic Culture.  She has a very Scottish accent that even I sometimes have a hard time understanding.  She’s quite amusing though.  She referenced South Park on the first day of class, and often goes off on tangents about Scottish foes.  Also, on the first day she encouraged us all to learn Gaelic, marry a Gaelic-speaking mate, go off to an uninhabited Scottish island, have 14 children, speak only Gaelic to them, and unleash the Gaelic-speaking lads into the world once they reach school age.  While it’s an amusing thought, I think I’ll pass.

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Fantastic Flatmates

Posted by Kalie on September 30, 2009

I truly couldn’t have asked for better flatmates!  I was a little weary coming into it having six strangers living together, but we all get along so well!  I’ll give you a brief description of each one.

Sarah is from Germany, studying mathematics.  She comes from a small town, enjoys having people lots of people around, and is quite adventurous.  We enjoy the same kind of music so we’ve planned a weekend trip to Glasgow on October 16 to see Bowling for Soup.

Joanna is from France, and loves to dance.  Funny story about her.  The first time we met she came up to me to introduce herself.  After exchanging names, she leaned toward me.  I didn’t know what to think (maybe that she was sniffing me?), so I leaned away.  She had to explain that in France people kiss each other on the cheek when they meet.  Great first impression, huh?

Lizzie is our token Scottish lass of the bunch.  Being from northern Scotland, she’s helping us learn more about the culture every day.  Even though she thinks my over-the-top enthusiasm for attempting to become Scottish in three months is a bit ridiculous, she’s willing to teach me very Scottish things, like Highland dancing (she grew up doing this dance) and how to prepare Christmas cakes.

Nikki is also from Germany.  We are similar in that we both have an older sister and are going to be teachers.  She is studying English and Philosophy education.

Pauline is from the French-speaking part of Belgium and is studying agricultural engineering.  She’s a fun girl who loves to play tennis.

We’ve started a tradition where every week a different person makes dinner from their country and we all eat together.  So far we’ve had French and Belgian night.  We’re going to compile the recipes from each week so we can all have them at the end of the semester.  It’s so much fun eating together and talking for hours afterward, made especially interesting by having four of the six girls whose mother language isn’t English. 🙂

P.S. Any suggestions for American foods I can make when it’s my turn to cook?

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Freshers’ Week

Posted by Kalie on

I’ll first give you a little background as to what Freshers’ Week is.  The term “fresher” refers to a student in their first year of college, as well as someone who is new to the university.  Freshers’ Week is basically a week to become accustomed to the Uni and Aberdeen, register for classes, meet new people, and have lots of fun!  (Imagine the Big Red Welcome weekend.  For an entire week.  On steroids (or more fittingly, alcohol.))

Freshers’ Week began as soon as I landed at the Aberdeen airport on Saturday.  I was greeted by a group of Aberdonians wearing pirate garb (to celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day), who gave me a free ride to my flat and I settled in.  I did the typical ‘sign up for classes, take a campus tour, go to Visa meetings’ stuff, but it’s boring and you probably don’t want to read about it.  So onto more exciting stuff…

Throughout the week I became somewhat of a regular at The Watering Hole, the on-campus pub less than 200 meters from my flat.  It’s a nice place to watch a football (soccer) game and hang out with friends.  I’ve been meeting lots of new people from all over the world (France, Germany, Hong Kong, Finland, etc.).  One day I went with my French friend, Mathilde, to the ocean.  Another day I walked all around the beautiful Seaton Park in between my flat and campus with my German flatmate, Sarah.

I signed up for a handful of societies and “gave them a go” during Freshers’ Week.

• Aberdeen University Scottish Dance Society – This society teaches both the Ceilidh and Highland dances.  I have already learned several Ceilidh dances, and would like to focus more on the Highland dancing because it is an individual dance and not a group dance like the other (I don’t know how many Ceilidh’s I’ll be attending back in the states).
• Celtic Society – The Celtic Society gets together once every fortnight at the Blue Lamp pub to listen to Scottish music, poetry, dance, and have a good time.
• International Student Society – This huge society hosts a number of events that take students outside of Aberdeen to see more of Scotland.  I’m hoping to take a trip with them to the North Coast and Edinburgh around Christmas.

To top off a great Freshers’ Week, I attended the Freshers’ Fling.  This Ceilidh took place in downtown Aberdeen at a club.  As this was my first clubbing experience, I completely forgot to bring my ID, but they let me in anyway.  :)  I got to try out my newly learned Ceilidh dancing skills, and taste some traditional tatties (mashed potatoes) – a very Scottish way to end a my first Scottish week!

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Hostile Hostel

Posted by Kalie on September 24, 2009

I had my very first hostel experience in Copenhagen, and was more than a little scared when I saw this decor lining the stairs up to my room.

(In case you were wondering it turned out to be an okay first hostel experience, aside from this awful painting, a very unclean bathroom, and an obnoxiously talkative boy from Oregon.)

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Sweden, Denmark, and The Dinner Table

Posted by Kalie on

Sorry for the break in updates!  Freshers’ Week has kept has kept me very busy!  Here’s a quick synopsis of my time in Sweden and Denmark.

• I arrived on Saturday, September 12 at the Copenhagen airport.  There I met Samantha, my hostess for the week.  Last year we had two classes together, but really only talked for the two hours we were in line waiting to vote in the Presidential elections.  She is studying abroad at Lund University this year.  She has dual citizenship in the US and Sweden.  Her father came to the US from Sweden, and two of her aunts and her grandparents still live in Sweden.  From the airport we took a train over the ocean to Malmö, where we stayed with her aunt Alexandra.
• September 13 – Samantha and I, along with her friend Kimala, went to AbbekÃ¥s.  It is a beautiful town (a little smaller than St. Edward) right on the ocean where her grandparents live.  Us girls walked around the town and to the ocean, once during the day and once at night.
• September 14 – Samantha and I traveled to Lund, the city where she has her classes.  A highlight of the day was sitting near a pond and feeding the ducks right out of our hands.
• September 15 – We were back in Malmö again and spent the day seeing the city.  We walked to the ocean and the Turning Torso, an architectural marvel.  That evening we traveled once again to AbbekÃ¥s.
• September 16 – We took a bus to Ystad, the town where Samantha’s cousin Mattias goes to high school.  Mattias is from Greenwood, NE, and is also studying in Sweden for the year.  We discovered that he knows of my aunt and uncle in Ashland – it truly is a small world!
• September 17 – Samantha and I left for Copenhagen.  Once there, we went out and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe (I had to add yet another HRC bear to my mom’s large collection).
• September 18 – We woke up early to get the most out of our trip to Copenhagen.  We did a lot of walking and site-seeing, including the Changing of the Guard, several cathedrals, the Little Mermaid statue, and some shopping.
• September 19 – I said goodbye to the Scandinavia region and hello to Scotland!

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

I’ve covered Sweden, I’ve covered Denmark, but…the dinner table?  Yes, the dinner table.  Every night I stayed in AbbekÃ¥s with Samantha’s grandparents and cousin, we would eat dinner (delicious, homemade Swedish dinner!) and then stay at the table and play pitch for hours, most nights until it was time for bed.  A quarter of the way across the world at my house, we also would spend hours around the dinner table talking about anything and everything after we finished eating.*  Many of my fondest memories were conversations had at the dinner table, with both friends and family.  I don’t know where I’m going exactly with this train of thought, but it was comforting to know that the kitchen table in AbbekÃ¥s was just as inviting and had the same effect as the one back home.  It makes me wonder, does the table affect the people, or do the people affect the table?

*I have to make this disclaimer.  We no longer have our usual table in the kitchen due to the remodeling.  My parents bought a new one, but I haven’t seen it since I’ve been gone.  Guess we’ll see if it has the same effect!

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Ireland: Where There Are No Strangers, Just Friends You Haven’t Met Yet

Posted by Kalie on September 11, 2009

Ello, loves!  So, I’m having a really hard time being in Dublin.  Here’s my dilemma: I’m surrounded by Irish people.  These Irish people have Irish accents.  Being around all these Irish people with Irish accents makes me want to speak with an Irish accent as well, but I know that as soon as I open my mouth to speak they’ll catch me as a fraud.  So I simply speak with my boring American accent.  I guess if this is the biggest problem I have right now, I’m doing okay.

Other than the whole accent thing, my time in Ireland has been great!  My first full day I walked with Clay to Trinity College where he dropped me off at to see the Book of Kells, which is a beautifully illustrated manuscript of the four Gospels from around the 800s.  I wandered around the area a bit when I realized I’d left the maps of Dublin at Clay’s flat.  Slightly panicked (because I’m prone to getting lost with directions), I somehow found my way back to his place (without directions).  That evening Clay took me to his local pub just down the street.  He ordered me a half-pint of Guinness before I knew what was happening.  When I objected, he said it was part of the Dublin experience, so I grudgingly backed down.  I managed to make it about 3/4 through the glass when I decided I’d had enough Guinness to last me a lifetime.

The next day I had plans to meet my friend’s sister, who is studying at the University College Dublin, at the Guinness storehouse.  I left two hours early, allowing me time to amble through the Temple Bar area, see Christ’s Church, and many other landmarks along the way.  Lindsey and I toured the Guinness storehouse, had a small sample of Guinness, and used our free drink tickets for Sprites instead of Guinness.  The view from the Gravity Bar (the top floor of the storehouse with a panoramic view of Dublin) was incredible since it was a sunny day.  After the tour we slowly made our way back toward O’Connell street.  We happened upon a small bakery in an alley and split a scrumptious fruit pavlova.  Then we found O’Donoghues Pub, ordered chicken, chips, and a pint each of Bulmers Cider.  After a little over an hour, we had each finished our first pint.

For my last full day in Dublin, I went on a 4 1/2-hour double-decker bus tour of the southern coast and Powerscourt Garden.  The title of this post is a quote from the very Irish bus driver.  On the way down we drove past the coastline, and on the way back drove through the inland hills.  The Powerscourt Garden was very beautiful, and it couldn’t have been a nicer day for being outdoors.

I had a wonderful stay in Dublin, with great weather and a great host!  I’m off to Sweden tomorrow and am looking forward to it very much!

Cheers!

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