New week, new class!

Now that the theatre class is over, I've had time to actually hang out around the castle! Everyone here loves getting together and watching movies downstairs in the movie room, where there are 6 couches to relax on! There is also a room here called "Willie's Cafe", where we go to eat meals on the weekends or watch telly. There are also drums and guitars down there, which people love to bring out while we're drinking. Otherwise everyone hangs out in the library. I wish I could say that it's because we're all extremely studious people, but it's actually just because it's one of the only places to get WiFi.
Today we started our module 2 class, which is Globalization and Heritage of Scotland. It's basically a class about the society of Scotland. Today we talked about Scotland wanting to become it's own entity, not part of the United Kingdom. We're also learning about the history of Scotland. I keep saying it, but it's hard to believe how old everything here is! This Friday we have a house trip to Glasgow, where we have a full 12 hours of things to do! Our professor told us that it's gorgeous, so we can't forget to bring our cameras! Hopefully it won't be long before I'm able to put those pictures up, as long as the ones from the first few weeks.
The favorite sport here seems to be cricket and football (but definitely not American football!). I still haven't quite figured out how cricket works, but it's interesting to watch! Football season starts here soon, and our globalization professor told us that if we were going to pass his class we have to support the Celtic, so that's who I'll be cheering for!
As far as the stores go here, they seem to be laid out very similar to the ones in America. Grocery stores can be a little more difficult, since everything has different names. Everyone in the house accidentally bought fabric softener instead of detergent because of the weird names on the packaging! Usually you bring your own cloth bags for groceries, but if you don't, you bag them yourselves in plastic bags. I have yet to see paper bags here.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday we have class all day, so there won't be anything exciting to report until the Glasgow day trip.
How is everyone doing in America? I know school has either started or is starting soon for most people. Are you looking forward to it, or dreading it? I have to stay up to date! :)
Also, for those of you that have been waiting, so very patiently...here it is...finally, a picture of my "house"!!

Things to know

Today has been a pretty dull day, class in the morning, then I traveled into Edinburgh to see A Clockwork Orange. It was not at all what I was expecting! The rest of this week is going to be similar-one more show tomorrow and then Friday is my final exam for this class.
Thanks Mom for the comment on what to tell everyone about! Here are my list of answers! :)
I haven't tried anything new and exciting yet food-wise, but I have noticed their names for food are sometimes different than ours. For example, chips here are called crisps and fries are called chips. It can get a little confusing after a while! Mostly I've been eating pasta, because it's the only thing I can cook and it's incredibly cheap.
As for prices on everything else here, I've noticed it's fairly similar. The one thing that is much more expensive here are brands that are popular in the US. A basic pair of Toms at home is $44, but here they're $60! Uggs are also really expensive, so I'm glad I brought my own of each of those! There is a very nice clothing/accessories store here called Primark that would be equal to our H&M. You always see people (locals and tourists) carrying around bags from there. Jeans are 12pounds, shoes are 6pounds! Not a bad deal, but I have to remind myself that a lot of little things can add up to a lot of money!
I see some kind of goat/sheep type animal every time I take the bus into Edinburgh, and I have no idea what it is! It's very fluffy with long hair but it also has horns. I decided to call it a "geep" (mix of sheep and goat). I've seen a few normal cows, but a few highland cows as well! I always moo at them when I go by, because what kind of Wisconsinite would I be if I didn't?! We have lots of animals on property here, including llamas, bulls, cows, cats and dogs. I haven't found Charlie the peacock yet, which is sad because I wanted him to live in my room.
Weather here has been fairly nice, although it rains at least once a day. Highs of 70s with bright sunny moments! Thankfully it's not humid at all after it rains, which my hair definitely appreciates! Plants and trees look the same as at home, but there are lots of older trees, since this country is so much older! You can tell that everything here has a distinct time stamp on it, even the trees. For everyone that doesn't know, the palace has an area called "Adventure Land" very close, which is essentially a giant playground. Everything is raised about 20 feet off the ground, and the slides/pathways/climbing areas are much bigger. Basically a Lauren-sized playground! There are 2 ziplines that run down from the top of it, but they currently don't have grips on them, so I haven't used them yet.
There are lots of bugs here-we have to be careful not to leave windows and doors open for too long otherwise they get in. The moths here are gigantic-some are easily the size of my palm! They scare me when they're in my shoe and I lift it up and they fly away. Lots of spiders too, but they seem to stick to the warmth of the ceiling in the bathrooms thankfully! And don't worry, I'm not driving here so I won't crash into a tree! (That one's for you, Joel!)
Since I've been observing the locals and all the different things that they do, I've noticed a lot of new trends. Clothing wise, everyone dresses much nicer here than in the United States. You never see anyone with sweatpants and a t-shirt on while walking around. Even jeans are less common. If you know what hipsters look like, that's basically the entire population of Edinburgh. The guys wear skinny jeans, Vans, cardigans and v-necks, all in muted or toned down colors. Girls wear very trendy clothing, mostly long skirts and denim shirts/jackets. One huge trend here is to wear shorts with tights or leggings, which I thought was interesting. Every girl always has perfect hair and makeup, and if it looks disheveled, it probably took about 2 hours to get it that way. The ads are very similar to the ones in America, but of course here they have an accent! Also, because of how old the country is, decor in most places is very dated and vintagey looking. As for phrases, the most common thing I've heard is "cheers", which is basically like thank you or goodbye here.
I'll continue to keep you updated on what's going on here, but let me know if there is something you're dying to know! :)
P.S. Shout out to Peter, who wanted to be mentioned in my next blog post! ;)

1 week in!

So far, I've been in Edinburgh every day that I've been here! As much as I love it, it gets to be a little much after a while. Because of the Fringe Festival going on here, there are tons of people every day. One of the cool things is that there are street artists and vendors. It's fun to watch the different acts. Some people truly are so talented! Today we saw a lady who was painted and wearing all gold, and she moved so slowly and deliberately that she looked like a doll from a jewelry box! I also stopped to look at the local vendors, which   was mostly hand made jewelry and clothing/accessories. There was a gorgeous stall selling bracelets, necklaces and earrings made from vintage and one of a kind buttons. Naturally I bought a fabric bracelet with a mirrored gold button in, what else, black! For those of you wondering, yes I have a budget. No I haven't spent all my shopping money yet!
This year, they have the Scotland program set up by modules, which means that we have one class at a time for about 2 weeks at a time. I'm currently in a theatre appreciation class, which is great since the Fringe Festival is going on right now. The festival attracts people from all around the world, so it's very interesting seeing so many different cultures in one. I will appreciate when it's over though, because I am starting to get sick of having flyers for every single show shoved in my face whenever I walk down the street. So far I've seen about 6 shows, including Sweeney Todd and Elephant Man among others. Tomorrow I'm off to see Clockwork Orange, then 1 more after that. This is the last week for the theatre class, so we're trying to squeeze in as many plays as possible!
Also, I managed to get a cable cord for my camera, but of course it was the wrong one. So I ordered a different one and if this one isn't right, well that's just a sign that you all aren't meant to see my pictures! If only I had a camera with WiFi!
What else does everyone want to know? Sometimes there are things I glaze over because I assume not everyone wants to hear about it. Let me know! :)
P.S. For my fellow car freaks, I saw yet another Aston Martin today. I was standing on the curb, close to the edge and it roared by. My heart literally stopped and I gasped so loudly my friends were concerned something was wrong!

Vlog :)

Just a quick hello from Scotland!! :)

Hello Scotland!

Well, I finally made it to Dalkeith!! Even though I managed to make it, unfortunately my luggage did not. We went to the lost luggage counter to try and find it, but they told us they didn't have any record of it, which definitely didn't make me feel very good. I filed a lost luggage form and they told us that it would arrive tomorrow morning at the house. Luke, Nikki and I booked a taxi to bring us to the Dalkeith castle (I can't get over the fact that I live in a castle!!!). Luke and Nikki got in the back and so naturally I hopped in the front. What surprised me though was the steering wheel on my side! The driver just laughed and asked if I was going to be driving us there. I completely forgot that they drive on the "wrong" side of the road and car! So I went around and got in the other side, not shocked at all about the fact that I just made a fool of myself in the first hour of being in my new country. I was amazed at all the gorgeous cars here! Although they all look very similar, and have a Golf-like look to them, with dipping noses and bubbly back ends. I spotted a Scirocco, which I absolutely loved. Once we arrived at the castle, our director, Patty, told us that they had just finished dinner. Typical. We ate leftovers and hurried into the last orientation session of the day. Afterwards, a group of people and I went to a local pub, where I experienced my first cider! It's similar to a flavored beer, and tastes very fruity. The first thing that I noticed was that although I was only in a group of 5, we were extremely loud compared to everyone else there. The noise level was one of the things that they addressed in the orientation session, but it's not something you think about until you experience it. Today, we had to wake up early (7AM for those of you who don't believe me!) to attend orientation sessions all day. One of the things that they told us about was how to act and behave in pub settings. After the 2 hour session, we got to drink...in a classroom!! (You know you're not in America when...!) Then we traveled to Edinburgh for the first time, to help us get comfortable with the bus system. These next few weeks, there are lots of festivals happening in Edinburgh, so there are lots of tourists. While we were driving there, I spotted an Aston Martin and TWO Rolls Royces! Nobody else even seemed to notice, I was shocked! But it may have something to do with the fact that I'm a car freak. :) We bummed around Edinburgh for a while, went to a local pub called the Scotsman, and then decided to head back home. We were all really tired and Nikki and I desperately wanted to check for our suitcases. Luckily, as we walked inside, we noticed that they had finally arrived!! After 2 days and 1 night of wearing the same outfit, we were finally able to change into fresh, clean clothes. After changing into something less American casual we changed into something more Scottish casual. One of the biggest things I noticed while I was in Edinburgh was that hardly anyone wore jeans, and if they did, they were ironed and a darker wash. Compared to what we typically wear in the US, everyone here dresses up. That includes hair and makeup as well! Thankfully I brought nicer clothes, so I won't be out of place here. The castle is absolutely gorgeous, although words will never do it justice. I'll upload pictures as soon as I get an adapter! :)

Finally the day!!!

The day has finally arrived!! As I'm writing this, I'm sitting in the Amsterdam airport. This day has surely been a journey, but nothing I couldn't handle! Made it to Madison without a problem, even got there 2 hours early! Thankfully I had enough time to download a travel book on Scotland so that I could read it on the flights over. As I was getting onto the plane from Madison to Detroit, I realized I wasn't able to gate check my bag like some people said (ahem DAD). I took my bag on and noticed it was just the tiniest bit too big. Thanks to a very helpful flight attendant and cooperative passengers, I was able to find a space for my bag to fit. Once I got to Detroit, I found my next gate and boarded my plane with no problems. Or so I thought. After our plane was on the runway, there was an announcement that there was a computer that needed to be replaced. After returning to the gate, they made yet another announcement that there were a few "discrepancies" between the pilot and flight control. After sitting there for an hour and a half, they told us that we would be able to get off the plane as long as we could be back in 45 minutes. We were issued meal tickets for $12, which isn't actually all that much considering McDonald's french fries were $4 for a small. I sat and waited for what seemed like forever, waiting for another announcement of what was going on. After sitting and waiting for 5 hours, they finally made the final announcement. The mechanics had given us an extra 2 hours to wait. They were still working on our plane, but were going to help us get new connections. At this time, our plane was supposed to leave at 4PM and it was 9PM. I waited in line and tried to figure out what to do next. Then we realized that there was a plane at the gate next to us that was leaving for Amsterdam at 9:45. I ran as fast as I could to the gate and made it on the flight at 9:36!! I even managed to get an economy comfort seat, with more legroom and it leans back farther. Everything happens for a reason! A cool thing about this flight was that everyone had their own personal TVs, and you could chose from a very wide selection of movies and TV shows. It was really amusing to watch every single person struggle to use them, until they realized that they weren't touchscreens. Other than that, the flight itself wasn't very entertaining. I wasn't able to sleep much for some unknown reason, and I started feeling it as soon as I got off the flight. While the plane was unloading, the people around me started talking about how they were in a rush because they had a connection in 20 minutes. As I was listening I realized that the person I was sitting next to for the entire flight was in the Wisconsin in Scotland program! The whole flight without talking when we could have been gushing about Scotland. Because we had landed while our flight to Edinburgh was taking off, we had to figure out a way to get there. Thankfully, now I not only had Nikki but our new friend Luke! We stuck together and managed to get everything figured out and made it on a new flight that left at 3:30PM, and got to Edinburgh at 4:00PM. Originally we were supposed to be in Edinburgh by 8:35AM. Because we had a few hours in between our flights, the three of us decided to walk around the Amsterdam airport. We then realized that...we were of drinking age. My first of age drink!! We all got a kick out of the fact that we were able to buy alcohol without the bartenders even batting an eye. We're off to Edinburgh now, more updates later!

3 days to go!

With 3 days to go until I'm off to Scotland, the packing frenzy has begun!! There are clothes spread out all around my room awaiting my yes or no decision. I thought I wouldn't be able to pack 3 1/2 months worth of clothes into one suitcase, but when all you wear is black, grey and tan, it's fairly easy! Everything matches and that means I have to bring less items along with. I've been researching the best way to fit as much as I can into a little space and I've figured out that rolling my clothes seems to work the best and give me more room. Not only do I have clothes, but I also have to bring sheets, towels, toiletries and other things to help me last 3 1/2 months in Scotland.
I've talked to many different people who have previously traveled to Europe about the best places to go, where to visit and what to avoid, and I can't thank them enough! As much as I want to find out things on my own, it's always good to get advice from others and learn from their mistakes.
I know I'm going to miss my friends and family so much, but hopefully this blog, along with my numerous other social media accounts will help me stay close and connected.
If you have any advice for packing or places to visit, please leave a comment or email me at kortbeinl6805@my.uwstout.edu!