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! ;)
Interesting observations! Too bad Charlie isn't there anymore, maybe you can talk them in to getting a new Charlie?
ReplyDeleteHint on the zip line, I think they store the handle part of it somewhere in the park (a box or hanging up somewhere) since last summer when we were there we thought the same thing--that the handles were missing but we would later see people using them. Search around a bit...''
Also, (OK, this is a mom/English teacher thing) make more paragraphs to separate your subjects/topis. It's difficult to read a really long paragraph without getting lost.
So more observations: what sports are they playing in the parks? Do you ever see anyone "running"? Have you asked locals what their favorite sport is? Is there a new sport you can try cuz I know you love to be athletic? :)
How many things in the palace have embellishment? Did you look at the rain gutters? The hinges on the doors? The door knobs? Did you find the hidden shutters on the windows? How about the ceilings?
Did you go on a ghost walk in Edinburgh? Has anyone talked about ghosts in the palace? Have you seen a ghost? :)
What do you do for fun at night or on the weekends?
Did you explore the grocery store? Can you find Doritos? Do they have 3,000 kinds of cereal like our groceries do? Did you find something weird to try and buy it? Do they ask paper or plastic? Do they have the electric carts for shopping? The kids carts with the plastic car attached? Do they play Musak in the store? Is it always FREEZING in the store like Pierces?
Just things to ponder...hope you have a great day!
XO