Hello everyone! I have been super busy preparing for the start of classes. I have picked my schedule so that I am done at 1pm on Fridays and do not start until 3pm on Mondays so that I can squeeze in all the traveling I can. I currently have trips booked to Edinburgh, London, and Paris! My schedule also has Wednesdays off. I plan to use my Wednesdays to travel closer to Aberdeen to places like Loch Ness and Wales and such. This week has been a big one. Classes were alright, and I have a variety of professors from all over the world. Classes run differently than they do at Bowling Green. They do not run on the same schedule every week so I have to pay attention to when I have classes and when I don't. I found out my schedule ends Thanksgiving week, and the following week is revisions and finals. Luckily for me that means that I can travel for a longer time during Thanksgiving and can travel earlier after the semester ends! To the left is a photo of my on my first day of school under the University of Aberdeen's crest.
The Saturday before school started, I look the trip down to Stonehaven. It is a small town just south of Aberdeen. A group of international students and I took the train and walked the hour trek to Dunnottar Castle. The castle sits on a cliff overlooking the North Sea. It was built in 15th and 16th century and was not restored until the 1900's. It was beautiful to walk around and see their kitchens, their water wells, their bedrooms, their chapel, and everything that people needed in the medieval times. To the right is a photo of the castle from the cliff side.
My only class on Tuesday was cancelled due to a too small of a lecture hall for the class size. So I took advantage of the day off (along with the fact that I do not have classes on Wednesdays) and took a trip out to Isle of Skye and Inverness. It was an amazing train ride as I got to see all of the highlands along the way. It is a beautiful countryside filled with different lakes, rivers, hills, a lot of wildlife.
The first day I went on a boat tour in a town called Kyle of Lochalsh. The town is separated from the Isle of Skye by Loch Alsh and Loch Carron. It was an amazing time! The bottom of the boat had windows so that we could see under the water. There were a ton of seals sunbathing on the little islands scattered in the water. The photo on the left is of a mother and her pups sunbathing. When we went under the boat to look out the windows we saw some baby seals swim by and a bunch of jellyfish and starfish. After the tour I walked around the port and back over the bridge to town. There was a ruined castle left on the hill across the water and amazing mountain lining the side of Isle of Skye. It was a gorgeous view and I hope to go back soon. On the right is a photo of the water and the castle ruins from the glass bottom boat. After my eventful afternoon, I took the train up to Inverness and stayed at a hostel up there for the night.
The hostel in Inverness was an interesting experience. The Backpacker's Hostel was the first hostel I have ever stayed in. It was right at the bottom of Inverness Castle, it was in a great location of town. I bunked in a 4 bed all girls room. There were girls from Australia and San Francisco who were on extended travel excursions and a girl from Taiwan that was also studying abroad. The bathroom was not the most pleasant place and the beds were not the most comfortable in the world but it was so interesting talking to the other people in my room and here all their stories.
The next morning I went into Inverness and took a double-decker bus tour of the town. It wasn't as special as Isle of Skye but the town itself is beautiful. The bus stopped at the city's botanical gardens, Inverness Castle, the Fairy Mountains, and many other stops along the way. It was a great tour as it only lasted an hour but it allowed me to hop on and off as I pleased. The bus also had a recording that gave a great overview of each stop and other buildings and monuments that we passed. We passed River Ness many times on the tour and it was a view I will remember for a long time. I ended up eating lunch in the city on the river and shopped in the local Scottish shops before heading back to Aberdeen. To the left is the building right next to the hostel, the Inverness Castle.
I have made a great group of friends while being here. Most of my friends so far are international students as well. We made dinner at one of my friend's flat on Wednesday and it was great to eat normal food again. I have tried haggis since being here and I wasn't a fan. I have yet to try fish and chips but it is still on my bucket list to do so. Meal plan has been very strict on what food they offer and when they offer the meals so I have been ordering food from the local restaurants and bakeries. I will be attempting to move to the Hillhead flats as it is cheaper and has a kitchen for me to cook food that I like. Hillhead is a 20 minute walk from campus and the walk cuts through a gorgeous park which makes those 20 minutes worth it. I have been having a blast here so far and I'm excited to see what else is in store.