Month: May 2013

We have spent 119 days, 2,856 hours, and 171,360 minutes in Edinburgh  and it seems like only yesterday we were all fumbling with our luggage, some heavier than others (Allie), through the chilly Edinburgh air, lead by our notorious leader Karen to our new home. Little did we know what was in store for us over the next few months. After a brief adjustment period, we all became acclimated to our new lives in Scotland’s capital. Looking back on the trip, there have been some significant memorable moments that we felt the need to share:

An Edinburgh Education

One of the things we will miss most upon arriving back in the States are our accommodations here in Edinburgh. Each flat has its own quirks and history that have captured our hearts. Naturally, we are biased to love our home in Ramsay Gardens, which is where our group congregated each week, and is as beautiful as it is rich in history. The poet and wig-maker, Allan Ramsay, initially built Ramsay Gardens in 1733.  The flats were then renovated in the 1890’s by Patrick Eddes. The four of us in Ramsay 2a also had the pleasure of sharing our lovely home with a less than lovely and very cunning mouse!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The moments from the trip that have stood out the most range from every day to extraordinary, from Glasgow to Skye. Our weekly movie nights were times where our bonds were tied tighter and our views of Scotland were broadened. We screened a variety of unforgettable and cultural films including: Trainspotting, Brigadoon, Gregory’s Girl, and Braveheart. As time went on, our group became more inseparable and many “international-family-dinner-nights” ensued. These get-togethers included our new friends Laura, Maggie, and Danielle, and always ended in raucous rounds of our favorite game: fishbowl- a combination of charades and Catchphrase. Although the games were always heated, they were surely not as brutal as the sports here in Scotland, as Matthew found out the hard way.

 

Our group also made many fond (and some not so fond) memories while on weekend trips out of Edinburgh. Our first day trip to Glasgow put into perspective just how cruel and cold Scottish weather can be. But our journey to Skye warmed us back up and left us with unforgettable images of mountainous landscapes as well as the stories told to us by our kilt-clad guide, Mac. Three days spent in a speeding mini-bus on the winding, one-way roads of the highlands with nothing but Scottish folk music to listen to is not something we will easlity forget.

 

One of the best things about this wild Scottish adventure has been the opportunity to learn in a way that is different than at Furman. Yes, we still had to take classes; some of us broadened our knowledge of film, while others refined our palates to the many varieties of wine.  And we all learned quite a bit about Scottish media from our interim patriarch, Dr. Armstrong.  Every week, we followed the current political hot topic of the Independence Referendum. In 2014, Scotland’s citizens will be voting in a referendum to decide if they want independence from England. We weighed our opinions and experiences throughout our encounters with locals. As a part of our curriculum, we have read portions of the book, “The Media in Scotland”, edited by Neil Blain and David Hutchison.  This book challenged our thinking around the cultural sphere in Edinburgh and how the media is continually molding this nation. As quoted in the book:

 “The media are not the only carriers of cultural identity, not by far, nor can they deliver their functions as guarantors of local democracy  or political transparency in a predictable manner. However, they are politically and culturally very important, and their local dimension is crucial. The Scottish voice is as likely to get lost in the clamor of the digital age as to be heard through new forms of specialized provision.“

pg 17

But, the majority of our learning occurred out of the classroom – at our internships and on the streets of Edinburgh and out amongst the wilderness. Our internships included working for members of Scottish Parliament, Energy Saving Scotland, Blackhall Primary School, Filmhouse, National Trust for Scotland, Children’s Parliament, and Bethany Christian Trust. Through these experiences, we began to understand how to work in a new country. Our internships allowed us to be actively involved in Edinburgh, instead of being spectators looking from afar.

Our confidence grew as we continued to learn valuable lessons from our everyday lives in the city. Using the trial-and-error method, we finally mastered the Lothian bus system, some quicker than others. Quick-tip: never try to go down the bus steps before the bus has come to a complete stop- thanks Jordan! Many of us had to learn a real-life lesson about the dangers of fraud when we had the Great Money Fiasco of 2013. When more than half the group had their card numbers stolen through a rigged ATM, they had to quickly adapt to a new and frustrating situation. Persistence is a quality ingrained in anyone living in Scotland for a long period of time. It is something you learn in order to survive the ever-frustrating and unpredictable weather. When it goes from sunny to rainy to hailing like there’s no tomorrow, you simply have to put up your hood and keep going, always remembering that the sun will be back soon…maybe.

Over the past four months, we have skipped rocks on Orkney and tasted haggis. We have chased sheep through the glens and imagined fairies on Skye and escaped from Glaswegian cemeteries. We have frequented the farmers’ market and pub-crawled and solved mysteries and become Bees. We have explored castles and joined the search for Nessie. We have consumed our weight in tea and spit out whiskey.  We have had the chance to change our fate and we have taken it. We have hiked every single step to the top of Arthur’s seat and looked down at the view of our beloved city.

We have lived 119 days 2,856 hours 171,360 minutes in Edinburgh and we have loved every second of it!

 

 

 

Now that you have gotten a taste of what our first day in Orkney was like, come along with us as we “cover thousands of years of history in one day” (Yes, this was an actual quote from our sweet tour guide, Sue). As we boarded the coach early Saturday morning, we weren’t quite sure what to expect, but knew we were in for a fun and informative adventure. While we actually did manage to cover a lot of historical years before dinnertime, WordPress may explode under the weight of all the stories we heard and information we learned. Keeping this in mind, we have decided to highlight our favorite spots of the day and list the rest for you to explore on your own!

Our first stop of the day took us to Maeshowe, a large cairn that was created around 2,700 BC. We had a little look around the gift shop before heading over to what appears from the outside to simply be a huge, grassy mound. Once at the entrance – which happened to be one of the tinniest doors we have ever seen – we learned about the settlers who lived in Orkney thousands of years ago and about the way the Winter Solstice sunset shines directly through the opening, lighting the back of the cairn once a year. This seemingly magical happening is just one of the many “coincidental” alignments in the village (there are many other places where rocks and monuments form perfect lines of vision!). Once we all made the squatted walk into the opening in the mound, our wonderful guide talked about the ritualistic burials and mysteries in Maeshowe.

After a few more stops, we took time to explore the Ring of Brodgar, a true circle made of 27 stones. Although no one knows for sure when the ring was made, ask any local and they will tell you it is older than Stonehenge, but who’s counting? Just like the date, the original structure and use of the megalith stone circle is up for debate. As with another stone circle we visited, the area may have been used for celebrations involving food, drink, and music. Today, people of Orkney use the site as a place to walk and bring their dogs on a pretty day.

Take any Art History class at Furman, and one of the coolest places you will learn about is Skara Brae, one of the oldest and most intact settlements in the world. Excavated in the 1920’s, the settlement features 8 homes linked by covered walkways, most likely to be able to travel from home to home in the cold weather. The homes showcase original furniture and other objects that suggest certain things about the lifestyle of its inhabitants. There are clear spaces for sleeping, a dresser for food or highlighting pots and pans, and cutouts in the floor for storing fresh food and water. Being close to the ocean, it is now the fear of protectors of Skara Brae that portions of it will continue to be lost to the sea. They are now taking measures to protect the area as well as excavating a new area close by.

 

Our final stop of the day was the Italian Chapel, a place that was very surprising to us. From the outside front, the 1943 chapel looks like it is made of beautiful materials, meant to be an ornate chapel. When we went inside, however, we realized it was simply an old army hut, given to Italian soldiers in World War II as a place of worship. All of the painting inside, achieving the look of actual fancy architecture, was done by a POW named Domenico Chiocchetti. Just as it was cherished during the war, people of Orkney cherish the chapel today and are doing everything they can to preserve its unique beauty.

We hope you enjoyed touring Orkney via our pictures and stories and we wish we could have detailed every unique place we visited. As they say, however, once you get a little taste it will leave you wanting more. So, if you ever get the chance, we suggest you get out there, see the stones, eat the ice cream, feel the history, and make memories of your own!

Please explore the list below to see the other places we visited:

Barnhouse Village

The Standing Stones o’ Stenness 

The Brough o’ Birsay

The Broch of Gurness

– Arynn and Essence

In Skara Brae, Rachel demonstrates how television might have worked…5,000 years before the BBC!

Ancient Entertainment?