Classes & Castles

Sorry I haven't been updating as much as I should have be. I'm new to this blogging thing and will try to get better at updating more frequently. I have been busy in the last two weeks so I have lots to update.

For the most part I have been getting used to the new classes, new school and enjoying getting back into a routine again. I've had two official weeks of class and am enjoying all three of them, a welcomed change from the six I take a semester at home. The three classes I am taking while I'm here are Services Marketing, Sustainable Tourism and History of Tourism. I take them all for the whole semester, which is only 12 weeks. They set their schedules a little differently then back at home. Each class has a lecture once, sometimes twice a week and then an additional seminar or group discussion session once a week. Most seminars have more than one session meeting a week but because you only have to go to one, you can basically choose your own schedule. It has been really nice to choose when I want to go to class and which days I want off.

Last week the international society here on campus had it's first official event, an international dinner. Each person brought a dish from their home country to share with everyone. My friends Katie, Spencer and I represented the US with some Mac & Cheese with hot dogs mixed in! Some of the other American dishes included sloppy joe's, apple pie and peanut butter and banana sandwiches. There was a great turn out so there was LOTS of food to try. My favorites were an orange noodle dish from Korea and hard boiled eggs stuffed with mushrooms and onions from Lithuania. I also got a chance to try Haggis, the national dish of Scotland. To my surprise it was actually pretty good!

Last weekend was mostly uneventful. It gets pretty quiet around here on the weekends and nobody goes out much. Saturday my friend Katie and I went to Glasgow for the day. It was a short 45 minute train ride. We got there and the weather was pretty gross, rainy and cloudy, so we just did some shopping and went home later that afternoon. We plan on going back soon when it's better weather to see the sights.

The most exciting part about the past couple weeks was definitely yesterday when we took a trip up to the Stirling Castle. The Stirling Castle is one of the most famous in Scotland and rivals even the Edinburgh Castle. The picture below shows the castle sitting up on the hill, taken while walking up to it.

The Castle holds tons of history and had incredibly beautiful architecture. The king and queens chambers and the throne room are currently being restored so we weren't able to see that. We did get to explore the Scottish War History Museum, The Great Hall and The Royal Chapel. The views from inside the castle were amazing. Here are just a few pictures I took.

As for this upcoming week, I don't have much planned until the weekend when my friend Katie and I will be heading to London. I'm very excited about the trip as I've wanted to go there since I can remember. So expect another large update next week. That's all for now!