Rome-ing Dublin and Greece. St. Patrick's Day--> Greece Island Hopping.

Our two week spring break started off with a bang in Dublin for St. Patrick's Day. We were on a Shamrocker Adventure Tour, and honestly, it could not have been more amazing. We were put in Barnacles Hostel, which is by far one of the greatest hostels I have ever stayed in. Anyone going to Dublin should stay here for the location- literally in the heart of Temple Bar, you could not ask for a better spot. The St. Patrick's Day street party mayhem was right outside of our window. The rooms were also nice and clean, an added bonus. The tour organized walking tours and pub crawls, and we had a great few days meeting people from all around the world. One night we went to a pub called O'Sheas- some of the most fun I've had lately. The band was simply incredible. You knew the words to every single song they played, which makes it so fun for everyone. Everybody can drink, jump to the beat, and scream out the lyrics to fantastic songs (I, being an avid karaoke fan, was super pleased by this singalong environment.) St. Patrick's Day was, in short, a hot mess- but a fun one. For some, the drinking started way too early. I woke up early and put on my giant green top hat with attached red beard. My real hair and the beard matched almost too well. One Irish guy even said that if it weren't for the tacky tourist hat, he'd probably assume I was Irish (my face tattoos and "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" necklaces probably didn't help the image) The morning parade was very interesting, but something worth seeing once. We spent the rest of the day hopping between pubs and parties. Before we knew it, the day was over. 

The next day my friend and I were off to Rome. We told the rest of our St. Andrews buds goodbye and went to the airport. Rome was literally two and a half days full of eating the most incredible food. It was my third time in Rome, and my friend isn't too interested in the stereotypical tourist activities, so we wandered the streets looking for the best, most authentic places to eat. I could feel myself getting more bloated by the minute, but who cares? The pasta carbonara and gelato was well worth it. We were also staying in the same hostel as a group of nineteen from the St. Andrews' history society, so it was so fun spending some time with them. I ran into another friend that was visiting at the same time, it's such a small world. We also had such fun hostel roommates, two guys and two girls in addition to us, so fun! 

On Friday morning we joined a tour group to head on our Greece Island Hopping adventure. We were deceived. On the way from Rome to the port we were on a bus with 20 people. We thought, this is awesome! We're all going to get so close and have a great time together. Um... False. At the port we were joined by over 200 people from Florence, a bit unexpected. While there were some nice people on the tour, I have never been more reassured that being abroad is where I should be. Some of these people were shocking- they didn't understand why Greek people didn't speak English, and one guy even had a shirt on that said St. Patrick's Day "The Great American Tradition." Can you not? These people are the reason that Americans get a bad reputation around the world. I was embarrassed to be with some of them at points. Also, the tour hires really perky recent college grads, which is fun until they actually have to do their job and you realize that they have no qualifications.  They had no idea how to easily transport so many people. To be fair, it wasn't their fault. The company should have capped the trip at a smaller number. The company also failed to mention a few minor details like, "You're going to be on an eight hour overnight bus with no reclining chairs or toilets- have fun!" Griping aside, the trip was pretty breathtaking. We stayed at the Pink Party Palace in Corfu, which was wild. It was actually kind of funny, my friend and I kept wondering how long these girls would stay in denial. It was cold- not beach weather. We wore our appropriate jackets and pants and watched as these girls froze in their small bikinis. The party palace offered tons of activities like ATV safari, Corfu Town day trips, and Booze Cruises- to name a few. We went into Corfu town one day and had an awesome time. Corfu isn't a huge tourist destination, so it was awesome to actually be with the locals and experience town. I had a really great day. The Pink Party Palace also offered a toga party, which was so much fun. They basically gave us pink bed sheets and were like, "good luck!" We quickly mastered the toga technique. Everyone went to dinner in their togas, we had a dance party for a few hours, and then the real party started. Traditional Greek dancers came in and put on an incredible show. After, we took shots of pink ouzo and had plates smashed on our heads. It was such a crazy, unique experience. I'm not sure anything like that will ever happen to me again. We went to Athens from Corfu and were there for Greek Independence Day, so a lot of stuff was closed. We did go to the most delicious restaurant and had incredible food. We thought we wouldn't be hungry for dinner, but we were back out a few hours later (the diet should start soon) The next morning we went to Santorini, which is incredible. We went to both the black and red sand beaches and saw the sunset at Oia (the place with the white buildings and blue domes) Today we did some more shopping and some more eating. I'm currently on an overnight ferry back to Athens (again, they forgot to mention this... Hmm) I'm excited for our last day in Athens, but I'm ready to go back to school. It's been an exhausting two weeks, it feels like so much longer. I have an essay due Monday, so I should work on that soon (see, I do schoolwork too!) That's all for now folks!

*I wrote this the Saturday before leaving on Sunday. The most notable thing I must mention is that two cab drivers got in a full brawl on the street over who got to drive us to the airport. We met a taxi driver on Saturday that was so friendly and asked if he could drive us to the airport. We agreed, but because of the time difference, he was late. (Daylight saving time happened over here on Sunday). Anyway, we got in another cab and drove away, but the cab we called came out of nowhere and cut the other driver off. He made us get out of the car and was so upset that the "bad boys" had tried to scam us. It was a wild ending to our trip. I was happy to make it to the airport alive.

Disclaimer: not all of this is glamorous. I experienced a hostel mate vomit... A lot. Some of the literal traveling has been so unbearable we considered going back to St. Andrews. I'm glad we didn't- we met a few cool people and were able to realize how awesome we are by meeting some of the other people...

Here’s the YouTube link to the video I made on Spring Break. It’ll be the best way to see the pictures of my experience J https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl9pjXhdys4&feature=youtu.be

Mardi Gras in New Orleans 2014

            The weekend before last I experienced my first Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana. I pulled two “all-nighters” beforehand to finish papers before leaving, and it was completely worth it.

            I flew from Scotland to the states on Thursday morning, arrived Thursday night, and went straight to partying in the streets and watching parades. I met my dad at the airport and quickly met up with one of my best friends at the hotel. Thursday night was the Muses parade, which features the famously decorated shoes and shoe beads. Despite not catching a shoe, while the man next to me gloated about his, I had a great time. My goal of the trip was to eat as much king cake as possible. Thursday night I was so happy to see a man pulling a cart on his bicycle selling “mini king cakes.” My first night on the trip, and I could already have king cake?! I happily purchased two. I WAS DECEIVED. They were just bagels with icing (still delicious, did not stop me from eating them) BUT STILL- NOT KING CAKE. To be fair, I probably should have taken the sketchy bicycle salesman as a warning sign, but what’s to stop a girl from excitement at the potential of king cake?

            I spent most of the day on Friday catching up on sleep. The lack of sleep and time difference hit me hard. I did get to explore the city some with my dad, which was loads of fun. Due to his recent leg surgery, our mode of transportation was a pedicab- always a blast. Friday night there were more parades. It actually is quite a workout jumping up and down trying to catch as many beads as possible.

            Friday night my brother and some of his friends joined us, and I was so excited to see them. I actually ran into him on the streets of New Orleans (buying fried chicken on a stick, because why not?) We decided to head back to the hotel and order some delicious Dominos. It was fantastic. There’s some great pizza in Scotland, but this was simply delicious.

            Saturday morning I hit Bourbon Street with my brother and his girlfriend. Bourbon Street is actually crazy. Everyone is drunk and all over the place 24/7. We saw a woman with a whip that went around to men who willingly lowered their pants to be smacked by her. People are absolutely wild and willing to show anything for some beads… anything. It’s definitely an experience everyone should have at some point. My favorite advertisers were screaming “huge ass beers!” and “Happy Mardi Gras bitch!” Who could resist?

            Saturday night the real festivities began. My dad was in the Endymion parade, which is simply huge and incredible. The extravaganza spent 3 million on beads alone. The party was in the superdome, so I was with thousands of my closest friends. There are no words to describe the parade. We were at the front and were consistently pelted with beads. (It was actually painful at times! I got bruises) My dad actually recognized me from the float and attacked me with beads. After this Carrie Underwood performed. The night was so well organized and simply amazing.

            Sunday morning we went to “Mother’s,” which is delicious. After, we walked around Bourbon street again- I was definitely more uncomfortable with my dad there. We had a great day bonding and enjoying the weather and sights. Sunday night we ordered room service and watched the Oscars, a perfect ending to my much too short weekend.

            Monday I was off to Scotland. The flights were stressful- I actually missed one (long, stupid story) and had 16 minutes to get off one plane, change terminals, and board another before it took off, but I made it!

            I had an incredible time watching my dad in the parade and seeing some family and friends. I definitely missed seeing my momma, oldest brother, and sister-in-law though! Mardi Gras was a very unique experience, and I’d love to go back at some point.

 

Go to Morocco/Milan; Take a Surf Lesson

After almost two weeks of traveling I am back home in Houston (trying and failing to sleep because of jet lag.) Over the past few days I spent time in England, Morocco, and Milan, and I am going to try to give a brief overview of my experience in this post rather than create something too long and/or boring.

I left for England on the 9^th, and after a seven-hour flight delay, I was finally on my way. My friend picked me up from the airport, and we went to Windsor for the day. It was beautiful, and I definitely want to go back at some point to see the inside of the castle (it was closed when we got there thanks to the flight delay- you rock, United.) 

The next morning we had to get up extremely early to head to the airport for our flight to Morocco. I have both extremely positive and negative things to say about my experience in Morocco. I had a lot of hesitations about whether or not I should go on the trip after everything my family went through over Christmas break. Additionally, my brother’s words of wisdom before I left were: “Kit, seriously, don’t go. Morocco is a shithole.” I’m glad I went: I would have always wondered “what if” had I not, and I did meet some really cool people- but you probably couldn’t pay me to go back.

We were staying in a surf town called Taghazout, which is extremely beautiful from far away. When you get up close, the beaches are completely covered in trash. However, the hostel was extremely nice for what we were paying (it did have an odd odor, but what do you expect when you’re paying next to nothing?) The surf instructors and people working at the hostel were also extremely friendly and fun to be around. On our first full day in Morocco, we gathered our wet suits, boards, leashes, and lunches and headed to the beach. The surf lesson was so fun. I was by no means talented, but I had a great time trying.

Unfortunately on the second day of the trip, a majority of us fell ill. I was extremely sick for about 24 hours. I pretty much hated life. After that, I met a friend of a friend of a friend. Kind of a far removed connection, but the family was so kind and hospitable. They took me in for the night and showed me Agadir and a real Moroccan home. It was so nice to see a different part of Morocco and be with a lovely family (although there was a bit of a language barrier since I don’t speak Arabic or French.)

We spent the following days on the beach or relaxing in our rooms. Morocco was much colder than I expected. The last night we were there, there was a massive storm. The water was turning brown, and the streets were completely blocked because of mudslides and flooding. I just sat there thinking to myself, “God, please let me leave this country tomorrow.”

The three definite highlights of the trip were: 1. Riding a camel. I told myself that I wouldn’t leave without riding one (even though I had to take a bunch of Benadryl to avoid an allergic reaction.) It was a lot of fun and definitely a unique experience! 2. Buying colorful Moroccan (or MC Hammer type) pants/trousers. Because they’re obviously fantastic. 3. Meeting interesting people that I may not have met otherwise.

There were definite aspects of the trip that I did not enjoy… really didn’t enjoy for that matter, but it was a good experience to go.

The weather luckily cleared up, and I was able to go visit my friend in Milan. I stayed with her wonderful family and saw Italy from a local’s perspective. It was incredible: the food was delicious, the company was fantastic, and the sights were breathtaking. I’ve traveled a bit in the south of Italy, but this was my first time in Milan, and I definitely enjoyed it. My friend took me around to her favorite places. The shopping scene was incredible, but I had to refrain (my dad would not have been too pleased, despite my best efforts of convincing him that, “You HAVE to buy a Prada when you’re in Milan! I mean, come on!) I ate way too much, but it was all delicious. I tried various homemade Northern Italian dishes.

My friend’s mom also works in PR in the fashion industry, so I got to see previews of collections and spend a few minutes in her office. Again, incredible.

I was only there a few days, but I can’t think of better people to have spent the time with.

I had a pretty unique experience. At the end of the day, I am glad I went on all of the trips. I was able to see new places and cross a few items off of the BucKIT list. 

Explore the Highlands and Search for Nessie

Today my good friend (and fellow Texan) Sara and I went on a tour of the Highlands, Glencoe, and Loch Ness. After revising for a week, we decided that we needed one last get away before exams started. 

We were in a tour group of 14 leaving Edinburgh at 8AM, which meant that we had to leave St. Andrews by 6AM. Our cab driver's GPS misguided him a bit: he ended up driving up an incredibly steep hill and had to back down in reverse when he realized that it was a dead end. However, rolling down the steep hill he lost control and hit a wall. He then couldn't find our destination, and when I pulled the map up on my phone to show him, he said, "I don't have my glasses on." Needless to say, we were thankful to get out of there. 

The tour bus was extremely comfortable, and the driver was much more competent than our cab driver. We drove for about an hour and a half West to a small town called Callandar. It was absolutely adorable, and we want to go back. We only had the chance to spend thirty minutes there (it was more of a restroom/food stop than anything), but the town was so cute. 

Next, we headed North to the Highlands. It was truly incredible. The greenery, mountains, and lochs (lakes) are absolutely breathtaking. The bus stopped at various points for us to take pictures. We saw where the recent Bond film "Skyfall" was shot, along with other beautiful scenery. 

On this drive, we made our way to the famous Loch Ness. Here we had lunch and went on a one hour boat tour of the loch (in search for Nessie). On the tour we were told many interesting facts about the loch (like how it has more water than any of the lochs in England and Wales combined). The water also looks black because of the peat in it, but is extremely pure and ready to drink. The loch is surrounded by massive mountains, and it's interesting to compare the depth of the water to the mountains: a lot of times the guide would say: "Look at the height of that mountain, add 20 yards, and that's how deep the water is at this point."

However, Loch Ness is probably most known for it's (alleged) monster Nessie that lurks in the water. The guide (clearly an avid fan of Nessie's) gave some compelling information, as I tried to keep an indifferent outlook. I questioned whether or not it was believed that this same monster has been alive for 9,000+ years. The guide informed me that it is believed these creatures are asexual and that there are eighteen "monsters" in Loch Ness. He also showed images that look shockingly like the drawing of Loch Ness Monster that appeared on the sonar less than a month ago! (And the 2.5 ton object was moving against the current, something a tree-what some speculate it to have been- would not have been able to do) Additionally, he explained that the remains of an animal gave a 99.6 percent DNA match to another animal called the Macroplata (one was even found in Lake Eerie) If you look up pictures of Macroplata, they again look eerily similar to the pictures of the Loch Ness Monster. However, while this information is interesting, I find it difficult to believe that with so many searchers and such improved technology the monster (or monsters if there are 18) has not been caught. Whether you believe in Nessie is up to you, but let these photos speak for themselves. 

After Loch Ness, we slowly made our way back to Edinburgh taking a few more photo opportunities along the way. Once back in Edinburgh we had some delicious Chinese food (the first time I've had Chinese food since a few weeks before I left Texas). I then successfully navigated the train station and brought us back to St. Andrews. It was quite a lovely day, and though it was busy, we spent a good amount of time in each place (though there are definitely places I want to revisit.) 

I love having moments where I look around at the beauty surrounding me and realize that I get to call this place home for the next three and a half years. 

Callander 

(it is believed that Nessie tried to climb out of the loch here, but it was too steep, so she fell back down) 

(we found her!)

Go To A Rugby Match

Yesterday I went to Edinburgh to watch my first live rugby match! Despite Scotland’s loss- it was a great time and unforgettable experience.

The bus arrived in Edinburgh around 12:15, so we had almost three hours to explore before the start of the match. I’d only been to Edinburgh once before, so it was nice to walk around and enjoy the brief moment of sunshine. My friend and I walked along different main roads, ate lunch, and managed to make it to the castle as well!

On the walk back to the stadium, everyone was revved up and ready for the start of the game. People on the streets stopped us to paint our faces and get us in the spirit. Cute children have also found a way to monopolize the bagpipe business- there were about three or four kids playing on the street along the way, and they were too adorable to ignore. It was incredible.

 I couldn’t wait to be in the stadium and watch the match- I’ve missed being home and going to the Texans game, so I was hoping that rugby would remind me of American football. When we entered the stadium, they were playing the stereotypical pump-up music but with bagpipes added in, which was awesome.

 They started the match with the singing of the national anthems (Scotland was playing South Africa) The crowd was so passionate. Scotland unfortunately lost the match 28-0, but despite this, I loved watching every minute. Luckily I was sitting with a friend that watches rugby, so he could fill me in when I had no idea what was happening.

 The match finished with just enough time for us to grab a hot chocolate before getting back on the bus. I had such a great time experiencing something new and getting out of the St. Andrews “Bubble” for a day. It was also a good distraction to have from missing my mom and brother- since they left after a wonderful few days of visiting :) It was an unforgettable day, and I hope to go to another in the future. 

Edinburgh Castle

Castle

American Candy World

Survive Raisin Weekend

My university is simply the coolest. With a school that's 600 years old comes a lot of interesting, albeit sometimes bizarre, traditions. This weekend in particular was Raisin Weekend. In order for Raisin to make sense, I must first back track. My university also has a tradition of Academic Families. When coming to uni, a lot of people asked me if I would miss out on sororities, and honestly I wasn't sure how to answer the question. How do you know if you're going to miss something you've never experienced? Well, I'm still not quite sure what I'm missing in terms of sororities, but I can definitely say that Academic Families are awesome, and I'm sorry for those that don't have one. 3rd year students adopt you into a family, and pretty soon you have a huge network of family members- mums, dads, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, special friends, weird person you don't want to acknowledge that you're actually related to: you know how it goes. Anyway, throughout your first two years at uni, they are a support network, and when you become a third year, it is your turn to adopt. 

The main reason for families though? Raisin Weekend. My weekend started off on Sunday morning with my dad giving me a task to complete. I then went to my mum's for a "Tea Party" where we ate lunch before starting our scavenger hunt. Most scavenger hunts send you scrambling around the town trying to propose to people, sing in public, etc. (I may have had to propose to a few guys and scream a few random things in the streets) Although I will say the most strange encounter I had was when a student (he had had a bit too much to drink) tried to kiss me on the street, and my academic siblings assumed I knew him- so I was left to fight him off with no help. 

After the scavenger hunt I went back to my mum's for games. Later, I went to my dad's for a continued celebration. That dad is typically a little less sympathetic than the mum (in terms of... quite frankly, more drinking games). Daddy also sent us on another scavenger hunt. "Kiss a stranger" seems to be a common task. As the night continued, I eventually left my dad's because I needed pizza- obviously. 

Monday morning the kids wake up and go to their mum's to get into a costume. I was dressed as an m&m (though I know a few people that were stuck in mankinis). Next, you go to your dad so he can give you your "raisin receipt" (essentially something you have to carry all the way to town. For our family, we were tied together and had to carry eggs, a chair, and a mop into town... it was a very long walk. Once in town, there is a giant foam fight in the quad. Seriously, I don't know what it is about my hair- literally everyone wanted to touch it and add to my collection of foam. It was so much fun though. 

I'm definitely tired and dreading this paper that I'm currently taking a break from writing ;) but with a few peers now on crutches or in some embarrassing photos online, I know that the weekend could have gone a lot differently :)

Basically- Raisin was awesome. So fun. 

Celebrate Halloween in Scotland

Many people have asked me, and yes- we did celebrate Halloween over here. Then again, there are a ton of Americans here, so we're spreading our traditions. People got very into it. One girl even wore a tiger onesie to class on Thursday. There were many different parties going on as well. On Halloween night, I dressed as a sports fan and went to cheer on our hall's netball team.On Friday night, our hall's committee hosted a Halloween party, so I got to set up for that. I put on my minion costume and helped decorate the bistro. The party was great fun. Midway through I was able to ditch my responsibility of ID-checker and enjoy the party a bit. It was a great start to a weekend of partying (This comment will make more sense when reading my Raisin blog post)