Edinburgh

Last week, many of the American exchange students here at the University of Aberdeen were working out the details to their weekend trip in Edinburgh. I was not quite sure that I wanted to leave because of other events I had planned to attend here on campus. But on Thursday night, my friend John persuaded me to go after field hockey training. So that night, I booked the hostel and started to get my bag packed for a weekend of fun in the capital of Scotland.

The next morning I told myself that I would wake up early to do laundry (since I didn't have anything left to wear). I ended up waking up at 9:30 and was rushed to get my clothes washed before our bus left. Fortunately, because I am a great time manager, I got everything packed and we left for the bus station on time!

When we got there, we were able to buy our tickets and jump right onto the bus without waiting too long. It is a 3 hour trip to Edinburgh, but it is not a straight shot. We had to switch buses in Dundee before finishing the final leg to our destination. Without the switch, I would have had a good nap!

Since there were two groups leaving at separate times, the people who arrived earlier (us) decided to grab a bit to eat at a local pub. This was a momentous occasion in my life because it marked the first time that I had ever eaten true pub food. I was going to try haggis, but they were sold out, so instead, I had sausage and mash; another Scottish favorite. It was truly delightful!

That night, after the whole group (13 of us) had settled into our hostels, we met up and had a fun night on the town. The next morning, while many of my fellow travelers were in a grumpy mood because they lacked sleep, I took the opportunity to brighten their day with my charming personality......I'm not sure it worked. Just kidding; with my insensate energy, I made the day much more delightful while we toured the Edinburgh Castle (all in a day's work).

After the castle, we decided to grab a light snack at a local cafe; in fact, this was the same place where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter. Although the view of the castle gave her the inspiration for Hogwarts, Harry, and the rest of the gang, my creativity was not working and I could not produce any ideas for an award winning book (darn).

The next couple of hours found a few of us walking enjoying the city before we had to meet up again for dinner. Note to everyone out there: picking a place to eat with 13 people is impossible. We finally found a place and because I am so cheap, I just had a muffin and a glass of water for dinner: that's classy if you ask me. After my fine meal, the group got ready for our "haunted" tour of the cities vaults. Being the man that I am, I didn't get scared, but the history aspect of the tour was very interesting.

The next morning, still more hostility. But, thankfully Craig and his amazing humor was there to save the group. That morning, we took a trip to Holyrood Park where a couple moors rise above the city to give incredible views. It wasn't easy, but once we made it to the top, it was all worth it. The view of the city and the highlands was extremely memorable. But, afterwards, we were too tired to do anything until the bus came. So at about five, we loaded the bus and headed back to Aberdeen. Edinburgh is an amazing city with a ton of history and attractions. I am excited to show it to my family when they arrive.

Cheers!

Aberdeen FC

On Tuesday night, a couple of us though it would be fun to attend a professional football (soccer) game here in Aberdeen. Since I have arrived, there have been all sorts of crazy stories about Aberdeen's fans; or as they call themselves, The Red Army. So needless to say, I needed to check it out.

The pitch (field) is only a few blocks away, so it made it convenient for us to walk there. As we started to get closer to the pitch, we noticed all sorts of people donning red. I was starting to get excited. Since we had little idea where we were going, we followed the crowd to Pittodrie Stadium. As it came into view, it did not look like anything too spectacular. In fact, it looked as if sections had been added as they were needed. It isn't gorgeous, but it has a certain working class feel to it that works.

We picked up are tickets and headed inside just before kick off (not sure if that is what its called). Has anyone ever experienced that feeling when walking through the archway into a beautiful stadium? It's a feeling that's hard to explain, but I felt that kind of awe and wonder when I stepped into the stadium for the first time.

Anyway, The Dons were playing West Fife during a leg of the Scottish Cup. Now, West Fife is not part of the Scottish Primer League like Aberdeen is. They play on the second tier level. So needless to say, when their goalie received a red card within the first three minutes, they were in for a long night. The three goals by Aberdeen in the first half looked to be enough to put the team, and their section of rowdy fans, away; but they weren't done. Aberdeen scored 2 more in the last 20 minutes of regulation to seal the deal, even though the other team's fans were still singing and chanting. So the final score was Aberdeen 5 and West Fife 0.

I must say, I had a great time at the game. Being there is much more exciting than watching it on the television. It gives you a better appreciation of the talent these players possess. Plus the atmosphere was brilliant. I hope to attend many more games in the future because I now feel like I can be called a true "supporter."

Amsterdam!

In my budget travel guide, "Let's Go: Europe," there is a paragraph or two before each country and city that gives a little explanation about the destination. "Amsterdam's reputation precedes it--and what a reputation it is," the book writes. To me, that sums up the city. Known for liberal thinking and decadence, numerous canals and bicycles, this city is like nothing I have ever scene!

This was my first real trip on my own. I booked the flight (a couple days before) and the hotel all by myself; that was the easy part. I left Friday morning from the airport in Aberdeen. Although fairly small, it is a pretty busy airport. Anyways, I made it on time, boarded the plane and everything was fine. I knew that part wasn't going to be very difficult. What I was really nervous about was finding the hotel. I had printed out what I thought were good directions. All it really gave me was two sentences with very little information. So, after arriving in one of the biggest airports in the world, I found my way to the train station (which is conveniently located under the airport). I really had no clue which train to take because everything was in Dutch, so I guessed. The only thing I really knew, was that the train was bound for the city; I just wasn't sure where. So the directions told me to get off and grab a tram at some stop, so here again, I guessed. I somehow lucked out and found a tram stop and preceded onward by jumping onto the number 5 like it had said. Then, I was told to get off the tram at a certain point, but again, I didn't know which one that was.

So now, off the tram and finally in the city, the terrible directions give no other clues on where to go, so I start walking towards the big buildings. At the first intersection, I look over and saw my hotel. Either I am genius when it comes to traveling, or I was really, really lucky. I might have to pick the second of the two.

So, while I waited for my friend, Matt Carton, to arrive from Germany, I ventured out with my camera. Since I had plenty of time to kill, I walked around and took many pictures. I even grabbed a fantastic sandwich to eat. Then, the weather turned bad and it started to rain, so I decided to head back. It was then that I found out how hard Amsterdam is to navigate, and I ended up lost. Eventually, I found the hotel again (without any help).

Since he was not here yet, I decided to lay down for a bit. I was in a room with eight bunks and was wondering if anyone was going to be staying in the room with me. Well, Carton calls and said he is close so I get out of bed. Then I hear a bunch of girls in the hallway. I thought to myself, "they can't be in this room, can they?" Sure enough, the door flies open. I hear a loud scream and the door slam. The girl eventually comes back in and we laugh about the incident. As we get to talking and all of her friends make their way into the room, it seems that I have seven girl roommates for the weekend! (don't worry, it got too awkward and I slept in the room with Carton) But, as we continued to talk, I came to find out that she goes to Illinois and is in a sorority. She is studying this semester in Italy and we met each other in a hotel in Amsterdam. How weird is that?

Anyway, that night Carton and I went out to eat with our roommates who were from various countries (Norway, Switzerland, and Sweden). We then met up with some of their other friends who were in Amsterdam, and had a good time with them.

The next morning (after 6 showers, 4 of them girls) we hit up the Van Gogh Museum. This gave me a greater appreciation for artwork and the artistic genius himself. We then did a little more sight seeing and took a canal boat tour before we met up with our new friends again for dinner at a Chinese restaurant (I had duck). After that, we went back to their hostel before hitting up the town. After a while, Carton and I split to see the infamous Red Light District and coffee shops. I'll just say that it was a very eye opening experience.

The next morning we went to the Anne Frank Museum and saw the house where she and her family hid from the Nazi roundup of Jewish families. One of the best museums I have ever been to, it gave a real understanding of the suffering that these families endured; but also, the hope and integrity that Anne Frank possessed.

While by that time it was time for Carton to head out, we said our goodbyes and I went on to explore more of the city. When it started to snow, I started to look for something inside that would be fun. I found a museum in one of the first churches in Amsterdam (huge) that had a display of modern artwork depicting the love, and hatred, towards religion. I thought that some of the artwork depicting the insanity of religion was crude, but ironic because it now resides in a church.

By then it was time for me to leave. I grabbed a train, got to the airport and flew back to Aberdeen. This was a trip that I will never forget!

First Week of School

I managed to get through my first week of school! It was difficult finding all of the classrooms and buildings, but I made it to every class.....well, kind of. You see, I was banking on a certain class that would transfer back to Illinois as a biological science course and credit for my Crops and Soil Management minor. Unfortunately, they were not offering it this semester. So, in my haste to sign up for classes, I enrolled in another biological science class. To make the story short, this course conflicted with most of the other classes that I wanted to take. And since I am planning to enroll in Plant Pathology at Illinois next year, this would fulfill both of those requirements. Thus, the class I signed up for had become useless.

So, on Wednesday, I went to my adviser and sat with him while we tried to find classes that would fit into my schedule. I kept the Introductory to Agriculture because I believe that it will give me better insight into the products and methods of agriculture production in the UK, although some of the information is not new to me. I also have an International Relations course, which should very interesting and come in useful as the world continues to become more globalized, and a Management Operations class. It goes through the business and management aspects of producing goods and services; another quality class. I round out my schedule with a forestry field trip class. It only involves visiting a forest at the end of semester and looking at how trees are produced. Hey, if I show up, I get an A! So overall I think I have a pretty good schedule and look forward to the upcoming weeks. Fortunately (or unfortunately), many of the classes do not have homework. They usually have a couple of assignments here and there, but a big test at the end of the semester worth about 70% of the grade (hopefully I don't screw that up).

As a side note, I am meeting a ton of new people; and not just from Scotland. This is a very diverse university. I have joined the basketball club (which has "training" every week), the international club (because they go on trips around Scotland), and am going to join the field hockey club and the Whiskey Society. Hopefully I will be meeting a lot more people through these clubs.

Cheers!