These are just a few pictures from a few different days here in Scotland
This is an energy drink, affectionately named "P***y". Apparently it supports women's health so kudos there, P***y.
This is Kaylee and myself at the Riverside Museum in Glasgow. We weren't super amused there because neither of us are transportation aficionados, but the trolley car was pretty neat.
This is from the Coach & Horse last weekend! We participated in Karaoke Night!
Katlyn, me, Hannah & Kaylee
This is the hotel that my family will be staying at when they come to visit me during spring break! The Holyrood Aparthotel in Edinburgh
This is from last weekend at Mayson's.
Jimmy, Bryan, Courtney, Kathy, Lindsey & Hannah
Jessica, Kaylee, me, Billie & Justin
I had to get one with Katlyn in it, too!
Courtney, Kathy, Hannah, Lindsey & Katlyn
We were proud of Courtney because she finished her whole bottle of cider, a first!
Kathy & Kaylee rocked their karaoke songs, but our group chose a few songs that were not good for karaoke (Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby, Eiffel 65's Blue (Da Ba Dee). Man! I Feel Like a Woman and Lady Marmalade were hits with the crowd though!)
This is just a picture of Scotland's favorite regional drink, Irn Bru. It tastes like liquid bubblegum. They don't have Root Beer here which is kind of a bummer. :(
I will also add a few fun facts about Scotland. First of all, the drivers here are ridiculous. If you think American drivers are bad, you haven't seen bad driving. Pedestrians do not have the right of way, so if you get hit, it's technically your fault. A student from UWO was here a year or so ago, ran out into the street (he was drunk), got hit by a car and went into a coma. He had to be sent home because he was in critical condition. Scary right?
People in Scotland don't recycle. Like, barely at all. They have a hard enough time throwing things in the trash bins. It was really hard to get used to throwing away all the things I would normally recycle back home, but there really isn't much of an alternative. It may seem like Scotland is really behind the times, but they really aren't. They have national health care (the whole UK does). Something that is unique to Scotland is that they also offer free college education. It's impeccable. I wish America would adopt those policies. The public transportation system is amazing and completely dependable. Most people don't own cars, they ride the bus into work or to do errands. I am so thankful that we have unlimited bus passes for our whole trip. I was extremely nervous to learn the bus system at first but now it's second nature.
My Scottish professor told us that people pay about a third of their income to taxes every year (the whole UK does the same). It's not that taxes are higher here in Scotland, it's that they use their allotted money differently. It's a controversy in England because they think that their citizens are funding Scotland's free college education, but the Scots say that they are the moneymakers of the UK since the oil from the North Sea comes from the Scottish part of the sea. It's an ongoing argument. What I did not know going into this trip is how "socialistic" Edinburgh & Scotland is. They lean extremely left of our American politics (all of the UK is like that, actually). Needless to say, I'm enjoying it here a lot.
However, there are things I miss about home. I miss my family. The first plans I've made for when I get home is to go out for breakfast with my family, my aunt & my grandpa. I also miss my friends a lot. I haven't been getting into as many shenanigans without them (which is a good and a bad thing). But the thing I miss the most is American food. Not like burgers and shakes and old Americana food. But all of the food that we have back home. I miss mom's cooking. And American breakfast. They just don't know how to do breakfast here. :( Well on that note, I will talk to you soon world. I'm off to make a snack. Missing you already!
