An Eventful Weekend

It's amazing how much can happen in two short days, isn't it? After one long week of classes and homework, I received the opportunity to visit both the East and West coast of Scotland while still having time to meet new people, try new things, and even relax a bit.

On Friday, I took a trip up to spend the night with one of my best friends from Culver, Kary Stevick. Kary and were in Linden dorm together, shared the same friend group, and were even in the same mentor-mentee group together; it was so comforting to see such a friendly (and beautiful!) face again. The University of St. Andrews, where Kary is studying International Relations, is situated in the lively town of St. Andrews right on the East sea coast. When I arrived, we spent the night catching up with each other: sharing memories, conversing with university students, exploring the school, and enjoying a drink or two.

In the morning, Kary gave me a well-guided and interesting tour of the historical and culturally rich town. Our first (and arguably most important) stop was at "Gorgeous," a cafe known for its phenomenal pastries, for breakfast. There is literally nothing nicer than a Prince of Cambridge scone (with raspberries, blueberries, and white chocolate) with a perfect white coffee on a cool Scottish morning... Anyway. Next was the famous St. Andrews Castle, its startlingly green lawn complementing the gray coast lining the background. I still marvel--after numerous castle sights now--that these areas were once the pinnacle of Scottish history, holding events that shaped the vibrant culture I have the pleasure of experiencing today. Kary and I climbed the peculiarly named "social ladder" of the castle, wandered the dark and mysterious mining tunnels, and then rested quietly for a while, appreciating the fresh sea air and the peaceful view.

The Cathedral was a remarkable sight as well, although it was mostly dismantled in the turmoil of the Reformation. Surrounded by a cemetery with graves dating back centuries ago, the site was a solemn reminder that the country was active well beyond our time. The stone carvings on various tombs were amazing to view, telling intricate stories I had never heard before. After climbing St. Rule's Tower which dates back to the 12th century) to have one last view of the city, we visited a few charming and diverse shops on the streets (including where Prince William and Kate Middleton met, and the place they broke up) before my bus back to Dollar.

Although seeing the town and the University was so good to the point I felt like I wanted to stay there forever, I was glad even to have those few days together with a much-loved friend. Next time, it will be Kary that tours my school: she'd better get ready for a hike up to Castle Campbell and a coffee at Cafe des Fleurs.

Less than 24 hours later, however, I found myself facing the opposite coast of Scotland-- the Irish Sea--with the rest of Heyworth House for a relaxing day trip to a town by the name of Largo. Our excursion began at Nardini's, the oldest Italian restaurant in Scotland, where the food was excellent and the atmosphere pleasantly laid-back. I enjoyed my smoked salmon sandwich as Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" sounded from a live piano, and afterwards treated myself to some raspberry sorbet.

Countless selfies later by the coast later, Iona, Alicia and I took our sweet time touring various shops around Largo from busy pound stores to quiet cafes attempting to avoid the chilly drizzle. After spending an embarrassingly long time in a kids' arcade gambling pennies for pieces of candy, we ended up in a bookstore examining travel literature, maps or whatever else caught our eyes. On the way back, we played numerous rounds of "chinese whispers" (more commonly known as "telephone" in the States), which was especially humorous because of the confusion with each of our accents.

And now it's time again for another week of classes. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course: I'm feeling refreshed and ready to jump back into my classes again. If one short weekend can hold so many experiences, think of what a whole week of learning can do. So wish me luck, because I'll definitely be keeping busy!

A Reflection

Now that I have been in Scotland for one month, the time has come to fully reflect on my accomplishments at this school. As I do so, I am reminded of Culver Girls Academy once again, with its seemingly aggravating and constant leadership reflection paperwork. And yet, if we actually put the time in and filled it out, it did aid us as we matured as leaders, serving as a journal that triggered effective evaluation. Therefore, I have decided to recreate this paperwork that I once hated: old habits die hard, I guess. Hopefully, it will help me to make the most of my time here at Dollar, because time is certainly ticking.

Let's start with the positive, then. In the past 31 days, I have had the pleasure of the following:

-Auditioning and being accepted into Dollar Academy's chamber choir. This is perhaps the accomplishment of which I am most proud, as it is quite selective with less than thirty students. I certainly wasn't planning
-Writing nine essays in three weeks. I have to say that both my efficiency and literary articulation has dramatically improved despite the short time I have been here. That's what I signed up for, though, when I decided I was interested in the liberal arts.
-Finally grasping the concept of authority, power, and legitimacy in politics, with the help of Steven Lukes and Max Weber. Thanks, guys.
-Saying grace at a formal dinner for boarding students last Sunday, and saying it so well I earned myself a fancy individualized meal (smoked salmon and cranachan, anyone?) to say grace again at another event this Thursday. Future career: professional grace-sayer.
-Making rock buns, chili con carne, and spaghetti bolognese all on my own in Home Economics class. Today, I finally got the dicing technique down, and I have never been so proud of myself.
-Rocking the school uniform, woolen blazer and all-- seriously, it looks good. Dad, you'll be proud of me, because I'm shining my shoes regularly as well. I can't wait until October when we wear the fancy ties.
-Getting up the courage to go and socialize during my free periods in the sixth form center instead of huddled in a corner and studying cartography. This was actually the most daunting item on this list, in all honesty, but equally as liberating.

All in all, I believe that I have thrived academically the most, mostly because I keep myself interested and curious. But I've also succeeded in going outside my comfort zone in other ways: volunteering at the next-door nursery school,

Now, for some constructive criticism. In the future, I'd like to accomplish the following:

-Become more comfortable with the girls in my boarding house. I still become shy sometimes. Or, most of the time.
-Practice more. The school has bought a 3/4 cello just for me, since there's no way my hands will do a full size, so I need to actually use it when it comes.
-Drink more tea, because it's tea and I am in Britain.
-Travel around the area more. I plan on visiting my friend Kary this weekend at Saint Andrews, for which I am unbelievably excited, but visiting just Stirling and Edinburgh is not enough.
-Allow myself a break once in a while. Working hard and determination has always been one of my strong suits, even to the point of weakness. I'm here to enjoy myself, too.

This time next month, the term will be halfway over and I will be on my way to Paris for break (which works as quite a motivation). But for now, I am happy where I am, beside the Ochil hills in the greenest area one could find, with a plethora of educational resources and a welcoming community. I'm trying to make the most out of my year here, however that may be, and for the most part I have succeeded. There's still so much more to accomplish, to see, to experience. The fun part is that I don't know when or what the next life-changing moment will be. For now, I'm just along for the ride, and that is enough.

Say "Hey" to Heyworth House

Living in a dorm is second nature now for me now. After four years, both the unspoken and verbal rules of boarding life is drilled into my brain: leave the kitchen as you found it. Don't leave your laundry in the laundry room. Be friendly, but not at 7 in the morning. Leave a window open to air out your room. And for God's sake, don't ever forget about your popcorn and burn it in the microwave. But just when I thought I had gotten all I possibly could out of dorm life, that I had had enough, Heyworth House surprised me once again. In fact, I now know that I have only scratched the surface.

Katie, left, and Helen, right, being silly.

I'll be the first to admit that I was a bit cautious, at first. Usually, being the "new girl" at high school happens at the beginning, but I don't follow the rules. Moving in the dorm was the first time I had been completely on my own, starting from scratch. While living with only sixteen girls should seemed like a piece of cake after Linden's 40-something, I was terrified to sit at meals with complete and total strangers, much less share a shower with them.

From left to right: Helen, Bente, Henni, Emma, Ruby, Katie, and Alicia, being cuties.

Nonetheless, the shyness dissipated in a mere 24 hours. In fact, I can't believe that I have known these girls for less than two weeks, because they feel like my sisters already-- whether they come from Barbados or Serbia. Whether it's eating more scones than humanly possible during dinner, sharing a good cry watching "Titanic" (don't worry, I won't give any of you away), singing Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" at the top of our voices, or simply sharing a conversation and a cup of tea at the end of a long day, we Heyworth girls stay with each other through thick and thin.

Me teaching Henni, Helen, Emma, and Anja how to do the famous "Eagle Rumble" cheer.

While the girls are an immense contribution of the dorm, I can't forget those who make it the most comfortable. Mr. And Mrs. Duncan, our houseparents, are such kind and willing people. Mr. Duncan teaches in the Modern Studies and History Department, and has served as a last-minute editor for my essays already. The cleaning ladies are awesome, making us treats and always sure to ask us "are you alright" (which in British translates to "how's it going") after school. Our tutors, too, have taken on the role as our big sisters in the dorm. While still firm about studying conditions, they still love a conversation about the latest boy drama.

Well, at least we tried.

This past Sunday, the whole house held an afternoon barbecue together in the front yard. The Scottish weather miraculously behaving, we shared turkey burgers, roasted marshmallows, too many photos for our cameras to hold, a few rounds of volleyball (the staff team won by an embarrassing amount), and games from each of our childhoods. Unfortunately, a few girls were absent for either scholarship or family obligations, but the rest of us had an afternoon that well not be forgotten for a long time. The pictures on this page are from that day, but I'll try and get some for the girls who missed it as well.

I have no explanation.

Nor for here.

I am truly thankful to live with such wonderful, caring young ladies for this year, and I only wish that I have more time with them. It's going to be a great rest of the year.

Walking in the Ochils

Now that the first full week of school is over and gone, it's finally time to pick some activities to make life a little more interesting. After all, this is meant to be a "cultural year" for me; I might as well make the most of it while I can. After a long, hard week of essay-writing, Quizlet, and really bad Italian, the Activities Fair on Friday allowed students access to almost any organization they could possibly imagine. From ballroom dancing to Ski Club, Guitar Building Club to Charities Committee, the range of choices I had at my hands was truly impressive.
Among the clubs to which I signed my soul were:

• Dollar Academy's own TED Talks
• Gymnastics
• The Galley (the school newspaper; comparable to the Vedette)
• Rock Climbing
• Japanese Club
• Badminton
• Mixed Voice Choir (perhaps Chorus Choir, which requires an audition and is quite competitive)
• Orchestra
• Yoga

As you can see, it's going to be quite a busy year. The good kind, of course.

Sure enough, most of my co-curricular activities have already begun. I attended orchestra class on Monday; Mixed Voice Choir on Wednesday; and Yoga on Thursday. No offense, Culver, but the activities at Dollar are much more laid-back and welcoming than any I did in Indiana. The phrase "no experience necessary" is a symbol of welcoming for each and every organization, allowing patience and relief for any newcomer. 

The prime example for this philosophy is, of course, my experience with the Hikey-Bikey Club this afternoon. At first, I was not so enthusiastic for the trip: Mr. Duncan, my houseparent, warned me that it would be freezing and pouring for the whole weekend. However, my new friend Helen put on the puppy-dog eyes and I thought, well, why not. I'll just bring, like, 17 layers and a waterproof jacket.

It turns out I only needed about four. Despite the rain, which as you can imagine is quite common in Scotland, we headed from the school up the Ochil Hills to the King's seat, a peak of 648m. With three teachers and five students, we hiked from 9 AM to 2 PM for an extraordinary, unforgettable challenge. Due to my usual lack of physical activity, I assumed I would be that one lagging person 15 m behind; on the contrary, I took the lead for quite a bit of the trip! I like to think it was because of past Fugate-Pare camping excursions.


Helen, who gets credit for bringing me on the trip, is leading the group up the daunting incline.

 The event was magical. While the fog was mostly dense enough to cover 15 feet ahead of us, the few minutes it would clear was enough to appreciate the fantastic scenery--from forests to fields to rocky edges. Apart from a few drizzles here and there, we miraculously kept dry for the majority of the trip, which I considered a blessing. We ate our packed lunches at the top of the King's Seat, all eight of us huddled together in a cute little tent for shelter against the harsh wind and cold.

The hikers in our little cocoon. 

At times, we were completely silent, with only the wind and the squeak of our boots against the slippery rocks in our ears. Other times, we were chatting, laughing, bonding with each other. One of the teachers shared the Scottish joke of a mythical creature-- the haggis-- who is identified by having one leg shorter than the other so it could run across mountains easier. Other topics were more serious, especially when we passed a monument marking the crash site of three young pilots who had crashed into the side of the mountain during World War II.

It looks like my photography skills are steadily improving, as well.

We saw countless sheep on the tip. I waved to them; rudely, they didn't wave back.

The walk down was much easier, of course, especially as it became warmer. But was still nice to curl up afterwards in my bed, with a fuzzy blanket, berry tea, and (of course) some Billy Joel songs. The next Hikey-Bikey trip, in which I most definitely be participating, will be after October--this time with the added thrill of mountain bikes.

No matter what the activity, though, I'll be sure to be having much more fun this year-- on top of being very studious, of course.