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.