Living in the Wild

So another oddity about living in the ghetto dorm is well basically it comes along with living with the wild...

I like leaving my window open all the time so I can get fresh air... and you think that wouldn't be a problemo considering I am on the top floor of the building and there are no trees for squirrels to climb into my window... well WRONG.

Nearly every morning I am visited by a grey squirrel and every evening I am visited by a red squirrel. They literally climb the walls of the building... they come from the roof... they fly... who knows how they do it! BUT they come into my room and steal my nuts... or try and steal my bread!

They are extremely cute don't get me wrong... but they are dirty and probs covered with diseases. They are probably the reason for why I am sick at the moment :S

Sometimes I scoot them on their way but now... they just stare at me blankly from the window and take a few more steps into my room... so I have to close the window... EVEN then they can crawl on the window... briefly but ... yea I think evolution has granted these little critters with web feet or something :S

My First West Highland Tour

Sooo yesterday I went on a West Highland day tour through Rabies tour company J

I woke up around 6 am, tried to catch a bus to this obscure meeting place in town because the bus was coming with the majority of the tourers from Edinburgh. So I managed to get to the meeting place by 9 am… and I meet this adorable guy from Finland. We introduce ourselves and then the tour bus comes and the driver is GORGEOUS! He is wearing a kilt and he had the most beautiful cascading auburn hair! I was in heaven! Until the guide said “I only have one pick up written down!” Sooo… it turns out that wasn’t my tour… the Finnish guy and the hot Scottish man drive away into the morning sunrise and I am left for 10 minutes at this obscure meeting place. Then finally my tour bus comes along and my tour guide is a woman…a Scottish Ellen Degeneres…

She is hilarious and very knowledgable about Scottish History… but I cursed the gods above.

The tour was sooo beautiful J We stopped off at Doune castle… then went to this amazing place called loch Awe and explored the ruins of Castle Kilchurn. IT really is like a scene from a movie… a scene suitable for Lord of the Rings! The Loch is like a rushing river, beating its way towards the castle, nearly surrounding the castle. I believe hundreds of years ago when the castle was home to the great clan chief of the Campbell’s the castle used to be surrounded completely by water and only the inhabitants knew how to cross the water without a boat.  It was magnificent J

SO we left Loch Awe and went to Invereray … I explored the beautiful sea side town, I went to the old jail J I walked to the castle/country estate of the Lord of Argyll… I EVEN GOT TO SEE HAMISH the harry Coo again J

Last stop was Loch Lomond J then back to Stirling.

It was great J

Tomorrow I might either go and visit Castle Doune and go inside it… or try my first attempt of trying to get to Dunfermline where there is a beautiful abbey and castle J

To end this blog I was nearly scared to death! A squirrel from the roof just committed suicide by jumping maybe three meters onto a tree and missed the first branch… I guess it didn’t commit suicide literally… cause it managed to pull it self up onto the next branch… yea these things are insane ninja squirrels!

The Long Awaited Blog :)

Sorry yalls for not writing on my blog... I have just been very busy :) So I guess I'll start with the basics and try and describe to you the place I am now living and what I have been doing... Some of you may be aware that I am unable to upload photos at this time but do expect them in the near future :)

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Residence

Geddes Court. Also known as the ghetto residence on Stirling Campus… the place where they sequestered all of the international students because we don’t know any better.

There is about a dozen different types of carpet in the hallways of this 1960’s building... strange patches of carpet are placed strategically near the washrooms probably where the mold got so bad they decided to cover it up instead of fixing the problem. The stairwells are also ridden with mold, there is no lift, I am on the top floor in room 510 and the kitchen fridge is filled with little mail box slots and leaks yellow oily, oozz… also smells like fish.

My bedroom is very tiny and very stuffy because the radiator is always on. The walls are made of brick adding a prison-esque feel to the place. Moreover, the carpet is littered with burn marks from cigarette buts. YES… in Scotland you are allowed to smoke in your dorm rooms but you are not allowed to light candles or incense: figure that one out! Also, the sink in my room was designed in such a way that to turn on the taps and wash your hands the water gets everywhere and there is only the option of scolding hot with one tap and freezing cold with the other. I refuse to fill up the basin because there is a strange brown rust stain and blue stains from the minerals in the water :S

My mission when I first settled into Geddes Court was to purchase a table fridge, buy a couple of colorful bathmats, purchase a ton of potpourri, and colorful sheets and flower pillows J All of such goals have been executed! The theme of my room is purple … and my wall is covered with photos of my dog, post cards from the places I have visited and want to visit whilst in Scotland and a map of Medieval Scotland J  

That is my current living situation for the semester I am here at Stirling.  I definitely miss my beautiful master bedroom at home L

Freshers Week Party Hardy

On the bright side everyone on my floor is really nice and welcoming J The first day here, after saying my goodbyes to my mummsie, the people on my floor and I went out to the campus club and danced into the wee hours of the morning. A few days later we went to a foam party and nearly drowned in bubbles J

I don’t think I will forget my first experience at a Scottish club… some crazy first year boyz, with painted  blue faces, whom were wearing football shirts .... groveled to me and said I looked like a famous singer ahhaha that was pretty neato J

I also had a few persistent blokes stand behind me … awkwardly… trying to dance with me … not saying anything and no going away…. which has never happened to me in Victoria… it was strange but amusing. TO be honest though, my first week here was a blur thats the way of things when partying in Scotland;)

THE CAMPUS

Despite the horrible living conditions Stirling is one of the most beautiful campuses I have ever seen in my entire life J

It surrounds the beautiful Airthey Loch and Airthrey castle… The Loch... don't get me started! IT is like a loch from swan princess! IT always has beautiful white swans swimming on it. There is also an amazing view of the menacing Wallace Monument... which was ERECTED in the 1860’s to commemorate William Wallace and the Wars of Independence. The craig and tail where that monument is situated is where I would eventually volunteer at an archaeology site J

The grass is so green here and the Ochill Hills are a beautiful gold… it is clear just by standing up at the Wallace Monument that Stirling is the Brooch of Scotland... the heart of Scotland. This really is the best place to learn about Scottish history and I am so glad  I have managed to study here. Honestly, walking up to the monument was like walking back in time for me. I could really imagine Wallace and his men hiding up there before storming the English and taking back Stirling Castle... and when I went to Stirling Castle I could really imagine the Prince's Walk where young James the VI would walk along when he was breaking from his studies in the Prince's Tower! J

 SIGH!!!!!!!!

The City of Stirling

 My first few days here I walked into Stirling city center a couple of times… it’s about 30 minutes away from Campus. I went to Stirling castle approximately four times so far and I have almost memorized the tour guide's lines J It really is the most amazing castle strategically! Historical Scotland Trust has just refurbished the great hall and the queens apartments and they have tried to create the times of the Stewart Kings... particularily around the time Mary of Guise was in residene. It’s amazing! When I look up at the castle in the morning or on a sunny afternoon the great hall looks like it’s made of gold because of the lime and mortar they used to cover the building …. It really is AWE-some.

I also went an explored the Holy Rude grave yard... it seems to be closede everytime I try to go in the actual building.

I also went into the old town Jail which was hilarious and gruesome because ther was a live prison tour with actors ...

THERE IS ALSO fantastic shopping in Stirling City :-) and the guys that work at Tesco are gorgeous :)

CLASSES

My first week of classes went really well. I only have two days a week of classes(monday and friday) but my immediate future will require a lot of reading on my own time because the classes are based on discussions of excessive amounts of reading and essays.

My plan as of now is to wake up really early on the days I don’t have classes and go to the library and read. So far that plan has worked out well :) I have also managed to book a few day tours to the highlands :) Which i will talk about in another blog :)

Back to the classes.... I love love love all of my reading lists :) I also love all of my professors they are so intelligent and passionate and sighhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 Stirling Uni Librar is the most beautiful library to study in ever (though it closes around 8:30 pm!) It was just refurbished and there is so much natural lighting that I never get tired in it and there’s a floor where no one is allowed to speak so it is great for reading <3

Archaeology Experience

So as many of you know I volunteered a few days at the Wallace Monument. The project was examining the buildings that had once surrounded the monument when it was being built in the nineteenth-century. The part I was excavating was thought to be a tea room… which is very plausible considering we unearthed a lot of pottery. The greatest finds when I was there were nails predating Roman-Occupation in Europe… and a chisel J The best part about the archaeology was being protected from the rain under really thick trees and getting covered from head to toe in dirt that when I went for lunch down at the bottom of the hill in the café … I was made to sit on paper towels J

There I got out as much as I could :) NOW TO SLEEP :)