It Comes in Pints?

The following is an account of one of my most eventful days thus far...

My very first class period here was three hours long. Yes. Three hours. Fortunately, that was only because we spent the time watching Braveheart. I would like to note that as we were watching Braveheart, my eyes were having a severe reaction to...the air, light, and being open, so there was a constant stream of tears pouring down my face. I heard some of my classmates whispering about it to themselves:

"What's wrong with Marjorie?"
"I don't know. The movie isn't *that* sad."
"She's weird."

Okay, so maybe they didn't say any of those things, but it's probably due to some stealthy, but casual, hair-positioning that sheltered my face from their view.

Our discussion of Braveheart was quite a negative one. Obviously the movie stirred up quite the controversy when it first came out here. Most of our discussion was actually about the inaccuracy of its portrayal of Scotland/history, as well as its merits as a film. I felt rather defensive of the movie, though I can't blame my England-native professor for disliking it...it doesn't particularly portray her country in a positive light. And, of course, when she went on and on about how the music is terrible, I just kept my mouth shut and a running commentary going in my head. Overall, the class is enjoyable and I'm sure at the very least, it'll be interesting to get so many perspectives.

I figured after class it would be intelligent to head over to the campus pharmacy to get some sort of medicine to stop my allergic reaction. Do you remember that scene in Snow White when she first comes into the forest, and the creatures come up and surround her and are strangely, if not creepily, friendly and unafraid of human contact? Well, that's what it's like to walk across campus here.

I know at least at Grove City there are countless squirrels that will allow you within 5 feet of them. Here in Stirling, the more common animal is rabbits. No joke. There are probably hundreds of rabbits on this campus. Obviously there are rabbits in PA and OH, but not these kind of rabbits. These rabbits travel in packs of about 5 or 6 and they will not budge unless you make an obviously threatening move toward them. Additionally, since there's a loch on campus, there are also numerous water fowl that roam around. My personal favorite is the little duck family that lives on the shore by the sports center. Someday soon I'll get around to naming them.

After I'd traversed through the hoards of rabbits and flocks of fowl, I crossed the footbridge that leads to "The Atrium," which is basically the student center. It houses the pharmacy, bank, book store, cafe, etc. Basically it's a little self-contained city. Finding what you want in the stores can be a bit of a challenge, but nothing I'm not up to doing. Typically I end up pausing and staring at a shelf for a few minutes because the shopkeepers will be having a conversation with one another, and the accent is just so much fun to listen to. Once I've found what I want to buy (in this instance, allergy medicine), and finished being a creeper, the real challenge begins -- paying.

For purchases under 5 pounds, you have to pay with cash. This is unfortunate, mostly because I feel like a complete fool when I use the coins here. You wouldn't believe how much you take for granted that you can tell what a quarter, dime, nickel and penny are at a glance, even a touch. Well, here they have coins for 1 penny, 2 pence (tuppence!), five pence, ten pence, twenty pence, fifty pence, one pound and two pounds. That's a lot of different coins. It's been a few days since I went to the pharmacy, and at the time I really didn't have any clue which was which (aside from the one and two pound coins). So, after reaching into my pocket and pulling out a fist full of metal, I held up each one slowly to my face, carefully bent it to the light and attempted to read the label on the coins through watery, swollen eyes. Don't underestimate how ridiculous I looked doing this. And, of course, I felt 5 times as ridiculous as I looked.

Once that ordeal was over and I was safely back at the flat, my roommate Courtney informed me that a group of girls were going to an exercise class down at the sports center. The idea of exercise classes has never particularly appealed to me. The idea sounds great in theory. I like working out with a group, because it forces me not to be lazy. What I do not like about such classes is that they almost always take place with cheesy music and involve me looking like a complete idiot. However, I figured since the class is free and it could be very different (since I am in Scotland), I would give it a try.

It's not that different.

In fact, it reminded me a lot of the Aerobic Conditioning Fit Well class that I took at Grove City freshman year, except that the instructor had a thick Scottish accent. What immediately comes to mind is the scene from Father of the Bride II when Franc is leading the women in a workout ("Little tin soldier, happy tin soldier"). Youtube it.

So here's how the class went: I found a place in the back. Cheesy, obnoxious music came on and everyone started into moves that I swear they had all practiced beforehand. Of course, the instructor is supposedly telling us what to do, but it all sort of comes out jumbled. For all I know she could have been reading the morning news to me. The only option I really had was to attempt to imitate the people in front of me who, of course, magically understood everything that was going on. Good times. Basically, exercise classes much too closely resemble dancing for my taste.

Following that joyous time, my flatmates and I decided to head out for a night in Stirling. Though it is the University of Stirling, the city itself is a good 40 minute walk from campus, so we take the bus. The bus that drives on the left side of the road. Obviously everyone knows that people in Britain drive on the left side, but experiencing it is quite another thing. I have yet to lose the sudden terror that comes from seeing another vehicle careening down the road on what feels like your side. Combine this with the fact that roads around here are uncommonly narrow and you get a lovely cardio workout just by looking out the bus window.

Once in town, it's just a short stroll to the pub. Well, it's a very short stroll if you're not looking for a specific pub, because there's a different one every fifty meters or so. The specific pub that we headed to, though, is called "Drouthy Neebors." I know what it means, but I won't tell you [read:I have no idea what it means]. While there, I finally enjoyed a thoroughly Scottish meal -- Haggis with neeps and tatties (aka mashed turnips and potatoes), served with a whiskey sauce. And I had a pint of Tennent's, a local lager. [As a side note: Whenever I hear someone say the word "pint," I immediately think of Merry and Pippin in Lord of the Rings: "This, my friend, is a pint." "It comes in pints?...I'm getting one."]

The beer, neeps and tatties were wonderful. The haggis...was...less than wonderful (as you can probably tell by my face in this picture, having just tasted it). Actually, compared to what I expected, it wasn't all that bad. In fact, if I could have completely disregarded what it was made of, I may have been able to eat more than a third of the pile they gave me. But I couldn't. So I didn't. Still, overall the night was a definite success as far as sampling the local fare is concerned.

After finishing our meals at Drouthy Neebors, we went across the way to No. 2 Baker St., another pub that had a band playing live Scottish music. We found a table near the back of the pub, but it was so crowded that we ended up sharing with three other young people who happened to arrive with us. After introducing ourselves we came to discover that they were from Germany and this was just a stop on their tour of the UK. The music was quite loud, but it was interesting hearing the Germans' favorite parts of Scotland and their experiences on their travels so far.

Finally, leaving the boys to continue their chat with our German friends, my two female flatmates and I headed back home. Stirling is a very safe city at night, particularly in the summer. Although it was around 10:00 by this point, the sun was still up. Stirling is at a similar latitude to Southern Alaska, which essentially means the days are freakishly long in the summer -- the sun sets around 11 and then rises again at around 3 or so in the morning. It can really mess with your body clock, but overall it's quite convenient.

I hate to admit it, but our walk to the bus station included a stop at the local McDonald's for McFlurries. I decided that it was okay to interject this thoroughly American food into my night of Scottish culture, if only because "McDonald's" is clearly a Scottish name. I know...It's a stretch. But I'll take it.

And that concluded one of my busiest days around Stirling. I went to bed soon thereafter, because our bus to St. Andrews was set to leave at 8am the next day. My next entry will be about that lovely escapade.