I feel the Earth move under my feet

Update: Not dead or arrested. So, all is well.

Today has been quite an interesting one. We started with class where we heard a few literary presentations and talked about our project ideas. Then, we headed out to Edinburgh castle, which is AMAZING! It's on top of an extremely large mountainside and it has the most spectacular views! It's also an amazing place in general.

Afterwards we had lunch in the Grassmarket, which is where they used to chop peoples' heads off. They don't anymore but I was careful to check that my head was still there every now and again, just to be safe. The pub we ate at was great, which is nice because so far the food in the cafeteria has been pretty inedible. Rock on pub food!

Finally we did some wandering with Dr. Rushing and Dr. Bender who are such a fun couple! They are seriously the funniest pair of people I've met in a long time.

I have other things to say, I'm sure, but I'm getting really tired. We're going out to the highlands early tomorrow so I likely won't be able to blog again until Monday.

Have a rockin' weekend, y'all!!

xoxo
Hayley

Wish ewe were here!

Bonjour mes amis!

Alright, so I'm not in France but Scots speak English and that's clearly not as fun! So, another quick one today. It's been a really rockin' awesome day! We started the morning with a bus tour of Edinburgh which was literally amazing. The city is so beautiful and has so much history. It's really hard not to gawk at everything I see. Following the tour, we had the option of going to the Palace at Holyrood House, which is the Queen's residence when she visits. It was simply astonishing. What is incredible to me is that this beautiful but rustic palace (and by rustic I mean "old relic") is still in use by a modern monarch. I think to myself, "would I ever want to live here?" and I can say with extreme certainty "No." I am not, despite what I may generally tell myself, however, the Queen, so what do I know? The thing is, it's like a giant piece of sordid history smack in modern day and it's not even a mere relic! Someone actually lives and receives guests in this place that seems so far removed from the modern world! It's bizarre but also amazing!

Finally, we did a little shopping and got the fabulous shop-keeper at the bagpipe store to play us a little tune (rock on!) and then bought some highly inappropriate t-shirts (which I ADORE) and headed for a traditional meal of Pizza Hut. Seriously, heaven after experiencing the native cuisine. :/ Then we took a fabulous trek back to campus in the rain, which was made all the more hilarious when we got lost and ultimately had to hike down the side of Arthur's Seat in the mud and finally arrived. On the bright side, this is only the first rain we've had. Otherwise the weather has been wonderful, albeit chilly. It feels really good though.

In short, ('cause I'm running out of time) I'm having a fab time already and I'm so pumped for the rest of our time here. I'll upload some pictures as soon as I figure out how to get that accomplished.

I love y'all! You're prettier than all the sheep in Scotland! And that's a LOT of sheep!

xoxo
Hayley

I'm sorry, what?

Hello lovely people!

We have arrived (finally!) here in Edinburgh and I couldn't be happier or more exhausted. I have to make this short because I only have 10 minutes left of my internet time, but needless to say that travelling half-way across the world is quite a trying journey. I will say, however that I love flying generally. I can't help but feel so spiritually connected when the plane slices through the clouds or when it cuts through the sunrise over the horizon. It's seriously magical.

Edinburgh is beautiful. What an amazing place. We haven't seen much yet, but I am incredibly excited for the days to come. I really wish I could have all the loves of my life (i.e. people who are willingly reading this) with me as it would be 10 times the adventure.

I miss and love you all and I will post again soon!
xoxoxo
Hayley

P.S. Mom!!! I don't know your e-mail address!! eeeeeEEEE. E-mail me please! Hope you guys are having fun in Maine! Love you!

You have to remember to breathe or you'll die.

That is sound advice ladies and gentlemen. On the eve of my mother's wedding and the eve of the eve of the eve of my departure to Scotland, I am both breathing and hyperventilating all at once. It's bizarre. I am in a very "Hey, man, whatever" sort of place in regards to my trip. People keep asking if I'm excited and while I am, I am also sort of worried about it. Are you AWARE that there is a whole OCEAN you are required to cross in a flying contraption?! Sah-weet lord. I love to fly, don't get me wrong, but it's just now sinking in how a person could be mildly afraid of it. 

I feel like I'm not as prepared as I should be. I mean, I'm well aware that I have a ten-trillion hour flight to do more reading, but I feel like I'm going to totally bomb out on my project. Oh no. Let's not do this! No panicking.... ok, maybe a little panicking. It's whatever.

Things to remember: 

• Matchbooks for Twinkie
• Well, that's really all. 

K, y'all. This gal is about to go get her mama hitched and then go make new BFFs in the form of dudes in skirts. Oh, man. They're gonna hate me over there.

xoxo

Haylezzz 

A testimonial

Today I woke up to a blog from Mr. Will Hoge (for those of you who don't know, Will Hoge is a fabulous southern rocker). He is currently touring Europe and this post was about his trips to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

"Flew to Edinburgh the next day. Far and away my favorite city so far. Just
stunning in its beauty. I felt like I could live there. I really love
Scotland as a whole. The club was killer. The show was fun. "

I'm getting so pumped, y'all.

xoxo
Haylezzz

Have you SEEN our SHEEP?!

When I lived in New York, there were all these tours you could go on to see all the different places in the city that various television shows and movies shot scenes. I've started thinking about maybe trying to do the same in Scotland. How fun would that be?! I can say things like, "Mel Gibson stood right here and screamed!! How cool is that?! Hey Mel!" Or, better yet, I could gather all my groupmates together and we could re-enact those scenes in the very spot they were originally formed. Oh, Lord, I have just reached a new level of excitement. Get hyped. It's all going down.

Research: begun!

On the Bonny Bonny banks of Loch Lomond

I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the folk song referenced in the title, but if you aren't then it is likely that you did not have a childhood. I pity you. I think that song may have been my first real connection with the Scots. I must say, though, it always pissed me off that I had to take the low road. Mama always said it's best to take the high road. Singing this song makes me feel like a scoundrel.

Actually, that's not true. I actually don't have anything to post today, but I was in a blog-posting sort of mood and it's good to get in the habit, so I thought I would share my stunning visual representation of my new favorite mythological creature, The Lochness Monster.



So, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. I am so excited about finally having an opportunity to come face to face with a real-life, imaginary monster. I can only hope that I may also run into Big Foot and the Easter Bunny this summer as well. One can only dream.

xoxo
Haylezzz