Hola amigos!

Alex and I are going to Spain in December!!! The tickets have been booked. Guess I better brush up on my Spanish... I'm excited!

My attempt at a Halloween-themed dinner looks terrifying, so I guess I did okay in that respect. It tasted better than it looks...

Chicken, polenta, and homemade tomato sauce mouth; mushroom, basil and tomato eyes; a beet nose; bell pepper hair

This one's Alex, because of the side bangs.

I've been working a lot lately, writing lots of papers. But I finished two! And I've been really enjoying my classes. In Global Englishes, we discussed the different varieties of English spoken in South Africa and how they're very distinctive due to apartheid. I definitely want to read more about that. In my Education class, we watched film clips on theories of play and how different aged children play differently; it made me miss working in a preschool. That's one of the worst parts of being here- I can't work with kids for the semester! In my Origins and Evolution of Language class, we're learning about how language developed rules out of necessity so that speakers would be able to pass it on from generation to generation; linguistic input is just too much to process without a system to do it with. And finally in my Scotland class, we're comparing portrayals of 20th century Scotland in an article and at the National Museum. Moral of the story- learning at a museum is a whole lot better than reading dry academic writing!

A friend posted this article and it reminded me of home: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/airport-249414-wayne-john.html

I officially voted in my first presidential election. It cost me 6 pounds to fax in my special Overseas ballot, but it had to be done. On Tuesday night, the university is holding an election-watching party and serving BarackO'burgers and Romneyburgers- I may have to get one!

The pictures from the east coast of Hurricane Sandy look terrifying... I got goosebumps seeing New York City underwater. I hope it doesn't turn into another New Orleans situation.

Happy Halloween everyone! May your jack-o-lanterns and spiderweb decorations prove scarier than your weather.

Tidbits of knowledge, from me to you.

British people put poached eggs on their pizza and very rarely eat it with their hands. Fork and knife only! Same rule applies for chips (fries). They've never heard of Raggedy Ann or GI Joe or the movie Tangled, but they know about Little House on the Prairie. 'Noodles' just refers to Asian noodles. And ranch dressing and clam chowder are apparently exclusively American.

You're welcome!

Additions!
- Drink-drive regulations = drunk driving regulations
- Flu jab = flu shot
- Car boot sales = when everyone parks their cars in a lot and sells things out of their trunk

IT'S SNOWING!

Camille called me frantically to report that it was snowing! I looked out the window, saw balls of white stuff, and literally sprinted upstairs to put on my snow boots, two jackets, scarf, hat and gloves. But by the time I was dressed for a blizzard, nothing was falling anymore. And apparently it had just been hail. All that excitement for nothing! It may snow by the end of this week, though; we're experiencing a cold front. It's very, very cold.

Dressed for the snow that never was...

Last night was a blast: a Pomona reunion at Tom and Jim's house with Pomona College's President Oxtoby and his wife! Oxtoby is on sabbatical and is working at Cambridge, but he and his wife have been doing lots of traveling and decided to pay us all a visit. It was great to catch up with my Pomona friends and Tom. Sadly I didn't get a real chance to talk to Oxtoby... but I did get to try a mincemeat pie. (I may or may not have split a second one with Lindsey...) It's apparently meatless, though. Just fruit. Who knew?

Lindsey and I are fans of the pies

All of the art you see belongs to Jim's prized collection. It's priceless stuff, and he'd love to tell you ALL about it!

This is a very strange Halloween. Everyone is getting excited and planning costumes, but I'm too preoccupied with the fact that I won't get to have any candy corn this year! They don't sell it here, at least that I've seen so far. People have already started wearing costumes, even during the day. Even the Tesco employees.

They're really into bobbing for apples here. And apparently they used to hollow out turnips instead of pumpkins and carve jack-o-lantern faces in those, put them on strings, and then carry them around and scare the neighbors for money. So says Tom.

School has also picked up a lot, so I don't really have the time to wander aimlessly through stores searching for that perfect Halloween outfit. Oh well! Baking Society will be a Halloween theme this week, so I'll get my fill. My flatmates and I are planning on carving a pumpkin, too.

Baking Society this week was Hidden Ingredient. Alex's garbanzo bean chocolate chip cookies were great, but Camille and I tried to make courgette (AKA zucchini) muffins that turned out pretty sadly due to it being a French recipe. Lots of problems with measurement conversions and lack of ingredients! They're too ugly to post them here. But everyone else's recipes were delicious and interesting, especially the lime donuts, butternut squash chocolate cake, and potato chip cookies.

Today, Alex, Lindsey and I went to see our other Pomona friend Chris's play called Charade. It was held in this really indie theatre called the Bedlam, which holds about 50. The play was really fabulous- amazing for a school production. The acting was great, the costumes were great, and it was really funny and well-done. After the play, we wandered a bit around Edinburgh. Saturday's a great day to be out because all the tourists, performers, and kids are around. The city is so alive on the weekends! These street musicians are only 14. Why didn't my parents make me take violin lessons?! I could have been so cool. (Just kidding. I never would have been that good. And I'm cool anyway!)

Alex and I had our weekly dinner together- she made this delicious Thai curry on chicken and veggies. So good!

It's 1 am on a Saturday and I'm in the library taking a break from work to write this. But hey, the more I do now, the more time I'll have to travel later! We're thinking Prague and Barcelona. And we'll be in London in two weeks. Things here are good. Busy, but good.

Look what has befallen Edinburgh...

A sea of yellow, orange and red!

Luckily, I always have my camera with me. I'm glad I was able to capture this perfect autumn day... before the sun set at 6 pm. But I'll take an early sunset if it means I get to walk around and see these colors everywhere. These are shots from around campus and the Meadows, a big open park nearby.

I realized that I haven't really posted many shots of the campus itself, so here's a glimpse of the little coffee stand that makes delicious lattes, and the front of the library. I've been living there lately, along with probably 20,000 other students. It seems like we all have papers to do this week. (It's week 6. The semester is at least half over.) I had to spend 20 minutes wandering around to find a place to work!

I didn't feel like walking home to cook dinner one night, so I stopped at Red Box Noodles, a student favorite. 

Heaven in a to-go box

I should never go so long without eating Asian food again.

"Just here for the weekend?! Well... enjoy Dublin!"

said some random guy to me at a pub in the Temple Bar district of the city as he bought me a drink. I responded "Thanks! I am!"... and then hurriedly walked away with my free Baileys and Irish Whiskey concoction.

But let me not get ahead of myself. My weekend to Dublin started long before that Saturday night (or was it Sunday morning already?)...

After a busy week of researching for a paper on China's English, preparing for a presentation on the education system of California, trying to care about the Scottish Enlightenment, and exploring the differences between communication systems of chimps and humans, I had a bit of time to frantically pack for Dublin and try to get some sleep before having to wake up at 3:15 am and trudge to the bus station to catch our flight.

I did have time earlier in the week to share this beautiful waffle with cappucino ice cream sundae with Alex, though. 

Ryanair is Europe's budget airline, so we were only allowed to have one bag with us, and the plane ride felt like a scene from some dystopian future movie. The bright yellow interiors, the extra-perky and heavily made-up flight attendants with huge hairdos repeatedly walking the aisles trying to sell Ryanair Charity Calendars (with scandalous pictures of other Ryanair flight attendants for each month), smokeless cigarettes, and pepperoni pizza (at 6:30 am!), and the constant advertisements for Ryanair's specials, made me very glad that it only took us 35 minutes to reach Dublin.

The airport in Ireland was decked out in Gaelic signs, and our passport stamp was done in, of course, green ink. The country definitely lived up to its reputation! I was very glad to see that Ireland was not exactly like the US, or even the UK for that matter. Many people spoke Gaelic (colloquially just referred to as Irish), and the music playing on the radio was not the same as the American Top 40. They had McDonald's, but no Starbucks. Their version is called Insomnia, and it's often connected to Spar, their line of 24-hour convenience stores that can be found on every single street. Many families were walking around with their adorable red-haired Irish children and awesome baby Irish accents, and I really felt like we were in a foreign country. Scotland does feel foreign, too, but I guess I'm used to it now. We started referring to Edinburgh as "home", and we accidently called Euros "pounds" many times when talking about money. I have no idea what I'll be calling money by December. Will I even remember how much a dollar is supposed to buy?!

Alex and I spent the morning exploring Dublin's City Centre, which (with a map and a bit of help from pitying locals), is not too hard to navigate. The streets look a bit like Scotland's, but the buildings definitely have a distinct style. Trinity College, a campus from the 1590s, was very quiet, as it was early on a Saturday. I can definitely see why it's a stop on all of the Dublin tours, though. So pretty!

This really cool reflective gold ball is split open to show the inner "gears". Supposedly spinning it brings good luck.

I hadn't heard of many famous Irishmen except for James Joyce and Yeats, so I felt a bit ignorant when we were passing all of the statues of historical figures. But we did learn a bit about Yeats and his weird occult religious views at an exhibition at the National Library. 

We also popped into the other free museums (our budget definitely dictated our agenda!), like the National History Museum and City Hall. Their free museums weren't as impressive as the ones in Edinburgh, and it was a bit old-fashioned, like I imagine the Met was in 1965... But I did get to see a platypus.

Back on the streets of Dublin, we wandered around and intermingled with tons of tourists, but also many locals. The city is dynamic- a great mix of the very old and historic with the very new and posh. Molly Malone, a woman with a reputation of sleeping with countless Irishmen, gets a statue to honor her right across the street from shops selling 2000 euro fur coats.

Grafton Street, one of the main places for shopping, also had great street performers and food. I've noticed Europeans are really into "Sweet Home Alabama"- I didn't learn all of the words to that song until I got here...

Mixed messages? That's my LOL face

Lots of fresh flower stands!

We went into a soap shop (I just couldn't look away... smelly soap captivates me), and we got to sample some of their really weird homemade products, like shower jelly and bars of shampoo. Their products were stunning, though, and Alex captured some of them beautifully with her awesome camera.

Other highlights of the city were all of the outdoor art pieces, like this really cool mosaic, and the beautiful Liffey River.

Luckily, the weather was perfect! It was sunny... but still cold enough to warrant a fresh hot chocolate, of course. We stopped into a gourmet chocolate shop that made them fresh, and thoroughly enjoyed them as we walked through my favorite spot in Dublin, St. Stephen's Green. 

Alex and I realized that we LOVE fall!

The food didn't stop, though. It really never does when Alex and I are together... But we were on vacation! In Dublin! And everything looked so delicious... 

I am in shock at how tasty this pastry is- coconut creme with pecans and pistachios. Alex had a delicious blueberry muffin. 

An amazing outdoor market with tons of delicious bread. We got a homemade veggie quiche...

... and I also had to try the hot apple cider made with fresh Irish apples!

A great candy store with many Irish treats. I got an Irn Bru (Scottish soda) lollie for Jennifer as a taste of home for her to try

We then met up with my friend Jennifer, whom I've known since 7th grade. We were in marching band together in high school and have kept up and hung out regularly since we graduated. She's studying at University College Dublin for the year, so she hosted us and showed us around the city. It was great having someone who was familiar with the buses and trains and who knew where the cool spots were. She taught us the local lingo- "taking the piss on someone" is to mess with them, and "craic is used in reference to anything fun. Apparently hurling is a sport that's played only in Ireland. It goes back 3000 years in Gaelic history. It's like lacrosse meets soccer and hockey. Sounds cool! She also told us stories of Ireland's fight for independence against the British and taught us a bit of Gaelic, which she's studying right now. Tough language...

We visited some historic spots together, like Dublin Castle and the Chester Beatty Library Museum, and we had fun doing lots of "thumbs up" poses... or at least Jenn did, even with her Irn Bru lollie in hand. Inside the museum, we learned about the ancient art of bookmaking and saw the delicate and painstaking work that went into it- pretty amazing stuff.

We headed back to Jenn's dorm room and saw the adorable bed that she set up for herself out of borrowed chairs so that we wouldn't have to share. She insisted. Her dorm, her classes, and the happening part of Dublin are sadly all pretty far apart. We realized how lucky we are in Edinburgh to be soooo close to everything.

Back in the city, we were determined to have a traditional Irish dinner, so we settled on a pub that served Irish stew, and at a reasonable price. (Dublin is super pricey...) It was delicious! Even if it doesn't look it in the picture. Trust me. I considered ordering a second bowl.

And that takes me back to where this post started... at a pub, being bought a drink. Despite being exhausted from our long day, we enjoyed the nightlife of the city for awhile, because it is just sacrilegious to go to Dublin without visiting a pub. Guiness, the pride of the entire country (they even have Arthur Day to honor Arthur Guiness!), is not my favorite. But I can now say that I've tried it.

On Sunday, we picked up breakfast at the nearby supermarket. Even their grocery store bread is amazing! I had barmbrack- a huge loaf with raisins, fruit and nuts, and had to be warned by the cashier to watch out for the ring that might be hidden inside. I'm a big fan of Irish food and their goofy traditions. (Sidenote: We saw a few leprechaun-themed things, like the Mickey at the Disney Store and a street performer. But no rainbows or pots of gold.)

We took a train to Howth, a seaside village, and took a beautiful walk through the harbor and up a mountain to enjoy the view.

Back in the village, we sampled everything we could at this great Farmer's Market. We were tempted to buy everything- pastries, crepes, pretzels, fudge, cupcakes, and more- but I settled on a currywurst, which I'd never had before. It was a bratwurst with ketchup and curry powder, and much tastier than it sounds.

Howth is tiny, so I'm pretty sure we explored all of it. But it was well worth the trip. We discovered this old castle that now houses a culinary school. It's surrounded by an idyllic meadow, and the sunlight hitting the grass was almost hypnotizing. Exactly how I've always imagined Ireland.

Mom, when I get very rich, I'll buy you a summer home out there. It seems like a place you'd really like.

At another outdoor market, we sampled a bunch of jams and honeys. I really liked the damson preserves. Damson is apparently a fruit that only grows in Ireland. It tastes like a plum mixed with raspberries- very tasty. I got a pot of chai tea in a warm teashop while we waited for our train. We were exhausted from all the walking, and we spent some quiet time just watching little Irish kids eat their cupcakes and interact with their grandparents.

Back in Dublin, it was obviously time to eat again. For our last Irish meal, I got great Shepherd's pie at a very traditional pub... that was set on playing terrible and cheesy American music from the 1970s and 80s. Rick Astley was the best of it, to give you a clue of how bad it was. But we endured! The food was well worth it.

On our flight back the next morning, I recognized many University of Edinburgh students on our plane who had also spent their weekend in Dublin. All of us were visiting students- only the internationals spend every weekend on an adventure in a foreign country! And what an adventure it was. We ate great food, saw beautiful sites, and did some essentially Irish things, and made it back in time for class on Monday. 

Here's a video I quickly put together that lets you see a bit of what Dublin was like, and lets you all hear my voice again! It's Oscar-worthy.