A Palace, Perth, and a song by the Piano Man

Some days I wake up and think I'm in Claremont. Some days I think I'm in Torrance. But when I situate myself, I realize I'm truly glad to be here. And amongst all the confusion, one thing's for sure- I've been keeping busy! It's been an exciting couple of days. 

Wednesday night, like the linguistics nerd I am, I went to a lecture about the evolution of the Faroese language, and then headed to my new favorite coffee shop to treat myself to a chai latte. Apparently they aren't chai tea lattes. It contains no tea- only sugar!

It's nice to be in a city where I can conveniently stop to pick up groceries at 10:30 at night on my way home- it's a whole different lifestyle. Of course, most things do open pretty early and close pretty early, like the museums and shops. After about 8 pm, you can get kebabs, pizza, and some groceries. You're basically expected to either be home with the family or in a pub. 

Although our Pomona Modern Scotland class is a bit dull, it's fun for us all to see each other again and make faces across the table as we pretend to absorb the intricacies of British politics. I have learned a lot about Scotland though, just from being here, seeing all of the historic buildings, and yes, doing the readings. The feuds between clans seem so ridiculous! They fought to the death every time. I feel bad for the Scots who were starving and living 10 to a tiny flat, while the aristocrats lived in luxury. I guess the world's always been like that, though.

Our professor seems to be convinced that the 2014 referendum for Scottish independence will not go through; he says at this point, the only incentive is the growing sense of Scottish nationalism, but that it doesn't really make sense economically. We'll see, though.

But enough about academics and the real world- Baking Society is much more important. This week's theme was biscuits, which I learned basically just means cookies. I made cinnamon biscuits, which turned out okay. I was definitely outshown by MANY of the other bakers! My favorite was the Millionaire's Shortbread- a shortbread base with caramel and chocolate layers. I also really liked the anzac biscuits, which are Australian coconut cookies. We pigged out on cookies and tea for an hour and then did a baking-themed quiz. It's pretty much the best club ever. My flatmates loved me for bringing home the leftovers! They all want to join now, especially since next week's theme is Chocolate.

My cinnamon biscuits- perfect with a glass of milk

The cookies I aspire to make

After spending all day Friday hitting the books, I took up my French flatmate Camille's offer to meet a few of her friends in the evening. We had a crowd of one American, 4 French, a few Brits, a German or two, a guy from Luxembourg, a Norwegian girl, a Greek girl, and two people from Finland. Like always, people ask me how I can bear the weather here. I get a lot of street cred coming from "LA". Torrance is hardly LA, but I'll take it. I learned the British variations of a few card games, met Zach the snake, and on the way home, tried a real Scottish delicacy that I'd be craving- a McFlurry! In my defense, it had Cadbury Crunchies in it, so at least I couldn't get it in the States. And it was delicious and cheap.

Alex and I woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to go on the International Student Centre's trip to the Scone Palace and Perth. (I learned that "Scone" needs to be pronounced so it rhymes with "gone".) The palace itself is really beautiful on the outside, but a little extravagant for my taste on the inside. Every little detail- the priceless series of ivory sculptures, the silk tapestries, the rare vases, the hundreds of sets of hand-painted porcelain- is basically there as a sign of wealth to impress the Queen when she visits. Her visits are announced two years in advance to give this Scottish royal family time to properly prepare for her. Geez. Still, it was cool to learn about their centuries-old traditions, see old family portraits, and imagine living in a palace with over thirty bedrooms. 

The Stone of Scone is rumored to be Jacob's Pillow, from the Bible. It got carried from country to country for thousands of years, ended up in Scotland, and became a holy artifact that Scottish kings were crowned upon. Then the English stole it and put it under their throne to symbolize their dominance. Not too long ago, the Scots took it back, and then developed their own Parliament. Booyah, England. There's only a replica at the Palace- the "real" one is at Edinburgh Castle. Apparently, though, the "real" stone was quarried somewhere in Scotland, so it isn't really Jacob's Pillow... But it's still an important piece of Scottish history, and a cool story.

The lovely Scone Palace

Yep, I live here. Maybe my Scottish ancestors were royal?

I loved this red ivy

The Palace has a few Higland Cows, tons of peacocks, and one Alex pretending to be a cow.

Just a replica- don't get too excited! Pretty lame-looking, actually.

This frog is royally dead. Get it?

Our next stop was the town of Perth. Scots have told me that Perth really isn't anything special, but I thought it was a lot of fun! Kind of the suburban cousin to urban Edinburgh. We went to their Farmer's Market. The produce was limited mostly to root vegetables, mainly. Shocker. But they had a bunch of super fresh meat, fish (the town is right along the River Tay, Scotland's longest), and great cheese. We had tons of tasty samples, including oatcakes, banana chutney, and strawberries, which were surprisingly tasty. And the weather was beautiful and the people were smiling, and there were great candy stores around. So I was happy. We had a few hours left, so we explored the rest of Perth's city centre- the riverbank, the museum, and a little carnival! I so desperately wanted to ride all the rides, but they were too expensive. And I was older than those kids by a good 10 years. When I realize I'm at an age where it's more appropriate for me to think about buying insurance than buying ride tickets, I feel ancient.

The Tay

A beautiful view of the river and the town. And we were excited!

Too excited?

At the museum- learning the ways of the warrior...

And the Operatic Viking lady? Not even sure who would wear a helmet like this!

When I graduate, I kind of want to be a Carnie. I'll work on growing a beard.

Back in Edinburgh, we saw Yoda the Street Performer. That's a first!

Then I watched the sun set from my bedroom window before heading to a coffee shop to do some reading. The guys at the table next to me were from Spain, and I realized how much I miss hearing and speaking Spanish. But although I get nostalgic for SoCal, I really do enjoy every day here. Look at this view! It's autumn. The trees are changing colors. It's already a week into October... where has the time gone?

We met up with some Pomona people on Saturday night, which made me so grateful to be living where I am. My friend is in a 12-person flat! 6 people sharing a fridge... Not ideal. But his flatmates seem lovely, so things could be worse for him.

Speaking of flatmates, my flatmates and I did the second of our Sunday night cooking sessions: fajitas, salsa, and nachos, with fridge cake for dessert- basically crushed up Digestives (chocolate cookies), with more chocolate, butter, and golden syrup, topped with marshmallows. We talked for hours, and it was really a perfect way to end the weekend. I promised to try to cook them a proper American Thanksgiving meal come November. We decided our current goal is to decorate our flat more. We've been told it looks like a doctor's office waiting room...

Making salsa

From left to right- Katy, Gemma, Camille

Tea! (AKA dinner)

Pudding! (AKA dessert)

My other current goals: plan an agenda for our upcoming trips to Dublin and London (!!!), write a paper about English education policies in China, stop getting sucked into every used book store that I pass, and learn about the Jacobite Rebellions.

Before I collapse on my bed for the night, I need to write about one last thing- the Vienna Boys Choir performance! Alex and I got great seats at great prices because we're students. The theatre itself was beautiful, and the boys were incredibly talented. They memorized two hours of music, played piano and guitar in some songs, had solos, and did some hilarious choreography in a few numbers. And I don't know any human who can actually hit and hold those kinds of notes. They're touring the world; I'm very impressed. The best part was watching them fidget, yawn, and scratch their hair- they're only like 10 years old, after all. We were basically the only members of the audience under 75 years old, besides a few young kids. Many of the senior folk took naps during the classical songs. The highlight of the show was their cover of Billy Joel's "Vienna". Brilliant choice, obviously. And one of my favorite songs.

Hope all is well in the States. Stay tuned for my adventures at a Wine and Cheese lecture, an acoustic concert, and Stirling Castle!