The hand that holds Sterling, holds Scotland

Oh how the Highlands rejuvenate the soul!!! There are no words for the landscape north of Edinburgh. Rolling hills (they claim are mountains) covered in snow and swirling streams of water. Sheep peacefully grazing and highland cows wandering aimlessly. Castles there are like Starbucks, they are on every corner and are a guaranteed high. You see one and you want to drink it one tip of the cup, letting its warmth sink down your throat! And yet it leaves you wanting more, and the next day you have a headache if your eyes can't find one. We were lucky enough to go to Loch Ness on a sunny, flawless day and thus were able to see every speck of beauty out our tour windows. As usual we were aware of how different we are, such as us running and jumping through the fields on our bus breaks while others walked around with heavy shoulders. For those of you who saw our pictures, you can tell we are ones who want to fully absorb it all, in every way we can!

After Loch Ness and the castle there we moved on to Inverness, where we went hiking on the Great Glenn Way and wandered the city. After that we took the train to Dundee where my friend Matt picked us up and let us stay at his lovely flat. The next day was the most magical of all, and the fullest too. We went to the infamous St. Andrews and experienced the posh golf course there. We walked along the beach on another perfect day, and marvelled at the old stone around us. After that we went to a small town up the coast called Creole, where Matt's darling parents live. We wandered the oceanfront with them and went to a warm pub for fish-n-chips, and of course looked at embarrassing photos of Matt as a baby :-) Then came my personal favorite, something I have DREAMED of doing for so so long! Can you guess? I have always wanted to see it snow on the beach, and not just flakes but snow that sticks. I couldn't imagine what it would feel like, that slick soft wetness of snow mixed with the grainy earthy sand. It was absolutely freezing but we didn't care, we danced and jumped and played and embraced this phenomenon. It truly was a magical day, and I was so glad I got to see more of Scotland than Edinburgh, for I know cities are not a proper portrayal of a country. Now I am in Belfast, and will report more when I slow down enough!

Murder in Glencoe

Does everyone know the story of the MacDonalds and the Campbells? The MacDonalds invited a neighboring clan, the Campbells, to a festive dinner party one cold, winter night at their dwelling in majestic Glencoe. Glencoe is surrounded by snow-laced peaks and bitter air, and when the Campbells arrived they were counting on this cold weather to act in their favor, and so came the tradgedy. The Campbells slaughtered the MacDonalds, using their hospitality and open doors against them to savagely betray their neighbors. The MacDonald women and children fled to a nearby cave that was meant for the most dire of circumstances, and the men stayed and battled. As their men were being slaughtered above the women and children hid in the cave, knowing they would need to stay there for many months. After the Campbells claimed victory they realized there were missing members of the clan, but decided to let those women and children fend for themselves in the freezing, barren land and perish in their own manner. So the rest of the MacDonalds stayed in the cave for one year, and as they finally peaked their heads out, realized their enemies were gone, but surely not far. The rest of the MacDonalds fled to Northern Ireland, where they stayed in a castle by the sea, where on a rare clear day they could see thier ravished homeland of Scotland only seventeen miles away.
This story sits so heavily with so many Scottish people that in 2002 they had a reconciliation with both clans where they forgave one another for the acts that occured hundreds of years ago. It is said that if your surname is Campbell, to this day, you will be treated differently in school.

Grad Parties, Nessie and Fire Alarms

So, we are DONE! Have our certificates in hand, backpacks on our shoulders, and smiles on our faces! Well, I should say we do NOW, last week was too many hugs goodbye and cleaning products. We had a big party at our apartment Thursday night then proceeded to drink until three. Of course we had school the next morning, and it being Europe and all, the program bought us champagne to toast our completion at noon. There was laughing crying and loving bickering throughout the weekend and we traded sleep for reminiscing and pints. Now we have moved out of our apartment, said goodbye to the lovely people in our CELTA program, and are wandering around the Scottish Highlands, My friend Becca flew in to Edinburgh from Wales on Saturday, and since then we have been busy with walking, drinking and touring. We stayed at a hostel Saturday night in Edinburgh where we had an EXCESSIVELY drunk Aussie pound on our door in a most frightening manner. After that we though the worst was over.......then he pulled the fire alarm. That's right, 4am and there are about fifty of us standing in the street in the freezing cold watching as a fire engine searches our hostel. To say the least, we didn't sleep well, but at least we got a nice anecdote out of it!

Today has been simply amazing (though we were zombies through most of it). We caught the 8am tour to Loch Ness and the Ulquart Castle sitting on it. We had the perfect weather, sunny skies! It was frigid, but the pictures look lovely. We saw snow on the jagged mountains and got up close to Highland cows, all while trying not to throw up on the bus. We loved the castle, even more so because it is nearly ruins now. It is like a giant come over and stepped on a child's Lego's.....but somehow it manages to be breathtaking in all its crumbling. We have a nice hostel tonight and are so excited to go to bed early. Tomorrow we want to wander around Inverness and do some hiking to lift our souls! But at this point they are already on the rise, for it is finally sinking in that we are on vacation! No more twelve hour days and grammatical torture, just writing in coffee shops and loitering around lovely forgotten buildings. What can be better? Right now, it seems like nothing could be.......