6 Nations Rugby Game!

Scotland vs. Italy

On Saturday, Alexa and I headed to the 6 Nations Rugby Game, Scotland vs. Italy. Well, apparently this game was a match up of the two worst teams in the league (go figure) so the one who lost this game would be given the wooden spoon and you don't want that!

Getting ready for a scrum

The game was at 2:30, so Lex and I met up at a bar to have a drink, then got on the bus and headed to Murray Field. It reminded me a lot of going to a UCONN football game at home, except not as much tailgating, which I was surprised. Maybe that has to do with a lot of people use public transportation and don't necessarily drive?

We were very close to the action considering our stands were three stands away from the field. Who ever said rugby is similar to football has never seen a real rugby game before. It was brutal! They wear no pads and absolutely knock the poop right out of each other! But shh don't tell anyone I still like football better! The game was only 80 minutes, with running time so it made the game go by faster, which is nice because at home games, no matter what sport, go on forever!

Final Score!

The best part was Scotland won 21-8! When leaving the stadium, Lex and I were trying to decide if we should walk back to our rooms or take the bus. Well, it was pretty clear that the buses were not getting through, since everyone who was at the game was walking right down the middle of the road. So we ended up walking back to our rooms. It only took us about 40 mins, which I think would have been quicker than taking the bus. Even though it was a little chilly, we at least burned off some of what we consumed that day!

 

Lex and me enjoying the game!

Overall, I would say it was a great success! I am really happy I got to see a real rugby game! When I got back from the game, my flatmates and I made dinner together and then just sat and talked until around 1030. It was really nice to get a chance to hangout with them, especially because I may not really get the chance again to because of the holiday coming up and when our exams are! After such an eventful day, I was glad to watch a movie, It Takes Two, and just chill for the night!

One more week of classes left and then I am off on our two week adventure around Europe! This next month is going to go by so fast; part of me is excited I am going home soon and the other part is wondering where did March go?

Only 24 more days until my family comes...I am pretty sure I can wait 24 days!

St. Patrick's Day

The sign at the bar

So Thursday was St. Patrick's day and since arriving in Scotland everyone has been saying that St. Patrick's day is celebrated bigger here than in Ireland. Once Thursday rolled around, I was interested to see if it was really true. And from what I experienced I would say everyone was correct!

After getting up and going to classes, some of us decided we would meet around 5ish at the pub, The Three Sisters, for drinks and listen to the live concert they were having. Well of course, by the time I got back to my room, chilled for a bit, went to the gym and then got ready it was closer to 6. I then headed down to the pub and to my amazement this place was PACKED. Everyone was either wearing green, with the leprechaun hats, or shamrock necklaces. The nice part about Three Sisters is they have a patio outside, and good thing it was a nice day because if it wasn't there would be no way everyone could fit inside the pub! The amazing thing was there was a sign saying "Pub opens at 9am on 17th of March, free breakfast until 11"! Who would ever go to a pub at 9am on St. Patty's day? Well apparently in Scotland people do! After getting a few drinks, and finally going to the bathroom I went to go find everyone but couldn't. So I left and stopped by my other favorite pub Finnegan's Wake, but same thing...you could barely move inside the pub; there were so many people. 

So I guess I would say, with out even going to Ireland that Scotland does celebrate St. Patrick's Day to the fullest. It was a lot of fun, all the dancing, drinking, people dressed up and I am really happy to have experienced such a holiday here!

401 in SCOTLAND!

The Crew: Me, Alexa, Erin, Kristin, Laure, Rachel and Natasha

Me at Malones

After a pretty stressful week researching, outlining and writing essays it was an awesome feeling knowing that our friends from Roger Williams, who are studying in London, were coming to visit this past weekend. Well lets just say it was a great weekend. They all arrived on Friday and after settling in and figuring out where people were going to sleep we all went to the Library Pub to get a few drinks. Once we were there, we had the opportunity to all sit together and just talk about what has been going on in London and Scotland since the last time we have seen each other. After having a few drinks we headed to one of our favorite pubs, Malones, and had a few drinks and just enjoyed the night. We actually ended up closing the down the pub, which has never happened to me! It was awesome just to be there with our friends, who we love so much, and just be able to laugh and joke with each other. From there we all went back to either Alexa or my room and went to sleep.


Well much to our surprise, we woke up to snow on the ground Saturday. It is too bad that it snowed since we all wanted to hike up Arthur's seat, but I guess the girls got a taste of Scotland weather. You can never predict what it is going to be like; it is constantly changing throughout the day! So instead we went to Elephant and Bagels for breakfast, went to the castle, then to Calton Hill, down to Holyrood Palace. After a busy morning, we headed to Southsider to have lunch and a drink. After word we all went back to our rooms and just hung out and rested. Of course, Tash, Lauren and I watched one of our favorite movies, She's the Man.

Tash, Alexa, Kristin, Chipmunk, Lauren, Erin, Rachel and  Me

Saturday night, Alexa and I took the girls out on a pub crawl. Our first stop was a pub right near where I live. Funny thing, the pub was full of people dressed up and the chipmunk insisted on taking a picture with us, so we did! We then went to Rose Street, which has pub after pub on each side of the street. Then we went to Finnegan's Wake, a traditional Irish Pub, with live music and dancing. And again we closed down the pub...I don't know if I should be proud of that or not? After walking around the city during the day and then again at night; we were all pretty tired. So Lauren, Tash and I came back to my room where we skyped our friends back at Roger Williams and then went to sleep.

Sign in the tunnel

Sunday rolled around pretty quickly. We all met at Elephants and Bagels and then headed to the Royal Mile for an Underground Ghost Tour. Well little did we know is that you are literally underneath South Bridge street, in these moldy, damp tunnels that are supposedly hunted. The tour was pretty interesting; and only the last room was creepy. He had everyone turn off their cell phones and cameras. Had the women line up on the right side and the men on the left side because apparently the ghost, who lives in that room, likes to attack women, but prefers to attack on the left side. I guess the ghost is trapped because decades ago South Bridge Street caught fire and everyone hid down in these tunnels thinking they would be safe. Since stone does not catch fire, but gets really hot he essentially burned to death due to the heat radiating off the stones. It was a quick tour (I don't think I could last through the longer one) and very informational. Too bad I was trying to keep myself focused on not thinking about ghosts that I can't remember everything that he said.

Lauren and me on the Royal Mile

From there we did some touristy shopping. All the girls from London got some traditional rugby shirts to bring home. I still need to get one! After that Tash and Rachel had to catch the bus to head to the airport to go back to London. Rachel had class on Monday and Tash had a paper due. After saying our goodbyes, Erin, Kristin, Lauren, Alexa and I went to the market to get pasta for dinner, three bottles of wine and came back to my room. We played a few rounds of cards, had dinner and then just relaxed with each other and enjoyed one an others company.


On Monday, we tried to hike up Arthur's Seat with the girls but it was raining so after getting breakfast we came back to my room and watched The Parent Trap. It was such a good movie, and after visiting London it was nice to actually be able to relate to the different places they filmed. Unfortunately, the morning flew by and it was time for Lauren, Erin and Kristin to head back to London.

After dropping them off at the bus stop, Alexa and I headed back to our rooms. On our way back to our rooms we realized that we only have two weeks left of classes and that in 10 days we will be on our adventure through Europe. I am really excited to travel and to visit all these different places. Then the best part, my family will be in Scotland a few days after I return from my trip! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...it is getting a little bit brighter!

Rachel, Erin, Kristin, Lauren, Tash and me outside of Parliament

Halftime!

Today, I officially found out when my exams are and even though they are all within the same week of each other, and I might be a little over tired that week, I have exactly two months left of my junior year in college! Kind of mixed feeling if you ask me. I'm really excited that I have finally found out when my exams are, and now that I have the opportunity to move my flight up and come home earlier is a great feeling as well. However, where has the time gone? Am I really only two months away from finishing my junior year; it feels like I was just in the spring semester of my freshman year...ahhh!

So now that I have realized that I am exactly half way through my time abroad the time has gone by a lot quicker than I expected and that makes me even more aware of how quickly the next two months are going to go especially when classes end and I am on my two week adventure around Europe, I know what a rough life!

Second and Goal

Alexa, Katie and me

Well, I have made it two months and I would say that is a pretty good accomplishment for me since I have never been away from home for more than 6 weeks. I do have to say that looking back these past two months have gone by very fast, but also at the same time it feels as if January was years ago and not just two months ago. I remember when I was filling out my calender and counting down the days until my family comes thinking how awesome it is going to feel when the March side of the calender is up...and well it is an extremely cool feeling! There are just some feelings that you can't put into words and this is one of them. I really am proud of myself and everyone else that has gone abroad or is currently abroad.

Now that I have successfully floated my own boat, I do have to say I am so excited March is here. Not only do I have just three weeks of classes left (woohoo!), our Eurotrip will be starting very soon and then my family comes. However, before I can enjoy my last few months here I have to get through just a few more essays. Who ever thought it was a good idea to make study abroad students actually do work was probably on something. Do you know how hard it is to sit down and write a few thousand word papers, when your view from your room looks out onto a hill that people are constantly climbing, or if you decide to go to the library the view looks over a meadow with people hanging outside, running, playing games or enjoying the weather? I think they should make an excepting for study abroad kids and just give them all B's; that is pretty much what we are all working towards, just B's.

Other than the fact that I only have three more weeks worth of classes left in my Junior year of college (yikes), nothing really new to report. Just hoping that the weather continues to stay nice and these next three weeks go by at a nice pace. This weekend part of the Roger Williams Crew that is abroad in London will be coming to visit and I am super excited to see them. It is going to feel like we are back at school again just hanging out with each other. Only 38 more days until my family comes, which is pretty close to a month and I have definitely gone a month with out seeing them so this will be a piece of cake!

Cheers!

View from Arthur's Seat