Greetings from the land of deep-fried everything, from Mars bars to frozen pizzas!
I am happy to report that my ankle is doing quite well, although my throat has been hurting for a week now. I had absolutely no voice yesterday (which many were happy to discover) but my spirits are still high. Actually, I think I giggled this morning when the nurse took a blood sample to test for mono. I will simply chalk these incidents up on my list of adventures in Scotland.
This past weekend, I stayed with a family in Stirling, Scotland, home of Mel Gibson and “Braveheart.” I thought the daylight hours were limited here!! I was astonished that the sun did not get very high above the horizon at all!! Even though I wasn’t feeling up to par, I spent both Saturday and Sunday exploring the Stirling Castle, Stirling University, the city/town, and of course: the William Wallace Monument. After climbing the large hill just to reach the entrance to the monument, I worked my way up 246 steps to the most scenic view in Stirling. (By the way, after climbing the hill, going up and down 246 stairs, and walking 40 minutes into town all on a bum ankle and what could possibly be mono, I don’t want to hear the word ‘wimp’ in my direction for at least a few months).
Wallace’s sword, displayed in one of the few galleries in the interior of the monument, is easily as tall as I am. The monument is a beautiful tribute to his contributions in Scotland. However, the statue outside of the monument is not what one would call “beautiful” or even a tribute. The statue was intended to resemble Wallace, but really Mel Gibson in his famous lead role. In fact, ‘Braveheart’ is gaudily inscribed on Wallace’s shield. The locals, finding the statue appalling, found it a sport to deface the Gibson-Wallace figure a few times per week (this situation being somewhat similar to the Mermaid in Copenhagen, Denmark). The continuous vandalism became such an issue that now, each night, a cage is put around the statue to keep the locals away. When one visits this statue, it is hard to appreciate the work of art standing in front of gaudy slabs of metal fencing which protect the statue at night.
I enjoyed my trip and my stay in Stirling, however my return for tourist reasons is quite unlikely. Once again, I find myself thankful for Edinburgh and all that it has to offer. Without the castle and the monument, Stirling does not have much else to offer.
Surprisingly the low point of my trip was not my fever. Instead, the worst part of my trip was watching fellow students from the U.S. being disrespectful and downright rude to our hosts and host city. Without going into detail, I will simply say that I was ashamed and embarrassed when I was with this group of students, so much that a friend and I felt the need to apologize to a bus driver for the obnoxious actions of a few of the other students. Honestly, I do not blame anyone for disliking people from the U.S. – I couldn’t even stand them!
As the weekend left me discouraged with humans in general, I was quickly reminded of kindness that still exists. Returning to my flat quite ill, my flatmates met me with tea, homemade cakes and cookies, and a six month supply of throat lozenges (Oh Luden’s Cherry Cough Drops — How I Miss Thee So!!). All three of my flatmates have been helpful while I went to bed feeling miserable.
The second of my uplifting stories is quite spectacular – I must say. Yesterday morning I found myself quite hungry with not enough time to go back to my flat for a snack. I stopped into a small coffee shop with fresh scones, muffins, and croissants. I did not have cash on me so before I ordered, I asked the owner if he accepted credit cards (which proved very difficult considering the fact that I had absolutely no voice at all). Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to accept credit cards, so I said I would return the next day with cash to purchase a muffin. He asked what kind of muffin I wanted, and I explained again that I didn’t have any cash on me but I would surely return to buy a muffin. To end the story, the man sent me off with a huge multi-berry muffin (one which I picked out) and he simply told me to pay him the next day. How wonderful is that!!
Honestly I am doing quite well in Edinburgh. The sun is staying in the sky longer each day (although it still doesn’t get too high). Mentally and emotionally I am so excited to be here, and I am settling into a routine quite nicely. Aside from the time spent in the waiting room at the doctor’s this morning, even the illness isn’t bothering me — actually, I am surprised at how well I am doing considering the circumstances. Even the doctor was shocked at my attitude about the whole situation!
Now the only thing on my agenda is to stay put in order to feel better. Unfortunately, that means that I finally have time to do a little bit of homework, but I can promise I won’t rush into anything 🙂
Cheers!!