Oh My!

I forgot to tell you about Raisin Monday!  It is a HUGE tradition here--Basically you get academic parents to assist you here and you give them a bottle of wine and they will give you a "raisin receipt" (in my case, a Physics magazine with a Latin message) and it eventually culminates in a crazy shaving cream fight!  So much fun.  You can read more about the tradition at the link below.
Suffice to say, your academic mother can dress you up in anything and it was FREEZING (raining) outside~! 

http://www.saint-andrews.co.uk/raisin.htm

This is me with my academic family (including all my siblings!) obviously after a very fun shaving cream fight!

Football, Rugby, Rotary Ball and more!

My friend Bethany, an ambassadorial scholar from Wisconsin was able to snag tickets to Dundee United Football (ie Soccer) games--We went and it was great fun-even though we lost.  Tomorrow we are attending another game between Dundee and the Celtics, which should be great fun. 

I attended my first Rugby match--the reigning South African champs vs. the Scots!  The match took place in Edinburgh and since we were in Scotland, naturally, it was very cold and very rainy, but still so much fun!  Men were decked out in their kilts and when Scotland took the lead (and kept the lead) everyone burst out in the Scottish national anthem-I was very proud of my adoptive country!

I went to the Rotary Ball last night, which was perhaps the funnest thing I've done since I've been in St. Andrews.  The dinner was nice, the company lovely, and the ceilidhs (Scottish Dancing), amazingly fun.  The gentlemen were very kind to teach us American girls how to do it.  We learned the best way was to hang on for dear life while they whirled us around the floor.  I told one of my partners that I understood now why the ladies in old movies always needed to go outside to catch their breath.    
The Rotarians are so much fun and so kind--I am having a fantastic time!

Papers, Readings, Presentations, Oh My!  School has been keeping me very busy and it looks like the pace is only going to increase!  Fortunately, I've been able to make time for a few other things as well...

A couple weeks ago I went to a Bull Sale in Stirling with the president of the St. Andrews Club--it was a nice day and on the way back we stopped at the William Wallace monument.

I spoke at the Cupar Rotary meeting last Wednesday--Cupar is the club my host Rotarian, Peter is from.  Everyone was very welcoming, very nice, and the food was great too!  They meet in this restaurant that previously served as a jail! 

Last weekend, I attended the Rotary District conference or at least parts of it.  It was in Inverness, the capital of the Highlands and on our way to the conference there was a 12 car pile up due to Black Ice!  We were obviously detained so we ended up going through a national park, finally arrived at the conference, and then afterward our Host took us to Lock Ness to search for Nessie!  She is quite elusive and though we did not find her we did find an old castle ruin to explore and were able to take lots of pictures of the beautiful Highland scenery.  

Travel plans:  I'm not going to be able to go home for Christmas, which saddens me a great deal.  So me and another Rotary Scholar, Sarah, decided to cheer ourselves up.... we are spending Christmas in Paris, then travel into the Swiss Alps and then into Italy for New Years in Rome!

All my love,

Amanda

Oh how I love St. Andrews

Living in the Golf Capital of the World can definitely have its benefits even for (gasp) a non-golfer, such as myself!  The Dunhill Links Championship is currently going and today since I didn't have any class, me and a few friends decided that we were going to go watch some rounds:

Here's a few things I learned in the first 30 minutes we were at the Old Course:
1) There isn't a lot of cheering that goes on in golf--not even after they hit the ball--just some polite clapping.

2) Girls giggling because they hear Hugh Grant may be around will get you a hand in the air, which means be quiet.

So with that new found knowledge, mostly that Hugh Grant might be around, we left the Old Course to embark on Operation hunt Hugh Grant!

Well this led us to a course a course in Kingsbarn, which is about 6 miles away.  Fortunately a friend had a car so we were off on an adventure!   So after driving to Kingsbarn, walking through a cow pasture, walking up hills, mucking through mud and sand, and stopping at countless holes to see if one would be the lucky hole with Hugh--we finally broke down and asked someone, who very kindly pointed the direction without laughing; however, when we went back to him and said "Oh by the way I heard Samuel L. Jackson may be here as well?"  Then he started laughing, but very kindly (which seems to be the Scottish way) pointed us to his direction as well.

Finally as we are running up a hill (didn't want him to get away!)  we have to stop abruptly because there he was right before our eyes so naturally we all pull out our cameras and start feverishly taking pictures, his caddy gave him a club, he waved to the crowd and started practices.  On his turn, he took a shot, walked down the hill (we had to stay on the outskirts) but when he came out we ran up to him and asked if he would take a picture with us.  He very graciously agreed and even stayed around afterward to look at the picture and make sure it turned out.  I can now quite confidently say that it is no wonder that Julia Roberts, Drew Barrymore, and Emma Thompson have all fallen in love with him--He is quite charming, both on screen and off.

Lovely Lovely St. Andrews

My time so far in St. Andrews can perfectly be described in one word:  Lovely.

My favorite part has been meeting so many fantastic people from all over the world--I live in Post Graduate University Housing with people from all over the world-next door to me is a very wonderful English Chap from Oxford, down the hall is a lovely girl from Italy--I share meals with people from Germany, South Africa, and Canada!  I've had fun learning British slang, being teased about my Southern tendencies (ex: "What are ya'll doin?") I spent the weekend exploring St. Andrews-crawling through defensive mines built in the 16th Century, exploring old castles and cathedrals, and then jogging along the West Sands Beach.  Anyone seen 'Chariots of Fire'?  That is where I was jogging.

Classes started this week and I'm so excited to get started: I've had a lecture and a tutorial (seminar) on International Relations of the Middle East which looks to be stimulating and thought provoking.  I have Central Asia in Global Politics tomorrow, but I'm sure I will like it equally as well.

The weather has been quite nice:  Granted, I have gotten rather use to my rain boots (though we've had a few days of pure sunshine) and the temperature has been in the 50s so just enough for a warm sweater.


Cheers!Amanda

To see more pictures visit: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2509679&id=9609651&l=8490ee915b

I have arrived!

Dear All,

After a very tearful goodbye and a long plane ride, I've made it to St. Andrews.  If you don't know, I was honored to be selected as the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar for District 6110.   I am in Scotland to attend the University of St. Andrews studying Middle East and Central Asian Security Studies.

Though I've made it to Scotland, my luggage decided it needed a bit longer vacation in London so I am still waiting for it.  But because my mother is  brilliant, she insisted I carry a few change of clothes in my carry-on in case my luggage was lost, so I do have some changes of clothes with me.\

I met my Host Rotarian Peter yesterday, he was very kind.  In fact, everyone I've had the chance to meet have been very welcoming.  A good start.

It was such a beautiful day yesterday with the sun shining.  I awoke to the sound of rain today and it has been raining all morning, but it is still beautiful--once it clears up a but I will take my camera and take pictures of the beautiful scenery to post.

All my love,

Amanda



 

Scotland Bound

Hi everyone!  I created this Blog (or actually Rachael created this blog for me) so that it will be easier for everyone back home to keep up with my adventures when I cross the Big Pond!  I am going to use it to capture my thoughts, keep everyone updated and post pictures.  I will also be able to read comments from everyone!

Fortunately, I'm not leaving until September 17th as I still have much to do:  Get my plane ticket, pack, finalize housing, but most importantly, I have a lot more playing with Rhett and spending time with my family that I need to do before I can go!

xoxo
Amanda