The Wind and the Rain

Pockets have a whole different purpose here than in Santa Barbara. At home, I would use my pockets to keep things in (phone, spare change, what have you), but here pockets have the additional important function of keeping your hands warm. If you don't have pockets and are walking around for long periods of time, you better have mittens.

The weather has certainly begun to shift into a more wintry pattern. It rains for a little while nearly every day, and the wind can be ferocious at times. On Monday evening and Tuesday morning, the wind was so intense I did not feel comfortable biking home, so left my bike locked up downtown. Walking was also a bit difficult unless you were leaning at a slant, and though it was raining there was no point in using an umbrella. Umbrellas would just immediately turn inside out and besides, the rain was coming from all angles and could not be escaped. Almost everyone came to my Italian class completely soaked, as if they had been pushed into a pool with their clothes on. It has been more subtle since then, and it has actually been mostly sunny today and yesterday.

Anyways, I guess that is enough about the weather. Here is what I've been doing this past week:

• I finally made it to one of the Canoe Club sessions on Monday and again on Thursday. We practice in the pool at the boarding school called St. Leonards or in the ocean/harbor. It is a lot of fun, but so much different than the kayaking I'm used to at home. I signed up to go on the trip down the River Tay this weekend, and am excited/nervous to try river kayaking. There are 55 of us going, but I think we will split into smaller groups with experienced kayaker leaders for going down the river. Hopefully it doesn't rain too much- it's supposed to be a nice 55° Fahrenheit this weekend.

                          

                                  One kind of kayak they have here

Kind of kayak I'm used to

• I went on my weekend excursion up north, and managed to see everything I wanted to. I had no problems, other than some transportation issues which got me kind of upset but were minor in the long run. I got up in the morning and walked over to the transit center, where I got my bus heading to Kinross. The bus ride was very beautiful, because it was early in the morning and there was frost making everything sparkle outside. When I got to Kinross, it was too early for anything to be open other than a coffee chain store, so I went inside and got a muffin. I then walked over to Kirkgate park (it is kind of weird, but I never really made the connection before that "kirk" means "church", it's a helpful Scots word to know) and took some photos. 

I used Traveline to help me plan my trip

After that, I went over to the docks to catch a boat to Loch Leven Castle (for more info, see previous post). It was really awesome because there were only two of us plus the ferryman on the first boat, so when I got to the island, I got to be one of only three people on it and could explore the castle pretty much unattended. I know this is dorky, but I love it when that happens, because I feel like an adventurer, like I'm discovering the place rather than being a simple tourist. I caught the bus to Birnam next, or rather I caught the bus to Birnam but did not get off at Birnam.

Ms. Tiggy Winkle

Apparently I wasn't clear enough when I got on, or the bus driver forgot, so we drove straight through Birnam without even stopping. I started to panic a little, and asked the old couple behind me if they knew what the next stop was. I ended up getting off in Pitlochry, about 10 miles north, and walking around there for an hour before catching a bus south again. It was nice because I had kind of wanted to see Pitlochry anyway, so got to have a brief overview. When I got to Birnam, I went to the Beatrix Potter Exhibit, which had some charming displays about her life and works, and some cute toddlers dressing up in costumes (like Ms. Tiggy Winkle) and playing in a lovely toy kitchen. I left through a garden, and walked over across a bridge Telford made (I am a super Telford fan) and into downtown Dunkeld.

I stopped at an antique store and a craft store, then headed over to the cathedral. The lighting was spectacular when I got there, and I spent a while in both the gardens and the church itself. I didn't think I would have enough time since I was delayed by the bus, but I realized after going to the cathedral, that I still could visit The Hermitage. I had a brief viewing of the Atholl monument, and got a bite to eat, then walked almost two miles to the Hermitage entrance. I continued my walk on a trail through a very pretty forest, and eventually got to Ossian's Hall of Mirrors, a very deceiving structure. From far away it looked exactly like Hagrid's Hut from Harry Potter, but as I got closer, I saw the door was made of the same bricks that the building was made of, as if someone had decided to seal over the entrance. There was instructions to "Slide the first door, push the second", so I did so (feeling very much like Alice of Wonderland fame) and found myself in a peculiar round hall with odd mirror-like decorations. I walked a bit further and found a spectacular view of one of the most beautiful waterfalls I have ever seen. The hall was once covered in mirrors, so it could reflect the falls and make them appear to be all around you, but unfortunately it isn't any longer. After leaving the hall, I went over to a bridge to get another view, then walked back to Dunkeld.

I caught a train at Dunkeld Station, which was unmanned, something I'm not used to. I bought my ticket on the train, and watched the sun setting as I travelled to Perth. In Perth, I easily caught the train to Dundee, but had some complications with the buses in Dundee once I got there. None of the buses would stop at the stops I tried standing at, even though signs at the stops said they were supposed to. I eventually gave up and walked over to the transit center, where I got a bus to St. Andrews. Trains/subways have always been my favorite mode of transportation, and so far I much prefer their service over buses here.
Here are some pictures:

• I went to Knitting Society on Friday, and plan to go again tonight. I am almost done with my Peerie Flooers Mittens by my favorite pattern maker, Kate Davies (who lives in Scotland!). I am also working on redoing my Loch Ness Monster on smaller needles, as I had the gauge wrong last time, and the cotton showed through the stitches.

• I am liking my classes and my teachers/professors/tutors. I have a interesting mix of educators: My main anthropology lecturer is very unconventional and will often go off on tangents about his experiences in Uganda and curse when something (like the powerpoint) doesn't work how he wants it to. He is very amusing, and I feel like I am learning a lot even though at times it doesn't seem like it. My anthropology tutor seems like a nice man, though I've only had one tutorial, so don't know him very well. My Italian tutor is also really nice, and I really enjoy that class despite my difficulty picking up foreign languages. My main art history lecturer is quite formal and proper, with very succinct and well planned out lectures. He always finishes on a note that makes you think, and I like his style very much. Lastly, my art history tutor is also very kind. On Monday, I accidentally read my calendar wrong and went to the lecture hall for my Art History Lecture instead of my tutorial (I had to sneak out of the hall, very embarrassed, when I found out I was at the Medieval History lecture) and she was nice about me being late.

• I went to an Ents Crew meeting on Sunday, for putting on events at St. Andrews, and a tech social on Wednesday. I am enjoying it so far, and look forward to doing shows in the future.

• I went to a Design team meeting on Tuesday, and was happy to make some connections with fellow designers and photographers. I showed someone my portfolio, which I realized was in dire need of updating, so spent the latter part of the evening fixing it up. If you're interested, here's the link: http://www.nathaliemitchell.com It is full of flash, so may take a while to load (sorry!).

Sorry for such a long post! Thanks for reading! I miss you all!

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