True Cold

We got up in the morning and began our drive down the coastline to Crail, Anstruther, and Pittenweem.

Fife coast

Pigs from the car window

We stopped first at an interesting place we saw on the way called the Cambo Estate. The estate was very grand, but my favorite things were the            tidbits of ruined castle about, a friendly barn-cat, and the free-roaming sheep and cows. When we pulled out of the driveway we were scared at first because we saw something big moving in the brush and then a snout peaking out. Boars were once very common in the area, and that was the first thing that popped into our heads, but it turned out that it was just a couple of domestic pigs behind a small fence. It was still really awesome to see first-hand pigs in their native environment, snuffling around for roots and such (truffles perhaps?).

Barn cat

We kept driving and finally got to Crail, a fishing town. It was absolutely freezing outside- the wind was like a whip made of ice. We walked by the waterfront and down to the small harbor. They do a lot of lobster fishing in the area, and we saw some fishermen at work. My dad and I noticed more "pick up after your dog" signs than we'd ever seen in any other town. A few were pretty amusing (see picture below).

Do not allow your dog to "foul this place"!

Crail Lobstermen

Next we went to Anstruther, another small town, which was even colder. We explored the waterfront there too, along with some cute shops and colorful streets.

Street in Anstruther

After that, we went to Pittenweem, which was the coldest of them all. We went to a few shops and an information center around the harbor, and I got some really great fresh strawberries at a market. I had been feeling a little under the weather, but felt a bit better after eating some of the berries.

Lobster sign

Dad in Crail

Me in Pittenweem

We went back to Leven to see if they had a Vodafone store, to fix something with my new sim card. Unfortunately, they did not have one, so we had to continue on to a mall in Glenrothes. We finally fixed the problem (somewhat) and headed back towards St. Andrews. I am not very happy with Vodafone so far, and may switch to another network. On the way back, I had to have my dad pull over because I somehow pinched a nerve and I had a sudden pain in my shoulder. It was better after I stretched and massaged it, but it was a little bit upsetting.

Back in town I tried to go to the History Society Garden Party, but didn't really like the scene when I got there, so left and sat in St. Salvator's Quad until the Booker Prize Project chats started in Lower College Hall. All the freshers were given copies of A Long Long Way over the summer to discuss as a group (not very many people showed up at the event unfortunately). I enjoyed the book chat- even though I hadn't had time to finish the whole book, I liked hearing what others had to say about it.

After that I went to the crafting society opening event at the union. I was actually pretty disappointed- I was really looking forward to the activities with the crafting society, but the opening event consisted of glitter, colored feathers, pieces of calendar, and trays of Elmer's glue. It was just not really my type of crafting I guess. I still joined the society anyway, I hope their events improve.

I went back to spend some time with my dad after that, and in the evening went back to the Barron Theater to work backstage for the Improvised Play. It was pretty fun because we got to choose whatever we wanted tech-wise to make it as random as possible for the actors. For example, we rigged a bucket full of "Sweet 16" confetti above the stage to sprinkle on the improvisers, and choose weird props from storage. I worked with another girl on sound, and we used effects ranging everywhere from a sheep baa to an explosion.

After the play, the Mermaids group went out for a social. I sat with some of the other techies and we talked about where we were from, our interests, our halls, our studies, etc. I was quite excited because I was officially "adopted", and now have an academic dad, who will be of great importance during Raisin Weekend. St. Andrews academic families take a bit of explaining, so if you want to learn more click here: Academic Family.

academic family beach exploring freshers week history theater travel walking