It is almost Week 8 of the "Martinmas Semester", an extremely busy time of year for us St. Andreans. I cannot believe how quickly time is passing! There is a definite chill in the air now and it has been raining for a little while almost every day. We've had a time change as well, so now it starts getting dark around 4:30. Like Emily Brontë I welcome these seasonal transformations-

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;

Lengthen night and shorten day;

Every leaf speaks bliss to me

Fluttering from the autumn tree.

I shall smile when wreaths of snow

Blossom where the rose should grow;

I shall sing when night’s decay

Ushers in a drearier day.

I think the easiest way to share what I've done over the past weeks is to list events by activity rather than chronologically… here it goes!

Canoe Club

• The Freshers Trip- The Freshers Trip as a second year felt vastly different. Not only was I more confident in the kayaking itself, but I also knew people in the club, so was way more relaxed than last year. On day one, I went in the first car so I could help set up tents at the campsite before meeting the others to paddle. Like last year, the day consisted of paddling from Loch Tay to Aberfeldy, stopping along the way to practice skills and play games. I got to try out my Contour camera on the river, so have a lot of fun footage of the trip (below is a short clip of us doing the wave).

• The second day we went from Aberfeldy to Grandtully, and paddled a couple of exciting rapids. You can see another clip of my group going down the Grandtully rapids below (sorry for the funky music!):

• In the evening we went to an all-you-can-eat chinese buffet and then back to St. Andrews. The official club blog post here: STAUCC Blogpost

Safety and Rescue Scenario

• White Water Safety and Rescue- I did a weekend course in white water safety and rescue a few weeks ago. The first day we learned the acronym CLAP (Communication, Line of Sight, Avoidance is Better than Cure, Position of Maximum Usefulness), which became the overarching theme of the course. We did many different activities throughout the day including shallow water wading, throw bagging, and defensive vs aggressive swimming. We also learned about principles of safe equipment and how best to obtain mechanical advantage. In the evening we got dinner in Aberfeldy and camped at Grandtully- it poured for most of the night!

• The second day we examined rescue situations in further detail, using the phrases "Shout, Reach, Throw, Row, Go" and "Self, Team, Victim, Equipment". We set up several scenarios for foot entrapments, boat capsizes, and getting caught in "strainers" (trees, logs, etc.). It was a very informative course- now that I know some safety basics I feel a lot more comfortable on the water.

  

  WWSR group

At the Perth Show

• Perth Show and Stanley Paddle- Every year there is a large canoe and kayak expo up in the city of Perth which coincides with the Tay Descent, a race down the river Tay. Last year I missed the show, so I was really looking forward to it. The expo was really overwhelming- I'd never seen so much kayaking kit all in one place! After much debate, I ended up investing in a buoyancy aid which I had researched online beforehand. It has many of the good safety features which I learned about during WWSR. After shopping, we went to two inspiring talks by Jonny Hawkins and Callum Strong- friends of the club who went on pretty intense kayaking expeditions in Borneo and Ethiopia. I was enthralled by their tales of riding to a river by handcar and stumbling into the path of a hippopotamus. In the afternoon we paddled the Tay at Stanley, a section which I'd never done before. Due to the recent rainstorms the river was very full- there were a lot of fun waves. The paddle was quite short, but it was getting dark by the time we finished anyway.

• Pool Sessions and Surf Sessions- Pool sessions have started back up, so we can practice in warm water again! I've only been to one so far, but I was very excited because I remembered how to roll after not getting to practice for several months. The surf sessions are great for practicing skills as well, and the games we play in the harbor are quite entertaining!

• Adrenaline Ball- Friday night was the Adrenaline Ball, a dance for some of the "extreme sports" clubs. I went to a potluck beforehand, as I opted out of the fancy dinner, then headed to the Golf Hotel for the event. The first part of the dance and the best part of the evening was the ceilidh (see my past post for more about ceilidhs). My favorites dances this time were the Gay Gordons, The Virginia Reel, and St. Bernard's Waltz. After the ceilidh was the discotheque part of the evening- something I'm always hesitant to partake in. Luckily I was persuaded to join in, and I ended up having a lot of fun. After the dance was over we walked to the Union and got drinks before heading home. All in all I had a wonderful evening!

  

  Potluck (Photo Credit: Patsy)

Design Team

• Tea People Design- The girls from the Design Team committee were offered an internship from Tea People, a tea company that donates 50% of its profits back to tea-growing regions. We are working on designing new packaging, as well as planning a photo shoot for the the redesign of the website and to promote a holiday pop-up shop.
• Photoshop Classes- I've been helping the Design Team head teach classes in Photoshop on Sunday afternoons. It has been great for reinforcing my Photoshop and public speaking skills, and I enjoy helping budding designers unlock their potential in the program. Last weekend I ended up teaching a class on the Heal Brush and Clone Stamp by myself- it was very exciting!

Ents

Poster for Comedy Show

• I've been much more involved with Ents this year than I was last year. I'm glad to be surrounded by techie friends once again- it is something I missed very much from high school. Below are some of my favorite events of the past weeks.
• Laser Tag- We got to set up a "maze" in the union for a laser tag company using trussing and fabric, then got to try out the course ourselves. It was fantastic fun even though I stink at laser tag and got the lowest score. When the event was finished we took everything down about three times as fast as we put it up. My friend and I got very good at folding fabric quickly.
• Bops- I have teched at a couple of Friday night bops, mostly practicing lighting. I find live lighting a bit strange coming from a theater lighting background- you really have to have a knack for matching lights to the beat of the music. It is a little nerve-wracking trying to decide how much smoke to release from the smoke machine and when or how long to leave on the strobes, but I am starting to get the hang of it.
• Ceilidh and Bubble Bath- Two fellow Ents and I have formed a trio for certain events. We did a ceilidh together a couple weeks ago, and Bubble Bath last week (Bubble Bath is a reoccurring comedy panel show which I've stage-managed twice this year). We are a great little team!

Academics

• I just turned in my main Art History essay of the semester on photography and painting in the 19th century. I focused mainly on the Pre-Raphaelites, one of my favorite groups of artists. It was really wonderful to do a project on a topic that I am passionate about- I ended up doing way more research than was probably necessary just because I was interested.
• I also had to do a presentation for my Art History tutorial on the same topic, though less specific to the Pre-Raphaelites. I made a Prezi for the talk, which you can see here if you are interested: New Visions, Public and Private

Pomona, Julia Margaret Cameron

• Right now I'm supposed to be studying for my Visual Analysis test, which involves memorizing about 70 works of art and their background information so when they show us three comparisons, we can write about each for 17 minutes. The artworks we are studying can be found in my Quizlet flashcard set.
• For sustainable development I am working on a project about invasive species with two other group members, as well as an essay on the plight of the bees.
• Finally for my online course, I have done a lot of short exercises that are meant to get you to think out of the box. I'm looking forward to seeing what else they have in store for us as the year goes on.

Life at Home

• I've been trying to keep up my ballet muscles by practicing at home every so often. Stretching and listening to Tchaikovsky is a great way to unwind after a day of work!
• I'm determined to finish fixing up our garden before winter- I want to at least plant some bulbs, so we have nice flowers in the spring.
• I've been baking a little, not as much as I would like, but had an especially pleasant Halloween morning baking focaccia, dinner rolls, and banana nut muffins.
• Speaking of Halloween, I had a much more subdued holiday than usual this year. Instead of going out I ended up watching a scary movie on my own. Admittedly it was a little sad, especially since Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and I love dressing up, but it just felt like a stay-at-home evening. However, I did put my Mary Blair pumpkin out, and received a couple trick-or-treaters!



My Mary Blair Pumpkin



Bicycle Repairman

• I've been Miss Bike Repairwoman lately- I have to keep battling the wear and tear which comes from riding a bicycle everyday. Fortunately, Youtube is very helpful, and bike tune-ups are quite easy if you have some hex-keys!

• I attached my Contour camera to my bike a few weeks ago and got some pretty awesome results! I hope to make another video sometime soon.

KnitSoc

• I haven't done much with KnitSoc since the beginning of the year, mostly because I tend to have things going on at the same time as the meetings. I'm working on a hat right now, but progress is rather slow- I'll let you know how it goes!

PhotoSoc

• I joined PhotoSoc, and have been to a couple of their events- in the first we took photos around town and in the second we woke up early and met to take sunrise photos at the pier.

• I've also been trying out my Brownie camera around town on my own- I still have to develop the photos.

Travel

• Since I last wrote I've been to Edinburgh twice- once for a day of photography and geocaching, and once to tour Stills Photography Center. On the first occasion, I had a lot of fun exploring the zoo and the botanic gardens, neither of which I'd been to before. You can see my photos here:

• My trip to Stills was different than I had hoped but it was still fun and informative. I went with the intention of learning to develop film, but realized when I got there that I had signed up for a tour of the facility rather than a class. The lady was really nice and showed me around the digital and analogue processing areas- I hope to go back sometime soon.

Today is Raisin Sunday- though unfortunately I'm not planning on doing much this year. I'll try to write again soon!!!

It has been a frenzied but great few weeks (yikes!) since I last wrote. Time has been flying by so quickly- it's hard to believe I've been gone from home for three months! Here's what I've been up to:

• On Guy Fawkes or Bonfire Day (Nov. 5th), we had a special canoe pool session where we had a "Rodeo" competition to see who could do the coolest tricks. I was kind of lame when it was my group's turn to go- I was nervous to have people watch me, and also couldn't think of anything outstanding to do. I was going to stand up in my boat, but the water was a bit too turbulent. Next we played a quick game where we all stood on the edge of the pool, then had to start running and someone would shout "jump" or "dive". You were out if you did the wrong one. Afterwards we had some dessert at the pub and a committee election. Being a first-year, I had to go with the other freshers to make a speech for being a first year rep. I didn't know this would happen, so I had nothing prepared and was really embarrassed!

Playing a game at the "Rodeo" (Photo Credit: Sarah)

Concert Poster

• I've been doing more graphic design lately than I ever have before. I just finished a poster and tickets for an A Capella event and I'm currently working on environmental notice posters, a poster promoting the Design Team, and a project for my family. I'm also wanted to do another poster in a few weeks. I love graphic design but it is time consuming- it's difficult to fit it in with everything else I'm doing.

• I decided to be a total "Nathalie" and buy a local sheep fleece to use for a felting project. Ever since I took a felting class with Bridget's 4H group I thought it would be fun to get the raw wool myself so I could see the process from start to finish. I found a family from the Scottish Borders who sell individual fleeces online (Tweedside Borders), and contacted them to buy one. I chose the fleece from a ewe named Damara, who looked very darling in her picture. I really look forward to receiving the beautiful grey wool in the mail- hopefully it won't look too suspicious to the janitor! I'll post any projects I make with it- so far I'm planning on making a cloche hat.

• I am really glad because almost all the work for this term is finished. All I have left is an Italian test, an Italian paper, and my Art History and Social Anthropology exams. Though there is a lot of pressure from the exams coming up, at the moment I am feeling very relaxed because I just submitted my last Social Anthropology essay on "Does ethnic tourism destroy what it seeks?" and completed the Art History visual analysis test. The visual analysis test was quite brutal- we had to remember about 120 art and architecture pieces and their context as preparation. In the actual test, 5 pictures were shown and we had 9 minutes to write as much as we could for each. I found the time limit really crazy- I was able to identify each slide easily, but didn't have time to write coherently about them- I wish we could have just done bullet notes. I'm worried because people around me were writing full pages, whereas for each one I only got half a page- I'm a really slow writer (the main reason these blog posts are so spread out- I need a good chunk of time to write them).

Victoria and I at West Sands

• I met up with my friend Victoria last weekend. She is studying abroad in Paris, and (lucky girl!) has no classes on Fridays so can take short three-day trips around Europe. She visited Glasgow on Friday morning, then took the bus to St. Andrews to meet me. On the evening of her arrival, we went for a small walk around town and went out to dinner. In the morning, I took her on a special "Nathalie Tour" of St. Andrews, which was pretty fun! We started at the Golf Course and West Sands, then made our way along the Scores to St. Sallies, the Northpoint Cafe (where "Will met Kate"), the Castle, the pier, and the Cathedral. Then we headed back the other direction, stopping into small shops until we got to West Port. We were hungry by then, so I suggested we try the Whey Pat nachos, since I had heard they were a "must do" of St. Andrews. Let's just say they weren't exactly up to Southern California standards- I don't think it is necessary ever to get them again. In the afternoon we took the bus to Edinburgh, and surprisingly met another girl who lived in Santa Barbara who noticed us because of Victoria's Santa Barbara backpack!

A lovely day in St. Andrews! 

Skyfall poster

When we got to Edinburgh, we walked to the hostel on High Street. As we were walking, we saw another person from Santa Barbara who Victoria knew from elementary school (it really is a small world)! We checked into our hostel, then strolled along George Street. We decided it would be fun to go see Skyfall, especially since there was supposed to be a scene in Scotland, and thought we should try to catch a show in the Cameo Picture House, a vintage-y type theater. It was really fun running through the streets to get there. It was drizzling, and people were everywhere because of a big sports game, so things were just generally chaotic. We wove our way through everything in such a way that it felt like being in a time-lapse film. The movie was great- I liked it a lot better than Casino Royale- though the "true" Bond movies to me are the originals with Sean Connery. I especially liked the allusions to past Bond films and the historical tie-ins in the paintings (see here). When the movie was finished, we grabbed some food and went back to the hostel.

Hostel room

We slept on bunks with assigned names (I was Robin and Victoria was Batman). People drunkenly stumbled in throughout the night, but I pretty much slept through it all- I only remember waking up once when a person turned on the light, and once to throw off my covers because it was so hot in the room. We got up early in the morning, and walked along the Royal Mile until we got to the Castle. The sun was just rising and nobody was out yet, so it was perfect for taking pictures! We went back to the "new" part of town after that, and realized since it was Sunday nothing would be open until 11:00. We got some breakfast, then wandered around the empty streets (such a contrast to the night before!) looking for something to do. We finally went to the National Portrait Gallery, as it was free and open. I really liked the Gothic Revival architecture of the building itself, and also enjoyed seeing some paintings of Tudors which I've seen in books. We went to a few shops as they opened, then said our goodbyes. Victoria went to the airport and I stayed an extra hour in Edinburgh looking for a winter coat. Then I headed back home and finished my anthropology essay!

Edinburgh Castle

Sticky Toffee Pudding

• I went to the Adrenaline Ball last night, for students in Canoe, Cycling, Breakaway, Mountaineering, and Scuba. Admittedly, I was very nervous to go, but I knew it would be an excellent experience. Anyways, at around 6:00 in the evening I met up with some friends, and we headed over to the "Castle" for a small pre-party. When everyone was ready, we walked down the Scores to the Golf Hotel, where the event was being held. After a little while we sat down to dinner at our assigned tables. The meal actually went pretty well, considering I'm such a picky eater- I didn't have the tomato soup, but ate the risotto dish and tried the sticky toffee pudding, which I really liked. When the meal finished, we watched some members of each society participate in a "Boat Race" drinking game- unfortunately, I think Cycling won, but we were pretty close behind.

After that, the céilidh (kay-lee, traditional dancing) began, which was definitely my favorite part of the evening. I've done group dances at lots of Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebrations, once at a Greek Glendi, and a bit in ballet, and always really enjoyed them, so I was excited to try céilidh dancing. If you are interested descriptions of the dances see this link. I didn't do the first dance, The Gay Gordons, because I kind of wanted to observe the situation, but did all the dances after that. My favorite dances were Orcadian Strip the Willow, The Virginia Reel, and the Eightsome Reel (which was the most complicated). We also did The Dashing White Sergeant and a variation of the Canadian or Highland Barn Dance. They were all so much fun!

Next came the discotheque part of the evening, which turned out to be a lot more enjoyable then I was expecting! I avoided all my high school dances because I hated the experience in middle school, but it was much better in comparison to the dances I remember because:
a) The music was a nice mixture of lighthearted electronic dance music, which I much prefer to hip-hop and rap
b) We formed a large Canoe Club dance circle, instead of being in a chaotic mass of people
c) The dancing itself was not excessively "raunchy", for lack of a better word

At around 12:30, the music ended abruptly and the party was over. We took a few group photos, then went our separate ways. I went with a few people to the Union, where we just kind of relaxed and played pool for a while. Finally, I went home- getting to my dorm at 2:00am! It was quite an evening!

Canoe Club at the Adrenaline Ball (photo credit: Freda)

• Today I went to the Vintage Christmas Fair with my academic sister. It was really nice- there were many booths with vintage clothing and items, people selling cupcakes and Christmas-y goodies, and singing groups onstage. I got a small purse and some steampunk bobby pins. Afterwards we went to a used CD and DVD sale, mostly just to look around- the DVDs here aren't the right zone for the US.

• And now, just for fun- I've stumbled a few times with my British English over the past few weeks. Some amusing examples:

While paying a fee:
What I said:
"Here's the 15 bucks I owe you"
What it means here:
"Here's the 15 deer I owe you"
What I should have said:
"Here's the 15 quid I owe you"

While doing laundry (luckily to a friend):
What I said:
"I'm excited to get this load of wash done- I ran out of pants so I'm only wearing skirts."
What it means here:
"I'm excited to get this load of wash done- I ran out of underwear so I'm only wearing skirts."
What I should have said:
"I'm excited to get this load of wash done- I ran out of trousers so I'm only wearing skirts."

While talking about food:
What I said:
"I don't like pudding very much"
What it means here:
"I don't like dessert very much"
What I should have said:
"I don't like (insert type of pudding/custard such as "pease" or "figgy") pudding very much"

Other phrases I'm trying to get used to:
queue- line
you all right?- how are you?
cheers- thanks
toilet/loo- bathroom/ restroom
hiya- hi
swimming costume- bathing suit
revise- review/ study
faff- to waste time
chips- french fries
crisps- chips
biscuits- cookies
squash- concentrated sugary drink
em- um
sellotape- scotch tape
torch- flashlight
maths- math
cheeky- smart alecky/ impudent
fringe- bangs
lorry- truck
zed- the letter "z"


I'm sorry that was such a long winded post- I really need to write more often!

I've been lucky enough to get to enjoy most of my favorite sports on a daily basis at St. Andrews. I always have been into kind of less-widely available, less "schoolish" athletic activities (not soccer, volleyball, track, etc.), so the club system they have here works great for me. Between kayaking, dancing, and biking/ walking around town I feel like I'm getting a lot more exercise than I was at home!

Here are some notable things (both athletic and non-athletic) I've done in the past few days:

The Freshers' Trip 2012 (photo credit to: Fredda Humphreys)

• I went on the Canoe Club Fresher's Trip over the weekend, which was frightening but really exciting! We met up at the Boat Sheds on Saturday morning, split into groups to gather our gear, and set off in a large caravan up to Loch Tay. When we arrived, it was pretty blustery and cold, so I started to worry a bit, but it soon cleared and the weather was fine. After changing, we did some warmup games, then got into our boats and onto the lake. The groups were planned very well- there were several large groups, and within each group were smaller pairs or trios of leaders and learners. We played some games in the harbor area, paddled across the lake and back, then headed towards the beginning of the river. The leaders were all very helpful and easy to understand, they explained everything before we did it and made sure we didn't have any questions.

Map of Trip

The Tay was pretty flat at the start and it kind of felt like being on a Lazy River at a theme park. The air was crisp and refreshing and the water was surprisingly not very cold. Most of our rapids on the first day were fairly minor, like something you would encounter on a family river rafting trip, though there was one wave-train which was a bit more tricky. I learned many new techniques, such as ferry-gliding and edging while leaving an eddy (basically, an area of water that flows less quickly). Much of kayaking feels like skiing to me, except on a horizontal rather than vertical surface. We did activities as we floated along, such as forming rafts or tossing a ball back and forth down the river.

In the evening, we arrived at a town where we got out, changed, and packed everything up to go to the Grandtully camp site. Once everything was set up, we played more games while dinner was cooking. After dinner came the drinking, of course. Luckily, there were a few of us who either didn't drink or didn't drink much and we sat around the fire. After a few hours everyone was so tired that we went to our tents/ cars. There were so many of us that each tent was completely full- mine was meant for about 6 people but we had 13! It was so packed, we all had to sleep on our sides (I was on one of the edges, so didn't get too squished). In the morning it was raining, and nobody in our tent really wanted to get out, even though it was raining a bit inside the tent too.

Going down the rapids with my leader
(Photo credit to: Emily Stratton)

Eventually we got up and went on our way back to the place where we got out of the river. We did a warmup of blob tag (that's what the awkward footage of me running around is in video below), then got into our kayaks. All the groups joined up in a giant ring raft in the center of the river and did some standing-up/ running around type games (see video). We split back into our groups and continued on our way downstream. We encountered some more rapids, and I got completely soaked when a giant wave crashed on me (I couldn't stop myself from smiling afterwards!). Soon enough, we got to the area where the Grandtully rapids start. We all got out of the water so we could look at the rapids, hear a plan for going down them, and decide whether we wanted to go or not.

I knew I would be upset with myself if I didn't try, so I went ahead and got back into my kayak. We ferry-glided across to an eddy, then went down the rapids! It's hard to describe how it felt- it was thrilling and terrifying, yet strangely calm. I was very excited when I got to the bottom, as I had not capsized. For a basic view of what I did, see this video: http://www.youtube.com/embed/244Sl5ma2UM?rel=0 (not our club, but did similar path). After the rapids, we got everything packed back into the vehicles, drove to Dundee to get some dinner, then headed home.

A nice video of the Freshers' Trip:

I also went to an ocean kayaking session on Wednesday (I got to go off the pier in my kayak!) and a pool session on Thursday.

• I went back to ballet class Wednesday night, which was pretty nice. Unfortunately  we can't wear our pointe shoes because the floor is too slippery. I wish we had more than one class a week- I am afraid I'm falling out of "ballet shape".

• I started a graphic design project for Design Team. I'm working with the SRC Accomodation group on a poster for the "Your Right to Rent" event. Once it is finished, I'll post it on the blog for you all to see!

• I've been on the lookout for more warm clothing as the days get shorter. My favorite store to look for needed items is H&M, just because it is cheap and usually has exactly what I need. I do like a lot of the smaller chains (like Ness) or local stores too- but usually just shop at them for items I want to be high quality, such as rain boots. I am still looking for a "perfect" jacket (rainproof, windproof, warm, comfortable, not flashy in color, and not too bulky).

I guess that's about it, sorry to keep you waiting for the post for so long!

My dad and I met up as soon as we were awake to head over to Dundee for the morning. The drive was pretty nice, but a little longer than we expected. My dad and I have a running joke that Scottish miles are three times longer than U.S. miles and that they must measure them in "Scotland Yards".

Dundee

Frigate Unicorn

Dundee reminded us a lot of Auckland, New Zealand in almost every aspect. We went to a couple of larger malls, to look for items I was still missing on my list, and luckily were able to find a bike helmet/ lock and a mini safe. We ate lunch at a potato bar, then went towards the waterfront. I got to explore the Frigate Unicorn, a historic warship from after the Napoleonic Era and really enjoying going into the crawl-space holds on the bottom of the boat. We also saw a really awesome lighthouse boat! After that, we went back to St. Andrews.

North Carr Lighthouse Boat

I wanted to participate in the Art Society drop in and the Canoe Club kayaking, but was a little late to join, and was kind of tired. I went to the Sports Center to check out the dance society try-it session, but felt a little overwhelmed by the hundred people crammed in a room to fit fifty.

I met back up with my dad and we walked around downtown for a little while. I got a library card for the public library, and therefore "unlocked" another study/internet/resting area in town. We ate some dinner, then went to a showing of the Ever to Excel movie at the union.