here, there, and everywhere

It's been another busy week on this side of the pond. I've been getting an education on wine and cheese with the Wine & Cheese society (appropriately named). At an event at The Scores Hotel, we sampled about 9 different wines alongside brie and crackers. It was fabulously fun, and we had some really good wines! Although I can't really say I'm now a wine connoisseur, or even that I remember the name of one wine we had that night. We're really taking advantage of the opportunity to join a society that centers around an activity that Emory would probably never have supported!


We've also been getting an education on British pop culture lately. Hanging out at Ferg and Tom's flat in town, I've gotten to appreciate a show called Neighbours. I have no idea why an Australian soap-opera is so stunningly popular here in Scotland. Much less why the same episode is played twice a day at 1:40 and 5:35. I decided that the show is really no good unless you watch it with several people and make ridiculous commentary throughout.

The biggest news is that I went to London last weekend! Really fun time and I saw loads of the city in just two days....which may have been crazy. I stayed with the former Bobby Jonesers (and identical twins), David and Gordon. They were incredible hosts and walked all over London with me. The best part was that they were a wealth of knowledge on all the useless little historical facts you could ever want to know about London.

I started my trip by actually getting on the wrong train. Typical. I was early to the station, and just walked on the train that pulled up. Suddenly I realized it was definitely not a sleeper train. Turned around as the doors were closing (in slow motion), saying "noooooo" ...but it was too late. After much worrying, I soon figured out that the train I was on was heading to Edinburgh and that the sleeper would stop in Edinburgh as well. The conductor was very forgiving and didn't charge me extra, saying "I knew you were in the wrong place when you got on the train!" Unfortunate that I played the dumb American card, but it got me where I needed to go this time!

Once in London, David, Gordon and I embarked on a whirlwind tour of a city that was larger than I had ever imagined. From Buckingham palace to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, I saw it all. Tower of London, the Eye, wacky street performers, the Gherkin, Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus, and more. We spent Saturday night watching the Rugby World Cup finals, England v. South Africa. Unfortunately England lost. But it was still fun to be surrounded by crazy England fans. Interesting fact: one of the main cheers for the England Rugby team is "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" because it was sung when the first black player on the team scored three tries to win a 1988 game against Ireland.

Afterwards we had a lot of fun at an engagement party for a friend of the twins. I'm pretty sure everyone I met was entirely confused about why I was there, seeing as I knew neither of the happy couple. The next day was spent touring more of the city, visiting the Tate Modern art museum, and we also met up with another former scholar, Derek, for lunch at a place on the Thames river. Speaking of the Thames, I've never seen a dirtier-looking river in my life..

After the excitement of traveling all weekend, I actually spent the week doing some studying and had some work to do. I know - shocking! On Thursday, we had another cricket social - Pub Cricket - which compensated for this busy week. I also discovered this week that my favorite shop in St Andrews is The Christmas Shop. They sell Christmas ornaments and decorations all year long! The minute you walk in the door, it smells like Christmas too. Absolutely amazing.

Well I'm off to Loch Ness tomorrow, and going to a soccer game in Dundee on Sunday. Should be another full weekend once again! Cheers!