(Seen in photos: (1) View from Stirling Castle, (2) Posing in the Highlands, (3) View from Edinburgh Castle)

“Surrealism” seems to be the theme for this trip, as I cannot believe I am about to type the sentence: “I just returned from my weekend in Scotland.”  How cool is that?! Scotland is easily the most beautiful place I have ever been to.  Scotland I would have to say is the perfect median between London and Paris, the two other places I have spent time in during this month.  Scotland is beautiful and green, and though I do not want to say “slow moving,” because the majority of our stay was spent in Edinburgh, which is the country’s capital, that is the descriptor that comes to mind.  The people of Paris is notoriously known for disliking tourists, particularly Americans.  This is something that our group absolutely experienced as we rode public transportation in particular.  (Examples include: men lewdly attempting to join the conversations we had by telling us in broken English that they too spoke English, and the woman who covered her ears upon entry to the train when she heard us speaking English.)  London, on the opposing side, is full of people that are willing to help you at the tubes when you seem lost and are generally of a cheerful disposition.  (Note: I’m sure a lot of our issues in Paris absolutely had to do with the language barrier.)  Scotland falls somewhere in the middle of all of this craziness.  People are not outwardly nasty, nor do they go out of their way to best situate you (not that anyone was expecting this!).  It is quite relaxed in the sense that everyone is trotting along the city at their own pace.

Upon arrival, our group went on a tour of the Royal Mile, the busiest tourist attraction in Edinburgh, which is littered with shops, eateries, and street performers.  Scotland has a rich and violent history; there is no shortage of ghost tours that take you underground to explore historic vaults that served as anything from taverns to places of refuge for the poor during the 1700s.  The tour I went on with friends took us through two vaults that allegedly are home to two, possibly three ghosts (thankfully none of which made any appearances during my time there!)

Throughout this trip, we explored both Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle, which overlook the more populated parts of the country and are as beautiful as the view we saw when visiting the Highlands, (the set in which Braveheart was filmed) but in a different way.  Perhaps one of the most exciting things we became witness to at the castles was seeing THE Crown Jewels!

Here, there was no shortage of people in kilts, Harry Potter trivia (as we visited both the cafe in which the first book was written, as well as the graveyard Rowling would visit to get inspiration for characters’ names), rainy weather, or perhaps, most importantly, good times.  Some of the most notable include touring Loch Ness, though there was no monster (affectionately known as “Nessie” by locals) to be seen.  The lake is 23 miles long with gorgeous mountainous terrain surrounding it.  The water is stark brown–resembling Guinness before it does water! On the lower deck of the boat we sailed on, radar lines the walls, measuring motion below the boat, and various screens of sonar.

At certain points throughout the trip, I found myself missing London as aspects of Scotland reminded me of England.  Though I really have only been in Europe for three weeks, it truly astonished me to have London become the place that I was excited to return to while being on vacation!

However, now I am back and cannot believe I am approaching my final week is this glorious city that I call my temporary home.  The age-old adage really is true–time does fly when you’re having fun!

(As seen in the gallery: (1) place setting in the dining room of Charles Dickens, (2) a hastily-taken photo of the Globe Theatre just before a woman told me the show was starting and I had to put my phone away, (3) a feature of the Golden Hinde that sailors would touch in hopes of dispelling bad luck from the ship, (4) My friend Maddie and I doofily smiling in front of the stage at The Globe after seeing Richard II.)

I’ve been having such a grand time exploring London that it’s quite easy to forget I’m here to do schoolwork! I’ve signed up for a six-credit program, so I am taking two classes (which here, are called modules) that are coincidentally taught by the same professor: London and its Literature and Shakespeare: Reading and Performance. I have each class twice a week, generally following the same schedule: 10:00-12:00: lecture and discussion, 12:00-14:00 (still trying to get used to the 24-hour clock): lunch break, and 14:00-16:00: the “interactive” portion of the class. It is during this time my classes typically explore a part of London that coincides with our lecture from the morning.   Thus far, for example, I have seen Samuel Johnson’s home after reading his poetry, Charles Dickens’ home after reading Oliver Twist, and the Globe Theatre (!!!) to see a performance of Richard II after reading the play. I’ve also been able to do a tour of the Globe itself, as well as a tour of the Golden Hinde, the first ship to successfully circumnavigate the world (with its captain, Drake, still on board, as Magellan, who is typically associated with this feat, died before its completion). This city is so rich in history and I’m grateful the opportunity to learn about it goes beyond a textbook.

Because I’m only here for a month, the amount of times a class can meet are obviously limited, and therein lies the greatest difference between classes at Kingston and classes at New Paltz. However, unlike New Paltz, all the classes at Kingston are supplemented with the aforementioned field trips, which I find has been incredibly rewarding in the sense that I am able to fully immerse myself into the world of the texts we have been covering, especially because we do not have as much time to dedicate to a single text as we would during a standard four-month semester.

I have not received any of my assessments back yet, but I am told the major difference between schooling in England and America is the grading system. Though they are working towards a 100-point scale like American universities, they are currently on (I believe, as it was only briefly explained to us) an 80-point scale. A 30% is passing, and a 70% is considered an A.

I’m enjoying my classes and all that I’ve been exposed to; so writing papers has not been difficult. I’m hoping at some point during the rest of my stay here, I can gleefully say that I received a 70 on a paper—something I would be horrified in the States!

(As seen in the gallery: (1) A friend, Annastasia, and I trying fish and chips for the first time, (2) a comparative photo, because the size of a small coffee continues to blow my mind, (3) a copy of a painting of The Church at Auvers by Van Gogh, as well as THE church itself, (4) details of the front of Notre Dame, (5) another photo of Notre Dame because, why not?)

I can’t believe I have already been in London for two weeks—what is even more astounding is that I only have two weeks left before returning back home! When I first arrived at school, I worried that I had made a mistake in going somewhere so far away from home, but I’ve grown so accustomed to this place, I don’t think I’ll be ready to leave!

When talking to my friends and family, I am usually approached with the same two questions: 1. How is the food? 2. Have you had fish and chips yet? Kingston University was nice enough to supply the students with lunch for the first couple days as we were arriving and during orientation. Though there are not a grand amount of culinary differences between London and the U.S., I have noticed a couple of things: ice is rarely served in drinks and “iced” drinks (coffee, tea) are served chilled only sans ice, coffee is offered in two sizes—regular (which is the size of a children’s cup equivalent in America) and large (which would equate to a medium sized cup of coffee). Most sandwiches are served with either corn or jalapenos on it and each restaurant I have gone to offers a fish and chips special. (Which was served with coleslaw and peas when I ordered it, though I made a mistake of ordering “mashed peas” that actually looked like I had been served baby food. I’m unsure if this is a normality.)

My dorm is pretty centrally located and I have only a ten-minute walk to a couple streets that are filled with restaurants as well as a grocery store when I want to eat in. My flat has five rooms (four occupied and a guest bedroom), each of which has their own bathroom. Each flat shares a communal full-kitchen area.

This past weekend I abandoned the dorms and Kingston-area I had grown accustomed to and headed off to Paris, France for a weekend! It truly was a testament to how used to London I had gotten, as the language barrier had me wishing to be back at my home away from home. Paris housed some of the most beautiful sights, architecture, and foliage I had ever seen. All of the food was amazing—fresh meat, delicious bread, and sweet macaroons. I’m thankful for all the walking tours I was a part of, or else you would have really been able to tell I had a least a croissant a day!

While in Paris, I was able to see sights I had only ever heard about and thought of as staples in some great beyond: Notre Dame cathedral was breathtaking, as was the view of the city from the second floor of the Eiffel Tower (the top was closed due to congestion reasons.) Like London, Paris is full of literary and artistic history, and I had the chance to see the homes of Monet and Van Gogh, which is as inspiring as they were humbling.  The Louvre was as amazing as it was large in size–what a great thing it was to be able to see Mona Lisa in person!! The Palace of Versailles was worth every minute of the hour and half wait–even if I had seen those golden gates and nothing else!

Though there was an obvious language barrier (surprisingly, my seven years of Spanish helped a little, but with context clues only), the majority of people I had come in contact with were willing to help me out with both directions and ordering food. (The grandest testament to this would be the woman who worked in a deli I stopped at that was kind enough to translate her entire menu for my friends and me.)

I’m thankful for all the photos I’ve been taking throughout this journey, though I don’t think I would forget any part of this had I not!