But alas, I still felt like I was home in that misty, overcasty Edinburgh of mine:)
With the an 8 hour bus ride ahead of me,, my poor tailbone started feelin' just a wee bit apprehensive! But, sitting next dear Shamae passed the time SOOOO quickly. You should've seen us! We were gettin down in our little bus seats to "My Humps", "Boogie Shoes", "Baby One More Time", "Help", we had all of our genres and generations covered-- trust me. You would've had the time sitting next to Shamae too! I'm blessed enough to have her as one of my lovely flat mates. She's the tops. TO SAY THE LEAST. A stop at Fountain's Abbey (country unknown...) fulfilled me enough for thee entire Scotland trip. 100%. google it. or check my Facebook pics. You'll think you floated right into the Celestial Kingdom. As I'm marvelling at the ruins, bright green grass, Shamae begins to tell me about her pet frog, Pucker Up. Then it dawned on me. I have NO idea how many eggs frogs lay at once. Random. Irrelevant. Unimportant. I'm aware. But I'm so intrigued, mostly because I've asked everybody and their dog and no one knows!! So if you know, could you do a sister a favor, and let me know?!
We ended up staying at the University of Edinburgh, where our dorm rooms were stankin' on Rodeo Drive (slight exaggeration) So we're hittin' up Edinburgh's royal mile at 10 at night. The sky is white. The mist is everywhere. The buildings are mysteriously lit. And the pubs are all ablaze. But really. The pubs had people hanging out of them like the socks in my sock drawer. Bagpipe jigs and a strong smell of alcohol filled the entire street.I felt like breaking out in river dancing like every four seconds. The whole place was SUPER mysterious, I was so diggin' it!
Our next day there, we went on this bang-a-rang hike that lasted like 10 hours! (with like a 3 hour bus ride) This was the wondrous view of misty Scotland atop the Killin' mountain. It was so absolutely worth it!
That night, we had the usual Scottish shindig, where we learned Scottish Ceilidh (pronouned Kay-lee, go figgy!) I sincerely, cross my heart and hope to die, have NEVER had that much fun. If you know me, then you know how much I terribly enjoy going to dances. Sweet mercy. Now throw into the mix Scottish music, some tipsy people, men in kilts, and errybody "loopin' their lady round-n-round!" it was the ABSOLUTE tops. I had permasmile for like 9 quadrillion years after! I regret to mention that there are no pictures of the Ceilidh that I took-- I wasn't gonna let a camera weigh me down while I grooved, not one ounce!
AND THEN LOOK! WE FOUND THE OLYMPIC RINGS! I was stoked out of my gourd! Jenessa (the lovely lady standing to the right of me) and I are going to be hitting up the Men's Olympic Volleyball games in London in a few weeks! She has an angel of a cousin who just happens to be the Men's Olympic Volleyball assistant coach and he hooked us up with tickets! We don't know which games we for sure can go to, seeing as they don't know how far into the tournaments they'll go! All we know is we'll get a random phone call, on a random day, at a random time, and then hop aboard a train and book it to London! So spontaneous, I can't wait!
Scotland was so very wonderful, but even though we'd only been gone for 4 days, and I'd only been in Cambridge prior to that for 4 days, comin' back to Camby felt like I was comin' home. Cambridge is far more of my kind of place than Edinburgh was (not to discredit Scotland). The little shops here, the majestic buildings I've been exploring in my Gothic Architecture class, the people, the accents, the PASTRIES, the feeling here:) Just know that to everyone I love, I desire DESPERATELY to get you back here:) someday. I'll show you around, and I can't think of anything that would make me happier!
***ALSO! shout out to all of my homies I've been skyping! Skyping is the best, and I'm being 100% honest when I say that boy! do y'all look great through a webcam! It's uncanny to me! y'all just always look so put together when we video chat!
Some food for thought-- (this actually will be about food!) I haven't had Chick-Fil-A in like WEEKS, and it's killin' me. So if you have chance, go for me. Enjoy the heck out of it and post pictures so we can enjoy it together! ANNNNDDD the peanut butter here is soooo not bueno. What I would give for some JIF! My midnight craving of like 3 years of PB and J's has greatly been neglected. ohh and saying the word "Bueno" reminds me of something VERY IMPORTANT. If you have ANY taste at all, like ANY, then you MUST try a Bueno bar! It's the stankin' best candy bar, I've EVER had! Chocolate. Hazelnut. Christmas. I can't even describe it. But just know that if you try one, you'll never need to be fulfilled again. like ever. in anyway.
EXPLORE the little shops and restaurants in your hometowns. Because I'm sure there are PLENTY that go undiscovered and underappreciated! These ones (sometimes!) are the treasures! At least that's the case here! I've like never eaten at the same place twice here, just try it out! And the little shops (for example, I went to a Haunted Bookstore the other day. It was literally the size of my bedroom, just two stories. and it was MAGICAL.) they won't disappoint you! You can only gain something by exploring the little stores and restaurants around you! Expand those dang horizons around you! We don't know our capacity to love and marvel at something new, until we try!
EMBRACE every opportunity you get to do something wild, crazy and spontaneous! (and wholesome, of course) My self-proclaimed motto for this entire experience is "This is the Yes Trip." And it's worked SPLENDIDLY for me! I've tried things I never imagined trying, gone places I never imagined going, and felt happier than I knew that I could! Just soak up and seize every chance you're granted to make a memory! If an opportunity presents itself to you, and you know that you could make a great story out of it, or you'd want to write in your journal about it-- THEN DO IT! If it's good, wholesome, and OBVIOUSLY, chocked full of great people, then you won't regret it!
ENJOY yourself. Enjoy the individuality you've been innately blessed with, as well as the identity you've developed yourself! Enjoy thinking of your proudest moments and your spiritual gifts. There's so much YOU to love and enjoy-- that's why people love being around you, because they enjoy your company! Enjoy what you've been given, and then commit to go forward and share it with others! "Where much is given, much is required!" Enjoy the special you that you are! And then go forth and help others enjoy themselves as well! For it's through this service, that you begin to appreciate and respect yourself!
Live it up folks. The church is true. The sun is shining.... well for the next 10 minutes anyway:)... the opportunity has presented itself. It's time to go out there and make a difference through spreading love and joy!
Holy Guac K-Baby! All those places are so sneaky! How I wish I could zoom around on a broomstick through, over, and around all the lovely shops. Everything you're experiencing is so magical!
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