mistakes, punting, and ducks

Today we went to Oxford. I LOVE Oxford. So I had high expectations for this trip. And they probably would have been met...if it weren't for the night before. Stairs and I have never gotten along. And when I fell down them again I wasn't even surprised. I think everything is fine, but good lord my ankle is trying to escape my body. Anyways. Hobbling around Oxford on cobblestones with a brace is difficult if not dangerous. In the middle of intersections I remembered that I couldnt run across when the cars starting coming for me. This was the last ASE trip though so I was determined to HAVE A GOOD TIME GOD DAMMIT. We walked around and took the necessary Potter pictures and visited the required pubs.  I took pictures in front the Eagle and Child just to make Liza jealous.

The colleges are all so beautiful and the weather was perfect and it was perspective student day! So many balloons and sickly sweet smiles. I had the most delicious mashed potatoes, I think, in the entire world ( or maybe I was just desperate for mashed potatoes). But the highlight of the day was punting. Imagine a gaggle of about 35 girls walking up to the (very attractive) boat boys. I can only imagine the dread they felt. We divided ourselves into groups; Me, Berkley, Aubrey, Lisa and Gina. Brooks, Emily and Cait were in another boat. We set off with only the highest hopes for Berkley, our designated punter of the day. We of course purchased duck bread so we could make some friends along the way. Berk was (not) suprisingly extremely talented and within minutes we had taken the lead! And then we ran into a tree.

And then the bank. And then another boat. So many times I thought someone would plop into the water and make my day, but sadly, this group of girls all had their sea legs. The ducks that had gathered around out boat were so large in number that they made it difficult to move.

Some of the bolder ones went as far to try and eat Ginas bracelet and hop into the boat. But watching the ASEers try and fail and then try again to punt successfully around an island was the best part of my entire time here. I have never laughed so hard. The pictures are priceless and since Gina wont let me put this one on facebook, Im going to put it up here.

My favorite picture ever

But scandal!! Tilly, one of the student workers of ASE and another girl were drinking wine out of coffee takeaway cups and were quite inebriated. So they proceed to splash water at us and the very expensive cameras that lay at our feets. no bueno. But we beat them so alls well that ends well. After a lot of falling over each other and running into pricky patches, we finally made it to the end, thanks to Berkley sitting down in the back and paddling us to safety.






I can't believe that I'm leaving here soon. I legitimately thought for a while that I was never leaving. I was so tired that I wanted to come home. And while I'm still tired and want to come home...I never want to leave. The people that I have met and the things that I have seen are something that I dont want to lose. I dont want to stop having these ridiculous experiences. I want creepy old english men to keep hitting on my and my friends (maybe not). I want to use a stray cat for pets and snuggles. I want to see as much as I can of as much as I can. I want to walk in foreign cities and feel as if they are mine.

But at the same time I want my cats. I want to shower in a shower that has pressure strong than a light rain. I want to find cat hair on everything I own. I want to be able to go out to dinner and drink with my family. I want to go out and drink with my friends in Chicago. I want to have a summer.  I feel like Rapunzel in that one scene. Can I put youtube links in here? HAH I can put links here! I feel so tech savy! Points to meeeeeeeEEEEEeee!

Oxford

I want to find this book in the states.

Archway to ...TURFS!

Casey and Tilly drinking out of cups

Cheyanne got stuck in a bush

having a blast, cant you tell?

the best eggs benedict with chorizo and avocados 

uncommonly common

today brings to an end the third week of me being in Bath, England. I never would have thought that it would go so fast. It seems like just yesterday that I was rushing to catch my flight from Rome to Gatwick. Instead of waking up at 4 to take the 445 train to Fiumicino for a 7 o'clock flight, I woke up at 520. I ended up taking a taxi from the Angelinis to the airport (SORRY MOM I KNOW) and just made the flight. It stunk to officially say goodbye to probably the last time in my life where I will ever be relatively stress free, but alas life moves on whether I'm ready or not. Once back in the UK I had to go pick up all that I had left behind. Including my over 50 lbs rolling duffel bag, backpack, computer and smaller duffel bag containing everyone gifties. I looked like a complete fool. The train was long and I was tired and I almost started crying when I saw my group of ASEers waiting outside the train station. Moving into Prior Park house was a struggle but I'll tell you this for free: unpacking everything in all my bags was the most euphoric experience. HUZZAH for not living out of a suitcase! The girls started to trickle in. And this is the part where I introduce them, in the same style that you all met the Stirling crew.

Berkley - 6'1''. Art major turned bio major. Loves to hike and eat veggies. Makes me feel inadequate in almost every way. But is my roommate and I love her more than I can say.
Brooks - Came a day late. When we are in a room together, the collective maturity levels pitfalls. When he first came, I thought she was going to be a bitch, but she is rapidly becoming one of my favorite people on the planet.
Diana - %100 Portugese. So nice. Enjoys speaking. Even if that means speaking over anyone who is talking. Always has a magic never-ending supply of skittles and sour patch kids.
Cait - Makes me laugh. Wants to be a mom (she will be the BEST mom). Is the most sorority person I have ever met and I love it.
Emily - DENISON! Yay for making more Denison friends while not being on campus. Brown hair, very short, and has this expression on her face that says "I either dont care, or I'm about to fall asleep". She's pretty fantastic.
Lisa - Long brown hair, walks like a dancer. Very high strung. Is not the kind of person you would expect to be late all the time, but she is. The first real mormon I have ever really met. Incredibly smart.
Aubrey - So beautiful. Always ready for anything. Recently discovered Pimms and cannot get enough of it (in a responsible way, of course). Super sweet and is not afraid to dance. Where ever.

So thats my house. Others of import:
Gina - DENISON! DELTA GAMMA!  No matter what the situation, she can always get someone to buy her a drink. It is a skill I'm hoping to learn, quickly because my funds are non-existent. She is hilarious and not afraid to speak her mind, or anyone elses mind.
Amanda - DENISON! DELTA GAMMA! Probably the most beautiful person I have ever seen in this life. I'm not joking or being nice, she is objectively stunning. So sweet and willing to listen.
Rachel - DENISON! DELTA GAMMA! Just a little baby DG. Calls everyone 'Darlin' which would be annoying, but when she says it it sounds nice. I wish I could claim her as my little, or just be her best friend.

So many Denison people.

Now I'm just trying to bust out as much info as possible before I get home so that this blog was not for nothing!

the seat of our pants and the skin of our teeth

oops I guess this kinda slipped through the cracks the past few weeks...

I wrote most of what happened when my parents came to visit, but I forgot a lot of it so if you really want to know the best person to ask would be my mother. But I shall transcribe what I have. 

I guess I will start from the beginning for thats a very good place to start.

Oh lord. Another Raino-Ogden family vacation come and gone. Another vacation spent wondering how on earth we survived with (most of) our sanity. Spending the first weekend in Edinburgh was wonderful. Walking to meet them at their B&B, I felt like I belonged there. Like Edinburgh was my town. Liza can have Bath or the whole European continent, but Edinburgh was mine. I also felt so incredibly relieved and euphoric walking through the doors and seeing Liza and Logan and Dad and Mom. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed them. I’ve never really thought about the relationship that my family and I shared; I knew that my friends families were similar, but mine feels special. I think spending all those hours in the car to Montana made us have to deal with each other no matter what. Its wonderful being able to sit on a bed and just listen to my sisters argue about makeup and cosmetics and the like. Its wonderful to hear about the number of times Liza said “annoying” since landing. Wonderful to hear that my father managed to have a semi drama free plane ride and that my mom was rushing till the last second. 

I digress. We walked around, looking for food, mostly, and something my dad really wanted to see. I’m still not sure what it was. After a light lunch and the first legal drink I have shared with my parents (!) we made our way back to the B&B stopping a cute pub that was way to full of people. And ordered fish and chips that was way lacking in fish. My parents were very excited and ready to stay and experience the lively atmosphere of the pub.  I have no idea when the switch happens. When the adults are the ones rallying the kids to go out. Logan, Liza and I were little better than bumps on a log. The next morning we stopped at a farmers market. So many fantastic things. Then we proceeded to have the typical walk down from the castle to the Holyrood church or whatever. Stopping to purchase souvenirs (and to put them in our pouch for purchased souvenirs) and snacks and pints. The elephant house was obviously a highlight. And meeting the invisible man. And we ended at the Witchery. An AMAZING restaurant that sat at the top of the hill. Good lord. I honestly don’t remember what I had, but I remember that the wine was velvety and the desert was out of this world. I headed back to Stirling to work on a project, while everyone else headed back to sleep and prepare for their few days in Glasgow.

 

THURSDAY

We headed out. I was forced to downsize my luggage. Instead of taking 6 pairs of shoes, I took 4. It was hard, but I think I handled it well. The drive out to the highlands was long and twisty and beautiful. The Scottish landscape will never cease to amaze me. Nor will the sheep. Those buggers were chilling out on pretty much a vertical cliff face. Acting like its no big deal. WHAT ARE THESE ANIMALS? We finally made it to Glencoe, and stayed at the Claihaig Inn, the location where the 3^rd HP Hagrids hut was shot. Our little cottage was freezing, but welcoming and we all desperately needed sleep.

FRIDAY

Upon awakening, we milled into the car to head over to the Isle of Mull. Stops along the way included a small aquarium that was sadly lacking in otters. Once there, we set up a tour of the Oban Distillery, one of the more popular whisky distilleries in the area. But, of course, within the span of 10 minutes, we lost the father, hit another car, and got caught in a rainstorm. Since we are poor planners and even worse at finding lost family members, we had only about 30 minutes to eat lunch before our tour. And the woman at the desk in Oban stressed that we should not be late. Taking this advice to heart, we chose to eat at one of the fancier restaurants that was definitely going to make us late. A rushed meal of fish and chips made us only about 10 minutes late, and they were not happy. But whatevs cause the distillery was awesome. How olden times people figured out how to make alcohol boggles my mind. Honestly I don’t understand how half the things in the world were created, like cake or salads or cheese or anything food related. How many trial and errors did they go through? If you were bad, were you the one that tried to new food to see if it killed you or not? ….thats for another time though. Most of the distillery smelled really weird though. So no thanks. But otherwise, it was very enjoyable and interesting. Heading home though was terrible. When we were about an hour from the hotel when the snowstorm hit. It completely changed the landscape. It looked like a weird Mars landing setting. But, unfortunately, the people of Scotland apparently have no idea how to handle driving in the snow. We hit a line of cars about a mile long. We sat and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. Most of the cars had turned around and went back the other way. We almost did, but the Raino-Ogdens are a stubborn bunch. We stayed and when we were a few cars from the front, and after the police had left, we were able to help and push most of the cars up the hill and clear the way. Once my father got out of the car and started helping, I kid you not, it took less than 30 minutes to get people going. He was a miracle worker. After finally getting out of the hellhole that was the line of cars, we made it home in time to have chips and peanuts for dinner.

SATURDAY

Saturday we set of to explore the Isle of Skye and the adorable towns on the way. We saw many Harry Potter things, as is to be expected on a Raino-Ogden trip, and we took a lot of weird pictures, which is also expected. I was sick and grumpy for most of it, which I think only added to my sisters enjoyment. After stopping to invade a home that was getting ready for a wedding (Im still embarrassed about it Mom and Dad) we drove along the coast and tried to both chase the blue sky and run away from the storm that was fast approaching. But we were able to stop at a beach and swing on a rope swing. This was one of my favorite parts of the day.

 



Another short drive and we were in the town that would provide the ferry that would take us to the Isle of Skye. And once inside a café, my entire family took out their phones and proceeded to sit in silence for about 30 minutes. Oh wait, I lied, they talked to the waiter when they ordered their drinks. I expected more from you, mother. We the hopped on the ferry and sailed our way over to the Isle of Skye. Oh rainbows galore. So many rainbows. Twas beautiful. Driving along the coast and pretty much always being able o see the water where ever you are on the island is pretty amazing. And the mountains are literally right in front of you. Just chilling out like its no big deal they are mountains. After stopping for a few photo ops (I’m still trying to find my new facebook prof pic) we started to look for the restaurant that everyone had recommended, The 3 Chimneys. Im almost positive the GPS was reprogrammed to try and kill us because it took us through the most backwoods(mountains) road that was covered in sheep. We could have opened the door and hauled one in without leaving the car. Also sheeps eyes glow when the head lights hit them and its terrifying. As always, we were chasing the sunset so we could watch it set of the water while we ate at this apparently fantastic restaurant. We got lost about 5 times, but we finally made it. And this place turned out to be the most uppity restaurant ever. The waiter who greeted my parents looked like he wasn’t even going to let them look inside. And it was booked. So we piled back in the car and hoofed it to another small coastal town inn that was infinitely better. The food was hot and comforting and its making me hungry right now which is a bummer because I only have cocopops and no milk….and I’m not sure if I killed the spider that was just walking next to me so I’m now sitting in the opposite corner writing this. But I think Kristine Raino-Ogden deserve a medal of honor for driving everyday for who knows how long. Well, actually the drive back was 3 hours, but still. She is amazing. We made it back safely and promptly PTFO.

SUNDAY

We woke up and walked around the grounds of Clahaig hoping to find Signal Rock. I still don’t really know what Signal Rock is, but I don’t think we found it. At least I didn’t cause I left the hike due to my sickness. But Dad made it look like he was wearing pantaloons and I don’t think that is a sight I will soon forget. We packed up and headed off to our next destination….the actual town of Glencoe about 10 minutes away. After a lovely little lunch of smoked salmon and a hot totty (not my fave) we went to what would be the most amazing hotel I have ever stayed in, and probably will ever stay in. The Glencoe House used to be a maternity ward or a old peoples home, I’m not really sure. What I am sure about though, is that I want to know what choices I have to make in order to live in a hotel like that forever. As we walked in the door, we were given a glass of champagne to welcome us. Because why the hell not. We were then led to our room, with the dining room table set in a window nook overlooking the loch and the surrounding mountains. And the table was already set with the most delicious scones or muffins I don’t really care which but they were AMAZING. Mom’s work friends had sent flowers ahead of time and everyone started crying because it was so sweet. Logan, Liza and I had the “master bedroom” that had 3 beds for us and a vanity. OH there was also a nesspresso machine. Super fancy. But my favorite part of the whole place was the bathroom. An open door glass shower with a huge rain type showerhead, plush robes, slippers, AVEDA shampoo and Kiehls lotion and TWO BEARCLAW BATHTUBS RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER! I don’t even care why they thought it was a good idea because I loved it. I sat in one of the tubs for over 45 minutes sipping on my champagne and wondering how in the world we were staying there. For dinner we went to a hotel right on the water with a very cute waiter and huge dancing shrimp (courtesy of my father and his creepy meal).

MONDAY

Early in the morning we set out to hike up an actual mountain. But not before a healthy and delicious breakfast that was brought up to our room. I ate in my robe, which has always been a dream of mine. We started out the hike with high spirits and a ‘can-do’ attitude. We ended the hike crawling on our knees. Not really but we did almost die several times. The first part of the hike is pretty cool cause we got to kinda scale this rock wall using a rope. And it wasn’t that steep of rocky. But then you turn this corner and BAM! The skinniest trail you have ever seen runs along the quickest drop you will ever see. Into the roaring waterfall that lies below. But we persevered. We lost the trail a few times, and Dad had gone so far ahead because he cares so much about our safety, so we just had to hope we didn’t run into any crazy sheep or highland cows. Half of the trail was covered in ice, so that was fun. But I had my bean boots on so everything was fine. When we finally made it up, I felt like I was in a movie. Lord of the Rings or something. Below us was a valley covered in snow. It was breathtaking. And this little old man who had been behind us kept going down into the valley like it was no thaaang. We finally made it down and we all smelled like a farm. It was so bad. And instead of going to try to see some loch, I was dropped off at the hotel so I could take a bath and relax. (my ankle was NOT happy with my decision to climb the rocks). Taking a bath has never felt better. I lit a candle, opened the window a little so I could hear the birds, but on some music, and read my book. It was heavenly. For dinner we stayed in, and dinner was served to us at our dining room table. The food was, obviously, amazing. And there were dessert shots!! The first one was a banana shot..? I’m not positive what it was exactly, but nonetheless I wanted more. And HUZZAH my wish was granted. The chef was trying out a new shot which was blueberry lemon..? Again, I’m not sure. After dinner was cleared and I put on my stretchy pants, we settled in to watch both Dogma with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and then The Constant Gardner with Ralph Fiennes. Dogma was hilarious, and The Constant Gardner was…not what we expected. It mostly just made us feel terrible about being people.

TUESDAY

Tuesday we were scheduled to hop over to the land of Ire. On the way to the airport, we stopped in a cute little pub with the most adorable waitress. She was like a punk rocker chick with the thickest accent and the sassiest attitude and the most Scottish kilt I have ever seen. Logan took an awkward picture with a stuffed bear and a man in a kilt. We got on the plane, broke our irish rent a car within 10 minutes, went to eat Indian food at a pub, and I managed to make a huge fool of myself. This is extremely embarrassing for me, but seeing as I have lost all sense of dignity, I will tell you the story. I may have some of the detail wrong though, but I’m sure my family will be quick to correct me. at the pub, we were watching a game of hurling with a local man. I would look up the rules because I still have no idea what this game actually is. But the man was explaining how the point system worked. And due to his accent, I heard “you get one pint for over the goalpost, and 2 pints for blah blah blah” that’s not completely true, but something like that. I was confused AND TIRED and I said something to the effect of “oh you call them pints over here?” I could see my family physically trying to restrain their laughter. I immediately realized my mistake and tried to hide my head in the shelf nook that was to my left. It takes a lot to embarrass me. And this was a lot. Plus a little. I became the laughing stock of my family and they were all crying actual tears because they were laughing so hard once we got back in the car. But alas, I go on.

WEDNESDAY

The B&B that we stayed in was wonderful. We had this entire section to ourselves and the bathrooms had just been redone. And out back…SHEEP. I told the owner that I was going to catch one before we left. He laughed. But this man is amazing. He literally built the entire house. Well, both houses. There was the B&B and then there was their house. Everything was repurposed and it looked amazing. I wish I could better explain it, but it was like a hodge podge of all these awesome pieces of old buildings and materials. There was also a cat that I petted. The first cat that I had seen in maybe 2 months. And now for the sheep. I was told that the sheep would have been little. Like babies. And there was a young one, but he was already pretty hefty. And there was one with shifty eyes that did NOT like me. and one with actual crazy devil eyes. I thought it wouldn’t be that hard, but let me tell you, sheep are fast. Very fast. Those little toothpicks legs and WORK. After about 45 minutes of luring them in with food, I gave up and decided to let my father chase them around. Out next stop was Kilkenny, were we did a little bit of sightseeing and shopping. I’d say we were gone about 4 hours. We when came back to the carpark, we realized that someone (LIZA) had left the door open the ENTIRE time. Out in public. And nothing was taken. But good lord mother was upset. And Logan thought she lost her phone/wallet, but we were just sitting on it. We were then on our way to Kinsale, where we would rest for the night. We were in the tallest tower of this place and our room had a spiral staircase in it!!! And scones whenever we wanted them. For dindin we went to the Blue Haven and wouldn’t you know, there was a live performance. A fiddle person, a singer, and someone else that did something. They were quite good. But then the singer got up and she started irish dancing/stomping/tapdancing and it was AMAZING. The things this girl could do was mindblowing. We later found out that she is famous in Ireland and we got to see her for freez in a little coastal town.

THURSDAY

Uhhmmm I think this day started out with a lot of scary drives. I thhhiiiiink this is when we literally drove up a mountain and could have fallen off at any moment and we were surrounded by herds of sheep just hanging out in the road. Sorry, but the more I write, the less I remember and the less I feel like typing everything out. I was feeling gross and we stopped at my parents friends hometown, and I bought most of my souvenirs. We got candy, and we drove to the most amazing lookout point. It was by this famous golf course, but we weren’t allowed to go in. but the view was still amazing. It was a straight drop with rocks below and waves crashing  against them. And we saw a seal? A whale? Probably a seal. Pretty cool. We kept driving along the coast and

aaand this is where my short memory terminates. Now I think I still have to do my Amsterdam trip AND my last few weeks at Stirling. Which should be another difficult task seeing as I dont think I wrote very much down...put im going to publish this anyways cause I probably should.

TOO many people in one apartment

This past weekend made me question a lot of things. Mainly, WHY on earth did I choose to study in a place that is know for being cold and rainy year round? Why did I not choose somewhere with a pretty constant temperature of 64 and sunny with a light breeze by the beach?  Barcelona might be actual perfection. Getting there was a lot of work, though. We had to walk to the bus, take the bus to the train, then take another bus to the airport, then fly (obviously) to Barcelona, then take a bus to a central piazza, then walk to Sara's friend Chris' apartment, which he shares with Xander and Taylor. My body had never been more tired. But we rallied and went to abroadfest. Abroadfest is something like a music festival, but only random DJs play, and its inside this huuuuge room. Like I literally have no idea how big it really was because it was so large.

Anyhways, whilst tearing it up on the dance floor (not really I think I was either standing by a wall judging people or in line for the bar) one of the weirdest things happened to me: I saw Taylor Erickson. Taylor Erickson from St. Clement. Taylor Erickson from Camp Tecumseh. Taylor Erickson. It was so surreal that when I woke up that morning I wasn't even sure if it was a dream or not. A few more of Sara and Chris' friends came to stay for the weekend. Now, we were told that only a few were coming. But in walks about 7 girls who looked like they liked to say "WOO". There were 8 available beds in that apartment. 8 beds for 13 people. Sara, Elisabeth and I decided to deal with the sleeping situation when necessary (slash we secretly decided to stick to the first come first served rule and beat them to the beds).

Due to the condition everyone was in from the night before, Friday morning we decided to take the subway to the beach and relax in the sand with the sun shining down on our tired bodies. I stuck my feet in the Mediterranean and I did not even care that I could not feel my feet afterwards. Just knowing I was in such a beautiful place with such clear waters was enough to keep my mind off everything else. Barcelona truly is one of the most amazing cities I have ever been to and I was only there for a weekend. As we were getting up and desanding ourselves to go get linner, I saw a very tall person in a plaid shirt and khaki shorts walk past me. For those of you who do not know, that is the uniform of an American college boy (it makes it easier to avoid them and go for the hot foreigners (although I guess in this case WE are the foreigners...but whatever)). But this one in particular looked familiar. And GOOD LORD its DJ Valenti. He sat behind me freshman year English with Mr. Lee and I'm pretty sure we both still have the picture of Jonas White dressed up as Zeus for one of our projects on our phones.

Jonas White, everybody, in his greatest role ever. 

(sidenote: before landing in Spain, I TOLD Elisabeth and Sara that I had a feeling I would see people that I knew here) Twas a nice reunion considering the fact that I hadn't talked to him in about 6 years. After this reunion, we walked to a really interesting buurger(?) joint. It was really weird and kinda industrial, but also kitschy, but also retro, but also really modern. If you find a place that looks like this in Barcelona, I do NOT recommend getting the pumpkin soup. It will be just water with bits of pumpkin chunks floating in it. Also if you order a pitcher of sangria, be aware that these will put you back 20 euros. Before we knew this, we ordered four of them. (I should also mention that there were 13 of us before my mother accuses me of being a borderline alcoholic) The bill was so large and we were all paying with separate checks. I wanted to die. Especially when the poor waiter had to literally, LITERALLY chase us down the street waving his receipt pad screaming that we were 6 euros short.

Chris is the weird kid cheesin' WAY too hard over there in the corner

Friday night we were all set to go to this bar "The Dow Jones" which is actually amazing. The name of the game is that whenever you buy a certain drink, the price of that drink goes up, and the prices of others drop. I have no knowledge of the stock market, nor do I really care. But it was still really awesome to see people watch the screens trying to manipulate the price of their favorite drink down. I think it crashed at one point too.
Vair vair interesante. Since the three Denisonians were still exhausted from Thursday nights adventures, and because we wanted to claim our beds, we hopped in a cab and drove back to the apartment. I don't think you can understand how good that bed felt. I could have had my ear nibbled off by rats (I see you Elisabeth) and still have been incredibly comfortable.


The next day, Elisabeth Sara and I were up and running and ready to go explore. We ventured out on our own to explore the touristy side of Barcelona. Sara is an angel and figured out how to get us everywhere. Parc Guell was incredibly breathtaking. Climbing up the giant hill, I had to keep reminding myself that every other hill I have climbed since being here has been worth it. And, of course, this one was no different.

Don't be fooled. This is a very steep climb.

HOW

Now, I know some of you are going to have issues with the next thing I have to say: we did not actually go INTO the real Parc Guell. For this I am ashamed. We thought we were on a tight schedule so we had to move on to  La Sagrada Familia....which we also did not go into. The line was long and we were hot and Chris called us and said they were leaving to go to this abroadfest event and we had no money anyways so stop judging us. We did, strangely enough, have money for gelato....Back at the apartment, the group was not even close to being ready to go (not happy about that) but we changed and eventually made our way to this bar that sat over the harbor.

Again, the eating establishments in this city are amazing. We had a perfect view of the harbor and the gondola cars that bring peoples up to some mountain that I forget. While taking in all the warm I could, I once again bumped into Taylor Erikson. HOW. We had another nice chat then went our separate ways. Only my way included seeing Meg Ramette, Joe Dywer, and Gena Wendt. By the time I saw Gena Wendt, I wasn't even surprised.

The next item on our to-do-list for the night was to go a a bar called Chupitos. I would like to see this place burned to the ground. Which is actually a very likely scenario. The dimensions of Chupitos are 6ft x 30ft. And the bar juts out about 3 1/2 ft. Leaving little room to maneuver around the massive crowd of Americans that had gathered there. The Dow Jones was similar in design and number of Americans, but the difference is that Chupitos only serves shots. And most of those shots are of the setting-on-fire variety. And the bartenders have this spray that EXTENDS THE FIRE UP TO THE CEILING which is completely made of wood. After about 14 minutes I thought I was going to die. Thankfully, the rest of the group was done too. They made it out without too much difficulty. But I, being the courteous person that I am, let a couple go in the other direction past a section of the wall that stuck out into the limited walking space. This was my mistake. I was trapped. I'm not trying to be funny or exaggerate. I was legitimately stuck in a crazy fire-shot, wooden fire hazard of a clusterf@*k. Pardon the language, but I thought I was going to die. I'm pretty sure I had my hand on someones butt for about 10 minutes. And I'm pretty sure someone had their hand on mine. I'm told someone was sent inside to get me. They did not reach me. I had to physically shoved a man with both hands, not even caring if he spilled his drink. After what felt like years of struggling, I finally made it to the outside. The rest of the night was rather boring and this post is already crazy long. Somehow, though, someone decided it would be fun to stay up to see the sunrise while sitting on top of the hill next to Parc Guell. I thought I could do it. Why not? I've stayed up later for less. As I'm sure you can guess, everyone was passed out where ever they were sitting within 2 hours. Luckily for me and Sara we passed out on beds! HUZZAH!

Only a mad man could have done something so incredible

awkz cubbie hole picture

Sunday we packed up and set off to the beach for one last look. Walking along the boardwalk, seeing all the active people on rollerblades and scooters and bikes and those rollerskates that were actually shoes...heelies or something like that, made me wish that I could stay on that beach forever. But then I remembered that I wanted to go home, and I realized that by home, I meant Stirling. We stopped for some seafood under the boardwalk (cue dad singing the song) and my grilled salmon was diiiiiivine, dahling, just diiivine, and then we made our way back to the airport.

Camilas 27th birthday was Tuesday, so she and most of the Brazilians prepared traditional Brazilian snacks for us and then we headed down to the Studio (the campus bar) for karaoke (Camilas favorite thing beside crackers and cream cheese). And Wednesday I had my first exam. Polysci essay where I had to answer either a question about liberalism or conservatism. I think I did pretty well, but that always makes me nervous.

I think this is the end of the post....

WAIT MY FAMILIA IS COMING ON SATURDAY! Hopefully they have girl scout cookies for me otherwise they can just turn around and head back to America.

Stirling Vignettes

this week has been really...odd. i thought it would be best to talk about it in separate little stories. also it would be weird to transition from one thing to another without sounding awkward.


 Late one night, as I was tucked up in bed, about to finish my 23rd game of SUPER JEWEL QUEST, the fire alarm went off. The fire alarms here are not the same as the ones back home. The ones here make me wish that there actually is a fire so I can burn in it and never have to listen to the obnoxious siren again. The API group had been in London for the weekend and they weren't back yet, so Kate, Camila and I shuffled into the hallway hunched over and wrapped in blankets. I had enough sense to put on boots before I went outside. The entire building emptied out into the parking lot. It was so very cold. I was so very tired. I was so not okay with any of it. We were outside for about 45 minutes, and during this time, Eliska was shivering in flip flops, Kate was slowly dying, and Camila was dancing around and laughing. Just before we were called back in, it was revealed that our friend Marianna had been cooking with the kitchen door open and it was HER that set off the alarm. We had to stand outside because she propped a door open. But, alas, all the excitement made for a quick and long sleep, which was desperately needed.  But the next morning!, while I was in the shower another fire alarm went off. I literally said to myself "Balls to that I'll just burn in here". But it was only a short drill and no one had to leave. Thank the lord.

It would not be a Raino-Ogden experience without someone getting sick. I started to get really painful headaches and super nauseous at the beginning of the week. After a lot of ibuprofen and anti-nausea/sleeping pills it was discovered that one of my wisdom teeth is growing in. Which really sucks because earlier THAT WEEK I was bragging to everyone that "my wisdom aren't even close to growing in!" The same thing happened to me when I bragged about not being lactose intolerant. Now I can barely have ice cream (I still have a lot, but I just power through it). I'm still deciding what to do with my situation. Sara said that I should wait and that hers have been growing in for a year. Nicky and Keegan say I should get it taken care of right away by someone here. Super fun times either way.

The other day, no one in the flat felt like cooking so we all decided to split a pizza. Ordering a pizza here is no joke. It takes about 25 minutes because the man on the other end has what sounds like the worst parts of both the scottish and indian accent. Kate was forced to be the one to call. The man literally had to spell out what he was trying to say because we were so oblivious to his accent. I'm the only one with enough sense to write my phone number on my phone, so my phone was used to let us know when the pizza was on the way. Kate and Nicky went down to grab it and they were down for a while. When they came back, we were informed that the delivery man was actually from Kentucky or Tennessee or something like that I honestly don't remember or care. BUT a few minutes after that I received a text from an unknown number saying "i dont normally do this but if yall want pizza from dominos sometime n im not at work i will let you use my 50 percent discount to save u some money". WOW it was amazing. It was probably the best text I had ever gotten and it wasn't even for me. What followed was me wasting a lot of precious texts talking to Nicky through him. Now, I'm not sure if Nicky likes him, but as long as she doesn't piss him off, we will be having pizza every week for almost FREESIES!

Camila has a faked severed foot. I don't know why. But it has been the reason for sooooo many laughs. They staged weird pictures using the foot, they pretended they were in the Saw movies, they hit people with it. But the best was when we used it to scare the people in the flat below us. It was pretty late and we were all gathered in the kitchen. Eliska had some left over string from hanging up balloons and we thought it would be a hoot and a half if we lowered the foot down out the window and just let it hang there so everyone could see it. As we lowered the foot down by the window below us, we heard 5 separate shrieks, all at different pitches and different intervals. I don't think I have even seen any group of people laugh harder. Elisabeth literally fell of her stool onto the ground, I think Keegan gave herself another bruise. I was straight up crying and laughing and making no sound. I wish everyone in the world could have been there to laugh with us. But it was awkward because later that night, we had a little party in our flat and the girls who we had scared came up and I felt a little bad. But not that bad.

Probably the worst thing that could happen at school happened yesterday. The entire campus lost internet. And pretty much every thing else. No calls in, no calls out. No access to computer databases. No access to facebook. Campus fell into chaos. People were wandering the grounds aimlessly. Lost without insatgram, google, music stations. Keegan and I napped cause we didn't know what else to do. I'm telling you it was terrible. I couldn't look up when or where one of my seminars was. This state of confusion lasted for 27 hours. I'm not proud of how I acted, and hopefully I'll be able to not need wifi every second while I'm here. Maybe if the weather was not constantly rain, we could walk around and not look for something that would get the most likes on instagram. When the internet came back, you could literally hear cheers coming from around campus. Twas a bonding experience for us all.




I feel like this isn't going to last, like I'm just here for vacation. How am I going to visit all the places I want to?! How am I going to explore every part of Scotland? I NEED TO DO IT ALLLLLL!!!  Sara is leaving for Prague tomorrow at 4 am. Elisabeth and I are going to both Edinburgh and Glasgow in one weekend. Next weekend we head off to Barcelona. The weekend after that, the family comes. Good lord.

introductions

Logan thought it would be a good idea to write down the list of characters that I am living with. This way you will know who I am talking about and not have to ask "Who is this?" (I'm looking at you mom).

Sara - Theta from Denison, did not know her before coming here, but she always high fives me when I say something funny so I like her a lot.
Elisabeth - also from Denison, also did not know her before. It is impossible to tell if she is joking or not, even when she said she wanted to just be put out on the street like garbage when she dies.
These people live on my floor:
Eliska - from the Czech Republic. Tall, blonde, hilarious.
Kirsty - from Scotland. Small and mysterious.
Keegan - from New York. Short, red head, so unbelievably adorable and funny.
Nicky - from Connecticut. Just officially decided that her and Keegan are best friends, is sick right now, but still went to a pub quiz. What a champ.
Camila - from Brazil. Has the loudest laugh in the world, did not know what 'young' meant.
Kate - from Wisconsin. Came by herself cause she's awesome. Loves cheese almost as much as me, and is slowly correcting my cooking skills.
Then there's Rachel and Kaitlyn who live around us. And a few other people with names I don't remember...

Classes here are not very exciting. There are the main lectures and you only have about 1 or 2 lectures for class in a week. Then there are seminars that you have to sign up for separate. Those are small groups and where most of the actual discussions and in-depth learning happens. The real challenge was finding the rooms. There are only two academic buildings and they are on opposite sides of the campus. The person who designed these buildings was probably clinically insane. There are so many offshoots and weird bridges and secret hallways and wings that no one knows about. I'm surprised anyone can make it to the first class. THAT should be a large part of your grade, whether or not you can find your room on the first day. I'm taking Social Psychology, which seems like a recap class, and Keegan and Nicky are in it as well! Political Concepts and Ideas is as boring as it sounds. But Kaitlyn is there with me. The Moving Image would be interesting, but the teacher has one of the most monotone, boring voices I have ever heard. Pieces of the ceiling keep falling on the students though, so I'm entertained enough. And Sara takes that with me.

The hardest part of living here is obtaining food. I would like to say that most of my sustenance money has been spent on practical groceries, like butter, veggies, fruit and healthy things, but I cannot. A steady diet of poptarts, cereal, strawberries, strongbow, and microwaveable soup is JUST what I needed. I tried to branch out and make cheesy noodles. Turns out that plain noodles are too advanced for me.  Please stop laughing.

ANYWAYS a few days ago Elisabeth, Sara and I went to go explore the grounds and I honestly still can't believe how beautiful this country is.

The Wallace Monument is amazing. It can literally be seen from anywhere on campus. I love how Stirling combines the modern campus with this old, rugged countryside. After our walk, we headed to the campus pub to meet people and to toss back a few pints. The next morning, we had planned to head over to Stirling Castle bright and early so we could spend all day in town. But seeing as we might have tossed back one too many pints, it was difficult to get going. The morning was made more difficult, when we missed the bus into town, and decided to walk instead. Now town is a 15 minute bus ride, and the castle is a bit farther. I'm guessing if you are reading this you know me pretty well and you know how much of the walk I spent complaining (twas a lot). BUT we found the cutest little italian cafe that served breakfast and ice cream and everything good in life. So the walk was made better. The castle is, of course, up a large hill. And I guess like at the top of every large hill, there is a beautiful view. So, once again, it was worth it. I think I'm going to have to learn to not complain about climbing up mountains...

Hopefully, next weekend I shall have stories of London, and then a few weeks after that, stories of Barcelona. 

ALSO THE BIRDS HERE ONLY KNOW HOW TO  HONK AND ONLY WHEN I AM TRYING TO SLEEP AND THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF THEM MOM AND DAD BRING A BB GUN SO I CAN KILL THEM OR AT LEAST GIVE 'EM A GOOD SCARE

IM HERE!

after a lot of walking and picture taking and not sleeping, I have finally arrived in Stirling.
When we first came to town, we were given to our host families with whom we would be living for 2 days. The original family I was supposed to be with cancelled because someone in their family had just been murdered...such a great, warm welcome to the "safe" city of Stirling. So instead 4 of us were placed in one house. Suzie and Willy(?) were lovely and had dinner waiting for us when we got there and it was probably the most delicious thing I had ever eaten. Some kind of vegetarian chicken curry. I dont really understand but I also dont really care because it twas fantastic. For bed time we all had to share with someone, so I was with Katie and shes cool and also she didnt move or try to touch me with her feet so thats nice. The shower though was PACKED with about 50 bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash, and every other type of gel you would need in a shower in about 30 flavors. It was very cute.

so. many. steps.

But our plan for the day was to visit the Wallace Monument, and stop in to the university to check things out. Now, the Wallace monument is awesome in theory. But in reality it is just an excuse to make children do a lot more walking than necessary. First you walk up the hill (MOUNTAIN) and there are many steep twisty turns and mud slides and no thank you. The worst part was that there was a shuttle service that would have been much easier. Anyways, once you're up the hill, you think you're in the clear, because who wants to climb up a tower with god knows how many steps. I think if I have learned anything from being here, it is that the Scottish people like to challenge everything. We were forced to climb up. The stairwell is about 3 feet in diameter and the incline is insane. It was poorly lit and extremely terrifying. But we finally made it up and I have to admit it was beautiful. You could see the entire town and the university and the amazing beauty that is the Scottish landscape.

Then we went into town to do some shopping for the essentials. It was not very exciting, but I was finally able to set up my phone and feel like a normal person again. The next day we were set to move it, and I was going to give my home stay gift to my host mom, but when I gave her the large box of Frango mints with the Chicago skyline on them, she barely smiled and it seemed like she forced out the "thank you." If I had known she would not have been more excited, I would have kept them for myself! I don't think she realizes what I just gave her. No matter, because I can successfully, and I would even say easily carry all my luggage on my own! HUZZAH! I live in H H Donnelley. Donnelly? Donnley? Who knows. There is one long hall with 7 rooms shooting off it. Two bathrooms on either end with a kitchen inbetween. Its quite cozy and I have taken it upon myself to make my room adorable. The girls on my floor are all really great. There are mostly American students, but we have one girl from Brazil, one for the Czech Republic, and one from Scotland. I don't know all of there names as of right now, but theres plenty of time for that. Classes are starting and I'm trying really hard to be social and talk to people in my classes. There are SO many people in my classes. Its amazing there are this many people here. Cause you never see them walking around campus or downtown. Sara, Elisabeth and I have gone out clubbing, to a pub quiz and to various coffee shops in town.

Also Liza wanted me to let everyone know that she was also ready an hour before she left. So there Liza. Also thanks for getting this thing actually working. 

 And now for some photographs from Edinburgh that I just figured out how to upload:

Hogwarts in the flesh. 

Diagonalley

Oh you Scots, so funny and obsessed with placing odd objects on heads.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A drop of water landed on my person, so excuse the face.

This is going to be a long one so settle in.

In the whole history of the Raino-Ogdens, I believe I am the first one to be packed and ready an hour before we were set to leave. I could say that being ready early made me less anxious, but I would be lying. In fact it made me more anxious because I had all that extra time to think about what I am leaping into (albeit I'm leaping with open arms and a weird face on (kind of like a mix between terrified and ecstatic (my family saw it shortly before I headed through security so they should get it))).

Mom made me promise to write about the plane food for Liza so I got the cheese tortellini with a salad and roll and a mini little bottle of white wine. YEAH FOR BEING LEGAL! Unfortunately, the wine did not help me sleep and my neck was in so much pain I thought I was going to die. Fortunately, the movie selection was choice. To name a few: What Maisie Knew, All is Lost, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Behind the Candelabra, Blue Jasmine, Captain Philips, Despicable Me 2, Gravity, Kickass 2, Thor 2, Pacific Rim, Prisoners, Star Trek, The Bulter and The Counselor. Twas a hard decision to make but Chris Hemsworths body is something I can not pass up. Also Alexander Skarsgaard.
While reading all the letters from my family I awkwardly cried next to a FULL grown man who thought my leg area was also HIS leg area.

Heathrow airport was terrible. Guess what Mom? They DID need to know when I was leaving the country at the end of both my programs. The ordeal with the customs woman was spent sweating and shaking and holding back tears. A tired stressed out Mira is not a happy thing. She finally let me through and I had to book it to my next flight. Like I was actually running. As I am sprinting across Heathrow, all I'm thinking about is the poor person who has to sit next to me in all my sweaty, 6-hour plane ride glory. There were maybe 15 people on the flight. rows upon rows of empty seats and there was no time for a nap. The minute we were up in the air, we were getting ready to land.
But even before we touched down, I was in love. Out the window of the plane, on some beautiful hillside, there was a huge herd of sheep. Wonderfully fluffy sheep. And the Scots are so chill all the time. Everyone was happy and helpful. I took a taxi from the airport to the hotel and driving through Edinburgh is like being between two worlds. One one side you have these amazing old buildings with turrets and tall windows and castles and then on the other side you have buildings made out of glass and H&M and TOPSHOP and GAP. I was the first to arrive at the airport and luckily my room was ready! I showered and claimed the double bed for my own. I was done by 11:30. So much of the day was left! I went for a walk and bought some necessities from Boots and took way to many pictures.
The girls in my program are great (there is only one boy). After orientation and dinner, a few of us went out to find drinks and snacks of the dessert variety. We did not find snacks, but we did find The Royal Mile pub. The bartender was a dear and gave us samples of some Scottish beer, but I stuck with cider. We drank with the hope that it would send us of to a nice sleep, but that did not happen. So I am running on about 4 hours of sleep in the past three days. But I'm going to suck it up. I am a grown (kinda), mature (not really) woman who has the world at her feet. And I intend to take those feet to as many places and on as many adventures as I possibly can in the next 7 months. Good thing I have my new bean boots!

hello all!

I don't know if this is going to be that cool funny blog that makes everyone laugh and wish that they were me. I don't know if this is going to be that boring blog that is a grandparents joy and has all of the details of my time abroad with none of the adventure. I don't know what kind of blog this is going to be, but hopefully, as I find my way around Europe, Ill find my way around this.

In two days, I leave for Edinburgh. And in true Mira fashion, I have not even finished packing. I have the strongest urge to bring everything in my closet, but then I also have the strongest urge to bring 4 shirts, 2 pants, and 1 pair of shoes. I'll probably end up bringing  all the wrong clothes and have to buy a completely new wardrobe (HAH just kidding my mother would disown me). I like to be prepared and have options for everyday, but I realize that having options is not an option seeing as I can only have 2 suitcases and one of them is a traveling backpack with not a lotta space. But packing has made it harder for me to actually think about the fact that I'm leaving and probably won't be home for 7 months. SEVEN MONTHS. The cats will forget I exist! Francis-Our-Bishop won't recognize the person who feeds him! Logan will probably have stolen all of the clothes I left at home! I'll forget what Johnnies Beef tastes like! Wait, who am I kidding? I could NEVER forget Johnnies Beef.
But alas, I am going and soon I won't even care whats going on at home cause I'll be exploring my true homeland, the cold, rocky land of Scotland. I can already tell that the Scotties are my people. The kind of people who look at the cold as an excuse to wear cozy sweaters and leather boots. The kind of people who drink whisky and pints and all the other good things in life.

I must go now to finish packing. I am going to make no promises of how often I come on here. You all will just have to check everyday, hoping that I posted some more amazing tidbits of my life up north.

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