Thursday, February 27, 2014

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.






Wednesday, February 19, 2014

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







Tuesday, February 11, 2014

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.






Saturday, February 8, 2014

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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