This last weekend I got to go to Scotland! It was really pretty
and also a much needed climate change. It rained almost the whole time we were
there. I met up with a friend I made last summer at BYU- his name is Peter. He
was doing anthropological research in Guernsey earlier this summer and we were
both free this weekend so we decided to meet up. We had a lot of fun!
First, I want to talk about Spanish Standard Time. Here is
Spain people are sometimes too relaxed. When people say 5 minutes they really
mean 30. When my “host mom” said 2:20, she really means 3:15. This is extremely
scary when it comes to flights, especially in airports that you have never been to
before. My flight was a 4:25 and my host mom dropped me off at the airport at
3:45. When I got to the airport I was sprinting all over the place. I found out
that if you are not a citizen of the EU when flying Ryan Air you have to get a
special stamp on your ticket before boarding the plane. I had to sit in the Ryan
Air stamping line and two other very long lines. I somehow magically still made
my flight on time. I also finished two books on the way from Madrid ->
Edinburgh because of take-off delays. I met Peter at the airport and we hustled to our bus to Edinburgh.
We got there late, but luckily the bus was two hours late. We made a Lithuanian
friend on the bus that goes to Edinburgh University. We had a nice conversation
about stereotypes and what he thinks of Scotland. By the time we got to
Edinburgh it was 2 AM and our new friend offered to walk us to where we were couch
surfing that night. People are so nice! Our couch surfing experience was also
great. We stayed with a Canadian who came to Edinburgh University for his
Masters in International Relations. We stayed up until 4 talking about current
events and his view on the UK. It was really cool- Couch surfing really lets
you learn about where you are visiting, rather then just chum around the
tourist sites. I think I finally understand the whole Protestants vs. Catholics
problem in the U.K.-it was enlightening.
The next morning we woke up bright and early and I met up
with my friend Brandon-a friend from Penn that I went to Rwanda with. We sat near the train station and
hung out until he had to catch his train. It was nice to catch up. Promptly
after, Peter and I made breakfast for our couch surfing host and took a free 3-hour
walking tour of Edinburgh. It is such an old and beautiful city; I would love
to live there.
One story from the tour stuck out to me, especially because
I just went through Cadaver Sessions this last year during Anatomy and Physiology. Our
tour guide talked about a woman named Maggie that owned a hotel in Edinburgh.
One of her guests owed her 4 pounds (which at the time was about a month’s
salary) but before he paid her back, he died in his guestroom. Maggie
didn’t know what to do, but found out that there was a high demand for fresh
bodies (Cadavers) at the medical school at Edinburgh University. She and
two men arranged to sell the body and made 7 pounds. They realized how much
money they could make from this trade and started quickening their guest’s
deaths. Dozens of deaths later they were caught by police. They later got
arrested and hanged. Their bodies were then donated to Edinburgh University’s medical
school. Because the trade could be so profitable, graveyards had to be closely
monitored for gravediggers looking to make money. They started barring up
graves of newly buried bodies so that they could not be stolen. Gross and interesting.
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| Burial Protection. |
Another main perk of Edinburgh: Did you know that J.K.
Rowling wrote Harry Potter in a wee little café in the middle of Edinburgh?
Well she did. It is also thought that she described Hogwarts architecture as
very similar to a private school only a block away. In a grave yard next door
to the school lie some pretty famous names: Tom Riddle, Mr. McGonagall, and
other character’s names she used in the books. It was a Harry Potter Adventure!
To make it even more interesting, the guide told us a story of a little guard
dog in that cemetery named Bobby. He was super loyal to his master and when is
master died he sat on his grave everyday for 14 years. Ironically he wasn’t
allowed to be buried by his master in the cemetery because he wasn’t Christian.
Anyways, I saw I slight parallel between Bobby and Dobby. A statue only 3
buildings away from the café where J.K. Rowling wrote the book stands a
monument for loyal Bobby. Dobby was pretty loyal too.
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| Tom Riddle's Grave! |
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| The Cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter! |
After our tour we walked around the city and decided to
climb to the highest point. The top of an extinct Volcano called Charles point.
It was quite the hike, but gave us a wonderful view of the city. After the hike
we were pooped, we took a bus to Glasgow and hung out with Peter’s friend. We
stayed at his friend’s house and went to church with his family the next
morning. Later that afternoon I got a train back to the airport and had to come
back to Madrid. Only two weekends left and then I am off to travel for two
weeks. Time goes by so fast! We will see what I do this next weekend!
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| Me at the halfway point of Charles Point Hike |
Cheers until next week!
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