Month: September 2016

Okay, I have a confession– I have already been to Scotland. I travelled here in 2014 and loved it so much I just had to go back. I’m here again in 2016 and it has been an interesting change in perspective from coming here as a tourist and staying for only two weeks to coming as a student who will be here for a whole semester. For one thing, its day 1 of living in an apartment (with 6 other people– only 1 of whom has moved in!) and adjusting to cooking all my meals for myself.

I’ve been here for about five days. The first couple days were spent doing orientation with all the other Arcadia programs in Scotland. There was one other Bucknell student there, but she’s studying at the University of Glasgow. The very first day I was here I met a couple other Arcadia students at the airport and together we explored Edinburgh. Edinburgh is a relatively small city with a population of ~500,000 people. It’s fairly easy to cover most of the well-known sites in just a day; so, after just a couple hours we were able to see some of the beautiful places Edinburgh has to offer in the heart of the city where the Old Town and the New Town meet. We went to St. Giles cathedral on the Royal Mile (exterior above, interior below) which, in addition to beautiful stained glass and arched marble ceilings typical of cathedrals, has another hidden gem known as the Thistle Chapel, a gorgeous wood-paneled room that pays homage to all sorts of cultural and religious Scottish icons.

We were able to see the view from the top of Calton Hill, which hosts Edinburgh’s own mini Parthenon and observatory…

…And also get a great view from the top of the Walter Scott monument, dedicated to one of Scotland’s most famous authors. You can see the view we had (and the Edinburgh Castle!) in the picture at the top of this post!

On my second day, we took the time to visit a few local pubs, which, if you are ever in Edinburgh (or any other British city for that matter), I highly suggest doing. They provide a unique cross-section of British life, allowing you to interact closely with local people and fellow travelers alike all while providing a comfortable environment to relax in. Everyone wants to Haggis when they come to Scotland; instead, I suggest trying a meat pie from a pub! It’s a personal favourite of mine, but if you ever are wondering what you should try, ask the bartender. Chances are they will be more than happy to provide suggestions.

Edinburgh is a historic city– practically every building in its center has a unique story behind it’s doors. It’s essentially split into two parts– the Old Town and the New Town. The Old Town, the side with the University of Edinburgh where I’ll be studying, is best known for the iconic Edinburgh Castle, the University, and Holyrood Palace. It is centered around the Royal Mile which runs from the foot of the palace up to the Castle.

The New Town is approximately as old as the United States (so I guess “new” is all relative, isn’t it? Too us Americans its pretty darn old!) and features the Scott Monument, Calton Hill, and Princes Street, which is where most of the main commerce in the city is.

The split is defined by the long-drained valley of Nor Loch where the Waverly Train Station is now built.

We left Edinburgh for a couple days to visit Stirling and stay with a host family. I was hosted by a very kind woman named Irene, her husband James, and their spaniel Holly.

Stirling is filled with its own illustrious history, too. Despite the cozy feel of the city streets, reminders of the part the city played in Scottish history are everywhere.

From the top of the William Wallace monument, you can see all of Stirling and even all the way to Edinburgh. Plaques at the top point out where the Battle of Stirling Bridge took place 700 years ago. It is remembered for the victory of the outnumbered Scottish army against the English. They won due to the military genius of William Wallace, who you probably know best as Mel Gibson from the movie Braveheart, which, despite being a rousing film, is incredibly historically inaccurate. For one thing, during the 13th century neither the iconic blue face paint (which was used largely by the Picts during the time of the Romans) nor kilts (which were first seen in the 17th century) were worn. For another, Wallace’s lover Isabelle of France wouldn’t have ever met Wallace; at the time the film takes place she was four years old! Finally, as I mentioned, the battle is best known as the Battle of Stirling Bridge… However, if you watch the film you may notice the lack of, well, a bridge, despite it being an integral part of how the Scots defeated the English.

Nonetheless, battlefield, bridge, and castle (Stirling Castle, that is) can all be seen in this picture!

We were also able to see the Stirling Castle, which has a remarkable view of the hills and fields surrounding Stirling. Its a fantastic piece of history and it’s incredible to walk around and take it in and realize that where you’re standing very well could have been the same place a king or queen walked hundreds of years before. Absolutely one of my favourite Scottish castles!

This Monday will be the start of my classes in preparation for my internship at the Scottish parliament! It promises to be an exciting time, what with the after effects of Brexit and the possibility of another referendum for independence! I can’t wait to start learning about Scotland and it’s politics and history.

Follow me on Instagram at winterk63 ! I usually update with pictures once or twice a day.

G’day Everyone!

Greetings from the Land Down Under.  I have been in Australia for 7 weeks now and things have been flying by so fast it’s hard to believe that  I’ve been here for almost 2 months.  I am studying at the University of New South Wales in Sydney through IFSA-Butler’s program.  I am the only Bucknell student this semester in their UNSW program, but I have been able to make lots of friends who study at universities all over the US.

What’s great about my new university is that it’s not located right in the city, but instead it’s right next to the beach so that on nice days I’m only a 15 minute walk away.  I’ve had the opportunity to go on a coastal walk that connects my local beach, Coogee, to Bondi, which is famous in Australia for surfing.  The views are honestly so beautiful everything here feels unreal.

While I’ve been here, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to different territories.  I’ve visited Cairns, Queensland where I got to go snorkeling and scuba-diving in the Great Barrier Reef.  I got to see Nemo, Dori, and all sorts of marine life while I was there.  I also got to go Skydiving, which was one of the craziest experiences of my life, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.  I was the first one to go out of the plane and apparently I made all of my friends in the plane laugh because of my facial expressions.  I will show you all the video of my jump when I get back because it’s honestly hilarious.

One of my most recent adventures was a hike in the Royal National Park which is right outside of Sydney.  It was supposed to be a “day” hike, but instead it took me and my two friends a lot longer than expected and we were forced to camp out.  Since we thought that it was a day hike, we didn’t come with the resources one would need for camping out that night.  Luckily for us there were houses along the trail and we were able to knock on one of those doors and were able to get food, water, and bed to sleep in for the night.  We made some new friends on that trip and we finished the trail with an epic story to tell our grandkids about when we’re older.

In regards to training, I’ve been able to go out on the water with the local rowing club to get in some strokes.  But when I’m not able to join them, I have access to the erg and weights in the University’s gym.  I’ve also been able to take up on some opportunities of doing cross training while in Australia.  A couple weeks ago, I ran in my first 14k race, City2Surf, which started in Sydney and ended at Bondi Beach.  I enjoyed the race so much I signed up for another in late September.

Right now, I’m half way through the semester, which means it’s midterms time.  So my travels have been put on hold so that I can focus on my upcoming exams.  But don’t worry I’ll keep you all posted on what else is going on in the life of Big Red.  If you want more pictures/videos, add me on Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook.

Hope you are all doing well in the ‘Burg! Can’t wait share my upcoming adventures with you all.

Allison Mascioli

Buonasera amici!

I hope you all are having a great semester so far! I arrived in Florence, Italy on Tuesday with the Syracuse University in Florence program, and this week is orientation. I am the only Bucknell student doing this program, which is a little intimidating, but I am already making friends with students from universities all over the United States.

Tomorrow I will be registering for my five classes that I will be taking this semester. A lot of the classes that are offered go on day trips to museums, other placesin Italy, and even cities outside of Italy. I am looking forward to doing some traveling on the weekends both for class and for fun!
Yesterday I met my host mother, Anna, and her daughter, as well as my new roommate. My host mother does not speak any English so we can only speak Italian to communicate. I will also be taking Italian as one of my classes, which will help me pick up the language more quickly.

So far, I have done a ton of walking (wearing comfortable shoes is a must), so I am definitely burning off the pasta that I have been eating (which is delicious). This evening I had time to go running before dinner and passed by lo stadio where ACF Fiorentina plays calcio (football/soccer). Hopefully I can get to one of the games while I am here.

I will be posting pics to Snapchat and Instagram on a daily basis so feel free to add/follow me!

 

Ciao Ciao!

Steph Larkin