Wowza, can’t believe its time for me to post here again, feels like it was only just a few days ago that I made my other post! Time really is flying by; I can’t believe it’s been two months since I’ve gotten to Edinburgh!
Anyway, I’m kind of tired right now so this (hopefully) won’t be too long of a post.
I (officially) started work at the Scottish Parliament this week; starting my first official work/internship experience has certainly been interesting! The main thing I’ve been focusing on so far has been research for my final project, which is about the Nordic countries and how they have/are addressing climate change, and whether Scotland (being of similar population and climate) can possibly replicate any of those changes. My MSP has a real interest in not only the Nordic countries, but climate change as well; he sits on an environment and climate change committee and even gave a speech during a debate in Parliament about a motion he wrote on Thursday (unfortunately I couldn’t watch as I had an ergo session at that time).
Other duties so far have included learning how to write motions, sitting in on meetings, and helping get a Gaelic children’s choir settled before an event on Wednesday. Monday and Friday of this coming week I’ll be going back to the constituency to help out at the office there, in addition to coming into work in Edinburgh on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday.
In other news, my parents and my neighbors have come to visit me here. They’re staying about a five minute walk away, and don’t seem to believe me when I tell them how easy it is to walk to just about any place in the city.
Yesterday they arrived and I showed them around Parliament (got those special visitor passes and everything– intern perks!) and then we paid a quick visit to Holyrood Palace, a residence of the Queen when she’s in Edinburgh (which isn’t very often… Except, it seems, when I visited Scotland last. Oh well.)
It’s not a very big palace, but it certainly is quite lavish. Most definitely fit for royalty. I wish I had pictures from inside, but, alas, no pictures allowed. Here’s some from outside and the Holyrood Abbey instead.
That evening, after we ate dinner, we went to go see a band called Wishbone Ash play at a theater across the city in New Town. Now, I quite like this band, but they are most definitely a 70s band. I’m pretty sure I was the only person under 30 there. Anyways, they were pretty good and if you like that kind of 1970s British rock I definitely recommend you give them a listen. Aside from some issues with the sound tech, they were pretty good, almost as good as they are from their hey day.
Today my dad, my neighbor, and I went on a day trip to Stirling Castle and other places in the area (my mom and my neighbor’s wife were supposed to join us but they were both sick, unfortunately). Now, I’ve already been to Stirling Castle a couple times, but the castle is a true gem and never fails to impress, especially as we were graced by a typical Scottish day full of moody grey skies and mist covered hills. It’s really quite spectacular. As usual, photos don’t do it justice.
Following that we made a couple quick stops; first at Doune Castle where they filmed scenes from Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail (the scene where they ride up to the French castle with the coconuts… the ‘your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries’ scene… you know the one), from Game of Thrones (Winterfell, or at least part of it), and Outlander (Castle Leoch!!).
We also stopped for a quick photo op with some highland coos, aka the furry red cows that Scotland is famous for. Did you know that they were the first official breed of cow, having been bred for centuries before there even were official breeds of cows? And that if you stand to close (as I found out the hard way…) they’ll thump you with their massive horns (which both males and females have). Not to worry, it didn’t actually hurt. Regardless, they’re pretty darn cute.
After that we had a quick lunch break at a mountaintop cafe where they offered zip-lining (alas that we didn’t have enough time to go on!) and then we stopped at another little town and had some ice cream (Kinder Surprise bar ice cream… mmmm). Our last stop was (yet another) whiskey distillery. Did you know that it contributes billions of dollars a year to the Scottish economy?
Anyway, that’s all from me for now. Hope everyone has a happy Halloween!
Cheers,
Kim