Hiya friendos,
Just wanted to let you all know that I’m still abroad and that I haven’t dropped off the face of the Earth! These past three weekends I’ve been traveling to different countries and either haven’t had good wifi or a computer to use to post. I’m not going to post every single detail, but rather some highlights from each trip. Aside from that, during the week I continue to work for the Scottish Parliament and I’m having a blast! I love it and I don’t want to go home.
Anyway, my first trip was off to Iceland. It was gorgeous, in a strange, sort of surreal way. I’ve been describing it as a more extreme Scotland, really, but that doesn’t help if you’ve never been to Scotland. What I saw was a lot of perfectly flat lava plains that would suddenly rise up into towering mountains; black sand beaches, lagoons full of icebergs. While I was out there I got to hike a glacier and see the Northern lights, definitely checking two items off of my bucket list. It goes without saying that it was absolutely bloody freezing there. No matter how many layers you wear (and trust me, I wore a LOT) it was still unbelievably cold.
Thanksgiving weekend I was off to Krakow, Poland. I have to say, that was one of my favorite trips, despite the disorienting experience of being in a country where I had absolutely no grasp on the language at all. Krakow is a really beautiful city; I’ve been told its a lot like Prague but I’ve never been to Prague so I cannot confirm. We toured the city, ate lots of pierogis, saw Polish cathedrals and castles, a local flea market (where I got an LL Bean sweater for 6$!), and the Christmas Market. But, I have to say, the definitive highlight of the trip was going to Auschwitz 1 concentration camp and Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. It’s one thing to have studied the Holocaust in school; its another matter entirely to be standing in the places where such atrocities occurred. It was deceptively peaceful; unnaturally quiet, seemingly devoid of life, sun shining gently and almost surreally in a grey-pink shroud at the end of the day. It was most certainly a somber experience, but I think, a necessary one. It serves as a warning and a reminder of what the worst parts of humanity can become, and an obligation that all must be done to prevent this from happening again.
My last trip was to Gibraltar and Morocco via Spain. This I think was the trip with the most culture shock for me. The Moroccan cities I visited were different from any I’ve ever been, no European influence in the slightest. I think my favorite part of the whole experience was just sitting outside in the early evening and listening to all the calls for prayer at all the different mosques. While the tour I did was a bargain, I definitely got what I paid for in that the trip itself wasn’t quite as good as the others I’ve done. Regardless, Morocco is a wonderful country, and I wish I could go back and learn more about the culture without a 100 other American college students.
The last leg of my journey was a slight (intentional) detour. I flew in to Glasgow from Spain and then the next day I flew out to Dublin, caught a bus, and drove out to Limerick. I went out to see a band called British Lion, which is a side project of the bassist for Iron Maiden, Steve Harris, and my favorite bassist and the genius behind Maiden, my favorite band. It was a long day of traveling; I think I walked about 8 miles that day, but it was absolutely worth it to be in the front row of the concert and be so close and to get his autograph and photo after.
Anyway, I’m exhausted so that’s all from me. It looks like this might be my last post, as a week from now I’ll be heading home… However, I may have some fun stories from the SNP Christmas party! Fingers crossed I can get a picture with the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon…
Cheers,
Kim