Strip the Willow, Stalk the Golfer and Hike the Ben

So the weekend started early this week (read I've actually made friends i don't live with willing to put up with me during the week).

So a Day-by-day replay after the shoutouts.

Let's get a WOOT! for Ma, Mom, Aunt Sis! Thank you for indulging my love of Halloween and sending me any and all suplies necessary to share it with my roomies America-style. Mom all would have been lost is you hadn't sent me my Star Fleet uniform after I was dumb enough to decide I wouldn't need it (why on Earth I ever came to that conclusion I will never know ;). Ma, you kept your word and didn't send REAL pumpkins (like you do when I'm in SC) but the both the mural and collapsible trick-or-treat ones are perfect (as are the butter finger and twix...yeas there's still some left...sorta). Although Aunt Sis' Gingerbread haunted  house kinda takes the cake (hehe)...I plan to throw a full on halloween party like my flatmates have never seen!

So...Monday

Pia Sarah and I found our new "place." It's an old Theater that's been re vamped in crazy colors, lamps and pinball machines...plus it has the best bar-burger and fries in Dundee. And the ketchup is both edible and available in useful quantities (if you get it here and its not so sweet as to be absolutly sickening you get about three foil packets...which is an unacceptable amount). This place is awesome you can get a burger, fries and a pint for 3 pound 30. No onion rings but I'll survive until christmas I suppose.

Tuesday something happened but that was a week ago so... ohh no I remember I met the city planning kids at Social because Laura (who is totes awesome and my first real Scottish friend) invited me. She's in my Environmental Methods and Monitoring class but is technically in the town planning program. We bonded over movies then I went to Tally's to try to find my flatmates, the boys were there but Sarah ditched us.

Wednesday was the rucksack club meeting but we only stayed at the pub (yes the pub...all official school events that aren't lectures are held in pubs) long enough to sign up to go to Ben Nevis on Sunday and find out where the Ceilidh was being held on friday (more on that, and my bruises, later). Martin had decided that he wanted to see the Law view at night so after Sarah and I followed him up there. Law apparently means hill, and that's what this is...a super big hill with a monument thing on top from which you can see the entire city. The walk up was a bit sketchy in places mostly because Martin was having trouble finding the way in the dark, so we just kept going uphill assuming we'd find the top. It was like an urban night hike. Took us about 45 minute but it was breathtaking from the top all the lights of the city and the boats and bridges it was amazing. Luckily Sarah brought her camera 'cause I forgot mine.

We stopped at a party store on the way up to grab some beer so we could drink it at the top (Germans have this thing about drinking beer on peaks...Martin packed Tennants all the way up Ben Nevis)

Thursday after class I met Laura at the library and we walked back to her place for dinner/movie night with her roomies Hannah and Eleanor. She made an awesome shrimp (excuse me, prawn) stir-fry and we watched "Lady Jane" with Helena Bonham-Carter and The Dread Pirate Roberts (can't remember his real name but don't act like you don't know exactly who I mean) it was pretty good. I felt bad that I sort-of left laura to make dinner but I was having a great conversation with her roomates while she was in the kitchen. I can't get over how much I love the accent so I'm more talkative in a simple effort to get everyone else to talk. Laura is legally deaf, she can hear with her hearing aids in but lip-reading helps, so it was a bit hard to remember to face her while addressing the room. I mostly forget she has trouble in class because we are whispering directly at each other so she can always see my face. She is actually I hiker as well so she told me a bit about what to expect from Ben Nevis, which was cold, fog and hiking for hours for a view that probably wouldn't be visible...great. I had an awesome time with them though and didn't end up leaving til late. They have a real apartment (the kind that actual people, not just students, live in) so it was a ways away so Hannah drove me home. I plan on insinuating myself into their movie night from now on ;) 

Friday was the rucksack club Ceilidh. I was really tired and I knew it was a really long walk away and I really just wanted to stay home. But Sarah forced me to go (she even dressed me) so thank you dear I would have really missed out. It was so much fun. When we first walked in it looked kind of lame and we didn't know any of the dances (although I think there was an immediate mutual appreciation that Scottish boys still wear kilts as formal wear). I honestly though it was going to be the worst fiver I'd ever spent. Half a Guiness in things were looking better and some of the club guys took pity on us and hauled us up on the dance floor (I think Martin and Kristine had taken a spin at this point and maybe Robin but the rest of us were still getting our bearings at the table...read Drinking). 

The group! from left: Kaia, Robin, Martin, Kristine, Danika, Sarah, me

So Ewan (one of our "guides" from the first trip, but he's a really nice guy) pulls me into a group dance that I don't know the name of ... it was a bit confusing and I'm sure I messed parts up but on the whole it wasn't too hard to follow.  There was an older guy in full regalia that may have been a plant to show us the moves (even the Scottish kids floundered a bit) that danced with all of us. The table nicknamed him creeper but he was just a nice old guy...he taught me a Scottish Waltz so it's all good. 

Me and Danika

Then I think I danced with Martin, Robin, and Ewan a few more times. I did strip the Willow with old guy. it brings entirely new meaning to "swing your partner" between it and the final dance with Ewan (which was just running down a line of people and using them as fulcrums to swing ourselves back at each other so we could catch arms in the middle and do it again) I've got a pretty distinguished bruise on the inside of my left upper-arm, and one on my elbow.

Martin and I totally floundered through this dance, but it was fun.

So after all that Saturday Robin, Danika, Sarah, Martin and I got up early to head to St. Andrews. I wanted to check out the town see the Abbey  ruins and the Links but it was the weekend of the Celebrity Dunhill tournament and Danika had her heart set on stalking Hugh Grant. In Danika's defense I was not an unwilling participant once I was informed Samuel L Jackson would be there (Martin wan't impressed and stayed in St Andrews). So we got to St. Andrews saw the links and wandered the beach a bit (I totally ran on the beach "Chariots of Fire" was filmed on!) until the shuttle to Carnoustie showed up to take us to stalker heaven. So the moral of the story is I saw some amazing golf courses and possibly my favorite actor of all time on saturday (ohh and Andy Garcia and Hugh Grant). 

 There was a problem with the shuttle on the way back so we just took the bus straight back to Dundee so I didn't end up seeing the rest of St. Andrews But it was a pretty satisfying day (I got pastries). I think I'll take Lillian there when she comes in a couple weekends. And that night one of the churches down the street was doing a Scottish cooking demonstration so we got a free dinner on top of it (Karma making up for the shuttle that left early ;)

And Sunday is our grand Finale of Ben Nevis. The highest peak in the UK. 

Head of the Trail

This was definitely a harder hike but much more enjoyable because Kristine, Robin Martin, Emanuele, Thomas and I stuck together and went our own way so weren't chasing after other people the whole time. That and everyone was ok with me being a pansy-ass and stopping all the time. Kristine was awesome and had ibuprofen so I didn't have a balloon for a knee this time.We still made great time though did the 8.5 hour hike in about 6 I think (if you don't count us stopping for lunch on the way down...we were ahead and sort of waiting for the rest of the club that took the same route but we never really saw them). There was this beautiful lake halfway up the mountain just sitting this little valley that was stunning....so we stopped and ate lunch (I brought my leftover St. Andrews pastry up the mountain). It was a great hike (look at the pics) we got started a little late because Martin had to find a beer to drink on top of the mountain (he promised his friend so we forgave him). The trail was really well maintained and the weather was gorgeous. We were warned that the peak gets something like 10 days of sunlight a year and that it was going to be freezing. The view was clear and I stripped down to my tank for most of it again. I guess the alcohol thing wasn't such a bad idea... I had a jack and coke on top of the highest peak in the UK (did anyone else know it came in cans? I surley didn't, thanks Robin)

Robin had the awesome idea of using Sepia and made some North Face ads 

We ate at a pub called the Grog and Gruel so that was cool too....curly fries but still no onion rings.

I'm sure I forgot a ton but this is getting long so that's all for now folks.