Let the Adventures Begin!!!

One of the nicest parts of living and going to school in Europe is the ease of travel between different parts of the continent. While travel within the US can cost hundreds of dollars just to fly within the same state, traveling within the EU is the complete opposite. As a citizen of the US I grew up believing that all international travel was a nightmare and subsequently I didn’t even have a passport until I had to get one to come to university in the UK. When I finally did get over here I heard a somewhat surprising statement from another student: “Only about 1/3 of US citizens have a passport.” I’m honestly not sure why this surprised me; after all, no one in my immediate family (parents/siblings) had passports until I told them my school choice was overseas. Once hearing this though I had to see if it was true. I set out on a mission to find the answer and came across a very informative article in Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbender/2012/01/30/record-number-of-americans-now-hold-passports/) that proved the statement right and went even further to say that this number had nearly tripled over the past 20 years with the greatest increases coming with new legislation that required passports to travel between the US and either Canada or Mexico.

“I am one of the few”, I told myself. Well I can’t waste this opportunity while I have it. First on the list? A weekend long trip to Ireland. Thankfully for this newbie traveler, there were a few other North American vet students that like to travel so together we booked a trip and a few weeks later we were off! For less than £100 we were able to book the round trip flight, hostel, and a two day red bus tour through Dublin. Before we were even half way through the weekend we already knew we would have to come back as there just wasn’t enough time to see it all.

(My Traveling Companions)

Needless to say with 18 people traveling together we broke out into little groups to explore the city at our leisure. My group consisted of a few other girls that are some of my best friends in this crazy new country. Together the four of us plotted a two day course that would take us to the Museum of Natural History (a.k.a. The Dead Zoo), Dublin Castle, Kilmainham Gaol (Jail) Museum, and Dublin Zoo. We even discovered a small food market on a side street where we were able to stop and enjoy some fresh baked cronuts, croissants, fresh brewed cider, and hot chocolate.

(Dublin Castle: Photo Courtesy of Nadia)

So I got my first real stamp in my passport!!!

Shortly after returning to Scotland it was time for another trip out of Glasgow though this one was admittedly shorter than the last one. As part of the vet school of Glasgow our big rivalry is with Edinburgh University’s vet school. Once a year there is a big sports day between the two schools, where each school puts together a sports team for basically every sport under the sun (but no American football and no ice hockey). This year it was held in Edinburgh so the vet school loaded up four(ish) buses and headed down there. After getting mooned by John Barrowman (who is filming a show in the vet school) as we pulled out, we got to watch lots of sports in the morning and early afternoon, cheering on our fellow first years that were playing. After the sports were over, there was only one thing left to do…… DRINK!!! Because… we’re in Scotland. What followed can only be described as one of the craziest bar tours I have been on in my life, though since we had class early the next morning many of us opted for taking the early (midnight vs. 3am) bus home.

(Dick Day Bar Tour: Photo Courtesy of Adriana)

After two wonderful trips with “the gang”, we’ve gotten back into the studying frame of mind rather quickly but we are already looking forward to next semester’s trips. Ideas include: Paris, Spain, other parts of Ireland, and a few other places. In the more immediate future we are planning for our first EMS (Extra-mural Studies). Most of us seem to either be searching for or already secured a lambing placement and with a month long break in the spring, the North American crew will be spreading all over this little island. For now though, its only two weeks till the start of winter break (12 days to be exact) and Christmas seems to be heavy on everyone’s minds (and why not since we already celebrated Thanksgiving a little early). Soon the dorms will be clearing out, the ugly sweaters shall be dusted off, and temporary good-byes will be said as people travel home for break. Homesickness is definitely starting to hit hard as the holidays approach but I’m sure it will get better with time.

(Photo From Flickr)

This month’s Scottish Slang:

Bang On! = Go on! (As far as I can tell this is like telling someone to “go for it”)

P = often used as a shortened version of pence (the penny of the UK)

Bird = a girl

Hen = woman

Weegie = a person from or living in Glasgow

Dick = University of Edinburgh vet school student (b/c it was established by William Dick)

Pants = underwear

Trousers = pants (like jeans or khakis)

Fag = Cigarette

Nip = a shot of “spirits”

Spirits = any strong alcoholic drink such as rum, whiskey, vodka, etc.

Cronut = A croissant-donut pastry