Travel!

For the first time in the two months that I've been in Edinburgh I'm going to leave the city limits. This weekend I'm going on a three-day trip to the Isle of Skye with Rabbie's Trail Burners! (Check out the itinerary here.) And next weekend I'm going to London to see the following museums: British Museum, Freud Museum, Museum of London, Natural History Museum, and the Science Museum. Then, the weekend after, I'm headed off to the Isle of Mull with my flatmate and some friends! And the weekend after that my Mom is here so we'll be going to Glasgow and Dumfries!

I'm so excited to travel!

Okay, I know...

I know what you're all thinking, "Dang, that Liza is a lazy blogger for sure!" So, yes, it's true that I haven't updated in the last two weeks. But, you all have to trust me, I'm not dead! I've just been up to lots of stuff and/or been too lazy to update this thing-a-ma-blog o' mine. To make up for it, I give you this video (opens a new window) which is a promotional video from Our Dynamic Earth's events department. It shows what fabulous events are possible at Dynamic Earth and has some great visuals and images of the landmark building I work in.

My internship is going as well as could be. I'm nearly half-way to my goal of surveying 100 visitors and I should hopefully have more completed surveys once I go in tomorrow to check the survey box. Next up for this week will be completing a costings list of materials for the polar-themed activity for pre-school kids. I can't believe I've only got three and a half weeks of my internship left! My goodness, time sure does fly when one is learning so much and having a great time!

Yesterday one of my coworkers grabbed some ASVA (Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions) passes so that we could be touristy and get into attractions for free. First off we went into the National Gallery of Scotland and looked at some simply amazing art! We saw art by Monet, Degas, Gauguin, Cézanne, Rembrandt, as well as Raeburn's Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch. There was this one painting that was so interesting... There was a man whose face was so realistic! You should have seen his hair, his eyebrows, his wrinkles; I think I looked at that one for about 15 minutes for that reason alone.

After that we went off to Camera Obscura and the World of Illusions which completely blew me away! (The website is still in construction but you can see some of the views from the tower there.) The first thing we did was go to the very top of the building to the tower which overlooks Edinburgh including the Castle, Princes Street and the Royal Mile. My coworker let me use her camera so I'll try to put up the pictures we took there soon. Then there was a presentation using the actual camera obscura and that was one of the most extraordinary things I have ever seen in my 21.66 years of life! The rest of the building houses a collection of visual illusions, hands-on activities, and enough holographic wonders to last a few hours at least. This is a definite must-see for any visitor to Edinburgh!

Then we went to the 3D Loch Ness Experience which was kinda interesting, I guess... I can't see how they're a 4 star visitor attraction, but it was worth seeing just to say that I've seen it. What I'm trying to say is that I wouldn't have gone if I had to pay a fiver (10 US dollars) to see the 25 minute film. Some of it was 3D and some of it wasn't, or so it seemed. Thank goodness for the ASVA pass making it free for us!

Finally we went to the Scotch Whiskey Heritage Centre which was a perfect ending to a day of tourist activities! With our (free) admission we also got to attend a whiskey tasting session before the start of our tour. Yes, ladies and gents, I had my first taste of whiskey and it was beautiful. I had a dram of Isle of Skye and I really appreciated the caramel/citrus taste that went down smooth with a slight zing at the end. Made me all warm and toasty! The tour was fun; a series of four sessions: First a video, second a talk from a guide telling us about what a distillery is like, third a projected video of a deceased noser (a person who checks whiskey by smelling it) and, fourth, a barrel ride through the history of whiskey in Scotland. Yes, you heard me right: A barrel ride! It was like going on a trip through a wax figure history of the topic and was kinda cheesy, but I love cheesy things so I had a good time.

All in all it was a great day doing touristy things! I'll let you all know, via this thing-a-ma-blog, when I've got new pictures posted. Hope you're all doing fab!

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Snow, free tours and school, oh my!

We finally got some sticky snow, even though it was only a couple of centimeters. Here's the snow right outside my window...

And here's a wee bit of snow on Salisbury Crags, right by Dynamic Earth...

All of it was even lovelier in person! Also, with the (literally) freezing temperatures we're having, I've gotten to use my puffy brown, knee-length jacket with faux fur lined hood; I feel like I'm walking around still wrapped up in the duvet from my bed!

In just a few weeks' time I'll be heading out on a 3 day tour to the Isle of Skye in the northwest of Scotland! I had heard great things about Rabbie's Trail Burners, located on the Royal Mile, so I went to see them last Monday. Since I still had my ASVA pass from the trip to the zoo, I asked if they had a discount for ASVA, not really expecting much. The fella at the desk wasn't sure and asked someone else in the shop. She didn't know either and told him to call up someone to ask about it. So, he calls, and I'm waiting patiently, telling him my name and that I'm with Dynamic Earth, etc. He hangs up the phone and says, "Yes, you do get a discount... Free!" I couldn't believe it and blurted out, "Are you sure?" He booked me on a tour and told me to give a call back a week before to just confirm that the tour would be going on the date I wanted. (In the slower months, one has to have patience and understand that a tour bus cannot just go with one visitor aboard!) I will need to pay for my lodging in a hostel or B&B and food but that would have been extra anyway. This is saving me the 79 pounds (roughly $155) that I would have paid for the 3 day trip (click there to see the itinerary)!

For those of you keeping up on my academic life, I've decided to ditch the Anthroplogy minor idea. Why, you say? (Or perhaps you don't say and I'm just stuffing words into your mouth.) Well, I looked at what I would need to get my half finished minor in Community Development and it is decidedly less than I remembered. It would take less time, less money and less insanity to complete. Less is more, sometimes.

And with that, I shall end this post. Thanks for tuning in and, if you want me to know you've been reading, leave me a comment! =)

Zoo Review

Yesterday, Sunday, I decided to go to the Edinburgh Zoo for a few hours since I had the ASVA pass (Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions) that gets me in free to most of the museums/galleries/zoos/guided tours/castles/distilleries/etc. in Scotland. The zoo here is located on a hill and so I ended up getting quite the workout! They had a lot of animals, some I hadn't seen before, some I hadn't heard of before, some I was suprised to see. For example, they had a skunk. Yes, a skunk in a zoo! It was in a little hutch when I was there so I didn't see it, but I smelled it for sure. Some of the more unique animals I saw were the Painted Hunting Dogs, the Maned Wolves, the Southern Cassowary, the Eastern Bongo, the Capybara, the Cotton-Top Tamarins, and the Steller Sea Eagle. (I'll post pictures to my picture site soon!) And here's a video of the Oriental Small-clawed Otters! They were so tiny!

The trip to and from the zoo was also a very musical one. On the walk to the bus stop I listened to The Shins, my favorite walking music. On the bus I listened to Seu Jorge and Four Tet. At the zoo I listened to the Glenn Miller Orchestra (and Bill Bailey for the Zebra song). On the bus ride home I listened to Belle & Sebastian and Cities of Foam. Walking back to the flat I listened to Frou Frou. Huzzah for musical diversity!

Today I have the day off and I think I'll hang out at home for a little longer and then do touristy stuff. I was thinking of going to Mary King's Close and then buying tickets for my trip to the Isle of Skye. I might stop by the library as well. Hope y'all have a fab week!

More news from the Land of Scots!

If there's anything that I've gotten a chance to work on whilst here, it's been social networking. I consider myself to be a pretty shy person and, as a result, I don't get out much to meet new people. Or, rather, I didn't before I came here. Here, I meet tons of amazingly kind and open people through work and my flatmate. Any time I'm invited out, I go, even though I'm usually completely unfamiliar with most of the places I end up. And, except in the rare occasion, I usually have a total blast! People can really make an experience worth it, I've learned. I'd like to think I knew this before, as a general idea/theory, but now I've experienced it and know it to be true in many situations.

As a result of spending massive amounts of time at the National Museum of Scotland, I've become increasingly interested in dead people. Sure, it might sound weird, but just think of all the people who have lived before us and the experiences they must have had... There's no recreating that experience because most of us cannot go through that without some serious time travel! So, anyway, my point is this: Dead people are fascinating. That said, I'm thinking of pursuing a minor in Anthropology once I'm back at Portland State in either Spring or Summer. I've already got one of the required classes under my belt and I would just need an additional 24. All of the classes look amazing and I would be able to finish those credits within two terms, which is only one additional term to what I would have done without the minor. Also, getting a minor in a specific field will hopefully give me a better chance when it comes to applying to graduate school in a year or so.

I can't believe I'm nearly half-way through my internship! I'll finally get to start surveying and observing next week as well as continuing my research on evaluation and education program development. It'll be interesting to see what kind of data I can compile based on the surveying and observing!

This weekend I was planning on going to Rosslyn Chapel with some friends but one has been out sick so I believe we're postponing that for the time being... Tomorrow I plan to go to the Edinburgh Zoo though and I'm so excited! I'll try to remember to post after my trip and give you all a review of the place. =)

Well, it's just about 1:35 am here so I'd better head to bed! Hope you're well and thanks for reading!