An EPIC Day!

View as I was hiking up the MOUNTAIN!

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mommy! <333 class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">YAY! When I told one of my former flatmates, she said, "oh we haven't heard you around at all. We can only hear you laughing through your walls. That's how we know you're home." Ahahaa. My new flat seems much more my speed, and it's pretty. I have a better view and I have decorated it very nicely. =)

Yesterday in class there was a girl whose name I didn't know, so I asked where she was from. She said Boston. And we know how I feel about Boston (WORST city ever) But I was willing to be perfectly friendly. She would not give me the same courtesy. When I told her I was from New York, her eyes narrowed and she basically declared, "well you suck." I sarcastically said, "Well, i'm sorry you already hate me." It was awkward. This is why Bostonians SUCK (I LOVE you Christine!) but seriously.

Last night was the ISC (International Student Center's) Chinese New Year celebration. The event was for food and socializing. I was excited. I salivated at the thought of having chicken and broccoli. Lies. As soon as Sara and I walked in (it was crowded) a guy approached us yelling, "COME IN, WELCOME WELCOME!" with enthusiastic hand gestures. We then proceeded to play awkward get to know you games (and since we came late, we did not know many people--and the game tested you on people's names) But it was fun. Then I went and mingled a smidge. I talked to Stanley, from Tai Pei (who had no concept of personal space--he was practically talking on top of me) He was extremely nice though. I ran into Maggie who I had met several times before (and thought her name was Becky for the longest time) Sara overheard her talking to a kid saying, "For the longest time, during high school my English name was grape." Then the person replied, "So after high school you fell off the vine?!" Ah that right there is a Popsicle stick joke! I was sitting down when I felt something hover over my head (a pencil) and this kid was circling my head with it. I looked up puzzled. Maggie told him to stop, and I introduced myself (being polite) and once the introductions were made he asked me, "where are you from?" As I replied, "New York," his expression changed as he firmly told me, "I don't like New York." I asked why and he told me because he hated all Americans. We got involved in a civilized debate (at least on my part) as I asked him, "why, Billy, why, do you hate America?" It ended him walking away from me while I was in mid-sentence even after I assured him that not all Americans were idiots like George Bush. His hatred though stemmed from WWII. It was weird.

Okay. Now for the epic. Sorry this entry is going to be ridiculously long. Today was the trip to Castle Campbell with the ISC. I woke up at 7:30 and walked out my door with my lime green converse (which are now a muddy shade) We drove for an hour outside of Edi, and the leader yelled to the lot of us "Okay! Follow me to the castle!" Uh...follow her to the castle. It was up a MOUNTAIN! She neglected to mention that! So here I am in my converse, climbing steep rocky, muddy slopes. I was unprepared. Completely and utterly. Don't get me wrong, the scenery was beautiful. The walking uphill in less than ideal shoes and terrain was not. There were running brooks, mossy green trees, and mountains. Finally, after have been drained all my energy we made it to the castle snuggled in between mountain passages. Sara, Claire, and I took a zillion pictures of the grounds. There was a beautiful city view and it was literally breathtaking (in more way than one!) We got to go up to the castle itself. I passed the latrine closet (there was one on every floor, classy castle this one), the prison pit to get to the top. It was another spectacular view. The mountains on one side and the town on another. When I walk by this kid. I saw him take a lighter. Then I thought to myself, impossible, but there it was, a big fat joint. Soon the windy air was filled with the smell of marijuana. He came to the castle, and he smoked up. It was hilarious. Sara commented, "Alex, he's going to slide down the mountain." And I go, "Slide? He's going to freaking fly off it!" We made our way back on a different road, this one paved, and saw some new angles of the castle. It was quite a hike, but it was worth it.

A brook through the mud!

Nature!

Castle Campbell nestled in the mountains!
A face carved into the ceiling at the castle. CREEPY!
pretty self explanatory
just in case...
Claire, me, & Sara on top of the castle
Pretty Sky
the view.

Next we went to the William Wallace Monument. That again was another hike, zigzag up gravel roads, I was ready to lie down and take a nap (I am going to be SO sore tomorrow) Everything was uphill! Though we were at the monument it cost too much money to go up, so we walked around the grounds, even listening to a man talk about Wallace. It was windy, but lovely too. I bought myself a pen!

The monument itself
Stirling
PURDY
Wuddup, Will?
Normal men's Restroom sign...
UH? Why does she have horns?!?!

After the monument we went to Stirling. By this time, Sara, Claire and I were going to eat a sheep from one of the fields. We were famished. We ate pub food and went shopping. I bought a dress and a hamper from Primark! Yay! We stayed around the area where our bus let us off, we were too exhausted.

Overall the day was very tiring but wonderfully scenic and eventful. After we got back to EDI Sara and I went to eat Malaysian! YUM! I found my new favorite place. I had a roti! YUMYUM and Chow Qui Tue (Spelling?!) So delicious. Yes, it was an EPIC day.