Stairway to Seven!

I watched half of the game at a sports bar tonight (until they kicked me out because it was 2 a.m.), and then Drew Skyped the rest of the game to me.Here we go: Pittsburgh's goin' to the Super Bowl!

Glossary, Vol. I

For both my benefit and yours, I've decided to include installments of a glossary in my regular blog entries.

For those of you who are unaware, the Scots, though English-speaking, speak a very different language than our own. They also use certain words much more frequently than we do at home. Many of the "foreign" words that have come from the ancient Scots language or are just offshoots of American English are used in everyday conversation here, so it's quite possible that between the strange words and the thick accents, you could be talking to a Scottish person and not understand a word of what he or she is saying.

Here's what I've either come across and asked about (i.e. at work) or just been told (i.e. in class) thus far - I'll make a new entry when I gather a new list.

Foreign Words
aye - yes
bairn (wain) - child
blether - chat
burn - steam, small river
crabbit - bad-tempered
cooker - oven
dunt - bump
eejit - foolish person
fit - attractive
greet - cry
haver - talk nonsense
hob - stovetop
ken - know
lassie - girl
loch - lake
rammy - noisy fight

Increased Usage
advert - advertisement
alright - okay
as well as - also
bit - small amount
brilliant - great
dodgy - sketchy
keen - fond
lovely - good
naughty - indecent
prefer - like better
quite - very
raunchy - obscene
Steelers - AFC Champions
wee - small

Craziness!

I realize that I've only been away for a few days, but I want to apologize for not having kept up this blog better, because this has been such an important week! So much has happened!

Alright, I might be exaggerating a bit. As I mentioned in my last post, I have, in fact, started both of my classes as well as my internship, and there's lots to tell about all of those things. But beyond that, I've just had some clever ideas (well, I think that they're clever, at least - however, it will be for you to judge) for various postings and series to start. Many entries are in their ideological and/or editing stages, so be on the look-out!

Truly, the reason that I have been away is this:

ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL?!

No, I did not buy a replacement ukulele with UK plugs (joke...maybe you have to be here. Anyway.) It's a bit of a long story, but I'm borrowing it sporadically from Ollie, a guy at work. And I love him for it! (Pretty sure my flatmates hate him...and me now...I've probably played for a combined 7 hours in the past two days.) I have missed my uke more than I'd imagined. But fear not! My calluses are quickly returning, my nail polish is quickly chipping, and I've even learned "Loch Lomond" to get into the Scottish spirit.

So, that's what been taking up all of my would-be blogging time. Good thing I don't have much homework!

I'll be working on those blogs this weekend - but for now, I'm going to head to bed, because a group of us is visiting St. Andrews tomorrow! I will, of course, be reporting back on this matter.

Gearing Up!

After what proved to be a much more arduous assignment than I had anticipated, I am getting into bed a bit later than I had hoped in order to gear up for...*fanfare* MY FIRST REAL WEEK!

Yes, yes, I realize that it is Monday night. But for now, at least, I have Mondays off - let's hope it stays this way for the term.

Anyway, I start training at work tomorrow promptly at 9 a.m., and my day will continue at The Media Company until it is time to attend Dr. O'Rourke's class. Apparently, since we live in a "palace," as he put it, there is some sort of shindig here afterward. We shall see.

The rest of my week will be filled with more internship training and work, Scottish Culture and Society, and Wine Studies. (Brilliant class choices for the term, eh?) I'll keep you updated...

"I must confess: I've never heard of this chap."

Saturday, I wanted to get out of the flat - it was a bit cold and rainy - but hey, that's Scotland! and I figured it was my first legitimate weekend in Edinburgh, so I should at least have something to show for myself. I spent a bit of time lounging around and preparing some food before heading down the hill to the National Gallery of Scotland. (Well, first I stopped at the smaller museum next door, but I don't even know the name and, due to some major construction or renovation or something, there were only two exhibits, and I could only find my way to one. It was neat, but still...)

I'm not exactly a museum hound. I mean, I can appreciate artifacts and exhibits, but I just don't know a lot of history, so sometimes, the significance of things doesn't quite hit me. Other times, I just get tired or hungry (but I thought ahead and slept in and had a late lunch!)

Needless to say, Saturday was not one of those days.

The museum is awesome! It's one of only five national portrait galleries in the world (or so says one of the signs...I think), and it's actually quite big. It has twelve rooms on the first floor, and in about an hour and a half, I had only made it through three. Lots of the art that I was viewing had direct relevance to my Scottish Enlightenment class, so I took the time to read fully the paragraphs of explanation. Also, the paintings were REALLY GOOD...so I just stared a lot. I was overcome with an intense appreciation for old things and just "oldness" (yes, this is becoming a theme in Scotland.) I realized that, for so, so many years, even in the most modern of societies, paintings really were the only way to preserve a scene - cameras are quite new on the world scale. More often than not, our only ideas of the appearance of historical figures come ONLY from "art" - ESPECIALLY outside the baby nation known as the United States.

Art appreciation in an hour? I'll take it!

I definitely plan to go back many-a-time and brave the remaining three-quarters of the lower floor...and who knows what the upper level(s) may hold?!

Oh, and about the title: while perusing the walls, I overheard a cool-looking elderly lady say that about one of the historical figures hanging in front of her. I chuckled to myself.