Yes… it has happened. I am home. Back in the burgh with my
family whom I have missed so so much and with whom I am so so happy to be
reunited. But, this post is not about that. I promise a wrap-up, obligatory
reflection blog will come later in the break, but for now, journey with me to
my last week of classes back in November.
Bizarrely, classes at Uni end the last week of November. A “revision” week
(which just means “study” week) then commences followed by two full weeks of
final exams. So, to give you an idea of how different this system is, I took my
Celtic Civilizations exam three whole weeks after my last Celtic class. BUT!
Even though I found this system quite odd, I was BEYOND thankful for it because
it allowed me to book two separate one-week trips to other countries in Europe between my very spread out exams. The
schedule was as follows: one week in Krakow, Salzburg, and Munich; return to
Uni for two days of studying and then take my Medieval Scottish History exam on
the third day; depart the next morning for a week in Italy (Florence, Rome,
Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, Positano, & Capri); return to Uni for three days
of studying before my Celtic exam on the fourth day back. Yup. It was CRAZY!
But at the end of the day, SO worth it!
BUT before my wonderful, whirlwind travels could commence, I
had two research papers to finish and turn in, one fancy-shmancy ball to
attend, my first Thanksgiving away from my family, and I had to welcome my
mumma to Edinburgh at the end of the week. On Wednesday, November 26th,
Catherine, Chloe, and I attended the University of Edinburgh History Society’s
Annual Winter Ball. This year, it was miraculously being held at the Balmoral
Hotel, one of the most expensive, famous hotels in Scotland (and coincidently
where J.K. Rowling completed the final Harry Potter book). The black-tie event
included a reception with drinks followed by a many-course, fancy dinner
followed by a Ceilidh (a traditional Scottish group dance) all inside the
stunning, decorated-for-Christmas Balmoral Hotel. The girls and I spent hours
getting ready in my room. I did both of their makeup and their hairdos (which I
was very proud of, I must say considering I don’t have much hair to practice
with). The meal was really good, but it was the atmosphere of that historic,
famous hotel that really made the
event so special. Sadly the Ceilidh portion of the evening was not the best.
The dance floor, although in one of the Balmoral’s prettiest rooms, was FAR too
small. Also, right after getting back from Paris, I had developed a horrible
foot injury and was experiencing a lot of pain when walking, so Ceilidhing
wasn’t even an option for me. But we still had a really nice evening, the three
of us together.
Catherine's hair
Chloe's hair
Photo Cred to Catherine
The next day was Thanksgiving. But in no way did it feel like
Thanksgiving, obviously since Thanksgiving doesn’t exist in the UK. Chloe and
Catherine cooked dinner, which for me comprised mostly of Catherine’s marvelous
risotto, so I was happy! But, it did sort of feel like we just skipped
Thanksgiving, like it was “the year without a Thanksgiving”. It scares me to
think about growing up and starting to experience holidays or birthdays away
from home and, sadder, away from family. At some point, I guess every young
adult needs to find a way to detach the meaning or feeling of Thanksgiving or
Christmas or birthdays away from specific places, specific foods, specific
people. It’s not going to be easy, but Thanksgiving abroad was a glimpse of
that unfortunate truth for me. Growing up is hard.
Anywho, I had a lovely dinner with my girls even if it
didn’t feel like Thanksgiving dinner. I was lucky to have two wonderful friends
to share any holiday or simply evening with. Great food, great conversation,
great laughs with great company!
Our dinner (mine's the plate without the veggies haha)
By Thursday night, my two essays were turned in and I had
already begun to study for my Medieval Scottish History exam. But that all
stopped on Friday morning when my mum arrived in Edinburgh. I had missed her SO
MUCH! She was a piece of family, of home I had really been longing for. By the
time she got to Edinburgh, I had been away from family for the longest time I
had ever been away from them before. Even when I was at Richmond for a few
months in a row without coming home, at least Mum and Dad would come visit,
usually to see a show. So our mum-and-daughter reunion was a huge treat!
A month or so prior, I had talked to my dad about wanting to
visit Krakow, Poland. My Nunny’s grandmother came over to the United States
from Krakow alone, at the age of 16. Nunny has told me so many stories about
her and about Poland. I wanted to visit Krakow for a couple reasons: because I
have heard from friends that it is such a beautiful, quaint city; because I
feel strong ancestral connection to it; but most of all because I wanted to go
there for my Nuns. I want to learn of the history and take tons of pictures and
then share with her the stories and pictures of the city where her grandmother
came from. It was so important to me that I get there for her, and I was willing to take a weekend, stay in a hostel, and
go on my own to make it happen, but my daddy had a better idea. He said Mum
could come over and join me on my trip. I was shocked that he would bring up
and push such an idea. But he did! And I was so so grateful! The only downside
was that he couldn’t come too. But he initiated the trip, so he was very much
an essential part of it! It wouldn’t have happened without him. Later on, Mum
and I expanded our trip: she would spend one day in Scotland with me, and then
we would fly together to Krakow. Afterwards we would spend some time in
Salzburg and in Munich before she would return to the States and I would return
to Edinburgh to tackle my first exam.
Mum arrived early on that Friday and we immediately departed
for my favorite building in Scotland (tied with Edinburgh Castle of course):
Linlithgow Palace, the massive ruin where Mary Queen of Scots was born and to
which I had been twice already, once on my own and once with Stef. Mum really
seemed to enjoy exploring every inch of the ruin just as I had on my first
visit! I had had a really spiritual experience at the Palace the first time I
visited and had developed this intense passion for it. Therefore, it was really
special getting to share Linlithgow with Mum. We then returned to Edinburgh and
caught a bus to Rosslyn Chapel, the small but magnificently carved chapel of
the St. Claire family of Scotland. The Chapel was featured significantly at the
end of Dan Brown’s famous novel, “The Di Vinci Code” as well as in the movie
version starring Tom Hanks. It was seriously a beautiful structure with just so
many carvings inside, so many faces and plants and narratives all so
intricately carved into the arches and columns of the Chapel. Mum had been
really adamant about visiting Rosslyn because when we had visited Scotland two
years ago, the Chapel had been closed. It was tough squeezing both Linlithgow
and Rosslyn into one day (especially when Mum had had very little sleep on the
plane), but we did it! And it was a great kickoff to our week together.
Mum and I at Linlithgow
Rosslyn Chapel
That evening, Mum and I had dinner in New Town and then met up with Chloe to explore Edinburgh's wonderful Christmas market.
And so ends my last week of classes and the last week of
November before the craziness of “travel, study/cram, exam, travel, study/cram,
exam” kicked in throughout December. Stay tuned for my next post about Mum and
my trip through Poland, Austria, and Germany.
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