I'll tell me Ma when I go home...

Quite a lot, most likely (as I tend to... :D ). Including the fact that a traditional Irish song I had only ever heard belted out by the jaw-clenched lead singer of the Dubliners was recently played in a dance club, remixed and synthesized, to hilarious effect. It is truly quite ridiculous and makes me laugh. A lot.

YouTube: I'll Tell Me Ma Irish Clubland (This is a (slightly less obnoxious) version of the same thing, and it amuses me no end as well: YouTube: I'll Tell Me Ma Sham Rock)

I will also probably tell her about the lovely hike I had yesterday. Edinburgh city is positioned on and around a series of dramatic bluffs and crags (likely because of the strategic advantage of having one’s castle, about which the city grew, on higher ground). The highest of these bluffs – it would be called a mountain in the Midwest, and a (large-ish) hill in Colorado or California, so take your pick – is called Arthur’s Seat. It is almost 1000 feet in elevation, and unlike every other mountain I have ever climbed, completely covered in earth and grass and moss. I swear, it was like trying to climb a sponge; a big, wet sponge, due to the recent drizzles of rain. Lovely on the knees, bad on the currently-mud-covered shoes. (For the Geology lovers: it was formed by a now-extinct volcano, then carved by passing glaciers in the last ice age... or so says my Scottish History professor.) The story goes that King Arthur used the peak as a lookout from which he could view the surrounding country-side, and while I am not going to spend much time on the veracity of said myth, I must say that as far as views go, it was truly spectacular. We got a 360 degree view of the entire city, and could see across the “firth” (not “bay”) to the north and on to the mountains beyond. It was encouraging to be able to look down and spot buildings on campus, my dorms, the castle, and other landmarks all around the area – I am actually getting to know my way around a bit of the city, which pleases me no end. We stayed just long enough to watch the sun set, (at 4:20 pm, by the way – the days are absurdly short here) then very nearly RAN down the hill to escape the icy wind. It took about fifteen minutes for me to be able to feel my poor fingers again. To the Minnesotans: Yes, we are badasses, and yes, it is not nearly so cold here as it is there (nobody freeze please). Alas though, I have discovered that in my hubris I have been wearing insufficient layers and getting cold anyway, which makes me feel rather silly. You all know I should know better. It was alright though, and the rosy clouds fading slowly to expose the huge full moon, heavy and golden, made it all worth it. Tons of curry for dinner helped too.

Fun fact: apparently, curry is the most eaten food in Scotland, or at least in Edinburgh. Not Haggis (still haven’t tried it; I am a coward, I know), or potatoes, or fish and chips, or mash, or …mutton, or whatever else it is that Scots eat traditionally. This makes me really pleased on a practical level, because that means that there are Indian, Thai, Middle-eastern, Chinese, and Japanese restaurants EVERYWHERE. Not always affordable, but no more expensive than most other places. And what quite amuses me is the fact that in the greasy-little fish and chips joints, where the grimy glass proclaims FISH CHIPS KEBABS PIZZA BURGERS STUDENT DISCOUNTS, one of the options for one’s chips (ie, fries) is to order chips and curry. Again, still haven’t tried it. It’s an interesting idea though I suppose…


What one ought to have on one's chips is just one of the many little assumptions about life that I am having to rethink. For example, for twenty years I have been operating under the assumptions that Week Night means homework and sleep, not parrtaaay!, that "Natural" on a container of yogurt refers to its production, not its (very plain) flavor, that it's okay to skip shaving my legs during the week in the winter (it isn't when you are going clubbing...), that "purse" refers to a bag and not your wallet (here, men put their cards and money in "wallets," women in "purses," which they put in their "bags"), and the assumption that saying, "It's cold! Wish I had worn pants! (Instead of a skirt)" will not make other people think you are going commando (here, it will. Underwear=pants). I got a few funny looks with that last one, I must say... Haha!

Zoe and Dan and I, beginning our ascent up Arthur's Seat,
with Edinburgh city in the background

Yay pretty views. And Mac kids! 

There was a ruined chapel part of the way up... not sure
when it was originally built, but it must have
been lovely, if only because of the location:
gorgeous views!

A view overlooking the south-western part
of the city.
(Right) Dan was brave and climbed up onto
the marker of the peak: SO TALL!

Can you tell we were freezing?

Arthur's Seat~ so high!