Bittersweet

First of all, my goal of completing all of my work before going to Aberdeen was... ambitious. Throwing together two 2,500 word essays in four days just wasn't going to happen. Instead, I managed to all but print my final Jane Austen essay and started brainstorming for my Arthurian composition.

And then, we were off to Aberdeen. That day was a particularly foggy day, so driving through the countryside to Creagan (the name of Catherine's house(yes her house has a name)) was eerie... and a bit dangerous. We survived the trip, however, to enjoy an excellent evening of conversation around the coal fire. The next morning, we went on a quick tour through the hills to the wonderfully quaint and wholly unexpected Gardenstown.

The photo doesn't even come close to giving it justice. Imagine stone cliffs surrounding a fishing town on a (barely drivable) hill. Basically, I want to live there.

When we got back to the house, Catherine let me drive her car on the road near her house. The funny thing was that the whole left side of the road/right side of the car thing was not the tricky part at all. Remembering how to drive a manual car was. I did surprisingly well (if I may say) considering the fact that I learned manual many years ago and have since been driving automatic. I really only had trouble with the fact that the car has this annoying tendency to stall when you slow to a stop(without the clutch engaged).

That night, Catherine treated us to the best meat pies in Scotland. We had more fireside reading, watched the Full Monty, and thew down at the rowdiest, goofiest dance party that Creagan has ever seen.

Due to reality, we had to return to St Andrews. Monday was a research day.

Tuesday, Ross, Hella, Pia and I went to the student union's christmas silent bop. It sounds crazy and it is. Everyone in the room wears earphones to hear the music. There are two DJs on different channels and you can switch between them. The end result is that half the room is dancing to a different song, and if you take you earphones off, you can hear a bunch of people singing along to nothing. And there were santa hats.

I had determined to set Wednesday apart as my own St Andrews day in which I participated in all of the town's many tourist activities. So, after the bop(technically wednesday), me and Ross jumped in the North Sea.

The next day, we went to the Castle (that I had seen every day from my classroom). Here is a picture of the coolest part: the swerving, claustrophobia-inducing, underground mine.

Then--even though I had never golfed before--, we hit some golf balls at the driving range. If you listen closely, you can hear Bruce trying to give me tips.

Thursday, I finished my essay for good. That night, I spent with my friends from IFSA Butler at the Whey Pat Tavern. We had their famous nachos and played the card games(!) Presidents and Spoons. So, while playing cards(my favourite), sitting in one of the pubbliest pubs in St Andrews, having completed all of my work, it started to snow. It was magical. I walked home very ready for Christmas.

Then today, on a morning stroll to the ruined cathedral, I passed a view that I have been looking at for months, but have never seen in person:

I didn't have my camera with me, or I would have taken my own(considerably worse) shot. I thought it was pretty cool that it was only now, on my last real day in St Andrews, that I saw the centrepiece of my blog. Call me cheesy.

I packed today to see how much room I have for gifts. I am going to Edinburgh for the final time tomorrow. We're going to the Christmas market and I am very excited. I have a long trip ahead before I am finally back with my family in Ohio. I am looking forward to being home, but am trying to savour every last moment here. I may just have to come back.