Woah, we’re halfway there

That’s right, everyone! I am officially over halfway through my semester in Spain! Can you believe that there’s only exactly 41 days left (yes, I am counting)?

Midterms went well, although I will say I’m glad that they’re over. It was a lot of writing, which — normally — isn’t too much of a problem for me, but two continuous hours of writing in Spanish isn’t something that my brain really loves.

I’m finally (I hope) getting over a sickness that I’ve had since the weekend before midterms (so, that makes two weeks now). I think I stressed myself out before midterms and now have been paying the consequences, but — like I said before — I’m pretty sure we’re approaching the end.

Also, thank you to everyone who’s reached out to me during the past week; I really appreciate everyone’s short notes of kindness or prayer. I think I’m starting to feel better emotionally, but am still very ready to return to the United States and be with my family.

With that said, before midterms and sickness and life hardness, I got to spend my fall break in one of the most amazing places that I have ever had the privilege to visit: Glasgow, Scotland.

One of my friends, Mikayla, is studying at the University of Glasgow this semester and was gracious enough to let me crash at her flat for a while and show me around the beautiful city of Glasgow.

To make this as short as possible (because I could probably talk about Glasgow for hours), I’m dividing my trip up into three categories: food (because, of course), sights, and Edinburgh.

** Quick funny/amusing note before we begin: on my flight to Glasgow, the flight attendants (who were from Scotland) gave the safety procedures orally and then played a recording with the instructions in Spanish. I actually could understand the Spanish version of the procedures better than I could understand the flight attendants who were speaking in English (albeit with a Scottish accents). Suffice it to say, Scottish accents are very hard to understand.

Food

• The first night, Mikayla, her flatmates, and I went out for pizza (amazing) and then went to this fun dessert place called Loop & Scoop. Can you guess what they serve? Churros and gelato. It was delicious.
• Mikayla shared with me one of her favorite lunch spots: Naked Soup. They serve amazing combos of daily soups and sandwiches.
• We also ate at a tiny ramen restaurant for dinner one night — Ramen Dayo! Both of us are terrible with using chopsticks, but super yummy though!
• Finally, as some of you already know, I am obsessed with the show the Great British Bake Off, so one of my favorite culinary experiences while in Scotland was getting to try some of the treats that I’ve seen on that show. I tried Millionaire’s Shortbread, Bakewell Tart, and Sticky Toffee Pudding. They were all scrummy and I’m definitely ready to make some when I get back!

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Sights

• University of Glasgow — We walked around Mikayla’s university and it’s pretty much what you would imagine old, prestigious English universities looking like (that is to say, stunning and like Hogwarts). While there, we visited the gift shop (I bought a sweatshirt) and the Huntington Museum, a museum right on the campus.
• Kelvingrove Park — a gorgeous park super close to the University. It’s got everything: running/walking trails, spectacular views, a river with bridges, and lots of dogs. What more could you want? (Side note: Glasgow is stunning this time of year. I was lucky enough to catch the beginnings of the leaves changing color and while it was instead rainy and cloudy and brisk, I loved it; it was definitely a nice change from the 80 degree October days.)
• Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum — a giant art gallery and museum that houses some really cool stuff. I only got to see the art gallery side, unfortunately, but it’s definitely a must-do. I could have spent all day in there. (Side note: most museums/art galleries in Scotland are free to the public, which is nice for broke college students!)
• Glasgow Cathedral — a beautiful, old cathedral that is open to the public. I’m fascinated by stained glass windows, so I spent more time staring at this cathedral’s windows than is probably healthy.
• The Necropolis — a cemetery right next to the Glasgow Cathedral that is set up on top of a hill. It’s got some amazing views of Glasgow and of the cathedral.
• Glasgow Botanic Gardens — a beautiful public space that not only has lots of pathways, large trees, and benches, but also a huge greenhouse with art and tropical plants. This was definitely one of my favorite places we visited, not only for the populated environment, but also because everything was just so alive.

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Edinburgh

Mikayla and I took a day and travelled to Edinburgh for a day. Here are some of the things we did:

• First of all, we took the train from Glasgow to Edinburgh (about an hour) and I just fell in love with train travel. It’s so completely different than anything we have in the United States, plus we got to see Scotland countryside — rolling green hills dotted with cows (pronounced: coo) and sheep. Simply picturesque. My face was glued to the window the entire trip even though the sun was shining directly into my eyes.
• Once we got there, we visited the art gallery that they have there (some really cool paintings) and then saw the outside of the Edinburgh Castle.
• We had lunch at a tiny, authentically Italian restaurant (and when I say tiny I mean that there was only four tables).
• After lunch, we went on a free Harry Potter tour (because Edinburgh is where J.K. Rowling got inspiration for the Harry Potter books and where she wrote some of them). Somehow, we ended up running into two of the people from my program on the tour (small world!).
• After the tour, we explored The Royal Mile, a street with lots of pubs, stores, and landmarks. It connects the castle with the Palace of Holyroodhouse. While doing that, we saw a rainbow (exciting) and found a park with some stunning views.

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Overall, I had an amazing time and I can’t wait to go back and visit Glasgow again someday. Very thankful that I had the opportunity to go!

I’m getting back into the swing of things here now. I have four oral presentations within the next couple of weeks, so I guess that’s my biggest prayer request for now.

Next time: back in Spain, I promise! I’ve got some interesting cultural things to talk about!

¡Hasta luego!

— Grace