Hello friends,
I figured I would update you on my classes thus far. Overall I am feeling good about them and enjoying them. I really love Modern Scottish History (MoSH) and Architectural History...but I'm not liking Celt Civ. very much.
MoSH is so enlightening. Which is interesting because Thursday we learned about the Enlightenment period that occurred in Scotland in the 18th Century. Dr. T. M. Devine lectured us, and he is the man who wrote the book we had to purchase for the class, "The Scottish Nation A Modern History". He is quite brilliant and it is an absolute pleasure to listen to him speak. I highly recommend his book if you are interested in history of any kind or Scotland. I kinda want to ask him to sign my copy after his last lecture but I don't want to look tacky and he usually storms out after each class.. probably because he knows there are students like me out there. =) We have covered a large variety of subjects in the class but this is my favorite. Brilliant men and mindsets emerged from Scotland during this period and I just had no idea. Schools back home are so centered on American History that you never learn cool things like this. Wish there was more variety in our high schools instead of teaching the same old mundane stuff that puts America on a pedestal starting in the 4th grade. Anyways, another topic of great interest to me was the Highland Clearances. I have a paper due in a few weeks and I think I'll do it on one of these subjects. Definitely worth looking up, even if it's just on wikipedia.
Archit. Hist. is a great class, just a lot to keep up with. There 30 or so pages for each lecture so that's 90 pages a week to read. Needless to say, I'm behind a bit. We move from period to period very quickly. My favorite lecturer just presented for the last time last week, his name is Ian Campbell and has published some interesting work on the Renaissance and it's origins in Scotland. There is another very energetic lecturer we have that covered Mannerism and Baroque architecture. He gives a ton of information very quickly so it was hard for me to follow him at times, but still his content was intriguing. We have covered Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Gothic, Renaissance in Italy and UK, Pre-Columbian in the Americas, and today we covered the French Renaissance. I have a paper due on Wednesday where I have to describe 3 chateaux that were built during the 16th century French Renaissance. It's interesting stuff, but it's 50% of my grade so I'm a little bit of a nervous wreck about it. Just trying to keep calm and carry on with my work.
I have this giant textbook here as my guide. It really is a fantastic text book. Very easy to read, and well laid out. Friends/Family from back home if you are interested in a particular period of architecture and want some great info I'll lend you this big ole book. It's great.
Uhhh what can I say about Celt Civ... it's just been kinda boring.. and I don't really understand what the purpose of the lectures are besides to inform us that there is a debate about Celtic identity.. which I just can't get into. But today we had a new lecturer, the course organizer I told you about in the first class blog post. I think I said I was excited for her to come back. Well I was right! She talked on Pan-Celticism today and that was really interesting and relevant. Maybe because it was based in the 20th century, I don't know. But hopefully these last 4 weeks will be great. Can you believe that?! This is week 7 and there are only 11 teaching weeks. Then a week to study, and 2 weeks of exams. It'll be done before I know it.
Well I just registered for the Spring semester! Got into all the classes I wanted which made me really excited. I will have all business classes, looks like it'll be a good semester with a variety of courses. I can't wait to catch up with all of my family, friends, and professors. I'm hoping next semester will be one of the best ones yet.
We are off to Norway on Thursday so expect an update from me next week! Things will be really busy because I have an essay due on the 12th and 14th, then also on the 14th I have a presentation for my tutorial and a 750 word essay due with the presentation. So I'll be swamped for the next 2 weeks but will try to post a bit.
Happy Halloween! Get lots of candy and scare lots of people. Muwahahahaha.
Spooky dreams,
Alyssa
Monday, 29 October 2012
Friday, 19 October 2012
A lovely day in Edinburgh
Hello all,
Today I took Pa (pronounced 'paw', like the end of grandpa(w)) and Laurie around Edinburgh. We did quite a bit of walking but the beauty of this city is that you can walk everywhere!
First I gave them a tour of the school. We had a cup of coffee and pastry then walked around the Student Union. They were as shocked as I was to find it has 4 or so bars located in it. Pa made the comment that students get good grades here because of the Library Bar. Good times.
We then saw Greyfriars kirk which is home to Bobby the terrier (I think he was a terrier). He stood on his masters grave for 14 years back in the 1800s. Very loyal that Bobby was.
Next was a walk on the Royal Mile where I gave them a tour of St. Giles. I felt smart because we toured the cathedral for my architecture tutorial so I had a lot of information to share. It is such a beautiful church.. It took centuries to make it into the current state but I am glad it is as it is.
From here we went up to the castle and toured it. The Great Hall and Crown Jewels were really spectacular. The castle is really large and has a fantastic view of the city. Well worth the 15 pounds I thought.
Our last stop was the National Museum of Scotland. You talk about big! That place is 7 stories filled with stuff. We got there close to closing but what we saw was awesome. There was this chronolage time thingy that was really neat. We also saw a peoples of the world exhibit and animal exhibit. The building was incredible so I'm excited to go back and explore. I see why it's so talked about and why they put millions of pounds into it.
To finish the day we ate Indian food at Mother India Cafe and walked back home. I've eaten there once before and once again it was superb. Didn't disappoint! When we got home we talked some, skyped my parents and little brother which was a joy. My little brother showed off his skill on stilts and what he's been learning from violin lessons. We played some Go Fish and an epic battle of Battle then said good night.
I cannot tell you how great it is to have them here. Tomorrow we are going to do one of the double decker bus tours, see the Botanical Gardens, and maybe the National Portrait Museum. It will be a great time like always. I'm sad they are leaving Sunday but when they come back we are heading to Norway to see the Northern Lights!! Plus, it's probably best that I focus on school, got my first real essay due Oct. 31st, and I haven't even started.. tsk tsk.
Well I better head to bed.. got a big day ahead of me!
With hopes of sweet dreams and rested feet,
Alyssa
Today I took Pa (pronounced 'paw', like the end of grandpa(w)) and Laurie around Edinburgh. We did quite a bit of walking but the beauty of this city is that you can walk everywhere!
First I gave them a tour of the school. We had a cup of coffee and pastry then walked around the Student Union. They were as shocked as I was to find it has 4 or so bars located in it. Pa made the comment that students get good grades here because of the Library Bar. Good times.
We then saw Greyfriars kirk which is home to Bobby the terrier (I think he was a terrier). He stood on his masters grave for 14 years back in the 1800s. Very loyal that Bobby was.
Next was a walk on the Royal Mile where I gave them a tour of St. Giles. I felt smart because we toured the cathedral for my architecture tutorial so I had a lot of information to share. It is such a beautiful church.. It took centuries to make it into the current state but I am glad it is as it is.
From here we went up to the castle and toured it. The Great Hall and Crown Jewels were really spectacular. The castle is really large and has a fantastic view of the city. Well worth the 15 pounds I thought.
Our last stop was the National Museum of Scotland. You talk about big! That place is 7 stories filled with stuff. We got there close to closing but what we saw was awesome. There was this chronolage time thingy that was really neat. We also saw a peoples of the world exhibit and animal exhibit. The building was incredible so I'm excited to go back and explore. I see why it's so talked about and why they put millions of pounds into it.
To finish the day we ate Indian food at Mother India Cafe and walked back home. I've eaten there once before and once again it was superb. Didn't disappoint! When we got home we talked some, skyped my parents and little brother which was a joy. My little brother showed off his skill on stilts and what he's been learning from violin lessons. We played some Go Fish and an epic battle of Battle then said good night.
I cannot tell you how great it is to have them here. Tomorrow we are going to do one of the double decker bus tours, see the Botanical Gardens, and maybe the National Portrait Museum. It will be a great time like always. I'm sad they are leaving Sunday but when they come back we are heading to Norway to see the Northern Lights!! Plus, it's probably best that I focus on school, got my first real essay due Oct. 31st, and I haven't even started.. tsk tsk.
Well I better head to bed.. got a big day ahead of me!
With hopes of sweet dreams and rested feet,
Alyssa
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