Vernonia's voice., July 17, 2014, Page 12, Image 12

12
schools
july17
2014
Life with a Scottish Accent: My Summer Studying Abroad Part Two
By Natalie Wallace

Wow, I can’t believe that I am nearly halfway
done with my study abroad experience. I feel like I
have done so much since the last time I wrote.

First, we had a day trip to Glasgow. I honestly
didn’t know what to expect, but I had a blast. We went
to a couple museums, did some shopping, and even had
tea at the famous Willow Tea Rooms (which was deli-
cious). It was also fun because Glasgow is hosting the
Commonwealth Games this year, and they were setting
things up and had merchandise everywhere.

My favorite part of the day had to be finding
not one, but three police boxes (like the TARDIS from
Doctor Who) and taking pictures with them, I was
nerding out pretty hard to be honest. Another great
part of the day was going to the Glasgow Cathedral
and Necropolis. I have never been in such a beautiful
building in my life. Walking around the necropolis and
looking at all of the graves was actually pretty cool,
and not as creepy as it sounds, I swear! Oh, but the best
moment for me was going into Waterstones bookstore
and buying Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
It may not seem significant, but that day also happened
to be the 17th anniversary of when the book was
first published! Needless to say, it was a pretty
magical moment for me.
unforgettable experience. We spent nearly all
day checking everything out; people from all
over the world were there, and I even met
some more American Wallaces!

I also went to Edinburgh on an
excursion to see St. Giles Cathedral and
Greyfriars Church and Kirkyard. The
cathedral wasn’t as large as the one in
Glasgow, but still quite a sight to see. Then,
we went down the road to Greyfriars Church,
which also contains the Covenenters Prison
in the graveyard, which is supposed to be one
of the most haunted places in the UK. They
keep it locked up and you can only get in with
a tour guide; I didn’t find it too creepy, but
then again, I wasn’t there in the dark either.

Also while in Edinburgh, we went to
the Elephant House (café where J.K Rowling
wrote some of Harry Potter), The National
Museum of Scotland, and Edinburgh Castle.
Most of the castle was closed off for a private event,
which was disappointing until we realized that the
Queen would be arriving to that event. So, we hung
around and I actually saw the Queen of England!
The re-enactment of the Battle of Bannockburn.
as we were walking around that evening.

The next day, we took a day trip to Cardiff to
go to the Doctor Who Experience. They had a huge
exhibition of costumes, props, monsters, and even
some sets to look at from the show. It was
really surreal to see all of the things I have
watched on TV in person.

Overall, these past couple of weeks
have been jammed packed with trips and
sightseeing, I don’t want to miss any
The Queen of England arriving at Edinburgh Castle.

Natalie Wallace with one of the
police boxes in Glasgow
That same weekend, I went to Bannockburn Live,
which was a celebration and festival commemorating
the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn,
where the Scots beat the English and drove them out
of Stirling. The activities included storytellers, music,
food, ancestry tents, games, and even a re-enactment of
the battle. The battle re-enactment was a lot of fun to
watch; it was very well done. It was a really cool and
BLUE HERON HOLLOW

From Edinburgh, a group of us took a train to
London, where we would be spending the weekend. It
was my first time on a train, so I was pretty excited,
but eventually my exhaustion took over and I slept
most of the way until we arrived at Kings Cross
Station. After going to the wrong hotel and realizing
that our reservations were for the wrong weekend,
we eventually found a hotel with vacancies and got
some much needed sleep. The next day (which also
happened to be the Fourth of July) we did a lot. We
went to Buckingham Palace and saw the changing
of the guard, went and saw ‘Titus Andronicus’ at
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, rode the London Eye
(my personal favorite - the views were amazing), saw
Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Downing
Street, and Trafalgar Square. It was amazing to see all
of these landmarks in person; it finally hit me that we
were actually in London when I saw Big Ben all lit up
600 California Avenue
Vernonia, OR 97064
Natalie at the London Eye on July 4th.
opportunities while I am here. My classes are coming
to a close, which means that I start my internship as
a research assistant here at the University of Stirling
soon. I can’t wait to share that experience with you as
well. Until next time, cheers!
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