12
in other words
august7
2014
Life with a Scottish Accent: My Summer Studying Abroad - Part 3
By Natalie Wallace
so far). Our guide’s name
was Nory, and he was frankly
Another
two
the best tour guide I have
weeks have gone by and
ever had. He was hilarious
the Scottish adventures
and told us tons of stories
continue. I started my
and history about all of the
internship as a research
places we went and made it
assistant with the School of
interesting, not just a boring
Sport here at the University.
history lecture. The first
I am already starting to feel
day we drove through the
like part of the team! I got
highlands to Glencoe, Fort
to assist in two bicycle
Williams, and even stopped
trials where we measured
at the Glenfinnan Viaduct,
lactate levels in the blood
which is better known as
Natalie Wallace at the Glenfinnan Viaduct.
during different levels of
the Harry Potter Bridge. It
resistance on the bike. During the first trial, I mostly was amazing how beautiful and green everything was,
observed so that I could get the feel for the trial protocol. things in Oregon are green, but it is nothing compared
Then during the second trial, they let me take the helm. to the shade of green in Scotland, it looks almost fake,
I got to take the blood samples to test the lactate levels it was like something out of a fantasy film!
and also controlled the resistance on the bike. Another
The second day we spent exploring the beautiful
big part of my internship is data analysis. I have been
taking the data from the trials and putting it into Excel
to make spreadsheets
and graphs. Even
though it was only
two weeks, I feel like
I have already learned
so much through my
internship.
Last week a
group of us decided
to do a Ghost Tour
of Stirling. The guide
was in full costume
and character as the
old town “torturer.”
Faerie Glen
After
walking
through the old part Isle of Skye off the coast of mainland Scotland.
of Stirling, he took We first went to the Faerie Pools, which are
us up to the cemetery, these crystal clear pools and waterfalls that you
which was beautiful, can swim in. We ate lunch there and waded
and not as creepy as around in them for a bit. Since it is mountain
I thought it was going run off, they were refreshingly cold, but it
The guide at the
to
be. Our guide was wasn’t anywhere near as cold as the Oregon
Ghost Tour of Stirling.
very knowledgeable as Coast. After the faerie pools, we headed out
well as funny and told us not only ghost stories, but and stopped at many places to take pictures of
also a lot of the history behind them which I really various mountain ranges and landmarks. The
appreciated.
last stop of the day was Faerie Glen, which
That weekend I also took a guided three day is where the entrance to the faerie kingdom is
trip of the Scottish highlands. I have to say that trip was supposed to be. Nory warned us that we better
definitely the highlight of my time in Scotland (at least all believe in faeries or we could be dragged
into the faerie kingdom where we would be
stuck for a whole year until we could get pulled
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The third and last day of our trip started
out with us getting the chance to go out onto Loch Carron
Josh,
Teresa,
Margy
with a local fisherman to catch Queen’s scallops. When
Josh,
Juli, Juli,
Teresa,
Margy
& Davia
905
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the catch came up, we all had fun picking through all
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of the different organisms that had been caught in the
net even though we didn’t catch too many scallops.
After that, we headed back out on the road and went to
usbank.com
Scottish Highlands
Loch Ness and then to Rob Roy MacGregor’s grave to
round out our trip. To my disappointment, I did not see
Nessie, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t exist!
I took another trip to London with two of my
roommates as well over one weekend. We saw and
did so much that I can’t believe we fit it all into
only three days. The highlight had to be going to
the Harry Potter Studio Tour. It was amazing to
see where the films were actually shot and walk
on the actual sets. While in London we also saw
the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Baker
Street, Kensington Palace, Hyde Park, and even did
a night bus tour of the city. The night tour was one
of my favorites because it gave us a chance to see
the whole city all lit up.
Even though I am having a great time in
Scotland, I do miss my family. I can’t believe that I
only have two weeks left abroad, it seems like I just
got here. I guess that is just how these experiences
work; after all, time flies when you’re having fun!
Natalie at Loch Ness.
Natalie Wallace is a 2012 graduate of Vernonia
High School who is majoring in Biology at Western
Oregon University. Wallace is spending the summer
studying abroad at the University of Stirling in Stirling,
Scotland. Wallace will be sending Vernonia’s Voice
updates throughout the summer about her adventures
in Scotland.
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