scott does scotland: travel adventures

Reflection #3: a love letter to Scotland

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Dear Scotland: I have fallen in love. Your rolling hills, your fields full of sheep and cows and horses, your cobbled streets, green grass, even the rain and wind (if only because the rain is the reason for the green-ness of the grass). When I first saw you, it was like coming home, like being reunited with an old friend. I doubted my parents when they said I’d start to remember things, but now I know they were right; it’s surprising how much comes back, even fourteen years later. I have seen Edinburgh,…read more

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Reflection #2: turning 21

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This post is literally just a list of 20 great things that happened during the year I was 20 (the last 12 days of 2015 plus nearly all of 2016). I had to pick and choose; this year has been a tumultuous one in terms of global events. It’s been shocking, interesting, and occasionally horrifying, but all that aside, my year has had some phenomenal highlights: 1: December 2015 – I started my year off right with an amazing 20th birthday (thanks to my lovely family plus Noemi and Emily!). 2: December 2015…read more

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Reflection #1: a “thank you” list

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I’m really terrible at goodbyes, so I’m trying to break down my thoughts a little bit as I prepare to head home after three and a half months on exchange. I wouldn’t even be here without the hand-holding, help, and support of so many people I’m lucky to have in my life. These people deserve a massive “thank you,” which is particularly appropriate now as it happens to be the holiday season. If any of you are reading this post, know that I love you and I wouldn’t be where I am today…read more

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Study break to Glasgow!

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On Friday I went on my second-to-last trip of my exchange journey – a day trip to Glasgow with a friend from my residence and a friend-of-a-friend who was visiting from Granada, where she’s on exchange. The three of us made pretty good travel companions, although we didn’t end up needing the nearly 12 hours we gave ourselves in a city whose centre is pretty compact. We started our day by taking the subway to the University of Glasgow campus. When I applied to go on exchange (through Go Global), Glasgow was my…read more

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London calling

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Last weekend I went on my final major trip of the semester – essentially 36 hours in London. I did a crazy thing and flew there at 7am after a night out, so I didn’t sleep at all until that night. Then we took the overnight Megabus back, so another sleepless night made for a tricky day on Monday! Overall, it was a whirlwind experience, but definitely well worth it. I went with one of my flatmates and three other North American friends of ours, and we got perfect weather…read more

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Touristing in Paris

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Last night I got back from a whirlwind weekend in Paris – I met up with my friend Liz, who I’ve known since high school (or, I suppose, since fifth grade – but we didn’t become good friends until a few years later). She’s doing a co-op term in Germany, so we decided to meet in the middle for 36 overlapping hours in one of my favourite cities! I should mention that I have been to Paris before; I actually went twice with my family, the summers I was 13 and 14….read more

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eight weeks down, seven to go

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Upon realizing that my adventure is more than halfway over, I’ve been having lots of feelings these past few weeks! Good feelings, mostly, but it’s always nice to channel weird, all-over-the-place thoughts. My poetry skills are rusty – be nice 🙂 —- world traveller, you spread your wings and fly up, up, away finally making it out of your chrysalis before: safety, assurance, comfort, then sudden not-knowing here: first new, now familiar, thoughts of tomorrow swirling, questions of “now what,” already feeling the tears on your cheeks, marking silvery trails down your face, they look…read more

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Make new friends, but keep the old

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This week I thought I’d focus on friendships – the title of the post is taken from a campfire song we often sing at Girl Guide camps: “Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold. A circle is round, it has no end, that’s how long I want to be your friend. You have a hand, I have another, put them together and we have each other.” It’s pretty simplistic, but kind of sums up the thoughts I’ve been having lately. The last week or so has…read more

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happy thanksgiving!

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This is my first Thanksgiving spent without my family and without my mom’s homemade tofurkey, so I thought I’d take a minute to reflect. I set myself the challenge this year of making an entire Thanksgiving meal pretty much single-handedly, tofurkey and all. It’s also worth noting that Thanksgiving marks one month since I moved to Edinburgh, so this lovely Canadian holiday comes at a particularly convenient time. This is my 21st Thanksgiving, so here are 21 things I am thankful for (in no particular order): As a preceding note, sorry…read more

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being a first year (again)

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I guess I’ll open this one by saying I’m finally starting to settle in, at least a little bit! I feel more at home here than I thought I would after only two weeks, so that’s a good thing. (And, before you ask, it’s not just because I love Irn Bru, cheese and onion crisps, and jacket potatoes. Although my love for those things definitely helps the assimilation process.) Last week was the first week of classes, and wow do I ever feel lost. In first year, I had the…read more

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