September 15-17: The School Routine and Fernie Ball

The School Routine

     It has been the beginning of a good semester here at St Andrews. Classes are challenging with curriculum differences, but they are interesting, and I am getting a lot out of them.  Rather than bore you with details of what was simply school week, here are a few pictures which characterize my time over the past couple days:

West Sands: the beach here is gorgeous.

The school of Divinity where I have my Old Testament class.

Next to the school of Divinity is this famous tree, Queen Mary's Hawthorne, planted by Mary Queen of Scots. It's looking a bit shabby these days. St Andrews was a favorite getaway spot of Queen Mary. It's awesome to think that all my classes - Psychology and Divinity, are hosted in St Mary's Quad, where so much history concerning this monarch took place.

These old buildings have some very spiraling staircases.

The view outside the library window: old buildings and rooftops covered in moss.

Typical Sarah study mess.

Typical John Burnet "morning after" common room mess... lovely.

Looking wet and cold, per the usual. I weirdly like it though :)

Europe is filled with these narrow alleyways. They are referred to as a "close." 

     The state of the union on classes is this: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are easy - I have either no classes or only one. Tuesdays and Thursdays are full, with 3 classes a day. My class on the Old Testament will be very interesting, and though it is taught from a new perspective, I don't think it will be difficult. My Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience class, however, will be difficult. However, I am very interested in all I will learn there. My last class is Conceptual and Theoretical Issues in Psychology, which sort of asks the big philosophical questions about psychology. I'm enjoying the work, and I think it will shape up to be a semester of growth and learning. I do have a lot of readings, but by frequenting cafes and the library, I'm staying on top of it.

A Lovely Night?

     A ball?? My ears perked up. What else could this be but a fairy-tale? John Burnet Hall was hosting a ball at Fernie Castle, and I was more than excited. I rushed about Thursday, finishing my preparations for Paris, in time to get ready for this event. I prepped and primped, and at 7pm, our whole dorm met, dressed to the nines, for some bubbly in the lounge. So far, things seemed to be going well. It was a classy affair.

     However, things went downhill from there, for me, though the event I'm sure was a success for many, and the planners did a great job. A lot of people had a lot of fun. It's impossible to make everyone happy when planning an event, and although it was not to my taste, that doesn't mean anybody did a bad job with it. I hope no one is offended by my criticisms.

     With each moment of the evening, I tried to somehow shape what I was seeing into something magical and wonderful, but alas, even with my optimism (or maybe because of my optimism and high hopes), I could see it as nothing more than the equal of an excruciatingly painful high school prom. Fernie Castle is a tacky facsimile of a castle - it's little more than bad a castle-themed banquet hall. We crammed into a tiny room with stone-wall wallpaper, and a band played for about 20 minutes. Their performance was a highlight of the evening, but afterwards, a strange, unknown playlist made the dance floor awkward. In addition, the behavior of those attending the ball was, overall, far from classy. The event went on, and on, and on, and on. Because we went by bus, we were kept hostage there until 1am before the long ride home. 

     On the plus side, however, I did spend the evening with some lovely girls who were also old souls. We made the best of it, and we did dance for a good portion of the night. We had a good time among ourselves, and I'd love to spend more time with these new sweet friends in upcoming weeks. 

     I don't think that I would go to another ball. But I'm glad that I did go, as I would always wish and wonder had I decided not to attend. All in all, I had a good time for much of the evening, and it was definitely an experience I will always remember. And hopefully some good pictures will come in a few days as well! 

     I returned home to the dorm at 1:30am and finished preparing for my early morning departure. I knew that I would be tired when I awoke, but to be honest, I never sleep the night before I travel anyway, due to all the jitters and excitement. For the 4 hours I spent in bed, I probably only slept 2, so I'm glad I didn't have to pass a whole night that way, rather than simply a few hours. I awoke the next morning excited and ready for an exciting adventure - Paris.