Pitlochry
My psychology class took a retreat into the highlands this weekend. It was called a "reading party." It was completely paid for, as it was meant to be an academically enriching experience. I was excited. I looked forward to seeing the beauty of the highlands, and I thought I might learn something new.
It was a 3 hours bus ride up to the highlands. The bus was hot and really cramped, so we were glad when we made a stop in Pitlochry on the way. The town was really cute.
Friday Night in the Highlands
We arrived at our lodge and had about an hour before time for dinner.
We went exploring in the small town.
We found a really authentic pub and got half-pints of cider with our professor.
The town was a little creepy... these "bobcats" are scattered everywhere - every lawn, on top of buildings, in bushes... Creepy.
The sunset was beautiful.
After dinner, our professor gave his "lecture." He started off with crude jokes, but I had hopes he would go somewhere with it... He didn't.
Soon, he told us to break up into teams based on our horoscope signs and write a list of what we had in common. I still held out hope that he would tie it all together, until he pulled out the kazoos. "Now, perform in your groups like you're on the X Facor," he instructed with excitement.
After kazoos, he started off a time of singing. Everyone was drunk - the students, the lecturers - it was quite a sight. Singing went on for an hour, or maybe even two.
After the "lecture," the students got together in the lodge's common room and played games, such as "moral dilemmas," and "bear hunt." Even in my sobriety, it was very funny, and it was a good night (though confusing as to why this was funded by the university).
Saturday Hike
In the morning, there were 2 twenty-minute lectures which were actually interesting and informative, but very short. I had wrapped up in a blanket for the lectures, as it was freezing.
We took a break between lectures to have tea and biscuits, and to pack sandwiches for our hike.
The trail was amazingly and incredibly beautiful.
I don't know if I have ever been more enamored by the beauty of a place.
I was really thrilled to hear the bleating of sheep everywhere we walked.
The mountains were stunningly beautiful - pictures can't begin to capture its loveliness.
Just look at that! So stunning.
Lovely winding country road. We followed local tradition here, which has you jump the fence and walk beneath the bridge below.
The weather was crisp and perfect.
I loved the flowers which lined the roads.
This forest felt positively magical and still.
Baaaa.
Psychology friends I made on the trip - the one on the left actually goes to my church, by a happy coincidence!
Raisin Weekend
Raisin is a St Andrews tradition which is 600 years old. A lot of it devolves into hazing, unfortunately, and frankly, I think St Andrews should do something about it. It amazes me that in the states, a hint of hazing will get a fraternity shut down, but here, hazing is basically institutionalized.
Despite my reservations about it, Raisin is actually pretty fun. Here's how it works:
Older students "adopt" freshmen (and study abroad students) to make an academic family. Often, there will be a "mum," a dad, and several brothers and sisters. The families then extend, so you have academic grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. It's a really great way to welcome new students and integrate them into the school. I've never heard of someone not getting adopted - it's more of a frantic fight between older students to get a hold of as many students as possible. I was adopted by Frederica Pisano and Elisa Bi, two very lovely people.
In the beginning days of Raisin, more than 600 years ago, students would bring their parents a pound of raisins to thank them for welcoming them into the school. Today, rather than bringing raisins, students bring their parents a bottle of wine.
You arrive at your mom's house for tea and a scavenger in the afternoon, and you spend the evening at your dad's house for a party. Today, these events involve a lot of drinking and a lot of hazing activity. However, my parents were very nice to me and were very respectful of my choices when I set my boundaries.
My parents are academically "married," and they are apartment-mates, so I spent the entire day at their house. They had put so much work into making the day fun for me and my siblings. We joined up with another family, so in all, we had our two moms, my aunt, my uncle, me and my brother, and our two cousins. It was truly so sweet how much time and work they had put into making the day fun for us. We played capture-the-flag, challenge games, a game like catch phrase, name-the-pasta, and most significantly, an elaborate scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt brings students running around the town making fools of ourselves, and probably annoying the locals, though they're really quite good sports about it. After an hour an a half and 8 miles of shenanigans, we got nearly everything on the list, and raced back home. By the evening, we were exhausted, and I headed home to recuperate. I can't imagine how other people get through Raisin - mine was very calm, as others party all night and drink till they're sick.
However, I was pretty serious about getting to class, which was an hour after the beginning of the fight, and in a move which is practically unheard of, I left the fight a couple minutes early, toweled off, changed my shirt, and made it to class.
Around St Andrews
I attended a talk by famous director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the absolutely brilliant director of Amelie.
These boots have seen me through nearly every day of this trip. Good old faithful boots :)
Lovely accordion playing on the streets of St Andrews.
It's such a nice, small, cute little town.
