18 days till home. 18 days till I say goodbye.

Chef Henry and I

I could not have asked for more beautiful weather this last week in Scotland. It didn't rain the whole week and that's rare being that it normally rains at least once a day here, even if it's just for a couple of minutes. Another shocking realization hit today, I have 18 short days left here in this beautiful country with some amazing friends! However 18 days also means the time until I board a plane and see home. 18 days until I see my friends and family whom I love and miss dearly. To sum up this last week lets start with Henry's chocolate making class on Tuesday night. Henry taught a group of us how to make different chocolates and fillings. I worked on a giant

Chef's in the making. Riley and I. 

chocolate egg most of the night, but sadly it ended tragically and my egg is no longer with us. I made two halves to the egg and Henry told me to glue them together using the chocolate on the stove. I put the chocolate on and it started melting my chocolate egg and it broke into pieces in my hands, so to comfort myself about the loss I ate it. Henry them taught us how to make swans out of apples and melons. Riley and I had a fun night, but I ate way to much sugar. I also went on a nature walk around the estate with a group of people and Cameron, the man who looks over the estate grounds. He showed up an area on the estate where you can still see trenches that were from World War I. He told us that during the war 30,000 men were slaughtered and buried on the grounds and that they still run into graves frequently. They leave the bodies where they lay and go on about their business. One more reason of why I love this estate and how much history lies in the area. Also another reason to add to why this place is so haunted. Patty our Resident Director and her wife Nat hosted a crisp(chip) night in their flat this week as well, the only area in the palace I had not seen. Crisps here come in all sorts of unique flavors, so they bought a ton along with some drinks. We all sat around visiting and munching. They also have one of the most famous and beautiful fire places in their flat. It was made by  a famous woodworker that only ever worked with marble when he made this fire place.

Beautiful fireplace

It was a nice break away from writing papers because that has been a huge part of this last week. I am proud to say however that I have the rest of one paper to finish standing between me and the end of the semester. Yay! Kyra and I decided to get oout of the house on Friday and take a walk around the estate and around the river. I was wearing shorts and although I know it's not nearly as warm as back home, that's still really warm for Scotland! After our walk I went to Blacksmith's with Riley and ate dinner. I am pretty sure the staff just knows our orders without even having to ask, we go in there a ridiculous amount. We sat there for 3 hours just talking. I am going to miss my friends so much when we leave and it will be one of the most difficult things to let go of, but it's also heart-warming to know I have made life long friends from this experience and my time here. On Saturday Kyra and I went to North Berwick Beach. It was absolutely stunning and we walked around for 3 hours. Things are winding down here at the palace and everyone is getting anxious to go home, but sad

Walking on the estate.

to leave at the same time. We have our big group trip to the Highlands this weekend and I cannot wait. Everyone I have talked to says the Highlands was their favorite part of Scotland and it is absolutely beautiful. I have seen pictures and I just can't wait to see it with my own eyes, breath the air, and step foot in the beauty. My last weekend over seas will consist of going to Ireland with my friend and roommate Lauren. We will be doing a tour and seeing all the big tourist spots and I am most excited for the Cliffs of Moher and to here the song Galway Girl played in an Irish Pub. That song melts my heart every time. Gosh here I am already talking about my last weekends here, time has just whizzed by. It was so strange to not be home celebrating Easter with my family. At the end of the day family is the most important thing in my life and they have and will be there to support me through everything I do in life. I got to Skype them, so it was nice to see them on the

North Berwick Beach

holiday. Over the weekend there was a horse show on the estate. I felt right at home with all the horses and trailers in the area. It reminded me of summer and how much I can't wait to go to shows with my Dad this summer or to just simply ride my horse down that old dirt road again. You never realize the simple things you'll miss when you're gone like your Mom's home cooked meals, the smell of home, or the way the grass rustles in the warm spring air. Being in Scotland has made me see a part of the world I hadn't before and showed me a side of myself I never knew either. This trip helped me in so many ways I never knew it would or could. I just love this feeling Scotland has given me of life. From this point on I plan to take ever opportunity presented to me that will help me grow as a person. It makes me see that dreams and goals are obtainable with

Kyra and I at North Berwick Beach.

enough hard work and determination. I cannot wait to see my family on the day I fly into Cedar Rapids Airport, but at the same time I will be sad to leave my little family I have made here in this land I love. It's heartbreaking to think I might ever return to this country, but reassuring knowing I've been here and got everything I wanted from the experience. It's crazy to think that only a week later 5 new girls who are complete strangers to one another will be arriving in Scotland, lugging their suitcase up the stairs, and opening the door to what was once our room, but will then be theirs for the summer. They will begin this journey being unsure of what the next few months will hold just like we did all those weeks ago. They will make their own memories here, find their best friends, and find themselves through this experience. It's not quite time to pass on the torch to them yet, but I hope they let this journey change their lives like it has forever changed mine. It will be a very emotional filled day, but reassuring knowing I will be truly going home. They always say home is where the heart is and I believe this is true. Even though life takes us on all this different paths, love will always lead us home. As to my friends and family I miss you all so much and am thinking of you daily. I will see you all very soon and I can't wait to have an amazing summer back in Iowa! Much love.

I'll really miss these beautiful skies in Scotland, where the day meets the night.  

These four will always be my second family, the people I saw the world with, and my soul mates. We were quadrupling last night.

     
Cheers,

Morgan

Little bit of this, little bit of that.

Myself at Melrose Abbey.

Today is April 12th? I feel like I just got home from spring break and April had just started. Now it's close to being half over and I leave in a slim  27 days. As much as I love it here in Scotland and living with my friends, as time passes I find myself missing home more. Home, small town Iowa, a place most of us couldn't wait to get out of and go to college. The older I get the more I realized how lucky I was to grow up in small town Iowa, where the summer's are hot and the fields are endless. Especially having lived in a city now for 2 months I cant wait to be home where the only noises you here are the rustling of the trees, the cows mooing, and the gravel hitting a car as it drives by. It's simple things like this, even noises or therefore the lack of noise, that I miss. Even the air, I miss the smell of home. I've been using public transportation for too long now, I can't wait to drive my car down those back roads with my dogs in the passenger seat. The last two weeks have been busy and the next four weeks before I come home are filled with trips, fitting in last minute activities, and lots of paper

Abbotsford, Sir Walter Scott's home.

Lauren, Kyra, and I at Abbotsford. 

writing as the end of the semester nears. So to start off last weekend we went to Bowhill, Melrose Abbey, and Sir Walter Scott's home. Bowhill is one of the Duke's homes and there are pieces that were moved from Dalkeith to the home. Such as the grand fireplace that used to be in Marble Hall was moved to Bowhill. It's engraved with a giant "A" for Anne Buccleuch who had Dalkeith Palace remolded. Sir Walter Scott was a famous writer in Scotland, who was the first to have his work sold internationally. His home had beautiful architecture and was in a very scenic area. He also was a collector, so his home was filled with antiques. The day we went and toured all of these houses the bus ride was incredibly bumpy a lot of people weren't feeling to well from the motion. I even ended up taking some Dramamine and woah did it knock me out. At Bowhill I was basically a zombie along with Kyra. Everytime we got on the bus I fell asleep, my friends found it quite comical. We also went to some clubs last weekend and danced the night away. We met two Danish girls whom we

Riley and I at Blacksmith's.

Lauren and I at Blacksmith's

became fast friends with and also met some guys who were in town for a bachelor party or as they call it here a "stag party". They were hilarious and very entertaining. On Friday night this weekend we went to our second rugby game to cheer on Edinburgh or as they say it at the rugby games EDINBRAAAA! It was a good time, but it was very cold. Edinburgh lost this time, so it was kind of a bummer. Today we went to Incohlm Abbey in the Firth of Forth of Scotland. We had to take a boat out to the island. First things first. The island had the largest seagull population I had ever seen. With my fear of birds it

Me wearing one of the masks from the Bachelor Party. The Duke of Edinburgh.

was quite terrifying. They were screeching at me and it was almost to much to handle. Kyra and I ended up being the only two who made it off the island without being pooped on. Champs! The abbey on the island was a medieval abbey from back in the day that was eventually used for military purposes. The abbey is the most well preserved one in Scotland. It was really quite beautiful. Kyra and I walked the beaches and collected as many pieces of sea glass as we could. The water was so blue there and I swear the views here will never get old.

Ladies and I at the rugby match.

Rugby game! Go Edinburgh! 

When we got back to Edinburgh we went to a restaurant called Garfunkles. I would recommend it to anyone who is in Scotland and is missing American food like I am! I had a burger and it was delicious. I have barley ate meat sine I've been here mainly because it just freaks me out. Tomorrow is a paper writing day. I only have three more papers to write between me and the end of semester then I am home free and I want to have all of them done before we go to the Highlands on the 24th. I have a start

Bridge by Incholm Abbey. 

Incohlm Abbey

View of the sea.

Kyra, Trevor, Amy and I at Incohlm Abbey.

on all of them, but hopefully tomorrow I will be able to finish two of them. I am exhausted after my day today of walking all over an island, but when I think about it I really have never felt well rested since I've been here. We are always on the go and traveling takes a lot out of a person. It's been worth 3 months of being tired, but it will be nice to get well rested back home in my own bed. Next weekend is my last weekend in Edinburgh and at the house, how sad is that. It's getting to the point where we can say, "hey this will be our last time here or our last time doing this". As sad as it makes me, it also makes me excited because it's one day closer to when I see everyone back in the states again. The other two weekends I have left here will be spent in the Highlands and Ireland. Both of which I am very excited for. Then it will be time to come home. I know it will be very emotional to leave, but I can tell I will be ready in a sense. I am really ready to see all my friends, family, and animals back home. I really am starting to miss everyone and it's nice to know people are missing me too. It makes you realize how loved you really are and how many people you care about having in your life when you do something like study abroad or are gone for an extended amount of time. I keep getting little reminders everywhere I go here of home. When I was in the kitchen the other day a man was out cutting the lawn and it reminded me of summer days at my house when my mom is out cutting the lawn and I'm riding my horse. Today on the bus a man's dog was so excited because he got a new toy and it kept looking at me with it's big brown eyes and all I could think about was how much I miss my puppies Stella and Shadow back home. I don't want to rush they days away here though because I am still a lot of fun and seeing so many amazing sights. The time is passing fast enough as it is. Sometimes I think about it and I can't believe I really did this, I really studied abroad. I worked my butt off and saved the money up to do it. It had been a dream of mine forever and I made it happen. It just shows me that you can achieve any goal you set your mind to. I have great family and friends who have supported me through this journey and for that I am forever thankful. Can't wait to see everyone back home, see you all very soon!

Much love and cheers!

Morgan        

An Adventure with My Big Sis

Always together, never apart. Maybe in distance, but never in heart.

What a whirlwind it has been since I have last posted! Well the last week of school before spring break was filled with packing, last minute homework, and excitement. My sister arrived on the 19th, so two days before spring break. I was so happy to see her I cried, it was nice to have a sense of home. Even though I see Scotland as my home parts of my heart are with my loved ones back at my home in the states. We left early that Friday on a train headed to London. We stayed with my grandfather's friends wife's brother and his wife. Woah that was a mouthful, hope you can still follow after that! Anyway, their names are Ginny and Gordon and they are absolutely amazing people. He can't hear what you are saying half of the time, but is very intelligent and talkative. Ginny is very quick witted, hilarious, and walks so fast everywhere. Together they make quite the entertaining and endearing couple. They are always making cracks at each other. They fed us every meal the two days we were there. It was so nice to have home cooked meals. It's one of the biggest things I cannot wait for back home in the states. The first day we got to London Ginny and Gordon took us to the Natural History Museum. It was huge and it would take weeks to get through the whole thing.

Meet Gordon and Ginny!

Got flowers for Ginny. She has tons around her house.

Eye during the day and at night.

We mainly looked at the dinosaur and mammals exhibits and it was really intriguing. That night we went to a little bakery where I had the best chocolate meringue! Meringue has become my weakness since I've been here. The rest of the night we ate dinner with Gordon and Ginny and just talked to them about their lives. Gordon is so intelligent and knows so much about the United States it's incredible. On Saturday we went with Ginny around the neighborhood. Ginny took us to an apartment he rents out, it was lovely and I would love live in a place like that. She showed us Camedon Passage which is a market area by their home, where Gordon's antique shop is. It was such a bustling and alive little area, filled with some amazing shops. Katie and I enjoyed looking and browsing while we ate some frozen yogurt along the way. That night we ate dinner with Ginny, Gordon, and Ginnny's son Steve and his family. They were all so kind. After

Our hotel in Wales.

we went to ride the London Eye. It was the second time I had rode it, but this time it was at night, so it was just as amazing as the first time.  I really feel like I I have more respect and appreciation of London now than after the first time I went. This time it was much more relaxing and I was able to see it through locals eyes, the last time we were just rushing to fit everything into the weekend. Katie and I had a train to Wales on Sunday morning. We were really sad to leave Ginny and Gordon after all the hospitality they had shown us for the time we spent there. I think more than anything this trip has shown me how truly amazing people are all over the world. I am

The beautiful Tenby.

often quick to judge someone or always see the negative in someone, but I never really open my eyes to see how many beautiful souls roam the earth's surface, how many enriching people I am surrounded by daily without even noticing it. After Gordon dropped us off at the train station we had a four hour train ride to Tenby. We arrived in Tenby, got off the train, and just started walking. We didn't really know where our hotel was, only that Tenby wasn't a very big town, so we had to find it eventually, right?! Well that didn't last long because toting a suitcase up a hill while trying to find your destination isn't a fun time. So a cab just happened to drive by and we wrote the number down and called. They came and got us and I'm glad we did that because our hotel was  a little ways out of town, so I don't think we would have found it just by wondering around. Once we to Hammomds Park we met Peter, who runs

St. Catherine's Island

the bed and breakfast. He was very kind and fun to talk to. The first night we were there we wandered into town and ate at a nice restaurant called The Qube. Our waiter was very happy and nice. I had a blue cheese pasta dish with garlic bread and it was heaven. The rest of the time we were in Wales we explored the town of Tenby and all it's little shops. The town still has standing stone walls that were built around it in the 13th century. There is the 5 Archers Gate and it used to be the main entrance to the town before the town outgrew its walls. The arches mean friendship. There is a North and a South beach in Tenby, both of which we walked all along and watched some surfers out in the water. There is a island called St. Catherine's Island right off of Tenby's coast. There is a war armory on the island and it is no longer open to the public. On the same island there is an arch that cuts through the island. A local told me that legends says if you swim through the ark you will see a mermaid. Sad to say I didn't get the chance to test this theory out because the waves looked pretty rough and I wasn't going to risk it. We also visited Castle Hill in Tenby which has the remains of an old castle and some amazing views of the ocean and town.

First day there was a bit windy.

Another view of Tenby.

Katie and I decided we wanted to rent a car while we were in Tenby so we could explore some other areas of Wales and visit some castles. Katie had to drive because you have to be at least 25 to drive a rental car in Wales. She had a minor panic attack, she yelled at me when I was telling her what to do and then yelled at me when I wasn't helping. There was also this constant beeping in the background so we didn't know what  was wrong, turns out we were driving with the parking break on. Opps! All the road signs in Wales are is Welsh first and English second so that confusing. We had a fun time

Pembroke Castle

trying to pronounce them in Welsh, made for entertainment. The first day we had our car we went to visit Pembroke and Manobier Castles. They were very neat, the stairs in those castles went about straight up! It was a little scary. When we were in the little town of Manobier the roads were only big enough to fit about one car. We were going up a hill and ran into a bus coming from the other direction. I'm sure Katie and I 's faces were priceless. We had to drive the car up onto the sidewalk so the bus could get through. It's funny to look back on our memories of driving on the opposite road and laugh at our predicaments. Overall I thought we did well, and myself as the navigator using a paper map, no technology, to get us around the country side! Dad would be so proud! One night we went to a local tavern and heard some live music, they played Backstreet Boys at our request, so funny! Our last day in Wales we went up to a town called

South Beach in Tenby.

Nolton to ride horses on the beach. The horses we road were Irish Cobs. It's a breed of draft horse and their legs are feathered so it looks like they're wearing bell bottom pants. Our horses were Taro and Barney. Riding horses on the beach has always been something I have wanted to do and I'm glad to say I can check it off my bucket list. It was fun running through the waves on the back of a horse with beautiful scenery surrounding us. Wales was a beautiful place and had such amazing people. I will never forget it for that. It's a land I would really enjoy going back to one day. It was nice to get away from school and where I live and take an adventure with my sister, but it also was really nice  to come back home. Crazy how I call this place in Scotland home now, but it really is. On Saturday we went to a Celtic Football Club game in Glasgow. It was fun and a great atmosphere. Katie and I enjoyed the man and his hilarious comments about the game. Celtic tied the game to end the day and I fell down the stairs to end mine. Katie thought it was very entertaining. I was a bit embarrassed, but all a person can do is laugh at themselves in those situations. Sunday was the last full day Katie was here. We just stayed in Dalkeith, walked around the estate, and watched some 90's movies.

Katie and I on our beach walk.

Only the best ones of course. My 3 best friends got back to the house that night and we all jumped and screamed. I missed them so much in only a week and it was so good to see them. It finally felt like home when we were all back together again. We all visited and talked about our breaks and laughed at some of the stories there were. Katie left Monday morning and a part of me felt like I should be leaving to go home with her. It was hard to say goodbye, but I know in just a short month I will be leaving Scotland to fly home. It makes me so sad to think about it, but also really excited to see everyone back home. I still have so much I want to do here in Scotland, so the time I have left will be busy. My time is limited so I plan to have a blast with my best friends the last month I am here and make memories to last a lifetime.     

Celtic Game

Overall spring break was a success and I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with my sister. We some memories that I will forever treasure from this spring break. I'll add them to my collection of all my other memories from the time I have spent here in the U.K. I thought in the beginning 3 and 1/2 months was such a long time, but it has passed so fast. I can't believe I only have a month left when I still have so much to do. The day I say goodbye to Scotland will be so difficult, but also exciting knowing I will see my family in 12 hours. Enough about that, that time will be here soon enough! Best wishes to everyone back home, I'm missing you all.

Laugh every day.

Much Love and Cheers,

Morgan