To My Best Support Sytem, My Family

Mom, Dad, and Katie,

Crazy isn't is? I come  home on Friday, after 3 and 1/2 months of being away. Time just flew right on by me, but I feel like it's been ages since I've seen you. Where do I even begin? Thank you. Thank you for all the love and support you have given me throughout my life and during this wonderful journey I have been on this semester. It has meant more to me than I could ever express with words. You've supported my wanderlust filled soul since I first realized there were roads that would take me anywhere I wanted to go in the world. You have been my biggest fans and always encouraging me to study abroad since I was a junior in high school and through this entire time of being in a land far from home. Look where I am? I did it. I finally achieved my forever dream. I've studied abroad, made the best of memories, and have seen places I have only ever dreamed of seeing. Katie I remember always looking through pictures of the world and making plans for all the places we wanted to see in the world, never really knowing if we ever would. You're my best friend and I am so glad you could be a part of my journey and I could show you my life in a different country. You have always pushed and applauded me and I can't tell you how happy it makes me to have you be proud of me or that I've helped you realize you can achieve your dreams. I've always wanted to inspire people. This experience has made me realize how many opportunities are out there and how much the world has to offer. Be crazy, take chances, and do things for yourself. If you want to move to Seattle? You know what, move to Seattle. Go off and experience something amazing,  Don't be afraid to leave home, you can always come back. Mom I have always wanted to follow in your footsteps since I was a little girl. All the stories you used to tell me of your travels with your girlfriends only heightened my curiosity of the unknown, what the world has to offer me. Even though I joke about how I am turning into my mother sometimes, I really couldn't be prouder. How blessed and what an honor it would be to even become a fraction of the woman you are. Your compassion and your kindness make me want to be a better person. No matter how old I get you'll always be my Mom, the person I need, want, and call when I get sick, am feeling sad, or have the best news and I just need to tell someone. Dad, even though I know you would rather have me locked in the basement than in a different country I appreciate the fact that you set that aside and support my dreams and ambitions. If it eases your nerves, I promise to never go to Africa or the Middle East. You've taught me to work hard for the things I want in life because no one else is going to do it for you. There is no one I know in life who has worked harder for what they have than you. No matter what happens you'll always be the best guy I know and look up to. No one can ever replace your spot in my heart. I thank the three of you for giving me something I can never repay you for, myself. I found myself you see and I didn't even know I was lost to being with. This experience has helped me see that awkward, weird, and loving person that I am. I have realized that I am great just the way I am and there are people out there who are going to love me for me and the rest of them don't even matter. It has helped me see the type of person I am and the one I want to continue to grow into. I want to take every opportunity that is presented to me and experience what it can give me. This trip has given me a tremendous amount of joy and has made me feel alive in a way I have never felt before. I feel like I got stuck in routine in the past and I wasn't really living. I have laughed so much these past 3 and 1/2 months and I have realized how good it makes me feel, and how all my days for the rest of forever should be filled with laughter. I never want to stop traveling in my life, I never want to stop gaining new experiences but I can promise you one thing, I will always come home. Home to me will always be small town Iowa, down an old dirt road, where the wind whistles through the big oak trees. Home is where the heart is and it will always be with you three. No matter where I go or what I see in this world I will always be counting the days until I see you three again. So thank you. Thank you for giving me the world, letting me get the chance to make amazing memories in a land far away from home, giving  me the opportunity to make lifelong friends, and most importantly, for helping me meet myself. I owe everything I do in my lifetime to you and I hope more than anything I have made  you proud. I miss and love you. See you soon.

Love,

Morgan

A Weekend in Ireland, Scotland's Celtic Sister

Lauren and I getting ice cream.

Well my last weekend overseas was spent in Ireland with my friend Lauren and we had a great time! Ah, that's so scary to say, my last weekend here, and it's already come and gone. We left on a flight Thursday night to head to Dublin. We arrived in Dublin around 10 pm and we took a taxi to the hostel. We had a hostel a block down from where we were supposed to meet for the three day bus tour the next morning. Let's just say our hostel experience that night was quite the experience. We had a shared room so when we got there, there were already other people in the room. The hostel was a bit sketchy and I am pretty sure we had every nationality in our room. I slept horrible that night because the hostel was loud, we were by a tram, and someone was outside jack hammering cement at 3am. I probably got three hours of sleep that night, got up at 6am and headed to our tour. It makes for an interesting story though. We loaded that bus along with 13 other people and away we went. There were a few Australians, Canadians, and Spaniards on our tour with us. It was so great to meet people from all different corners of the world, they were all so interesting to talk to. The first day we stopped in a few little towns to see some abbeys and took a short walk through a park. We ended in Galway for the day. In Galway we walked around the town, ate at a really good restaurant called

Cliffs of Moher

The Skeff, and went on a pub crawl with a couple of guys from our tour. Lauren wanted to do the pub crawl so I told her I would do it with her. I didn't actually end up paying for the tour. I just kind of tagged along. It was a lot of fun, met some cool  people, saw a neat town, and heard some live music. The town of Galway is so incredible and I loved it. And of course one of my favorite songs, "Galway Girl" was written about the city. I would recommend going there versus going to Dublin. One of the biggest differences I noticed between Scotland and Ireland is how everything is so much more colorful in Ireland. Yes they are similar in a lot of ways but Ireland is more rocky and not as hilly and mountainous as Scotland. Scotland has a lot more unique architecture and grey stone is used a lot. Our hostel in Galway was super nice, we even had our own bathroom! We shared the room with Hamige, the Australian guy on our tour and Bobby and Grahm, the two Canadians on our tour. They were a lot of fun and it was a good time because they are close in age to us. They all

Bob the horse and I. Carriage ride.

slept in boxers though, so it was kind of awkward in the morning running into them. I'll always have funny stories to tell from staying in hostels and I think it's something everyone should experience. On Saturday we stopped at a few lochs, a castle, and an Irish wishing well. Some people in Ireland are so superstitious they can't even drive by it without stopping to make a wish. That's one thing I learned about Ireland over the weekend. Like Scotland they are very superstitious and believe strongly in folklore and it's a huge part of their history. Ireland's history is just as morbid as Scotland's is. We visited a cathedral and it's said that 30,000 children are buried on the grounds in unmarked graves that dies during the potato famine. My favorite part of Saturday was our stop to the Cliffs of Moher. The cliffs have been on my bucket list for a long time and I was so glad I could finally cross it off. The cliffs are just as grand as they look in the photos you see, even more so. They are so geographically amazing it just makes you sit there in awe, it's where land meets

Killarney National Park

the unknown. How lucky are we to live somewhere where as beautiful as the planet Earth. I don't know how anyone could ever not want to explore every inch of this magnificent surface. At the cliffs there is a memorial to all those who have lost their lives at the cliffs, whether it be they chose to take their own lives or they simply got to close to the edge. I thought that was pretty awe-inspiring. We stayed in a little village that night on the Dingle Peninsula called Annascaul. It was nestled in the mountains in a small populated town. There was a pub attached to our hostel so Lauren and I went there for dinner and a Guinness. I had to try a Guinness in Ireland, it's like a right of passage. Guinness in Ireland is a lot better than anywhere else, I guess that's probably because it's its homeland. At the pub we met a girl from New York who is studying abroad in Galway for the semester named Jess. We had a great night of playing pool(which I am godawful at), chatting, and listening to music. We all sat around, Bobby, Grahm, Jess, and I chatting. Jess introduced us to her friend from Australia who was working in the kitchen for the time being. I ended up talking to him for most of the night, he was so intriguing and I loved listening to his travels. He graduated in November and ever since he has been

Blarney Castle

traveling and so far has gone to 16 countries. He does a lot of volunteer work in the towns that he travels to and they give him a free place to stay or he stays in cheap hostels. His stories were so amazing and I was captivated by them. He was such a free spirit, something I hope I can become more of. He thinks life is too short to live in one place and even if he doesn't make money in his future he just wants to be happy. He was very inspiring and I think more people out there need to live life the way he has. It was a great night at the pub! That night Lauren and I shared a room with these two ladies in their 60's who are best friends. Neither has ever had children because they haven't felt the need to, but are both are married, love to travel, and are two of the funniest ladies. They kind of reminded me of my sister and I and how neither of us has ever been to keen on children. I could see us 30 years from now traveling and being those older ladies who are a riot. Our last day on the tour we went stopped in Killarney and went on a carriage ride around the national park. It was beautiful and we saw some Red and Japanese Deer. We also went to Blarney Castle. I know a lot of people have heard Irish drunks go and pee on it, but I highly doubt it. It is quite a hike up a long windy staircase that is very thin, so my shoulders touched the walls. It is said that if you kiss the stone you will be able to speak eloquently, maybe it takes a week to set in because I don't think it's working yet! You have to lay down and bend backwards to kiss it, while a guy holds you to be sure you don't fall over the edge. The weekend was a great one and I am so happy to be able to check Ireland off of

Kissing the Blarney Stone

my places I want to see in my lifetime. I will never understand how people can just stay in the same town all their lives. There are so many windows of opportunity presenting themselves for everyone to see the world. It has opened my eyes and made me want to go to every country and see how they live their life differently than me, Australia, Thailand, and  maybe even Croatia! Who knows where I might end up! My time is almost gone here and I can't believe it. It feels like just yesterday I was terrified to leave home and come to a place I didn't know and I didn't know a soul. I am so glad I jumped head first into this journey because it has changed my life, given me so much confidence, made me love myself, helped me see a different corner of the world, and opened my eyes to so much they were closed to before. I have my suitcase all packed up and my passport ready for Friday, under 50 pounds! Score! We are having a bonfire on the estate tomorrow night and I am looking forward too. It will be a wonderful night to sit around a fire with the people I call my second family. It will be one of the last times we are all together. As sad as it is that means one day closer till I see home. Iowa, good old Iowa. I cannot believe I will be seeing you, Iowa in a mere four days. How I have missed you so. I even miss your fields of corn! Miss and love you all back home and I am jumping with excitement of seeing you all!

Cheers!

Morgan        

A Weekend in the Most Beautiful Place on Earth

The highlands are the most magnificent thing I have ever seen in my life. I will never tire of the views I have seen here in Scotland and just when I thought they couldn't get any better I go to the Highlands and am stupefied. My journey to the Highlands started bright and early Thursday morning when we hopped on a bus and took off at 8 am heading north. Our first stop of the weekend consisted of a stop to Scone Palace. Scone Palace is the place where the Stone of Destiny lies. The Stone of Destiny is a stone that sits under a chair.

Scone Palace

RIley, Kyra, and i at Hermitage Waterfall

Bus Buddies!

The group at the barracks.

This was the place where all the royals used to be crowned. The estate was huge and we wandered around it for an hour. They had a maze in the yard that we did and they had a little zip line as well that we went on. It was more directed towards kids, but what can I say I'll always be a kid at heart and it was fun. After we left Scone we continued to travel north. We stopped at Hermitage to see this beautiful waterfall. We had to walk on a trail for 15 minutes to find it and it was breathtaking. That area reminded me of what Oregon looks like with the tall trees, moss, and everything being so green. I felt like I was transported into a Narnia movie or something, it was quite magical. We jumped around on the waterfall rocks for awhile and then loaded the bus to our next destination. Our next stop was Delwhinnie Distillery. It lies in the Highlands surrounded by beautiful scenery. We took a tour of how the whisky is made at the distillery. We also learned about the different strengths that come from the distillery's around Scotland. At the end of our tour we got a small glass of whisky with some chocolate. Our tour leader told us it was a lighter whisky and maybe to him it is, but woah, I though I was going to grow hair on my chest. It was very strong and the chocolate was very rich. I almost couldn't finish it, but I toughed up and did it. We got to keep our glasses so it was a nice souvenir. Through the first day we also just stopped along the road a few times to look at the beautiful scenery. We spontaneously stopped at some old barracks along side the road and it was historic and parts were crumbling to the ground, but it didn't make it anyml less alluring. We took a huge group picture at this stop standing and sitting within the tumbling barracks. We finally reached out hostel destination around 6 that night in Inverness. Inverness is a neat little town settled in the Highlands. While a pack of us girls were searching for our rooms a guy came out and said "woah I think I hit the jackpot". That was pretty funny, but awkward at the same time. That night Kyra, Riley, Lauren, Trevor, Mickenzie, Kati, Hannah, Christina, and I walked to the local grocery store Morrisons. We all felt like ice cream because we haven't ate it in forever so we got some Ben and Jerry's. We walked back and sat outside our hostel enjoying the view, eating our ice cream, and chatting for a few hours. It was nice to talk and get more close to some of the friends I've made here that I haven't spent as much time with.

Riley, Anna, and I at the distillery.

The views from our nature walk around Ben Nevis.

Me in the Highlands.

Me at Fort George

Christina, Lauren, and I watching dolphins. 

The next morning we got up bright and early to head to Culloden Battlefield. Culloden Battlefield was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jackobite Rising. The Jackobites tried to do a surprise attack, but the English were ready and the Jacobites were slain. There are thousands of Scottish soldiers buried on the field, so many shallow graves. The battlefield has been untouched since the final shot rang out that day and the casualties were buried. It was very leery feeling with the fog setting in and I felt a lot of respect for the land because it is like a cemetery of unmarked graves. The have markers of where they assume that most of the clans lay, but not names and only a few hundred of names have been discovered of who died on the field that day. After Culloden we went to Fort George. Fort George is a military base that is still in use, so there were soldiers running around everywhere. It's a neat place and right on the coast. We sat on the walls and watched the dolphins out in the firth. There was a big pod of them and it was relaxing to watch them in the nice weather. After we had free time. Lauren, Christina, and I went to a place where we saw advertising wildlife boat excursion. We waited for the guy to show up for an hour and he never did. So we sat there and played I Spy for an hour. It was funny and we spent the rest of the evening in Inverness exploring the area and going out to eat.

On Nevis Range

On Loch Ness

Traditional jumping picture. Anna, Jenna, Amanda, and I.

Urquhart Castle

On Saturday we went to Urquhart Castle that sits right on the beach of Loch Ness. It was neat and a charming ruin. It was so neat to see Loch Ness and dip my feet into it. It was foggy that morning so it added to the mysterious Nessie. I found Nessie and I will be bringing her home packed in my suitcase! After our adventure to Loch Ness we went to Nevis Range to take a gondola ride to the top of the range. It was worth the ride, but it was scary going up the side of a mountain. At the top the view was to die for. I wanted a picture of myself standing on this rock that was close to the edge with the Nevis Range behind it, but I was so scared to do it. I am so glad I did though because it felt amazing and it's true when they say the things you fear most are normally the most worthwhile. After the gondola ride we went to our hostel in Fort William. It was 2 miles outside of town at the foot of Ben Nevis. Ben Nevis is the tallest mountain in the UK. It stands at 4,500 feet. Although that may not be huge compared to others in the world it's big for the UK. It was a great place to stay and Kyra, Riley, and I went on a hike around the foot of Ben Nevis and the river for a couple hours. The scenery of the Highlands was amazing there is really nothing to compare it to and it's greatness is simply Scotland. We walked along in the river and the water was freezing. It was a really fun little adventure we had and we saw a bunch of Highland Coo's! The last day of our trip we went to the Harry Potter Bridge, Glencoe, and Doune Castle. Glencoe was an area where the clan of Campbell murdered an entire MacDonald clan in their slumber. It's said to be haunted, but what isn't haunted in Scotland. Doune Castle is going to be where the new TV series Outlander is filmed, so it was neat to be somewhere where a TV series will be filmed. Although I had a great time in the Highlands I was so happy to see Dalkeith again after a long weekend. I have everything turned in for my classes for the rest of the semester, so I am feeling great!

Me with a lamb in Glencoe

Riley, Kyra, and I 

Just look at that view!

Wednesday I went with my host family to Brig O'turk. The town possess a tree called the Bicycle Tree. When we got there we were actually surprised at how untouched by tourism it is. It made it that much more special. The tree got it's name when a blacksmith who lived next to the tree went off to World War I to serve and left his bike chained to the tree. The man never returned so the tree grew around his bike. It was so amazing to see and so unique. We also stopped at a cafe along a Loch and ate lunch. It was a great view. They fed us so much food. I had soup as a started, risotto for my main dish, and Mocha cake for dessert. I didn't eat anything else the whole day because I was so full. They are so kind. Yesterday was sad because I had to say goodbye to them for the last time. It makes me realize how limited my time is becoming here in my home away from home and how my days are filled with more and more "lasts". I am excited to come home, but it's bittersweet. Last night I went to the Beltane Fire Festival with Amy, Riley,  and Lauren. It was a very unique experience. The festival is to celebrate the begging of summer and fertility. There was some nakedness and a lot of fire. It was really cool though how they dances with fire and the effects they used. It seemed almost demonic at some points, but it was  an experience. This week we also had a meeting for our reentry into the United States. It was a very emotional meeting and we all cried together. I have been saying I can't wait to come home, but I didn't realize what they pointed out that night. That indeed I have changed and I might not fit into my old life exactly the way I left it. It's kind of scary to think about.

Bicycle Tree

Amy, Riley, Lauren and I at the festival

Fire! 

Our Assistant Resident Director put us through a visualization and it was tough. He walked us through when we first started applying for this program until three weeks after when we get home and will probably want to come back. The hardest part that hit me is when we ride away in that taxi and look back at the house that has become our home for the last time, when we land in the states to get off the plane and our journey is officially over with study abroad, and when we wake up that first morning at home in our beds, no longer in our rooms at Dalkeith, Scotland. It is going to be so hard to let go of this journey and I didn't realize it until that meeting. It hard to think I might not ever return here, to my home away from home, and that my time pasted far quicker than I wanted it too here, but I can spend a lifetime knowing I have studied abroad, I lived in Scotland, and I made some amazing memories. I learned so many lessons, made so many friends and although I am leaving to go home to my family what I didn't realize is I will be leaving a family I have made here. It's going to be an emotional last week here in Dalkeith. I leave to spend the weekend in Ireland with Lauren today and I am very excited. It will be a great last trip to put an end to an amazing and exhausting semester of traveling. Can't believe in 8 days I will be home. I miss you all and see you very, very, soon.

Love and Cheers!

Morgan