Scotland!
Last week was my class trip to Glasgow Scotland! It was super! Through out the week we saw tons of sights.
The week started on Monday, on which we had to be at the school by 5:30 am to get on a bus and drive to Lübek, Germany. This was the first time I'd seen Germany and I was not impressed. I hope it looks better elsewhere, otherwise I totally understand why the Germans often try to take over the world. Mostly it was brown and scrubby. We went through security and finally got on the plane after having our passports checked no less than 4 times. It was really funny, we left one passport checking line just to get into the next one. Around 1:00 we landed in Prestwick, Scotland, and from there we took yet another bus to reach our youth hostel in Glasgow.
The youth hostel was located in a very upscale neighborhood which sported at least three Mini Coopers, and over six BMWs on one street. The youth hostel itself wasn't that special. It had a TV room, but the TV was broken. There was a lounge, but we weren't allowed in after the first two days. We had cute beds, but they gave us one sheet that was supposed to cover the bed, pillow, and bedspread all at once, since apparently they don't wash any of those things....eew. I was staying in a room with Trine, Tanja, and Signe, so I was alright happy, though a bit disappointed that I was excluded from Kathrine, Lotte, and Lea's room. After everyone had settled in, we went back out to the bus for a tour around the city with a guide who knew nearly everything anyone could possibly want to know about Glasgow.
Glasgow itself is a very beautiful and interesting city. Our guide showed and told us about the numerous towers that show above the city skyline. Apparently, decades ago there was a problem with crime in Glasgow, and the government decided to build more churches in response to this. They built too many, and now alot of them have been destroyed, but often the tower, or steeple, is left behind. Other churches have been put to more practical use as restaurants and pubs! Also around the city are several very tall, highrise 'flats' that were built to try and solve the housing problems in the sixties. It has been decided that they are impractical and are being taken down one by one, but there are still over five standing.
After the tour, Kathrine grabbed me and we (along with Lotte and Lea) went to Subway for dinner. It was really, really funny! They've never gone to a Subway before and didn't know how to order, then they kept forgetting English words and I actually ended up doing alot of translating for them. Super me! I KNOW DANISH!! Yay!
Once we finished eating and walked back of the big hill to our hostel I went with another group and Christian, our principle (and the only supervising adult). We walked all over in search of a real grocery store, but couldn't find one. It was rather important, too, because you can't drink the water in Glasgow and we needed to stock up. We had to make do with the little kiosks that were in the area. Finally, after over two hours of walking about, we went home for some much needed rest.
Tuesday we all woke up early to a delicious wholesome breakfast of jelly and toast. I really hope we didn't pay much for it! When everyone was finished we piled onto two different mini buses and drove to the border of the highlands. While we were in this area we hiked several mountain-hills and went on Loch Lomond for a ferie tour. It was a really fun day, with a break by the lake for lunch that gave us a lot of time to mess around and have rock skipping contests. On our way home from the loch we took a pitstop at a whiskey distillery. Here we had a tour of the building and were shown how whiskey is made.
That night i went out to a club with Kathrine, Signe, and Tanja. It was fun, and a lot of hillarious things happened, including (but not limited to) Kathrine getting spit on by some drunk scotsman for bumping into him. I also learned that night that Scottish English is impossible to understand when the Scots are drunk. The girls kept asking me to tell them what they were saying to them, and I had no idea. After a while at the club I decided I'd had enough fun and asked Tanja to walk home with me. Kathrine and Signe stayed out until about 5 in the morning!
Wednesday we woke to the same breakfast as the day before, and to a day filled with sightseeing and walking. We all walked to the subway, then got off and walked some more until we reached a place called the People's Palace. This visit was a bit pointless, since the only thing in the building was photos of animals. Nothing to do with Scotland at all! After wandering around here for a while we all walked to Glasgow Cathedral, which is the largest and most beautiful church I have ever seen in my entire life! We looked about some more, and then broke up into groups. I ended up following Trine, her boyfriend, and Tanja a bit by accident. We went up to see 'The Necropolis' which was also refered to as 'The City of the Dead.' In otherwords, a huge graveyard. In this grave yard were hundreds of burials from the 18th Century, some of which belonged to rather important people whose monuments were 5+ times larger than they were in life. We also went to the Religious Art Museum before heading back. That night I stayed in the hostel with a number of my classmates. We played cards and talked until about midnight before going to sleep.
Thursday we woke up half and hour early than usual to eat the same breakfast and go visit Holyroot Secondary School. This was quite possibly the best part of the entire trip. We were able to talk and socialize with Scotish teens and even sit in on some of their classes! I was very relieved when I was able to complete a worksheet in biology as fast as the kids who were taking the class did. My brain hasn't totally rotten and fallen out of my head while in Denmark! I love to have school in English!! haha! Later that night about nine of us came back to the school to see a prom fashion show they were putting on for charity. They were a bit short on guys so right before the show started the grabbed two of our Danish guys! They ended up having to walk down the catwalk with the rest of the 'models.' It was really funny, and some guys wore kilts!
Friday, the final day, we mostly had free. We were able to sleep in a few hours later (and eat the same breakfast) before subwaying/walking to a place called the Scotland Street School Museum. This was a school designed about one century ago by a famous Scottish architect.Mostly we learned about how school used to be in Scotland, and I have to say, I'm VERY glad I wasn't a part of it. Girls learned to cook, boys learned to fix things, they were seperated into seperate classes, and caned if they misbehaved. We only spent about an hour here before having the afternoon free. We met up again about 6 at a church turned resturant where we ate a very expensive dinner. Someone actually ordered Haggis, the Scottish meal of innards and kidneys... or something gross like that. When we finished eating, Christian took us out to a pub together, where we ran into some more confusing Scots. One old lady came up to us and was trying to tell us jokes, but I couldn't for the life of me understand any of them, or even half the words she said. Later some old guy kept dragging members of us off to play the piano. Eventually we split up, most of those over 18 went to a club, and those of us under 18 went back to the Youth Hostel and stayed up late talking. At one point we were joined in the sitting room by a huge group of Spanish people, who really couldn't speak English very well, but we tried to have a conversation anyway. As soon as they left, the clubbers came back and we socialized with them. By the time we were ready to go to sleep it was 3:30 in the morning, and we were suppose to get up at 4:30, so several of us just never went to sleep... myself included! I took a shower, finished packing, and got on the bus that took us back to the airport and onto a plane, which took us back to Lübeck, and onto another bus that drove us back to Middelfart Gymnasium.
All in all, it was an awesome trip! I have become alot closer with all of my classmates, and have found out who the people are that I actually want to be friends with. I've got a bad cold, probably from sleep deprivation and lack of vitamins for a week, but I'm very glad with how things are going right now!
p.s. Pictures will come later!
The week started on Monday, on which we had to be at the school by 5:30 am to get on a bus and drive to Lübek, Germany. This was the first time I'd seen Germany and I was not impressed. I hope it looks better elsewhere, otherwise I totally understand why the Germans often try to take over the world. Mostly it was brown and scrubby. We went through security and finally got on the plane after having our passports checked no less than 4 times. It was really funny, we left one passport checking line just to get into the next one. Around 1:00 we landed in Prestwick, Scotland, and from there we took yet another bus to reach our youth hostel in Glasgow.
The youth hostel was located in a very upscale neighborhood which sported at least three Mini Coopers, and over six BMWs on one street. The youth hostel itself wasn't that special. It had a TV room, but the TV was broken. There was a lounge, but we weren't allowed in after the first two days. We had cute beds, but they gave us one sheet that was supposed to cover the bed, pillow, and bedspread all at once, since apparently they don't wash any of those things....eew. I was staying in a room with Trine, Tanja, and Signe, so I was alright happy, though a bit disappointed that I was excluded from Kathrine, Lotte, and Lea's room. After everyone had settled in, we went back out to the bus for a tour around the city with a guide who knew nearly everything anyone could possibly want to know about Glasgow.
Glasgow itself is a very beautiful and interesting city. Our guide showed and told us about the numerous towers that show above the city skyline. Apparently, decades ago there was a problem with crime in Glasgow, and the government decided to build more churches in response to this. They built too many, and now alot of them have been destroyed, but often the tower, or steeple, is left behind. Other churches have been put to more practical use as restaurants and pubs! Also around the city are several very tall, highrise 'flats' that were built to try and solve the housing problems in the sixties. It has been decided that they are impractical and are being taken down one by one, but there are still over five standing.
After the tour, Kathrine grabbed me and we (along with Lotte and Lea) went to Subway for dinner. It was really, really funny! They've never gone to a Subway before and didn't know how to order, then they kept forgetting English words and I actually ended up doing alot of translating for them. Super me! I KNOW DANISH!! Yay!
Once we finished eating and walked back of the big hill to our hostel I went with another group and Christian, our principle (and the only supervising adult). We walked all over in search of a real grocery store, but couldn't find one. It was rather important, too, because you can't drink the water in Glasgow and we needed to stock up. We had to make do with the little kiosks that were in the area. Finally, after over two hours of walking about, we went home for some much needed rest.
Tuesday we all woke up early to a delicious wholesome breakfast of jelly and toast. I really hope we didn't pay much for it! When everyone was finished we piled onto two different mini buses and drove to the border of the highlands. While we were in this area we hiked several mountain-hills and went on Loch Lomond for a ferie tour. It was a really fun day, with a break by the lake for lunch that gave us a lot of time to mess around and have rock skipping contests. On our way home from the loch we took a pitstop at a whiskey distillery. Here we had a tour of the building and were shown how whiskey is made.
That night i went out to a club with Kathrine, Signe, and Tanja. It was fun, and a lot of hillarious things happened, including (but not limited to) Kathrine getting spit on by some drunk scotsman for bumping into him. I also learned that night that Scottish English is impossible to understand when the Scots are drunk. The girls kept asking me to tell them what they were saying to them, and I had no idea. After a while at the club I decided I'd had enough fun and asked Tanja to walk home with me. Kathrine and Signe stayed out until about 5 in the morning!
Wednesday we woke to the same breakfast as the day before, and to a day filled with sightseeing and walking. We all walked to the subway, then got off and walked some more until we reached a place called the People's Palace. This visit was a bit pointless, since the only thing in the building was photos of animals. Nothing to do with Scotland at all! After wandering around here for a while we all walked to Glasgow Cathedral, which is the largest and most beautiful church I have ever seen in my entire life! We looked about some more, and then broke up into groups. I ended up following Trine, her boyfriend, and Tanja a bit by accident. We went up to see 'The Necropolis' which was also refered to as 'The City of the Dead.' In otherwords, a huge graveyard. In this grave yard were hundreds of burials from the 18th Century, some of which belonged to rather important people whose monuments were 5+ times larger than they were in life. We also went to the Religious Art Museum before heading back. That night I stayed in the hostel with a number of my classmates. We played cards and talked until about midnight before going to sleep.
Thursday we woke up half and hour early than usual to eat the same breakfast and go visit Holyroot Secondary School. This was quite possibly the best part of the entire trip. We were able to talk and socialize with Scotish teens and even sit in on some of their classes! I was very relieved when I was able to complete a worksheet in biology as fast as the kids who were taking the class did. My brain hasn't totally rotten and fallen out of my head while in Denmark! I love to have school in English!! haha! Later that night about nine of us came back to the school to see a prom fashion show they were putting on for charity. They were a bit short on guys so right before the show started the grabbed two of our Danish guys! They ended up having to walk down the catwalk with the rest of the 'models.' It was really funny, and some guys wore kilts!
Friday, the final day, we mostly had free. We were able to sleep in a few hours later (and eat the same breakfast) before subwaying/walking to a place called the Scotland Street School Museum. This was a school designed about one century ago by a famous Scottish architect.Mostly we learned about how school used to be in Scotland, and I have to say, I'm VERY glad I wasn't a part of it. Girls learned to cook, boys learned to fix things, they were seperated into seperate classes, and caned if they misbehaved. We only spent about an hour here before having the afternoon free. We met up again about 6 at a church turned resturant where we ate a very expensive dinner. Someone actually ordered Haggis, the Scottish meal of innards and kidneys... or something gross like that. When we finished eating, Christian took us out to a pub together, where we ran into some more confusing Scots. One old lady came up to us and was trying to tell us jokes, but I couldn't for the life of me understand any of them, or even half the words she said. Later some old guy kept dragging members of us off to play the piano. Eventually we split up, most of those over 18 went to a club, and those of us under 18 went back to the Youth Hostel and stayed up late talking. At one point we were joined in the sitting room by a huge group of Spanish people, who really couldn't speak English very well, but we tried to have a conversation anyway. As soon as they left, the clubbers came back and we socialized with them. By the time we were ready to go to sleep it was 3:30 in the morning, and we were suppose to get up at 4:30, so several of us just never went to sleep... myself included! I took a shower, finished packing, and got on the bus that took us back to the airport and onto a plane, which took us back to Lübeck, and onto another bus that drove us back to Middelfart Gymnasium.
All in all, it was an awesome trip! I have become alot closer with all of my classmates, and have found out who the people are that I actually want to be friends with. I've got a bad cold, probably from sleep deprivation and lack of vitamins for a week, but I'm very glad with how things are going right now!
p.s. Pictures will come later!
posted by Alyssa @ 5:28 AM
1 Comments:
At 4:13 PM,
Anonymous said…
you didnt mention any hotness, was there any??? hmmm. what did you get me?:) how long untill you come back? love you--Steph
Post a Comment
<< Home