My Non-Comprehensive Lists of Current Longings and Soon to Miss Things

Things I will miss about living in Scotland:

• It probably should go without saying, but the people. I won't list everyone, but I've made some wonderful friends and I will miss them when I'm gone, particularly my roommate.
• Bella the cat. She's been a great furry companion albeit crazy like a cat. ;)
• The fresh fruits and vegetables are already clean -- and they don't charge more for it either.
• The Highlands. Absolutely breathtaking and like nothing else I've ever seen.
• Chips (fries to you, Americans). They are thick and amazing doused in vinegar. (Or smothered in gravy or curry sauce.)
• Public transit.*
• Indian food. Just standard take away here, no need to search high and low. You can even get Chicken Tikka Masala at any pub.
• Ginger beer. I don't want it all the time, but it's a great flavor. It's alcoholic and nothing like ginger ale.
• Alcohol on campus. All the seminars and events entice us with free wine. It's very nice.
• Having seminars and events. We don't have much available at CMU (but I hear that's changing, so fingers crossed).
• That pubs have such great character. The ones I will miss most are The Lee, Bappity Bowster,The Counting House, Curler's Rest, and Hillhead Bookclub.
• Tesco. It's like having Meijer and Target combined all with Meijer prices.
• Scones with clotted cream and jam.
• Cornish cream.
• The fact that it's green year round.
• Great museums all for free.
• Cadbury.
• That TV shows feature realistic people. Not everyone on TV looks like they belong in a J.Crew ad or something. American TV has gotten so bad with the only pretty people thing that it's almost difficult to watch anymore.
• Graham Norton. Hilarious talk show host.
• Not dealing with the hyper-stress environment created by info-tainment 'news'. You don't realize how much it permeates every day life even if you avoid watching it. We, Americans, live in a really stressful environment and you don't realize it until you step out of it. I will miss being able to be outside of that. It's either factual news or tabloids here and it's not confusing which is which.
• Chip and pin cards.
• Cheap, delicious bakery bread. (Ours back home is so overpriced.)

 
Things I can't wait to get home to:

• My family obviously.
• Friends. Again, not naming names, but I miss my people and our socializing.
• Tesla the cat. Because she a great furry companion and she's mine. :) (She's crazy too.)
• My car. *So, yeah, while I love the options of public transit, I do miss being able to just get in my car and go when I want. But the US soooo needs trains!
• Food in no particular order: pulled pork, steak, Korean, Mexican, Wendy's cheeseburgers, avocados (You can get them here, but they cost too much), jalapenos, sour cream (it's different), Chinese food (it's different here), brewed coffee.
• Ice cream and milkshakes. They don't know how to do milkshakes here. Or ice cream.
• Peanut butter. They make it wrong and overprice it. And don't know how great it is in dessert.
• Beer. They only cater to light lager drinkers here which is okay, but it's not even the best of light lagers. I miss the variety and depth of American beer. To that end, I also miss Whichcraft our pub that specializes in Michigan craft beer.
• My clothes. I miss having a full wardrobe. Oh, and shoes. Having more than four pairs to choose from will be awesome.
• My neighborhood with all the trees and plants and so much more wide open spaces.
• Academics. Strathclyde is okay, but no one really studies US History here so I can't have the same stimulating conversations here as I can at CMU. And I only have one professor to turn to. I really feel like I'm stagnating here. It would be different if I studied something that fit this department's areas of focus.
• Regular deodorant. The affordable stuff is the spray stuff, but I'm not really a fan. Oh, and not having to ration my toothpaste. They don't sell my Crest Pro-Health Clinical Gum Protection here. I think I'm going to run out before I get home. :/ (Hey, sometimes it's the little things.)
• Tumble dryer.

 

Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Chi's Birthday

We spent one day in Edinburgh. (Most people here would pronounce that Ed-in-bur-ah.) We walked through Prince's Park and up to Edinburgh Castle. There are some fantastic views over the city and the Firth of Forth. A firth is an estuary, in this case of the River Forth. This is one of those names that is just fun to say. :)

We saw the Scottish crown jewels, and Mary, Queen of Scots was holding an audience in the Great Hall. She asked Gabe to dance, but he was too shy and refused. She let him go, but told the audience to remember that it is unwise to refuse the Queen. 

This sometimes happens while we wait forever for Matt to take a picture. :)

One of the coolest things about Edinburgh Castle is how it was built right on the rock and in several places you can see the natural rock and man made walls blend together.

Mary, Queen of Scots

Where the keeper of the castle lives.

We then walked down the Royal Mile, which is quite touristy really. Old buildings, but mostly filled with tourist shops. Giles Cathedral was very beautiful but we weren't allowed to take pictures. 

The Mile ends at Holyrood Palace, which is the Queen's official residence in Scotland.

Because this was an added expense and the boys didn't really seem interested in looking at one more building, we passed on going inside.

The Scottish Parliament building is near Holyrood. I love the modern architecture. It's one thing I like about the UK. They have plenty of old buildings so they seem to really embrace new styles as well. It's a great blend of old and new.

We didn't climb Arthur's Seat (the big hill) because we figured it was too much for the boys.

Heading back to the train. Everything is a hill. :)

We also did many things in Glasgow including the Glasgow Cathedral and the Necropolis, The Riverside Museum which is all about transportation, and we did a 'spy mission tour' of the West End. We had clues that led us around as we tried to stop the bad guy. :)

It's hard to get over the fact that flowers and plants grow and bloom in winter here.

Malachi's photographic efforts and goofy Gabe.

Riverside Museum

Mobius Strip with bikes at Riverside Museum

Often we just hung out and played games.

We also did a trip to the Highlands, but I'll share those pictures in another post.

Malachi turned 7 just before they had to go home. He wanted a Batman cake, so I did my best to make that happen. 

It was a small affair. Just his choice of dinner: chicken nuggets, corn, carrots, and chips (which are fries). Notice a theme? It was actually completely accidental.
 

Matt did a Harry Potter party for him at home.