7/4/2007 Independence Day really takes on a new meaning for me when I’m living in a country ruled by the Queen, and where the people talk about the Act of Union in 1707 as if it happened yesterday, and they take it personally when the truth is every “Scot” (correctly “Brit”) living today was born into the UK and unified and governed under one queen. This is also the country who had elections two months ago, and for the first time in history, the minority party is in power. The Scottish National Party (SNP) and Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, has told the Queen to her face that his goal while in power is to make Scotland an independent nation. Every Scot I’ve spoken witih talks about how the Act of Union in 1707 was the ... read more

6/27/2007 Wednesday Since I have found a job, I’ve decided that I can relax a bit. Plus, since I don’t start for two weeks, I have time to see stuff. Today, I took a day tour with ‘Heart of Scotland’ Tours to see Loch Ness and Glencoe. It was a small tour group, only about 25 people, and most of them were American—it’s probably been 3 weeks since I’ve heard an American accent!! Aaah. People I can understand without trying, or saying ‘pardon?’ ten times. Our tour guide, Cullen, was great! One of those natural born speakers and storytellers, he told us so much about Scotland’s history and what we were seeing. This was my first drive out of Edinburgh, so I eagerly waited seeing what the rest of Scotland looked like. We drove into the ... read more

6/22/2007 Saturday Today started the third session of Scottish parliament, which was disbanded in 1707 and not reconvened until 1999. We went to the processional and festivities at Parliament and Holyrood Park. I even saw the Queen!! In old Scottish parliament, there were processional ceremonies to signify that Parliament was sitting. It used to include nobility, members of parliament, etc. The tradition of the Riding of the Parliament was renewed and updated. It’s a good way to give regular citizens the chance to feel a sense of belonging with the MP’s. In the parade, there were the Royal Marines Band Scotland, pipe bands, Red Hot Chilli Pipers (more on them in a minute), members of Scottish parliament, and tons more. There was also the ‘Jarls Squad,’ which is a group of people celebrating their Viking heritage ... read more

This morning, Marie and I went to the Palace at Holyroodhouse. It’s the official residence of the Queen in Scotland. The palace is at the east end of ‘The Royal Mile’ and the Castle is at the west end. It has a gorgeous view of Arthur’s Seat and the Salisbury Crags. It’s best known as the home of Mary, Queen of Scots. She was married at the Abbey there, she witnessed the murder of her secretary and confidante, David Rizzio, in her private apartments. We got to see these on the tour, up in the west wing. We saw her bedchamber and outer rooms. There were also some of her, and other royals, possessions, such as jewellery, needlepoint, etc. It was great, because we got to take this small, short, dark winding staircase up to ... read more

6/15/2007 Friday. Ok, 2am so really, 6/16/2007 Saturday Grr. I’m just feeling really fucking frustrated now. I’m not used to all this inactivity. I’d really love to get out of here Saturday morning and go somewhere overnight, but I’m feeling guilty about spending more money when I don’t have a job yet. I had an interview Thursday, at a hotel called ‘Travelodge’. It was ok, but I came away from the interview (ok, really ran away, screaming…) thinking, “what the fuck???” I most definitely don’t want this job!! The manager just basically made the place seem like an understaffed, overworked, shithole - working all hours of the day! No thank you! I mean, I’m only here for 6 months, do I really want to subject myself to that kind of bullshit? To make things even better, ... read more

Not much to say here--but we moved into our "flat" today--look at that British speak :) Just wanted to add some pics cuz some people were asking what it was like. As you can see, nothing to special, but it's fully furnished (even with a iron and ironing board, mom!!) and no rodents scurrying about, so we're happy!... read more