University of Stirling - Dorm Life

I know you were all anxiously awaiting a post about the history of the Parliament building but that's just going to have to wait.

Around this time last week I was seeing my new campus for the first time. I got off of the bus with no idea where to go. The first person I talked to was a Spanish exchange student in the same situation. Exchange students were lugging bags all over campus. Freshmen were moving in as well but they were distinguishable due to having families and lots of stuff being pulled out of a car. All of us travelling abroad generally stumbled out of buses or taxis with two suitcases and a backpack.

At the dorms we were given our keys and shown around. The rooms are small but they are our own. Every twenty rooms or so share a kitchen. The kitchen has quickly become our home base. Our kitchen in particular is known throughout the building. Within the first day or two we had exchange students and freshers from all over the building in there socializing.

Main cooking area. Two stoves and two ovens, cupboards for rooms as well as general storage

Main eating and food storage area. Complete with locked cupboards for each room, two fridges, toaster, microwave, and hot water heater. 

The dorms here are where I have noticed the biggest differences between the US and Scotland. The drinking age here is 18 so people drinking in the dorms isn't a problem, it is an accepted part of living here. Those who are in charge don't mind if we have alcohol as long as we don't walk about with open containers. We are even allowed to smoke in our rooms as long as it is done near the open window - careful to not set off the fire alarms.

Somewhat annoyingly to many of us here, all of the American exchange students have been put in the same section. While I do wish there were a few more actual Scottish people on our floor i'll admit it is nice having people at the same place in life around. The freshmen are lovely but it has been their first week at Uni, away from their parents for the first time. There is a lot learned when living on your own for the first time.

Friendships have been made already. Plans are growing to see other parts of the UK and Scotland. Many of us have various connections across Europe so we hope to build off of each other to see as much as we can in the next few weeks and months.

Rainbow over the west wing of AK Davidson as viewed from my kitchen in the west wing.

London On My Own

Today was my first full day in London where I at no point had someone helping me decide what to do. This was great because I could do whatever I felt like at whatever pace I wanted to. However this also meant I had to pay for whatever I decided to do. Luckily, while London is an expensive place to stay and eat it is a cheap place to find culture and entertainment. Many of London's largest and most prestigious museums are free.

By 9:30 I had said goodbye to my fellow exchange students and checked in at the hotel where I will be for the next few nights.

The hotel I am at is near Hyde Park. I had heard there were museums near Hyde Park that were free but I wasn't exactly sure what was in them. The two I discovered were both fantastic: the Natural History Museum (NHM) and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A).

In the NHM I felt like a kid. There were all sorts of rocks to play with and compare in the earth history and geology section. In the section about plants there was a room that put you 'inside a leaf' to see how plants turn the suns energy into energy useful for the rest of the world. It turns out plants have their own personal David Attenborough explaining their process. Elsewhere was a section of tree trunk taken from a place that is now called Big Stump Meadow in Giant Sequoia National Monument where I worked last summer. Giant halls were filled with modern day animals and the bones of their extinct counterparts.

One room of the NHM. That is a statue of Darwin behind that person in the black shirt.

Down the street was the Victoria and Albert Museum. This museum has gone through several expansions and been renamed a few times but in the last 150 years it has become a rival in some respects to even the British Museum. It has the largest collection of post-classical sculpture in the world as well as the largest Italian Renaissance collection anywhere outside of Italy.

The square museum has a lovely plaza in the middle where I spent some time. A shallow fountain had the occasional toddler running through. The sun was shining on all the happy museum goers with their expensive museum lunches. I spent a while out there simply enjoying the sun before my stomach told me to get back to the hotel where I had some food, it was mid afternoon.

After some lunch and a small errand I was running through the streets of Westminster, past the houses of parliament to get to Westminster Abbey before 5PM. Running up to the gates as bells tolled the hour I was ushered into the church.

This was my first time going to church! Most days of the week the abbey has evensong where the sermon is actually sung by the choir. Normally it is the boys choir but because they are still on summer holiday the men's choir was performing this evening. It was quite nice to sit admiring the church while the men's tenor and baritone were filling the lofty place. Though I don't believe in much of anything they stand for, old churches are beautiful places. The 45 minutes flew by.

Not the best picture ever, but you get what you get

Across the street from the Abbey is the Parliamentary building I had so quickly run past earlier. The public is allowed to sit in, so I did! I didn't see anything too terribly exciting. There were maybe five MPs (Members of Parliament) still in for this last part of the day. I'll post more about Parliament next time, the building has an interesting history.

Oooooo, history piece. You excited?

Amsterdam! Day One

Every day in Amsterdam Mom and I went to at least one museum. The first day it was the Rijksmuseum (State Museum).

The Rijksmuseum is one of the museums making up Museumplein (Museum Square) in a bustling corner of Amsterdam. The whole building was designed through contest entries.

Originally founded in 1800 it was decided to hold a contest to design a new building for the museum in 1863.   None of the entries were deemed good enough so in 1876 the contest was run again. this time a winner was declared and the building began construction later that year. Contests didn't end there. Other contests were held for the sculptures, painting and tile tableaus, and stained glass. The result is a palace like building with references to Dutch art and history incorporated into every aspect.

Somehow I never actually got a picture of the museum straight on. The best I can show is the small section visible behind me. 

The museum is home to much of the fine art created during the Dutch Golden Age. Artists such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Frans Hals take up entire rooms. 

Johannes Vermeer's The Milk Maid

Rembrandt's Portrait of a Young Woman Holding Gloves - The closest I may ever come to finding my doppelganger

Apparently Dutch artisans were well renowned during the Dutch Golden Age for their work in silver. This is a trowel used in the ground breaking of some government buildings. 

Unfortunately both Mom and I began falling asleep on our feet. We had been up for over 24 hours due to flying and time changes so much was not appreciated as much as it could have been. I would definitely like to visit this place again for a greater appreciation for all that it could teach.