"I Wonder If Its True What They Don't Wear Beneath the Kilt? "

SPEC runs alongside the English school year, and so I spent the 3rd week of October away from SPEC as part of “half term break”. Kris and I alongside another UK YAGM Dana spent our week in London and Scotland. I could not have asked for a more enjoyable week of exploring Great Britain!

Dana is placed with a tutoring program called Springboard in London, so she shares a flat with some other volunteers in a Southeast London neighborhood called Peckham.
Some highlights of our 4 days in London included:
-getting more acquainted with the city, particularly public transportation and the “lay of the land.”
-doing touristy things like visiting Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey and the London Eye!
-an evening with the Springboard volunteers that included dinner and a rousing game of Apples to Apples.
-buying a “Not For Tourists” guide to London—it is my new best friend! I can’t wait to tour London with my visitors in 2010!
-attending St Annes Lutheran church on Reformation Sunday
-sitting outside Danas apartment eating chips with Kris while waited for her to get home
-an evening of “college food”, drinks, and The X-Factor!




After we soaked up our time in London, it was then on to our main event- an hour long flight up to Scotland! We were fortunate enough to receive some of the finest hospitality I have ever experienced through Amna, a friend of Dana. The first half of our time was spent in Edinburgh, staying with Amna’s sister Beenie. Edinburgh is one of the coolest cities…scratch that…PLACES I have ever been in my life!
Edinburgh highlights included:
-touring the city with a multi-bus sightseeing ticket- valid for 4 different buses/tours all day long! And boy did we get our money’s worth!
-The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, especially the Scotland 20th century-beyond exhibit and a “Salt of the Earth” portrait exhibit featuring famous Scots.
- my first Disney film at the theatres in YEARS—We saw Up in 3D!
- being introduced to Aero bars and falling in love! They are basically a candy bar sized version of Andes mints. Mmmmmm.


Our next stop was Glasgow, about an hour away from Edinburgh, where we stayed at Amna’s home. Her whole family—both immediate and extended were in and out of the house the whole week, and the warmth and hospitality we received was incredibly special. Other Glasgow highlights included:
-retail therapy at a mall with the girls followed by a Japanese restaurant, Wagamamas
-taking a night drive to a beautiful overlook of the city with Amna
-a trip to Loch Lomond, one of the biggest lochs in Scotland.
-falling on my ass in the mud at Loch Lomond and almost busting my camera
- taking refuge from a rainy day in Glasgow in a Starbucks. I can’t remember the last time I sat in an Starbucks sipping a coffee. It was a lovely afternoon.


Overall, I could not have asked for a better week away from SPEC. Spending time as a YAGM trio exploring our host country is something I will always cherish and remember.

On a less sentimental note--- the people at Starbucks sure did pull a fast one on me by naming the regular coffee an “Americano.” Thanks losers--- you can only imagine how my American rear end sounded as I ordered, “Umm…can I have an (ahem) an Americano, please.” in a Glasgow Starbucks.