Pre-New Year's Eve activities

Monday began four days of New Year festivities here in Edinburgh, and they do go all out.

There is a whole new set of ride to enjoy just down from my dorm. Rides that throw people up and into the air, something I am not a fan of. Some people like the adrenaline rush. Mine comes from watching the people being shot into the air and not falling to their deaths.

Swinging arm of death

Fireworks to start the Torchlight procession

The beginning of the torchlight procession.

Following these gentlemen was a bagpipe band and then about an hour and half of people carrying torches. There must have been thousands of people total. I was able to get video and figure it will be better than posting the many pictures I took. Robin and I did not purchase a torch ourselves and follow the procession to the top of Calton Hill. We were just content to watch and take pictures of the thousands of people with flaming torches pass us.

And as we watched the flames pass I couldn't help but think that something like this would never fly in the states. To many potential lawsuits waiting to happen.

The New Year's Eve festivities fun from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Check back soon for pictures and details of the events. It should prove to be my most exciting New Years Eve ever. The complete list of Hogmanay events is listed on their website.

I wish everyone a very Happy New Years and all the best in the year to come.

Kirsten Allen 360°

First, I apologize to Anderson. Second there will be no news breaking stories, or in depth analysis of a current international crisis. I am still on Christmas break.

I hiked to the top of Arthur's Seat today with friends. Other than being so cold that the frost didn't melt, it was a lovely hike, with a crystal clear view at the top where I was able to take some photos and a video at the top.

So, in the season of giving I give to you some photos and video from Arthur's Seat.

Looking east toward the North Sea

Isle of Inchcolm - Supposedly visited by St. Columba, believed to have brought Christianity to Scotland

Edinburgh Castle

My friend Robin who came to visit for the holidays - I am the other person in the photo just in case you can't tell it is me, especially with the hat and sunglasses.

Looking east, with the frost that never saw the sun

Me

For the family

Again, not the greatest video but, I try, and trying is half the battle.

Christmas Eve in Edinburgh

I think I picked the one program at the University of Edinburgh where the due date for papers is after the Christmas holidays, which of course, is stupid and one reason to never go to Harvard where they do the same thing. So after finishing one paper, I am taking time off to a) update my blog, b) let my brain rest and c) celebrate Christmas.

I attended the carol service at the church this evening and then had pancakes with the missionaries, who will take pity on just about anybody. It was fun and of course there are pictures to prove that I did not spend the evening in my dorm room.

This the leaning tower of Edinburgh. The tree lists a bit, and if it falls over it will hit the dorm that is behind it. The wind was blowing so hard the other day that most of the lights went out, but they have got them back on.

This is Sister Williams. She is from Afton, WY which is in Star Valley and just one valley over from Swan Valley where my Grandparents live. So we have a good time talking about all of the places we know.

These are the Elders that were there for pancakes. This is not even half of the elders that are in Edinburgh. We are over run with Elders. But all very cool kids. Two are from CA, one is from Romania and the other three are from the UK.

This is Sister Naulls (from Wales) and Sister Sheffield (from Highland, UT and not the Highlands of Scotland) the other sister missionaries (they are currently in a threesome). I go out with them probably once a week. I am cooking pancakes.

My friend Robin arrives tomorrow morning for a week of fun, so if you are really good for Santa there may be more pictures.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas. It is when you are away from family that you realize that the important part of Christmas is not the gifts but the chance you have to be surrounded by those you love.

Christmas gift possibility

these bags are eco-friendly and support the New Orleans economy.

http://whatsurbag-usa.com/

International Human Rights Day

Sixty years ago today the General Assembly of the United Nations drafted and adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in response to the atrocities of World War II. This seminal document has formed the foundation of all other human rights instruments created since.

Many don't stop and think about the human rights they enjoy but there are so many who live each day without any guarantee that their basic right to life will be respected.

Edinburgh at night

The guilt of not posting for my faithful readers has gotten to me. But since the paper writing marathon has begun, there is little time for much posting. So, I am taking the easy way out and posting a couple of photos my friend Geoff took from his kitchen window. The view from his flat is much better than mine.


Both pictures of Prince's Gardens. This is where they have set up the Christmas village. There are reindeer and supposedly Santa Claus comes everyday to feed them so that they are strong for flying on Christmas eve. The village also has a commercial center where one can buy overpriced nick nacks. I have wandered through but have remained strong. There is also a skating rink, something I stay far away from.

There are Christmas lights on the trees. It is not temple square but the lights are pretty. If only you could enjoy the beauty without freezing to death. And yet, there are people out and about in nothing more than jeans and a t-shirt (boys) or short skirts and revealing tops (girls) and they are not covering up any of that bare flesh, to which I say, if you get hypothermia, you brought it upon yourself, you slaves to fashion...or stupidity.

I promise more posts about my trip to the highlands are coming. Give me a couple of weeks.

Curls as promised

I promised curly head photo shots and here they are. I hope everyone is recovering nicely from their tryptophan overdose enough to have hit the big Christmas sales. The big shopping day here is the day after Christmas, so I have another month before I buy any Christmas gifts.

From the back #1:


From the back #2:


From the front #1:


From the front #2:


I invested in a blow dryer, straightener, and a curling iron today. Short hair, so much easier to take care with those items than long hair.

Before and After

I decided to get a hair to cut. After growing it out for a year and a half I finally reached the point where I wanted it off my neck. I cut off about 5 or 6 inches (maybe more?), hard to know since it was curly and hard to get an accurate measurement.

Here are some before and after pictures. I'll post more pictures of me with curly hair, because as you will see below, I again had a stylists that took it upon herself to conquer the curliness of my hair.

You will have to excuse my photography skills. I could have asked my roommate to take the pictures, but she has been ill the past couple of days and quite honestly, I didn't want her to touch my camera and I didn't want to run the chance that she would cough on me. I don't need any sickness right now. Amazing what you can do with a camera and a mirror.

Before from the back #1:
Before from the back #2


Before from the front #1: two thoughts on this one. 1) I don't like self portraits, and 2) my eyebrows are unbalanced, or my entire face is lopsided, which I already new, but this photo reminds me once again


Before from the front #2: its big, its curly!

After from the back #1:
After from the back #2:

After from the front #1:
From the front #2: comment on this one, I think I could have very evil looking eyebrows if I wanted.

Check back after Friday for the curly look. I am hoping I can make the straight look last until at least then. Cross your fingers that it doesn't rain.

The Campbells and the MacDonalds - Video 2

***before reading this post read the one below it***

And in the second, my friend Geoff comments on my affiliation with the Communist party to which I say, there is good Communism and there is bad Communism, and I affiliate with the good Communism. This video was shot at road level.



Here is a picture of my friend Brittany and I mending the errors of the past.

The Campbells and the MacDonalds - Video 1

So the last place we stopped in the Highlands was a valley called Glencoe (no reason why I can't go backwards in telling you about my trip to the Highlands). This valley also has a historical meaning to me than the other places we visited This valley is known in Scottish history as the "Glen of Weeping" (contrary to what Wikipedia says I think this is really what the glen was named) because it was here that the Campbell Clan, under orders by the King William of Orange, massacred the MacDonald Clan.

King William demanded allegiance from all of the Clans we he came to the throne, and all of the clans did just that. But William hope was that at least one of the clans would refuse to swear their allegiance so that he could make an example of that clan by killing them. When it was discovered that the head of the MacDonald Clan was late in signing the allegiance petition because he was delayed by weather, King William decided that the MacDonalds would be the clan he would use as an example.

The Campbell Clan asked for "Highland hospitality" with the MacDonald Clan, and ended up staying with the MacDonalds for seven days before receiving the signal that they should kill the members of the MacDonald Clan. Thirty-eight men died in the massacre and another forty women and children died from exposure after their houses were burned.

I would like to think that relations between the Campbells and the MacDonalds are slowly being mended by the marriage of my brother (a Campbell) to my sister-in-law (a MacDonald) who now have a little girl (a Campbell-MacDonald). Also, one of my good friends here is Edinburgh is a MacDonald and we get along great. However, I don't think the Scots here would think these two things are quite enough to bury the feelings between the clans.

I took a couple of videos while there and thought I would post them since that is an easy thing to do. I can't promise that it is a great video because I am not a professional. In the first one Brittany, my friend who is a MacDonald near the end of the video. This video was taken down in the valley.

To tide you over

I am going to the highlands tomorrow with a trip planned by the international student center on campus. We are leaving early tomorrow morning, spending Saturday night in a castle, and then coming back sometime Sunday.

Once I get back there of course will be a blogpost about the whole event, unless I meet a Scot in a kilt in the mists of the highlands (one of my librarian friends recently weeded the romance novels at her library and this type of event was the most frequently used plot line.)

But until then, I thought I would post some random pictures I took this week from the roof of the National Museum of Scotland.

How many chimney's do you count?

This is a street I walk down practically every day to get to campus.

The ever famous Edinburgh Castle. I have not yet been in because it costs money, but supposedly at the end of the month you can get in for free because it is St. Andrew's Day. I will be the first person in line.

This is me looking at you kid.

The Problem with Reading other Blogs

Is that you find things to waste away the time. My friend has a post on what her chances were of surviving a zombie apocalypse and when I clicked on the image posted on her blog, it took me to a whole other set of quizzes which is where I found this one:

$5425.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth.

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Sites

Note to family: when you sell my body (after I am dead of course), make sure you get at least this much for it. I took a quiz that said I could fight up to 11 5-year olds at one time, but I didn't think that was appropriate for a blog, because violence is never the answer.

Being part of history

Today I am thankful to be part of history. Am I happy that history went the direction I wanted it to, yes.

I think this election will become one of those "where were you when..." moments. I am excited by the prospect of change, anything has to be better than what America is currently experiencing, and while the change Barak Obama promises is different from the change John McCain promised, I am looking forward to change.

At the beginning of Obama's campaign I was pessimistic about his talk of change, because it felt a lot like rhetoric. While Obama's ideas of change have been developed as his campaign has progressed, what I have come to realize even more is that I need to change.

I need to change so that I find opportunities to help those around me. I need to change so that I can find the good in every situation. I need to change so that I can influence for the positive. I need to change so that I can become more patient and long-suffering. I need to change so that I can respect all mankind, and not just those with whom I agree or have common ground. I hope I never reach a point where I no longer need to change, because if I do, that is one more thing I need to change.

For those who may not be as excited about the outcome of yesterday's presidential election, I hope you will be excited about the prospect of change, whether it is on the national level, the international level, or if it is just inside of you. Because I am.

Reading week and so I have some time

Just finished reading a post on another blog I follow about some new chihuahua movie that just came out in the States.

Which made me think of this story that I read early this week. Who knew we would reach a point when abandoning your child was as easy as abandoning a dog that no longer fits in your purse.

The irony of the story, look who told the boy's mother about the Nebraska law.

Pumpkin in a can - or the lack there of

My sister-in-law posted a recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and I got all excited to make them. So, I went to the store this morning looking for canned pumpkin, and had the following conversation with the store employee in the baking isle:

Me: excuse me, may I ask you a question?

employee: Sure, how can I help?

Me: do you have have any canned pumpkin?

employee: sorry we don't, are you American? The only people that ever ask if we have canned pumpkin are the Americans. Sorry, you are going to have to buy a real pumpkin and use it. If you can find a specialty grocery store in Edinburgh you may be able to find it there.

Me: okay, thank you. (but really wondering in my head if she wasn't secretly laughing at America for having such a thing as canned pumpkin. And wondering why in a country where you can buy custard in a can, you can't buy pumpkin in can. There is a market here waiting to be exploited.)

Royal Mile - The Heart of Edinburgh

I thought I would post some pictures of the street I live on. It is called the Royal Mile. Edinburgh Castle sits at one end of the Mile (the end I live on) and Holyrood Palace sits at the other. The street itself is divided into four different sections and each section is named differently. The part closest to Edinburgh Castle, is called Castlehill (wonder why?), the next section is called Lawnmarket (which is the part I live on), the third part is called High Street, and the end near Holyrood Palace is called Canongate.

Edinburgh itself is divided into New Town and the Old Town. I live in the Old Town. According to my trusty travel guides, the courtyards (or closes as the Scots call them) along the Royal Mile actually degenrated into notorious slums, when the New Town was built in the 1700's. Which makes you wonder just how old, Old Town is, if New Town was built in the 1700's.

The Royal Mile is very touristy, but the number of tourists are dropping off as the weather gets colder and windier. It has been very windy this week, and when the wind blows in Scotland, hold on to your kilts.

I have some pictures that I have taken while walking up and down the Royal Mile. I need to take some more with better lighting, but I'll go ahead and post those that I have in order to appease the masses that read my blog.

This is looking up the Mile from the Holyrood Palace end. I was coming back from having hiked Arthur's Seat. The individual in the picture is my friend Geoff. He is studying Nationalism and is from the OC. We have funny conversations about the OC he knows and the OC portrayed in the oh so popular TV show with the same name.

This is a cross-street. On side of the Royal Mile it is called Northbridge, on the other it is call Southbridge. That is one of the interesting things about Edinburgh, the street names change quite often. It is a good way of knowing where you are and how far you have to go to get to your destination. Not so much fun when trying to give directions. If you look closely you can see that I took this picture at exactly 5:30 p.m.

Another shot walking up the Royal Mile. St. Giles Cathedral is the building on the left with dome and spires.

Another view of St. Giles looking down the Royal Mile. The statue you see had a traffic cone on his head before it was given to Adam Smith (see picture below). Sorry don't know who this statue is of. It is not a very good shot of St. Giles, but the sun comes and goes so quickly here that you have to get a shot off when you have the chance.

This statue is Adam Smith with a traffic cone on his head. Don't know how it got up there, but the cone had been traveling up and down the Mile on the head of other various statues.

This is just down the street from the entrance to my dorm.

Don't Let this Be You

My sister noticed this bit of news and sent it on to me.

This post is in no way meant to indicate which way you should cast your vote. It is just meant to say make sure you vote.

Sandwich Americaine

When I was doing volunteer missionary work for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (a.k.a the Mormons) in the Indian Ocean, I had the opportunity to live on the island of La Reunion for a bit. This island is a protectorate of France, and is a very lovely island. It takes forever to get there, but well worth it.

Anyway, there was a sandwich that the Reunionnaise had that always made me laugh, the Sandwich Americaine. It was basically a toasted ham and cheese sandwich on a baguette and to make it "american" they would pile on a bunch of french fries and smother it in ketchup.

Tonight, I made my own sandwich americaine. I had some potatoes and onions I needed to use and though why not. I decided to take a picture (because really what is a blogpost about a sandwich without a picture of the sandwich):

mmmm....mmmm...good. The Reunionnaise would be so proud

I am finding that if I want people to comment on my blog, it is a good idea to ask a question that people will respond too, so here is my question, what foreign interpretations of american delicacies have you encountered in your travels?

Now back to reading about the Catholics and the Protestants in Northern Ireland, not to be confused with the Christians and the Pagans gathered around the table. It also helps to put lines from movies or songs and see who can identify them.

Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself - Henry David Thoreau

Friends and I decided to do a nature hike a couple of Sundays ago. It was a lovely day. We hiked part of what is known as Arthur's Seat. There is a higher point that you can hike to but we decided to save that for another day. Arthur's Seat is the highest point in Edinburgh and the best place to go for pictures of the city.

The Cliffs of Despair:


Me prevailing on top of the Cliffs of Despair, and proof that I actually did the hiking and picture taking myself and didn't just copy and paste photographs from web into my post.


These next shots are basically what you see when looking in different directions from Arthur's Seat.

This is the higher point that we decided to hike for another day. From this point, you can probably get a really good view of the harbor, and if you had a telescope, you could probably see the coast of Norway, Sweden, or Denmark. This pictures was taken at the base of Arthur's Seat before we began our hike up.


This is the view looking west. The tall building on the left-hand side is part of the University of Edinburgh. It is actually the David Hume tower. Funny thing was that when David Hume applied to teach at the University of Edinburgh, they turned him down. For this purpose the University built a building in his honor. Somehow, I think the bigger honor would have been to have David Hume as a professor at the University. The library is the building behind Hume tower. The tall building to the right of it is another building on campus. That area of campus is called George Square.


This is the view looking south:


The view looking southwest:


This view is looking northwest, with Edinburgh Castle. If you really love me and have read my earlier posts then you will know that the church spire is basically where my dorm is. If you have not read my earlier posts, then shame on you, you are really missing out on some quality blogging.


The view looking northeast towards the Firth of Forth (I'll let you look that one up):


Holyrood Park is the area that lays at the base of Arthur's Seat. This humble home here is where the Queen Mum stays when she visits in the Summer. I wonder what the mortgage on that place is. The building attached to the house on the right hand side used to be the church, but I don't think that is where the Queen worships, not because she is heathen (could you imagine the scandal the Church of England would have to deal with if she was,) but because the roof has caved in.

You can tour this house, but you have to pay, so I have not yet taken advantage. There is something inside me that rebels against having to pay to see where royalty lives. It is not as if they need to money. When I was in Thailand a couple of years ago, you had to pay to see the President's residency, plus you had to put on pants that covered all of your legs, so I and my sister declined to go inside. Not because of the pants, but because of the cost.


Another picture of the higher hill in Arthur's Seat, with the sun shining. You have to capture the moments where the sun shines so you can look back on them to remind yourself that the sun does shine in Scotland.


That is probably enough for today. Want to make sure you keep coming back for more. Plus I need to get ready for bed. Going down to Preston tomorrow and the bus leaves at 6:30 a.m. Yikes, what was I thinking!