Nick Devine vs. The Moral Debate

So it has been a little while since my last post on ye old blog here and for that I apologize. It has been a pretty hectic week here with classes getting going, presentations being formed, and the ever illusive quest for knowledge through reading texts that I pretend to understand. Last Saturday Tabatha, Sarah, and I went to the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh just for the day.

We started our trip at way too early o' clock and tried to get a bus to get to the rail station in Stirling. Once we figured out that there were no buses at way too early o'clock so we had to walk the 3 miles to the station in the cold, wet Scottish morning. So we finally arrived at the train station and got our tickets and went into the city. We went down to what is considered the Royal Mile in down town section of Edinburgh which runs from the castle of Edinburgh to the Palace where the Queen stays when she comes to Scotland. We went to get some tea and hot chocolate at a store called Chocolate Soup and the tea I had was very tasty and cost effective.

Our first stop, we figured, in our trip should be to Arthur's Seat. Arthur's seat is a very large hill overlooking the historic downtown section of the city. We started what looked to be a very easy climb in comparison to the one we did the previous week in Stirling. We started the accent to the summit and after climbing for 30 minutes we realized that we were actually heading the wrong direction on a completely different hill then the one we intended on going. So alas we climbed back down the hill in order to find a different path that would hopefully take us to the place we wanted to go. That path was a whole lot harder then the one we looked at before and it was a good while before we were able to reach the top. Once we did though the view was spectacular again. We were higher then before and also a whole lot windier as well. We made our way back down the hill/mountain and took to the Royal Mile to see the sights there. We stumbled through some small shops and restaurants, eventually eating at a Turkish Deli that was fantastic. It was small and the people were very nice even when Sarah couldn't say her order correctly to save her life.

It was at this point that my moral debate started raging inside of my head. Now it is no secret that I would like to get a kilt while I am in the land of Kilts and would like it to be fairly authentic. So at all of these little touristy shops they sell all sorts of kilts for very cheep prices. The actual kilt shops also sell custom kilts but they are considerably more. I noticed this but dismissed it as just a sign of better fabric.

As we continued up the Royal Mile, we eventually made it to Edinburgh Castle where we took the time to tour the inside and get a look at another fantastic piece of history. The castle had never been sieged by any opposing army and much of it was still in relatively 'original' condition. While we were in the castle we did see a tradition Scottish wedding taking place and yes the Groom and th Groomsmen wore kilts, and it was awesome.

So anyway, after walking around there for a while we left and went on a tour of the Scotch Whiskey Distillery that was conveniently located right next to the castle. It was really cool to see how the scotch was made and we did get to sample some in our very own glasses that we got to keep. They are sweet and they are specially designed for Scotch... I guess. after that we did some more shopping and I got to thinking more on the ethical idea of buying a cheep kilt in Scotland from China and how that seemed a bit wrong to me. We ended up leaving so i have not decided what I am going to do on the kilt issue yet and I am hoping for some feedback from you. Let me know what you think in the comments on what I should do.

Well I must be going now, I have a presentation tomorrow that I need to prepare for. Until next time this is Nick, signing off.

Nick Devine vs. The Reading List

Well here I am, sitting in my room trying to ignore the ever climbing pile of books that sits at my right, you’re left. It is a hopeless battle that I know I will lose eventually, but now is that time. So here is a bit of an update on my life, my plans, and the insurmountable work load that it all entails. So I am in three classes this semester at Uni (which is what they call all the universities over here, by the way) a Using economic data course, a post-colonialism and religion course, and a global cinema course. The first two are third year level courses while the latter is a first year course. All my courses are really interesting and should provide a bit of a challenging for me that I am not used to back at Luther.

Economic data is weird in the sense that everything they do here is different from the way I have learned it in the past so I feel like I am translating all of the homework into something that makes sense and is reasonable to actually read. My professor is an incredibly smart man and talks with a thick Scottish accent that makes me really pay attention so i actually understand what he is saying. We only have to read one text book for this class (YES!) so it’s been pretty good trying to keep up with what is actually going on in the class.

Religion, ahhhh, religion. Let’s just say for class #1 we had 3 required readings totaling 145 pages, and the recommended readings consisted of an additional 23 readings (one of which was a video). Now I understand that recommended, as defined by Marion Webster’s Dictionary means:

a : to present as worthy of acceptance or trial<recommended the medicine>

b : to endorse as fit, worthy, or competent <recommends her for the position>

But this, in student terms, means you should probably read as many as possible before you come to class so that you don't look like an idiot when the professor makes a statement that you don't understand. It’s a vicious cycle that is quite possibly going to be the death of me. I try, really I try to get all the reading done but often you can only read about 'Orientalism' so much before you want to poke your eyes out. My next week reading list looks about the same but could possibly be worse then I imagine, frankly I'm scared to look at it. The class should be fascinating and I am really looking forward to the discussions we could be having relating the two subjects; I just need to get over my fear of not knowing I guess.

Anyway, my last class is a Global Cinema class which looks like a lot of fun actually. It is a class where we watch 4 global movies and discuss the framing and the differences and stuff... I think. We actually start to watch these movies tomorrow and class discussion is tomorrow as well. I have 4 professors in that class, one for each movie. It's a cool way to split the class up and hopefully I can see some different perspectives on whats going on in global cinema. The four movies are;

Amores Perros (A Mexican Film),

Moolaade (an African film),

The Barbarian Invasions (A French/Canadian Film),

And Tears of the Black Tiger (A Thai Film).

Now from what I hear these movies can be very violent and very graphic so if you decide to watch one and get scared for life, not my fault.

Well I should get back to actually reading from my book list again. One day I will finish all of these... one day. Then again probably not, but at least I will go down trying.

Till next time, this is Nick signing off.

Nick Devine vs. The Mountain

Hello everyone, I know I have been ignoring the blog for a while and I apologize for this. I am currently in Stirling Scotland at the University here and it has been a turbulent week. Classes have started and I have a ton to do for class almost every day so hopefully the workload will lessen as we go on so I can do other things outside my room! I am living in Muirhead hall on floor 5 with 4 other fantastic guys. I have only known them for a while but they have really included me and made everything go smoothly. Oddly enough they all seem to go home every weekend so I have time to do other activities and explore Scotland. Today Sarah, Tabatha, and I climbed to the top of Dumyat which is the huge mountain that the university lays in the shadow of. We started out at 9 am and it took us a few hours to get to the top. We met some nice people along the way as well as crossed paths which what looked to be 500 sheep. That was pretty cool. The peak was very windy and had an absolutely beautiful view over all of the surrounding areas and even some well known lochs. After a while at the top we started our decent which was a lot quicker than the way up. After that we decided to head to the Castle of Stirling and look at that. It was a beautiful old castle and all of the walls were made of stone that looked incredibly old. The view really was something and you could tell it was a great place to be a strategic castle for the country of Scotland. Stirling was the capital for a long time until the crown officially went to England. Lots of history walking through the great halls, chapels, royal rooms, and around the outer wall. The incredible amount of gravestones was something that really struck me, especially so close to the castle itself. One reason was to make sure their enemies did not dig up the dead and move them. The castle was actually an English stronghold in the civil wars and after the Scottish took the castle back they destroyed it so it could never be used against them again. After that they realized that wasn't probably the smartest of moves so they rebuilt it. So yeah there was adventure # 1 here and for more pictures follow the link at the bottom of this post. Until next time, this is Nick signing off.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=222087&id=667267162&l=c674c65421

Nick Devine vs. The Picture Quest

Well popular request has stated that photos are wanted, and in mass quantity, so here are 6 pictures to suit your fancy.

The inside of the globe theater where got to see a play from the pit, it was great until the rain picked up and we got soaked.
The actually Buckingham Palace. The flag is up so that means the queen is in residence.
The statue outside of Buckingham Palace. It was cool looking.
This is Trafalgar Square where people on horses stand and protect things....
This is Westminster Abby where many many famous poets and writers, kings and queens are buried. It was absolutely beautiful inside and was awe inspiring.

This is clock tower of London, Big Ben is just the bell at the top fun fact.

Nick Devine vs. The Superman Shirt

So I have arrived safely and soundly in London after a really really long flight. It was made better by the movies and tvs shows that were available to watch. Sleep was few and far between but I did get some which helped with the 6 hour time difference. Customs was easier then I expected so I got into the country without any issue. Once I arrived at the hotel I collapsed on the bed and relaxed a bit before the coming program here. Today I have been exploring the area and walking around the parks to get a grasp of the area of London I am in. One thing I have noticed is the amount of superman shirts people are wearing. I have literally seen 25 Superman shirts in the short time that I have been here. Not all at once, and there have been no more then one in a group, just tons of shirts around. Which begs the question, Why? Is there some sort of cult of superman running around London spreading the word of superman, or was there a sale at the local stores because someone ordered too many shirts? Whatever the reason the joy of superman is being spread none the less. So there you have it, the first impression of london, Superman shirts are all the rage... I should go get one.

Leaving tomorrow...

So as the day approaches when I will board a plane set for places I have only seen pictures of. I have to admit I am starting to get a tad nervous about the whole situation. Since I misunderstood when exactly I was supposed to be arriving in London I am getting in a day early. This means that I will be on my own before I can check in the next day. So I'm on my own for a while until the rest of the group gets there. We are having a Bridging Cultures Program in London for the week and will be exploring London in the evenings. The plane and train ride to the hostel should be good, I just feel like I am going to be a bit bored by myself for a while.

As I have stated before I will be going to the University of Stirling in Stirling, Scotland, UK. It is located in between Glasgow and Edinburgh and a bit north. It is in the beginnings of the highlands and is where Braveheart the movie was shot (Fun Fact...). I will be living in a little house with 4 other people on Spittal Hill right next to the university there.

So I guess that is all I have for you now, next post will be coming from London!