Gave 2 more speeches

Well, there's not much to report for the past couple of weeks. The first picture is of Bryan and I in Glencoe. I've given two speeches, one at Penicuik Club (pronounced Penn-y-cook) and another at Larkhall Club. Both went well and in total I've given 12 speeches. I have one more in the books, up in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. I'm excited about that one too. I wanted to visit the beautiful island and I happened to meet a Rotarian who had a Rotarian contact up in Stornoway. As it turns out, some of the other scholars were interested in going, so we are going to go up and give a presentation about our lives. I don't think they get very many scholars so I thought it would be interesting to share cultures.

On a school note, it's business as usual. I am super busy. There is some slightly exciting news there however. Since Edinburgh University is one of the top universities, I've been contemplating coming back for my PhD. I've decided I want to study Catholicism and Scottish Identity because there are several small islands that still speak the old Gaelic (which I intend to learn) and I want to explore how their Scottish culture affects their Catholic practice. My professor loves the idea and one of the top experts on Scottish identity is a professor here of sociology. (We jokingly and lovingly refer to sociology as the dark side of anthropology.) My professor has even volunteered to be my doctoral supervisor. Seems like things are falling into place! My Master's dissertation will be on the anthropology of Christianity, in preparation for my PhD. Consequently, this is a hot topic among the anthropological world. We'll see how things play out.

That's all I've been up to recently. Tonight, I'm taking a break and going to watch the Olympics. USA men's hockey team plays the formidable Canadians. There is a girl in my programme from Canada, so a few of us are meeting at a pub to watch the game. There's something about the Olympics that brings the latent patriot in me!! Well, that's all for now, hopefully next time I'll have something more interesting to talk about...

P.S. I've also included a funny picture of my cat, who is staying with my mom, which will hopefully brighten your day!

Parents visit to Scotland

Well my parents just left after a fun-packed week in Scotland. It was their first time to Europe and they had a blast! My dad, who is usually very reserved and stoic, had a constant smile painted on his face. He made new friends where ever he went. We went to all the great places, the castle, Mary King's Close, and even took a bus up to Loch Ness. (4 hour bus ride was completely worth it!) My dad came to Loch Ness not believing in Nessie, but left a believer. We took a boat ride on the loch (which is Gaelic for lake). On the boat, there was a nice man, who was a MIT grad in marine biology, who had taken various photos of the animals (they are not monsters) on his cell phone. They even had DNA samples that showed these animals (there are several) are descendants of the plesiosaurus, a large water dwelling dinosaur. He's trying to get these animals protected before they can come forward and publish these incredible photos. He also mentioned that these animals exist all over the world such as in Lake Tahoe, Lake Champlain, and other southern lochs in Scotland. Wow, I'm a believer!

It was fun and interesting to show my parents Edinburgh and all its beauty. I like seeing their expressions at the wonderful and old architecture that takes your breath away. It is how I must have looked during my first time to Edinburgh. They even enjoyed the food here, especially the fish and chips.

While my parents spent the night in an 800 year old castle, Bryan and I went to our first rugby match with my host. It was Scotland vs. France and the city swelled with people wearing red, white, and blue. It was almost like Halloween. Many on both sides had their faces painted, donned the French flag themed wigs, kilts, and other costumes. They had tailgate-like parties before the game at the surrounding hotels and pubs. I even saw a barbecue serving people hamburgers, which is the first one I've seen here. Before the game, a great piper band marched onto the field and played both national anthems to which the crowd sang along, it was not solemn like ours, but more jovial. The pipes were amazing to hear in the stadium. Rugby is a lot like football, only with no pads and if someone gets hurt, the game doesn't stop. Everyone just plays around them (unless they are knocked out, I assume). Throughout the game, the crowd would sing songs urging their team on, and flags waved in the chilly air. In the end Scotland lost (as predicted) 18-9, but it was so much fun!! Both sides were cordial to each other, and no fights broke out. In fact, Bryan lost his wallet at one point and received a call from a Frenchman who had found it (his phone number was in the wallet too). So to my relief, Bryan got it back and I thought it was quite nice for that man to return it. Despite the losing of the wallet and Scotland losing, it was a fantastic afternoon!

It was sad to see my parents go, but I'm glad they enjoyed it. Next my sister plans to visit in May and I hope she will enjoy it as much as my parents did! Now it's back to business...

Click here for a clip of the piper band playing the Scottish anathem and notice everyone is singing along.

Burns' Night

Sorry about the lapse in entries. My internet connection isn't the best right now. It takes literally 6 weeks to get internet in my new flat, so I have to rely on a horrible pay-as-you-go public kind that is completely unreliable. Well Jan 25th, last Monday, was an unofficial holiday in Scotland. It was Robert Burns' birthday, which the Scottish mark with Burns' Night. The one I went to was on Friday (thrown by the Corstorphine Rotary Club), but they called it Scottish Night. One Rotarian explained to me that the traditional Burns' Nights are terribly boring because it consists of hours of Burns' poetry being read aloud. (That sounds okay to me, except the hours long parts.) Their version takes all the fun stuff about Burns' Night and adds a Scottish band with dancing, also called a ceilidh.

The night began with a young piper playing wonderful Scottish tunes in the entryway of the golf club (where it was held). After a short greeting period where everyone gets a drink, we headed to our tables. Haggis is the traditional food served, but it is brought into the room with great style. The young piper escorted it in the Scottish style...with the bagpipes of course! The silver platter full with a large haggis is placed at a head table in front of the master of ceremony. This man recites a Burns poem (which I can't understand most of it because it is in Scot's) and then he dramatically takes a sword and slashes through it. It is a blessing of sorts. Then the master toasts a wee dram of whiskey with the young piper. (He's 18 by the way, okay to drink here.) Then the piper withdraws and the guests are served the haggis with a serving of neeps and tatties (turnips and mashed potatoes). To my utter surprise the haggis was delicious! It was piping hot and a little spicy. It was yummy, but just like turkey, I can only eat it on special occasions. After dinner, there was a comical toast to the lassies, which was a small play of sorts with sarcastic and playful jests about ladies and their nature. Then another Rotarian sings a couple songs written by Burns. The man had a beautiful voice and the melodies were haunting. Once such song is called, 'Green Grows the Rashes O' which has a Texas connection.

According to the legend, Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie were second generation Scottish. As most Scottish children, they grew up with the songs of Burns, one of which is the 'Green Grows' song. In fact, while facing the soon to be historic Battle of the Alamo, they sang this song. The Mexicans heard this singing but couldn't understand the song, but they gave the Alamo fighters a nickname that would stick forever...Gringos. What a great Texas story!

After the songs, the Burns' Night ended and the ceiligh began. It was a blast! I am quickly learning the steps and I hope I can show the Corpus Club how to do Strip the Willow. Again I felt very welcomed and was so delighted to be invited to such a fun evening. Thanks to the Corstorphine Rotary Club for putting on such a fantastic evening!

Here is an excerpt of the "Green Grows the Rashes O'