Are we faking liking fake?

Some people might actually hate me once they read this post, but I feel the need to comment on this issue, briefly...or not.

Ok, there is something that I found rather astonishing in Scotland. I found a lot of fakeness. Is that even a word? Not sure...never mind.

Without further adieu, I was surprised by how much of fake body appearance I have been seeing around myself. Mostly it intensifies when going out. I cannot speak for the guys and I will be describing this from what I have been seeing  from the girl-perspective.

There is a long preparation process before going out. 

Usually it goes like this:

- a fake tan few days before going out 

(ohh come on, you don´t want to look pale, do you? Who cares that it is really dark inside.)

- a shower 

(30 minutes...you want to have no pubic hair in case "you get lucky", right?)

- make up 

(60+ minutes...the oranger your face looks the better, the blacker the area around your eyes the better, fake long eyelashes preferably. No matter that your orange makeup gets everywhere during the night and you can consider yourself lucky when you lose only one eyelash, because when you entered the club, you probably rocked that place anyway, so who cares)

- hair

( 60+ minutes...you better straighten you hair, because that is trendy, no matter that it actually damages your hair. Ohh...an addition, you better have some hair extensions, because you hair is simply never long or volumneous enough)

- clothes

(simple formula = the shorther the better, the more boobs and legs the better, the more see-through the better)

- predrinking 

(40+ minutes...well the alcohol in the clubs is very enpensive and also there are also really long queues everywhere. So what you do is you buy Vodka in Tescos, not that expensive and you get pissed quickly)

Once you enter the clubs...you go into the ladies room again, to check your face and hair again and add some more make up since you simply cannot have enough of fake stuff. 

FYI...There are freaking hair straightners in ladies room in Dusk. And that has no sense whatsoever. Once you arrive there, you surely have a certain amount of alcohol in your system in order to be able to survive in place like that. Therefore, the hair straightners in this scenario usually turn into mean beasts and you better not use them if you do not intend to burn yourself.

And as a matter of fact, if you do need to use the toilet, you might have a real trouble going through the crowds of girls that are queueing there to make them look themselves more fake.

Anyway, I cannot help wondering, if you feel confident with yourself only if you put a lot of fakeness on, what kind of a message are you sending. 

To me, this message says "I want you to like the fake me, because this way I feel beautiful". Is it just me, or do you see the slight problem here? 

I do, since I interpret it in a way...if you cannot be really true and confident with yourself, what kind of relationship (or entertainment...depending on your needs and morals :) ) are you searching for. 

>And to be honest with you, there is a pretty intense search going on there<

Do the guys even like the fake you or are they just faking it so that they might get some minutes of fun?

 Seriously, if they do then they must have a really bad taste. 

And if they don´t...why fake to like it?

Also...if you expect the guy / the girl to like the fake you, what kind of life in illusion are you going for and how do you expect the other person to like you for who you really are?

>now...at this point I admit, that I might be a tiny bit naive if I think that some people actually might go in clubs in a search of not only a one night stand<

I do not have answers for any of those questions...my main concern is why do people go for advertising their fakeselves rather then being confident with their trueselves.

My theory (based on an  observation) is, that we people do it because we are actually shy and scared to get hurt for what we really are. It hurts less to get hurt when being fake, doesn´t it?

The fakeness probably tends to borrow the fake sense confidence.

Because the alarming truth is that I saw those people turning into more confident and assertive personalities once being more fake. 

I think that I would be fine if it was teenagers that I saw behaving like that, but most of those people were over 20. Is it the media pressure that makes us do that? Since when do girls / women think that they look more pretty with a tone of fakeness on themselves? 

I can sincerely (and without any intention of this to sound like a cliche) say that everyone looks better and more beautiful without all that fake stuff. 

Yes, you too!

So go out there and work on your confidence to realise that.

I apologise to everyone who got offended by this post.

Idioms and phrases

Scottish is an amazing language. 

Not only that it sounds amazing, but also, they have words and phrases of their own.

Here is a list of idioms and phases that grabbed my attention and made me write them down.

Most of them should be inclusively Scottish.

The first three are absolute must-know.

1. Aye.

- Yes...most of the people (the cool local people will respond with this word.)

2. Wee.

- no, it is not "to pee"...it means "little" (seriously everyone says that all the time!)

3. Awrite.

- Hi / Alright (in a sence of greeting)

Driving me round the bend.  

- "driving me crazy", Caitlin Knotts commenting on some person

Thare's a drap in the hoose.

- Walls have ears / everyone can hear you

Haud a wee.

- hang on / stop for a minute

Tak the gate.

- leave / exit / depart

Guid night an sweit dreams!

- Good night and sweet dreams.

Fine A ken.

- I know quite well.

A kent face.
-Someone that you have seen before.

At the hinner end.

- In the long run.

Are you takkin me on?

- Are you kidding / mocking me?

A'm feelin a bittie wabbit.

- I feel a bit tired.

We niver dee'd o winter yet.

- We will manage / survive.

No bother.

- No problem at all.

Those two I cannot remember the correct "translation" for.

1. Away and take your face for a shite. 

2. Shower ae shites.

And three bonus American ones:

Curiosity killed the cat. 

 - Theo Williams commenting on me being curious

Bomb fucked Egypt.

- In the middle of nowhere. (by Trenna)

It would cost me arm and leg.
- It would be pretty expensive. (Natalie Cohen, being in Prague)

I might have forgotten about some...

any suggestions what should I add?

Know about Scots that...

Not all of them wear  Kilts. 

Warning! Do not mock it. It is NOT A SKIRT! For the true Scots it is a sense of honour and a family (clan) kilt is passed down generation. And also it is a proper, proper one. Not some cheap version made for tourists that you can buy at every corner. 

If you see a Scot wearing a kilt, he probably will be wearing underwear. >Such a shame<

When I asked why, I have been given three reasons. 

First, the obvious safety reason. 
Second, you might get too cold.
And third...apparently the true kilt material actually tends to bite a lot and is not that comfortable.

Not all of them play backpipes. 

Usually you could see backpipers in bigger cities (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness) trying to earn money while entertaining people on the streets. 

Also it is very hard to play this instrument and not very many people devote their time to learning this nowadays.

Though one day there has been some backpiper practising at the Uni campus, nice distraction, I liked it.

- Not all of them are gingers. 
As much as I love ginger hair colour, I have to admit, not all of them are gingers. Yes, there are more gingers than in central Europe, but not as many as I hoped for.

Not all of them play rugby. 

This is actually not the best topic for a friendly conversation. Although they used to be really good, Scots lost badly in a recent competition.

Most of them are incredibly friendly people. 

They smile at you and start chatting to you, though never meeting you before. It is their aim to make you feel comfortable. Once the find out that you are a tourist, they find it amazing that you intended to visit their country and the can be very generous hosts. Very unlike English, I need to admit.



Most of them do drink whisky. 

But not the cheap one you can buy in Tesco´s. If you open up this topic, they will be talking for hours about the art of whisky making, the history of whisky making, the colour, the texture, the taste, the aftertaste, the good effect of whisky on you. There are lots of local distilleries.

Did I forget something? :)

Know about Scotland that...

There is an ongoing rivalty between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Though Glasgow is bigger (600.000 inhabitants) and is after London and Birmingham the third biggest city in United Kingdom, the capital of Scotland since the 15thcentury is Edinburgh (480.000).
An interesting fact - the capital actually used to be Stirling.

Nowadays, people are devide into those who like one and hate the other.

I have to say that I like Glasgow for its vibrant life and Edinburgh for its historical roots.
If you would be interested to know more about this, I recommend this book:

Scots do not love the English, based on the oppression in history. The do not wish to be "rulled by" the English. 

In September there is a big independence referendum, when everyone above 16 can vote whether s/he wants Scotland to be independent or not.

A thistle is a national "flower". 

According to a legend, there was a foreign warrior invading scottish settlement, he stepped on a thistle which made him shout out loud and saved the Scots. 

Nowadays you find the thistle signs everywhere.

The official animal in Scotland is a unicorn.

A unicorn, according to the Celts symbolises happiness, purity, grace and healing.
It first started to appear on coins around 1500 AD.

The Loch Ness monster (Nessie) exists. It does, you just have seen it yet.

Scotland is a land of fairies. Similarly as in Norway you have trolls, in Scotland you have fairies. The highest concentration of those creatures is apparently the Fairy Glen on the Isle of Skye. Your would have to be blind not to see one there.

There have been quite a few influental people being born in Scotland. 

Let´s name a few: 

Adam Smith (the invisible hand theory guy)

William Wallace (the warrior..will tell you more about him in upcoming posts)

Robert Burns (the poet)

 David Livingstone (the medical missionary and traveller that discovered the Victoria falls, named after Queen Victoria)

Sir Walter Scott (the novelist and poet)

J.K. Rowling (yes, the author of the famous Harry Potter books, thank you Mrs. Rowling for an amazing childhood enriched with the world of magic) 

Andy Murray (the tennis player)



And finally...the weather!
Yes it does rain, quite a lot. But there is a saying that says something like "if it rains, just waits 5 minutes" - because the weather changes a lot throughout the day.

I would say that it is very likely that you will get some rain throughout the day, however it is very unlikely that it will rain all day long...just try waiting for 5 minutes :)

An announcement

Dear friends,

if you have been following my blog as I went to Scotland and started writing my experience on day to day basis, you also probably noticed that I stopped doing that after short while.

The reason is rather simple. 

After those few days, that I did manage to write about, I started to be busy. 

Like really really busy.

I was busy with absorbing the country, the kindness of people, the customs and meeting new people. 

My usual routine was that I would be writing  by the time I got home, took a shower after a long day and get everything sorted. I would be spending an hour or so writing a new post. 

However, sooner than I expected I got overwhelmed by the exciting events and things happening during the days and I also got involved in really interesting societies.
I simply dived into the bed at the end of the days, being happy that I managed to change into my pjs and brush my teeth.

Yes, I soon became very happy in Scotland. I got in touch with amazing people and we were experiencing adventures on daily basis. I consider myself very lucky and also to be honest I am a bit angry with myself for not sticking to my original plan of writing an online diary/report of what has been happening. On the other hand, I am not that angry at all. 

The fact that I have not been able to push myself to write a new post might have to so with a tiny bit of laziness, but mainly...it has to do more with the fact that I have been having a time of my life in a breathtakingly beautiful country with truly amazing people.

Nevertheless, I am back in the Czech Republic now and I will not go into details how I feel about it yet (that is an issue on its own).  However, I decided to go back into writing about my stay in Scotland, since it is still pretty much stuck in my memory. 

Honestly said...I am not entirely sure whether I am doing this more for myself or for you. I want to capture my thoughts and feelings about my stay and also for those of you, who have been following my posts from the beggining - I want to make it up to you.

My stay in Scotland has not always been too rosy either...I have had some painful events happening in my family and it was hard to deal with that from distance. When writing about my experience I will try to write it as I felt it.

I will not make any promises about the frequency of me posting another posts, otherwise I might end up with going back on them again (which I really do not want to). 

Let me say it this way, I will post some new stuff everytime I will be missing Scotland and my friends there and everytime I will be bored and sick of being back...and that might actually be more often than you or I thought.

CW - Monsters and Villains

This week we were supposed to write on a piece of paper 3 negative characteristics of people that we find displeasing, annoying or even evil. Furthermore, we were supposed to write one positive characteristic. Then we put those in a hat and pulled out someone elses.

On my piece of paper there was written:

I have to say I had hard time writing this story, especially incorporating the "sadistic" part in it and this is what I finally wrote:

Bastien rolled his eyes. He had enough of it. Enough of the dirty and dusty place. Enough of the stupid and stubborn people. Yet another parents refused to allow him give medicine for their child who clearly suffered from typhus.

"For Christ sake"...no need to excuse my French there... "people can´t you see that this is the only way to safe your child? I don´t give a shit about your religion. No Buddha, no Shiva, no Mohammad or other freaky dudes are going to cure your child. And you want him cured, don´t you? Don´t you?!"

"Tamara, translate this...would you?"

He was outraged, this was the 5th family questioning his medical practise since the morning and is was only 10:30. He did not have the patience anymore, he felt his anger gradually pulsing in his veins and also making him sweat even more in the unbearable heat. And then...out of nowhere, something scratched his leg. It was a yellow-eyed cat that was played with his shoe lace.

He looked down at his favourite and no longer white, but rather in red-dust and sand covered sneakers. Suddenly the view for him symbolised everything he hated. He hated the country and more than anything, he hated cats. Cats were just creepy unreliable creature with weird anatomy.

"Wait, aren´t they supposed to be sacred here? Screw that!"

He moved his leg, the cat´s claw still stuck in his shoe-lace. That was it, he could not control himself anymore, he started kicking the animal. The poor thing was trying to trying to escape, but Bastien kicked it´s head...the diyyiness was taking over and he would not stop kicking. His white trousers were now covered with splashes of red blood, but he would not have enough. With the last rush of anger he stepped on cat´s head and crushed it´s skull. 

He was breathing heavily...It was not until this moment that he realised that everyone stares at him.

He kicked the remains of the body to the corner of the room, looked up at the patients who were now staring at him in horror. 

"You want your kid dead? Keep refusing then! Darling Tamara, translate it would you?"

CW - "Unbearable love"

19.2.2014

I went to the give it a go event of the Creative writing club which takes place every Wednesday.

During every meeting we are assigned a topic to brainstorm and produce in-class writing. 

In our first session, we were given 4 photos of statues. Unfortunately, I knew my statue. It was Cupid and Psyche, I also knew the story from Greek mythology. The fact that I knew it was a bit restricting and in the end I decided to write the story in a very different light.

 I kept looking at the statue and then it inspired me.

I wrote this story purposely without no setting of time or space, because I believe that it might be applicable to any era or space with the aim to describe, how people feel without their loved ones.

"Why do I love him so much? How do I feel about him this way? I love his warmth when we lie naked in bed...but why would he have to leave?"

She lies there not able to fall asleep, doubting her love, because everytime he leaves, she feels insecure and incomplete. She does not understand why she feels this way and why she looses her confidence and certainity when he is not around.

"They say that love gives you wings, but why do his wings tak my love from me? Why is he leaving me? What am I supposed to the the whole day without him? Why can´t I stop thinking about him? I want my sanity back!"

In few hours, he is going to wake up and leave, as he does every day and she is going to be having another clueless day trying to figure out, how did the sparkle from the life disappear. Her love for him was consuming. She was wandering around the place, when he was away. She was miserable, she could not bear him leaving her again.

"I feel like I cannot do this anymore and now it´s time for him to leave again...no, I cannot do this."

He woke up, kissed her gently on her naked shoulder, felt her shiver and hughed her tightly...She reached up to him as she always did, but this time it was different. He heard her sigh, but then he realised, that he found himself holding her lifeless body.

With the last sigh the life dissapeared from her body, her heart could not bear him leaving her again.

Films

Films I watched and QUITE liked

As my friends requested, I have created a list of films that I liked at that time when I watched them. Now, when I say that I liked them, it does not mean that all of them were amazingly good, but there might have been bits of it that I found interesting. 

My family uses lines of these films quite frequently (because we find them funny and suitable in lost of situations and they make us laugh), so do not be scared if I ever talk to you using a line from a certain film, because I am simply used to that.

What I judge as a watchable film? 

• a film that surprises me with unpredictability
• a film that does not bore me 
• a film that makes me laugh or cry
• a film that has outstanding actor´s performance
• But MOSTLY a film that I have to think about for a long time after I watch it, one that leaves a mark (if that makes any sence).

I cannot say that I would like a film without any criticism, I have studied films way too much to have no criticism, however I happily recommend those films. 

P.s. There is no order, the films were written randomly, simply base on a flow of thoughts.

• The Happy movie - an amazing documentary, an absolute must watch for everyone http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDkv6Mi8JrI

• Life in a day - very original documentary capturing sections of people´s life all over the world http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaFVr_cJJIY

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - another must-watch with Jack Nicholson (directed by Milos Forman, Czech Republic) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WSyJgydTsA

• Sleuth - absolutely breath-taking concert of only two actors  Michael Caine and Jude Law http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDrdGPhs7vg

• The War - although I do not like Kevin Costner, this film is made with such a sensitive touch and sadness that I have to recommend it. One of the first films of Eliah Wood. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7aE0a8keiA

• The Boat that Rocked (mostly for the soundtrack)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyXu0mC38SE 

• The River Wild - drama with Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ItXkYO1Xj0

• Forrest Gump - I can watch this film countless times and still discover new pieces of wisdom in it, neverending source of quotes! Amazing performance of Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise, incredible soundtrack http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPIEn0M8su0 

• Black Beauty - I loved horses from my very early childhood and this film made one big scar on my heart, but I still think about it with love http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jrdBatcz1c

• Empire of the Sun - a touching and naturalistic film, excellent Christian Bale. I watched this film too young though - was not prepared for the rawness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKbg7RmW8rY

• The Mirror Has Two Faces - lovely comedy with Barbra Streisand http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVsRPrINE00

• The Secret Garden - a film by Agnieszka Holland, I watched it as a child and loved the idea of secret garden with beautiful blooming flowers whee one can hide from worries, good soundtrack too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl6ihoF8Hrg

• The Village - I remember liking the film when I watched it 7 years ago and liked Adrian Brody and Joaquin Phoenix there. It has a pretty poor ending - not sure if I would like it anymore, pretty good sountrack though - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6IgwbTYnrI

• Of Mice and Men - I liked how much they stick to the book, applause to John Malkovich http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_8pU7mGd9g

• Perks of being a Wallflower - Ezra Miller being simply incredible actor and beautiful soundtrack 
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzKfnCxil2o

• Jetlag - great comedy with Jean Reno and Juliette Binoche http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c-kX0X-zns

• One Day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVuuooZqVaU Anne Hathaway in Edinburgh, could not wish for a better combination!

• 9 pounds - a slightly complicated and touching twist in the end, I love the inpredictability http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kpK1fKzoDs

• 21 grams http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZXR9ZrRR2c

• Romeo and Juliet (1968)- very successfully captured the well-known story... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCe0nzdD76k I hate any other modern version (such as the one with Leonardo DiCaprio...a message to the authors - Juliet is not supposed to shoot herself but stab herself, get it right!)

• 500 Days of Summer - I liked that from the beginning you know that something is going to go wrong and the whole film you are trying to figure out what. And of course - the Ikea Scene! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNEkwcY7OI0

• Love Actually - who would not like this film? :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTHksT8tv2Y

• The Bridesmaids - not the whole films, but I love for of the scenes, such as this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0yDQvRQQ4E

• Things We Lost in Fire - quite a long movie, deep study of psychology of each characters, beautiful scene, colour, close-ups, good choice of actors http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GhwdaDd_ps LOVED IT!

• About time - for the idea of enjoying fully every day of our lives and of course stunning Bill Nighy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7A810duHvw

• Chocolate - innocent film, brilliant Julliette Binoche, careful it will make you want to eat chocolate! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcH_p1vfD1g

• Inside I´m dancing - James McAvoy incredibleness to the power of infinity! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2X4M3WT0W4

• Closer - I think I actually liked everything about this film, great soundtrack (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mgEjUbIZ2k)

• As good as it gets - one of my favourites and the best film with Jack Nicholson I have seen, wonderful performance from Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvk66ihq99w

• Million Dollar Baby http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCDZLsqwH28

• Hostage - a thriller, liked Ben Foster, playing a psycho-murderer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElmnmSiexRE

• Carnage - very good film by Roman Polanski, the whole film takes place in the living room and starts with innocent beggining and ends with disaster (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPX6-4Bo7XU)

Czech films

• Pelíšky
• Postřižiny
• Musíme si pomáhat
• Kolja
• Ikarův pád
• Anděl páně
• Na samotě u lesa

TV series

• Greys anatomy - as a child I wanted to be a doctor, but I hate blood, so that was not really possible and this series provides an insight in the surgeon´s workday, plus is has excellent Sandra Oh

Day 13, Clubs

It is snowing! The mountains were covered beautiful white snow layer. The walk to the Uni was simply brilliant. During the morning, there was a presentation of different clubs, I signed up for many of the clubs, to send me information. Honestly, there were all sorts of clubs, the weirdest one was probably one the Muggle Quidditch. Really? :) 

Aww, so funny. Next week, there is a give it a go week, which basically means, you can come and try to experience what the club is about. I am already registered for the International Society club and I plan to join the Creative Writing club. 

The rules are that you write 2 pieces a week of whatever you feel like writing and you get them corrected by a professional and you get to talk about together. I think, this is a great opportunity to put my thoughts on paper and develop them I cannot wait to join.

We had another presentation, this time about NHS.I met Rachel there and we decided to have lunch together. I found out that they do Gluten-free pizza at the Uni. I really enjoyed the lunch, butI think that even more, I have enjoyed the company of Rachel.

"Caution, this food is hot!" :)

Rachel is such an amazing person clever, smart, unique and we also have a lot in common. I feel like we have a lot to talk about, we could be talking for aged, if we could. I have also registered at the Counseling centre, I just thought it would be good to talk to professionals about what I am experiencing from time to time. I thought this might be a good idea, since I know I can be fragile sometimes. 

After that me and Rachel had to part, because we had classes after that. I had my class of Writing for Journalists. It seems to be a really diffucult class. It is a practical classe for students who are into Journalism and who went through the theory classes before. It put me a bit down. I am not sure if I good enough for that.

But I got distracted when I arrived to our flat, we started chatting with girls and Lisa was in her laughing mood and I had a bit of an unlucky day, I kept dropping everything when I was cooking and it just made all of as laughing crazy. We laught so much that we cried from laughter. Finally, I love laughing myself to tears. :)

Speaking of cooking, I went to Tesco in the evening not being sure what I actually wanted for dinner, so I just spontaneously went there. I went for the sales stuff, which is actually so different to the ones in Czech Republic - you might find food in really bad quality there. But here, the quality of the food in discount is still really great. And what I have to admit is that it makes me want to try buy and cook new things.

I cook myself every day actually and I never used to cook only for myself in my life. I would love cooking for other people, but not for myself. But now, I feel like eating properly healthy and trying new things and I actually love what I cook. I do not even miss my mums cooking, I am able to cook really good meals myself. Can I say that I am a bit proud of myself? I am already planning new recipes that I can cook.

Day 11, The Pub Quiz

We (that is to say us 141 international study abroad students) had few more lectures today about how to use a library, what are the rules there, how to most effectively prepare for classes and the NHS information.It took more of the 6 hours. But I found the girls - two lifesavers, Courtney and Rachel. They are both from the USA, Kentucky and we found out that we have not only very similar interests, but also that we all live in the same street. I am being so lucky! I cannot believe it. They like hiking and exploring and we are already planning so many activities together.

Later in the afternoon, I had my first class. I got lost on my way there, the size of the campus is still a bit overwhelming, but eventually I found it. My first lecture was Political Concepts and Ideas. I have never liked politics, more to the contrary...but I decided before I have any feelings about some concept, I better find out more and take off the blidsheeds. And actually the first lecture was really interesting, it had a lot to do with the history, which I love. I am still not sure what I would like to do in the future (and envy all those ofyou who do), but I really like enhancing my knowledge in all sorts of ideas. In the end I wish to fill in all the missing parts of the puzzle and create a bigger picture. And I believe (not that I want to jump into conclusion) that this subject (or module as they call them here) is going to fill in a big missing space in my puzzle of life knowledge and I am happy about it.

In the evening there was an event organized by the Student union, it involved a competition - a pub quiz - between different group I arrived earlier and did not know anyone except Conn, so I joined him and his friend Stuart, Northern Ireland. The quiz was really hard, some of the questions were impossible to answer. I missed the last bus that would take me home after the quiz, but I would not mind walking even in the dark.I feel really safe here. When I was a child I would be scared of darl, but I am also a really curious. The curiosity overcomes the fear...only in the bad way. Eventually I stopped being scared of night and discoved the beauty of it.

However Stuart insisted on walking me home, he lives just few minutes away from me...but still it was really sweet of him. I have not met many men who would behave like gentleman so far. I plan to write some one of the next posts about it actually.

Day 10, The Orientation

Unexpectidly, I got home from the party at about 3 in the morning and found out that I have to wake up in 4 hours  to be at school on time. Not the best night sleep if you ask me. 

My flatmates that took me to the party were actually really nice to me. They were so good to me, introducing me to all of their friends friends, making sure that I am doing fine and I have enough to drink. The place was a little bit crazy crowded, there was not enough space to dance without touching anyone else around me. Most of the people were really drunk, but not still quite well behaved. Whereas in Czech Republic, when people drink, the get really annoying sometimes. Overall I had a really good time, thanks to my flatmates.

Why did I have to wake up for school so early then? I had my first Orientation day, where I found out, there are 141 other international students who just moved to Scotland and are experiencing the same feelings as I. The orientation was well planned, they explained everything in details, which was however a bit boring for me in the end, because I already knew most of it by finding out myself. Nevertheless, the provided solid information about various student activities that help people to meet each other. I was amazed by how well thought through it was. In the next few days, they have planned many other activities to get together. I think it is great that they care so much about us, foreigners. UNYP has a lot to learn if you ask me.

We also got a bag and pen saying "University of Stirling" and a book called "The Quickening Maze" by Adam Foulds. I know that this is just small things to make us feel better, but I am already feeling this sense of being proud of belonging to the University of Stirling.  And i think so do many other international students, they were already wearing those bags today.

Conn had his speech about the International Society that I plan to join and I found out how amazing public speaker her was. He was not nervous, his speech was fluent and he even managed to spice it up with few jokes which made many people laugh. I wish I was half as good as he is.

Today I realised how much I miss my dogs...I meet a lot of people outside walking with their dog, especially when people walk with cute puppies. Not sure if it is just me, but on daily basis, I meet so many people with adorable puppies and it makes me miss my dogs even more. I had this idea, to try to find a dog-walking job or something. 

I am enjoying the bathrobe (how it isolates my own warmth) and I found out that it actually goes well with my slippers.

Day 9, Bathrobe and party

I did not really have any plans for today, woke up quite late and decided for a spontaneous walk through the city. However it did not go very were, because it started raining quite heavily (Oh my god it just reminds me, that I need to let my umbrella dry, just a sec). I remember that my flatmate natalie told me that there is a big park in the middle of the city, so I went looking for it.

Eventually I discovered it, it is called King´s park (http://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/kings-park-p247191), but I it started to rain so badly, I got soaked, although having an umbrella and I had to come back. So that is still on the list. Anyway, the walk there is through a really nice part of Stirling, so I am sure it was not my last time there nor it is the last time I am writing about it.

When I got home, I realised that my bathrobe is finally dry. Seriously, it takes really long before the clothes dries here, because it is so cold. Actually, when waking up in the middle of the night and taking off you duvet, you realise (although half asleep) how cold it is, you spring to the toilet, just not the warmness of the bed, sit on the seat and you immediately wake up. If there is something that I cannot get used to - it is the coldness of the toilet seat, it is devastating. Anyway...what was I trying to say I guess is that my bathrobe is finally dry, and I fully enjoying wearing it, because it keeps me warm.

Happy owner of the bathrobe.

Apparently, there has been some rugby championship (which is here more important than the whole Olympic games, mind you) and Scottish team played really poorly and lost to England, which the Scottish (who watch at least a little bit of rugby) are really disappointed about.

I am about to go out with my flatmates tonight to a club called Dusk (yes, most of them arrived by now), but I am afraid I will not be staying there for very long, because I have my orientation day at the Uni tomorrow. I wonder what Scottish youth means under the term "partying" and also if I am going to like that at all. (for those of you who know me wel, you might be guessing the answer:) ).

Day 8, Pendreich

7.2. 2014

Some voices woke me up today; there were two cleaning ladies in our flat talking to each other. The noise that they made was incredible, when opening my door, I thought that they must be at least fighting, but they just said "Mooorning" when they saw me and continued with the "chatter". 

Nevertheless, I was glad in the end that they woke me up; this gave me the opportunity to explore a forest that I saw yesterday on my way back from the Dumyat hill yesterday - the Pendreich area. I haven´t got any more pictures of the area, but this one.

The borders of the Pendreich forest, let the adventure begin.

There is one reason that I did not take more pictures while being in the forest. It would be safe to say that I other things on my mind. At the beginning there was a nice route there, however after like a kilometre or so, there was almost no more path, or rather it was disappearing in the amount of soaked moss. Or rather to say a swamp. 

You know how they would always put an unnecessary warning on a bag of peanuts "contains nuts" or similar cases? I seriously think, that they should consider writing on the borders of this forest "danger of losing your shoes when stepping into unexpected swamp" or "step in only if you do not wish to see your shoes anymore" or maybe just simply "unsteady surface, danger of swamps".

To cut the long and tragic story short, I had really hard time going through this forest; I even lost my watch in the process. Which is a big shame really, I loved that watch. I tried to go back and search for them, but never found them again. Anyway, once I was finally out the forest, I was able to see this beautiful loch. 

The Loch, not a lake.

You better not call it a lake, it is a loch, which actually makes me automatically think of the German word “Archloch” and I have an uneasy time trying not to smile, when people talk about lochs. 

While I was sitting on the bench I enjoyed the sunshine.

I have been enjoying really beautiful weather here so far, full of sunshine and spring-like breeze. Some of the trees even started to bloom (and I cannot wait till the do, because I bet it is going to be even more beautiful here), but people say that the weather forecast actually predicts some snow. I would not mind that either, I love snow too. :)  

I look at snow almost every day as the matter of fact. Every time I climb up some hill, I have a view of the far horizon where the mountains are and the tops of them are full of snow. I would like to go for a trip there once; I can feel them calling me.

Then I continued to the village of Bridge of Allan, I took the route that Conn was suggesting when he showed me around two days ago. Once I got lost (it is not that difficult you know, there are almost no signs and you have to rely on your sense of orientation - nonexisting in my case), but I met some very friendly old Scottish couple, who happily helped me. 

I thought that understanding the older people would be the most difficult thing here, but I understood them just fine. When I thanked them for their help, they said "no bother", I have never heard this expression before, maybe they use it here, I need to find out.