Tennis, tennis and more tennis:

This week has been nothing but tennis. Hence the title Duh! Started off my Sunday with an hour of swimming followed by a four mile run to the indoor tennis facility; had four hour practice and then jogged back another four miles. That seems like a lot and it was. A good 6 hour training session. This wasn't the end tho because it was only one day of working out. Monday came along and I had 5 hours of tennis and an hour of swimming combined. A little about school because I have failed to mention it thusfar. I had reading week this past week and that means that j don't have class but I have independent reading I have to do. I also have an essay due this Monday which should be good to go soon enough. Fingers crossed. On Wednesday we had some team coaching for free or apart of the membership and it consisted of different quick movement drills. You know there's a saying here in Glasgow: If the ground isn't flooded we play... Atleast that is what I have come to terms with. Rain, wind and cold weather doesn't bother us. We will have practice haha. 

This week was relatively relaxing with some movie nights and pumpkin cookies. The night after tennis Sydney and Harper found me biking and then invited me to dinner. Our regular place named Ketchup! 

Next to the National Piping Center there is a nifty cafe that makes great coffee and not to mention sticky toffee pudding. My Thursday was spent typing my essay and relaxing during my only day of no tennis. 

Now when I say only day of no tennis I actually mean it. 6 days a week where I can use the courts with the team, get free coaching and play some matches. Friday I went for an hour and then decided to go to the gym because it has been a while. Following the gym a hearty meal was cooked by the famous chef mr. Gerber. Today and tomorrow I have tennis and just finishing up on essay.  Our bible study this week went so well because we had a handful of new people show up! Not to mention the wicked awesome snacks! 

My prayers still go out to Robby as he is very hurt but seems to be stable. God has been good and we just lift him up to you Lord because your healing compares to no other. 

I found my ancestry

This week me mum decided to come and visit me from London and I really hope that she had as much fun as I did because this was an unbelievable week! (Eventhough everyweek abroad is unbelievable)

As you guys know I have failed to blog each and everyday so these pictures and events are just the highlights of the week. On Monday me mum and I came back from London to Glasgow by train. It was about a four hour train ride on the high speed trains but the signals got messed up so it took five hours. No complaints because both me mum and I fell asleep the whole way. When we arrived in Glasgow we were both pretty tired and so we called it an early night. The next day we were contemplating going to Edinburgh but the weather wasn't really favorable and we rather spent the day browsing the grounds of my Uni and showing my mum the local area such as Byres Road, the City Center and some of the local shops. 

This was an Australian restaurant called WalkAbout and what you are looking at is kangaroo steak. It reminded me of OutbackSteakhouse however it was a lot better. I also showed me mum The National Piping Center and had some sticky toffee pudding with her. If you ever come to the UK, have some STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING 

Wednesday and Thursday was a complete packed day for myself because they are the only two days which I have class. That didn't stop my mother from exploring...She ended up taking a bus tour to the Highlands, GlenCoe, Loch Ness and another Loch that I am not familiar with. She had an absolute blast. After all my classes I had a social with the GUT (Glasgow University Tennis). A pub quiz in the famous Viper. Okay Viper isn't famous, it's a dive bar/club kinda the same as The Border in Denver. I honestly can say that I never have a dull moment with this team because they are all so friendly and genuine that most of the time when we aren't bashing eachother for fun we are coming up with ways to hang around eachother because the atmosphere between us are just awesome. 

Friday came along quickly and Diego, Jarod and Nic came to visit for the weekend. If you don't know who Diego is by now then you don't really know me. Throughout the weekend we went to some local areas such as ASHTON LANE which has a bunch of different restaurants such as Tomboys which just opened. They had a deal of 241 burritos and student discounts. Before we ended up at Tomboys, we went to Lebowski's. Yes you heard correct, the Big Lebowski. This restaurant was on Argyle street and had some of the best burger and chips combination I have had, not to mention the creamy liquor or "White Russians" as they call them. Afterwards we went to a brewery where we tried four different beers just to say that we are diverse. 

Saturday was our big day. This is the story of how I found my ancestry. Okay first of all let's just start by talking about what I did. My mum, Diego, Jarod, Nic, Emily Barney, and Calvin decided to come with me to Edinburgh for the day. I had already been but the last time I didn't go into the castle because it is 16 quid and I wanted to go in with family. Diego, Jarod and Nic didn't end up going in but the rest of us did. We explored the war rooms, the upper viewing deck and some of the inside rooms of the actual Edinburgh Castle. 

This was a cemetery for the dogs of all the fallen warriors. How adorable is that??

This is the main quad where the war memorial was and the crown jewels, the key to Edinburgh and other things such as the birthplace of the kings. The memorial was also the place where I saw my ancestry. So when my father decides to tell me something normally I have to tendency to dose off but still somehow listen. This time I was really happy that I listened. My father told me that we have some ancestry from either Ireland or Whales. Well turns out that he was incorrect because it turns out that we are from Scottish heritage. While I was looking through the names of the war veterans during the commonwealth era me mum pointed out a name. Now it was in the South African/Scottish list of people who fought. The name we came across was J.M. Paddock. My father told me about his great grandfather who was paddock. If you put the puzzle pieces together I was looking at my own flesh and blood, here in Edinburgh. This gave me goosbumps and I am so incredibly happy to have shared this with me mum. 

This truly made my day in Edinburgh, but it was even better than I expected because I had some of my best friends with me and a family member. 

Cheesin as usual. Emily, Calvin and I. 

On sunday Diego and Jarod went to a Distillery up in the Highlands, while Nic and I went to the Art Museum by Kelvingrove Park right next to campus. We saw some interesting art displays and some awesome views of my campus. 

Overall I have been so fortunate to have had me mum with me and it made me miss the rest of my family a ton! I can't wait to get back to the states and see them again. Sunday morning before she left we had some crepes and I can truly say that I loved every moment of this week. Dankie Baie mamma lief jou en die res van die familie! 

Weekly update 1:

This past week has been nothing but fantastic to say the least. Partially because I knew that today I would be going to London to see me mum, me cousin and Diego! 

On Monday the sun was out and I was pretty set on just practicing my piping skills and starting to read music so I found a spot next to the main campus to strap up and so on I went playing my pipe in my hammock. You can believe me when I say everyone's head was turning because a) I was in a hammock in Scotland and B) I was trying to play my practice Chantar. The sun also made it so nice to play tennis in. Four hours long of practicing! 

Tuesday and Wednesday was a bit of a rainy day but I did manage to see the sun peek through a couple of times. I have been starting to use the Glaswegian  vocabulary and found myself saying I a lot more than usual.

As per usual the flat two floors beneath me had a family dinner and this time I cooked and my lasagna didn't disappoint .

On thursday we didn't want to go to a club or anything so we decided to try a rock joint and it was an awesome atmosphere. On Friday I had meself tennis again and right after I went to. Bible study group that Calvin and I started this week with a handful of people here. Hopefully the group will grow as the days go on but for now this was incredible to share the Word with fellow students and have a community in faith. Afterwards we went back to my flat and we all watched 'good will huntng' one of my favorite films and those of yous who haven't seen it will have an eye opening experience when you do because Calvin, Katie and Alex were in aw after it was done.

This weekend I am in London and it is so amazing seeing my cousin and mother but the best part would be that my brother suprised my cousin and I!! 

This is my brother and Cousin at the London eye which we went on! It is amazing how even after about 3 or 4 years of not seeing our cousin nothing has changed because we still wrestles almost every other minute! 

On top of the London Eye we could see almost all of London I would say: 

Maryke and I 

 How come every time you come around my London London Bridge keeps going down??

Green Park next to the Buckingham Palace 

This is the front gate of Buckingham palace and even though they didn't have the regular guards with the hats they did have some men in uniform marching back and forth. 

 This statue was right infront of the Palace and the gold statue really was amazing because the sun reflected so much on it.

 After walking around the whole day with my backpack a nap in the sun was well deserved.

 A wee village next to the main park! This reminded me of a hobbit's house.

 "Big Ben" looking pretty awesome in the sun!

 I took some panoramas of the city while I was on the Eye or on the bridge.

 The aquarium next to the Eye.

 Mum, Maryke and I

Now there's a "thin blue line" if I've ever seen one. 

Honestly I can't begin to explain how amazing today was with my family starting off with some tears and ending in tears of laughing too hard because my brother's pants ripped. Truly it is so incredible to have them here and experience such an amazing city together. Even if distance might seem a problem at the time, it doesn't stop us from being complete goofs around each other! The train trip to London only took 4 hours from Glasgow and it was well worth it! 

Isle of Skye

Where to begin with this unbelievable weekend trip. Apart of being an International Student here at the University of Glasgow gives you a lot of perks, one of them being able to go on weekend trips such that ISUK provides. We took about three coach busses and left at around 8 in the morning form campus.

Loch Lomond was first up:

Here is a list of places we went: (The order is backwards)

●|➥ PLACES TO VISIT
◆ Isle of Skye
◆ Highlands
◆ Eilean Donan Castle
◆ Portree
◆ Broadford
◆ Kyleakin
◆ Kyle of Lochalsh 
◆ Fort William
◆ Loch Lomond
✄---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
●|➥ HIGHLIGHTS: PHOTO STOPS / WALKING / HIKING
✷ Old Man of Storr [movie location for Prometheus] 
✷ Kilt Rock
✷ Cuillin Mountains
✷ Sligachan Bridge, Sligachan River 
✷ Loch Mealt
✷ Mealt Falls
✷ Old Houses of Isle of Skye
✷ Coloured Houses of Portree Harbour and Portree Tower
✷ Lealt Gorge
✷ Lealt Falls
✷ Glencoe [movie location for Skyfall] 
✷ Skye Bridge
✷ Loch Garry and Loch Tulla 
✷ Loch Lomond 

We arrived around about 16h00 at Isle of Skye after a pretty great day of traveling and stopping at different places. We weren't just quite done with exploring because the entire group ended up going to a small castle next to where we were staying.  Calvin was very enthusiastic and decided to climb this rope to the edge of the boat...it didn't end all that well for him.

Later that night calvin and I decided to go for a night swim. We went in our nickers to the Loch/Ocean and dipped inside. The water was freezing and although we both almost stepped on sea urchins, we survived and returned with warm bodies bundled up in our clothes.  

Glencoe was one of my favorite stops because we were in a valley and just surrounded by these amazing mountains that had long grass on them and stretched on for what seemed till the end of the horizon. 

If you know Calvin McNelly and myself pretty well then you know this is nothing new for me and him to do. The "double shocka" as we call it. Caution: Use only when you don't know what to do with your hands 

Eilean Donan Castle: This is the exact place I saw when I first heard about scotland and did my research online. Being able to witness it in person really gives a whole new meaning to how beautiful this place is. While we were here there was a sense of silence and I couldn't help myself but to embrace that feeling and enjoy everything around me. 

Lealt Falls: One of the highest natural waterfalls that fall into the ocean. Another thing about having a stereotypical view of what Scotland would be like really was just this. Sharp edges and a bunch of waterfalls next to green hills. Not to mention how many sheep I saw on this trip. The wind by the coast was pretty hectic but it didn't take away from the breathtaking view that was offered. 

Our final stop of the trip was at Old Man of Storr: This was by far my favorite place because we had about an hour to explore and then come back to the bus. The thing about that hour was that this wasn't a casual walking path, it was a mountain that a handful of us ran up. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the top and when we arrived we finally saw where the movie Prometheus was filmed. Occasionally I would glance back and enjoy the view below us and through the clouds the sun shined with a glorious golden glow. It amazed me that sheep made it up here because we were literally in a cloud. The winds were reaching up to 60kmph and it started raining right at the top. I will definitely return to this place in the near future for a camping trip and another exploration trip. We sprinted down the mountain because we had about 20 minutes to get to the bus or take another bus. My knees hurt and sitting on a bus for about 6 hours back really wasn't conducive to the situation but I have zero complaints about this trip other than the fact that I wished it to be longer. If you ever come to Scotland I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you visit Isle of Skye.