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. 

A new beginning

So... How do I put this. I haven't blogged in a very long time. I decided to rather just do weekly updates instead. So this post will be a lot and maybe I will split it up we will see how far I get. Currently I am sitting on a bus returning from one of the best weekends of my trip thusfar. I will get back to it for now let's see if I can recap what has happened in the last two weeks or so. 

Hot dog eating contest. 2nd place with 13 hot dogs. 

 Explored the kelvingrove park by our university. 

 Went to Edinburg with Chris and two french girls we became good friends with during freshers's week. 

Saw Tom Riddle's grave from Harry Potter or otherwise known as Lord Voldemort. We also saw the first coffee shop J.K Rowling sat in while she was writing the first Harry Potter book. 

 Here is a stereotypical picture of Scotland while I was at Edinburgh.

I also found a food truck by campus called Maggie's and they have something called a Scooby snack and looks like this:

Burger with potato, bacon, sausage, cheese and an egg. 

Fish and chips done properly in Edinburgh really puts a shame to any attempt of fish and chips in the states. 

I don't know if you guys have seen some pictures of my campus but this is another view I took after I got lost in the park next to our campus. The statue is on top of the hill and the castle in the back is the University of Glasgow main campus. Absolutely beautiful to think I am studying here. 

 Shopping has been such an interesting event here and buying my own groceries each week but a TESCO EXTRA is a massive Target that we found close to where I am staying and it has about everything I need. They also call an escalator a travelator which is funny I thought.

 I switched accommodations because I didn't like living in Cairncross, however Murano has treated me so much better already in the past two weeks of living here. I have been meeting a great group of people and we even had some family dinners including Taco Tuesdays.

There are botanical gardens right next to our campus and they stretch for about 5km on both directions of campus. This shot above is just one of the many beautiful spots along the garden side. The people here don't have leashes for their dogs because every one of them are so well trained! 

I have seen my campus before but everytime I end up in a new location it just blows my mind how beautiful this place is. 

Where I live is called Murano Student Village and there is a bridge that connects to the main street and one morning I went for a run to see the sunrise and when it rains a lot you tend to appreciate the sun a lot more especially with this much colour and contrast. 

I have recently joined a tennis team here at the school and everyone on the team are so humble and friendly! We have about four practices a week and not to mention free coaching which is unbelievable. We also have a great indoor facility with about 13 tennis courts. 

When I said that the sun is really appreciated here I was not exaggerating. I took my hammock out for the first time and several people took pictures of me in it and asked if they could take a picture with me because to them it seemed like a foreign object. Not a lot of Glaswegians hammock I guess. 

On my way to the Tesco I saw a pretty great graffiti on one of the houses. 

I think the sun just looks so much better after a fresh downpour of rain and I grabbed this picture right before I went home after one of my classes.