This is my travel journal from my study abroad trip to the UK and France. The names of my teachers and classmates have been changed for privacy reasons.

DAY 8- May 27
               Okay, so today started with a lie-in, seeing as we had no classes. At about eleven Liz, Rebecca and I went to Edinburgh Castle. We were there until about four, so clearly this is an all-day trip. We walked up the Royal Mile for the umpteenth time to the gates of the palace. There's a moat in front of it. It has no water, which I think is a strategic advantage. Think about it: if someone tries to swim across, they'll only fall to the bottom and be stuck.

               We were just in time for a guided tour around the outdoor areas, and we followed a man in a kilt. There is no shortage of men in kilts here. Some of them play bagpipes. I've seen so many of them that I've stopped taking pictures because they're freakin' everywhere. I had to shoo one out of my shower the other day. So we saw the outside of the castle. It's a beautiful place, all stone and brick and historical. There's a great view from the top, too.

               The logical next step was to take a look inside. We started with the cafe to get Rebecca something hot to drink because her throat hurt. And then because we're morbid, we looked at the place where they kept prisoners of war. Interesting little place. I don't know what it is with old buildings, but the doors and hallways are always so small. I keep finding doors that are almost too short for me! We're all descended from midgets!

               The first room was down this dark, dank staircase that was tilted at just the right angle to turn a small misstep into a hilarious slapstick routine. At the bottom, it was filled with hammocks that all had small speakers in them. And these speakers played sounds of people coughing, talking, snoring, and playing random musical instruments. I didn't realize this at first, and I thought I had a psychic connection to the past. Bit embarrassing when I started trying to give the prisoners advice.

               Everything else were small stone rooms filled with informational displays. Then we moved on to the Crown Jewels, which we weren't allowed to take pictures of. There was a whole little labyrinth leading up to them. It started with a mural on the wall that transitioned to mannequins. The path was all twists and hairpin turns, clearly designed to herd us all like cattle. Unlike a cattle chute, this thing was trying to educate us in several different languages. Some of the walls had murals that made it feel like we were standing in the middle of some sort of historical activity.

               The Crown Jewels looked exactly like what you'd expect them to look like. They were shiny and impressive and behind very thick glass in a dimly lit room, where the lighting was clearly designed to show off the important stuff and hide the parts of the carpet they haven't vacuumed recently.

                We saw the chapel there, which was smaller than my bedroom, and then we went to the bookstore to try some whiskey. I'm no longer surprised at the places you can get whiskey here. You could probably buy a shot while getting your hair dyed at the salon. There was a war memorial with books of fallen soldiers. I took a little too much time here, flipping through them.

               Saw several other museums in the castle, mostly about soldiers and such. Lately, as we go through museums and the like, I come across information that we covered in class. Not only does this reinforce what I've learned, it also makes me feel like I've one-upped the museum. Like I've somehow cheated it out of it's chance to spring knowledge on me, and it makes me feel all smug.

               We skipped the war museum because we'd seen enough of that and we were getting hungry. Stopped at the gift shop on the way out. I've always thought it was better to visit gift shops at the end of tours so you don't have to carry stuff around for the whole visit. This place had gift shops ambushing you in practically every building, though. Surprise merchandise! AAAA!

               I knew I'd be able to find a teddy bear in a kilt. I picked up one that had a cute little hat and a set of bagpipes, but ultimately chose the bear that was softer and didn't have the pipes. I instantly felt very guilty for getting the first bear's hopes up, and I was sad about it for a while. And I couldn't swap them out because then that would be rude to the second bear.

               Then we went to eat at The Elephant. If you're a total nerd, you may recognize that as the place where J.K. Rowling wrote the first couple Harry Potter books. And they do advertise it now. That place is awesome! It's got big sturdy tables that are packed so close that you can't move without hitting someone. There are nice large windows that overlook Greyfriar's and stuff, and there's the bathrooms.

                The bathroom was my favorite part, because the stalls were actually two separate rooms. And if you go in one of them and sit down, you are forced to look at the door. And all of the graffiti on it. There are so many scribbles, some of them messages to J.K., some of them shout-outs to favorite characters, some of them quotes from the books...

                I wrote J.K. a message. I would have been missing out if I hadn't. I wrote “Dear JK, Thank you. Love Lissy. PS, do you ever come in here and read the door?” I honestly wonder if she does. Either because she genuinely wants to see what people wrote or because she forgot to bring a magazine. On both sides of the door were a list of names: The Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army. I added my name to both.

               We wandered around the shops for a bit. This is the kind of shopping I don't mind because it doesn't involve shoes. At one point, we hit the time when everything starts closing and we came back to campus. At this moment in time, I'm not sure if I'm even going to Inverness tomorrow. I don't know if I can join anyone who's already going, and a lot of people are going to stay here.

               Of course, there's an awful lot to do here, but will I have anyone to do it with? I mean, I like everyone here, but I don't know where I stand with any of them. Half the time I feel like a fifth wheel, or a tagalong, or the odd one out. It just gets so confusing and stressful sometimes. I'm not sure if I have any friends at all on this trip. I don't know if it's on their end or if I'm sending out some kind of anti-social signal that I'm unaware of.

               Like I said before, I'm a very tactile person, which works well in theatre, but not in this class. The last time I hugged someone was at the airport. I didn't realize the lack of physical contact would drive me crazy so quickly. I've also been having mood swings like crazy. Had an emotional breakdown just a little bit ago, because I was convinced that everyone in this class hated me. A close friend was online and she was able to catch me. I miss her. I miss my best friend, too. And the cat. Stupid cat.