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 5- May 24, 2:35 pm- Bus Stop
               Class again. This time, we talked about things like class systems and gun control, and this explains a lot about why things are the way they are here. We're currently at the bus stop waiting to go to the Rosslyn Chapel. It's still freakin' cold, and I wish I'd brought a jacket that did a better job of keeping the wind out. This Friday I think most of us are going to go tour the castle, something I'm looking forward to. And I want to get a teddy bear in a kilt. Seriously, all these tourist traps and souvenir shops, there's gotta be a bear in a kilt around here somewhere!

5:30 pm- Bus
               It certainly takes a while to get from place to place. Not because it's particularly far away, but because we keep stopping. (Hey, that's what the bus is supposed to do.) Once again, as soon as we were off the bus, it was pouring rain and freezing, but as soon as we reached our destination it stopped.

               We started at the visitor's center. Someone gave me a little brochure, but it was in Spanish and all I really wanted was a towel. At least I got a chance to practice reading Spanish. Anyway, the chapel was nice. No pictures allowed inside, though. I did manage to get some nice shots of the outside. The tour guide told us all about the place, made sure to emphasize everything Dan Brown got wrong, and then let us have a chance to explore. I got to sit next to the cat for the first little bit before he got up and wandered off. Then I had cat-envy.

[I think I just heard one of our group talking about people's teeth. Uh, dude, you know everyone can hear you, right? They're Scottish, not deaf.]

               The chapel is surprisingly small. It doesn't take very long to see, even if you go down to the cellar. I'd been reading the tour information when I looked up and realized that nobody in our group was there. I went back to the visitor's center, but they weren't there either. I figured they'd gone back to the bus stop, and I remembered someone saying that the bus left at 5:25, so I had some time to kill.

                I found this path that led to a hill with an amazing view. And as I walked back, I stopped to enjoy the scenery. I didn't take too much time to explore, though. Still had a schedule to keep. That, and the weather seemed determined to turn me into a popsicle. As I approached the bus stop, I noticed that nobody was there, either. At this point, I thought “Oh, crap. They've already left and didn't know I wasn't there.” Isn't that a depressing thought? That you don't make enough of an impression on people for them to go “Hey, wait! She's not here! Somebody go look for her!”

               Well, it's not like I was completely lost. This just meant that I would have to wait for the next bus to Edinburgh, and I knew which ones I needed to take. Of course, it would be a while and I could always start walking. So began my journey hitchhiking across Scotland. Armed only with my wits and about ₤60, I hitched a lift from a lovely older gentleman to the next village. From there, I went on to meet many interesting people who told me fascinating stories, and I began a series of adventures that would lead to a shocking international conspiracy. You can catch them Tuesdays at nine on BBC America.

               Okay, that didn't happen because I saw Joan and found half the group in a bar and the other half in a bar across the street. Still, that would have been an awesome story to tell people, right? (I can already predict that Mom will begin freaking out halfway through the last paragraph and Dad will be amused.)

               So after that, we went to a bar called Frankenstein's to meet up with Carla and her friends. She's coming to study abroad at our school in the fall. Hey, she'll have about twenty friends when she gets there!

               Using her student card, we were all able to get a free meal with the purchase of a drink, which was pretty cool. We had a few drinks, talked about stuff, nearly started a fight when someone called us 'yanks', and had a lovely time. At about nine-ish, we left. I think it was about six of us who decided to call it an early night and head back to the university.

               Stopped at a grocery store on the way back. Okay, while we were at the pub, Candace asked me about Walmart.

               “I've heard about a place called Walmart.”
               “I've heard about a place called Tesco.”

               Well, now I know about a place called Sainsbury's. It's just like Walmart! You can get everything there, too! The one we went to was huge. It probably wasn't any bigger than what we've got back home, but I think it was the layout of the store that made it feel so huge. Suddenly we've got to get used to a whole new organization scheme, and try and choose between so many brand names we don't recognize.

               We picked up a few snacks and drinks to last us the week. I got some more water and another thing of biscuits. Also, I grabbed a bar of white chocolate which turned out to be obscenely delicious.

               Tonight I'm finally going to bed before midnight.