Bottled Water Advert
Monday, May 21
Check out this hilarous advertisement...not to outshine the Eurovision videos Whitney posted earlier, though. There's tons of good stuff. We pretty much laugh all day here.
Life in Europe
So, we live in Europe. I would say that the UK doesn't seem that European all the time. In fact, a lot of times it feels like small town America. There are times when it is anything but like small town America, but I am beginning to be grateful for what we have. There are times the lack of diversity and musical music drives me insane...and then I realize what the rest of Europe is like.
Eurovision is a HUGE event over here. I mean, it was where Riverdance broke in 1994. How important is that? Very. So each country is trying to send only their best and most successful musical act as only one group can come away with the title of best musical performer in Europe. Well, the following were contestants in this year's event. They are the best the Ukraine had to offer.
And the winner, from Serbia, is Marija Serifovic:
More pictures
Friday, May 18
We've posted new pictures from the rest of the Andrews trip o Scotland on our picture site. More details of the trip and visited location will be up within the week. For now I am off to bed as I have to drive the parents to the airport for 5am in the morning!
Here we are, minus Sander, in Edinburgh this Thursday:
Check out this album here:
The Andrews in Edinburgh
Click here for the full post after the jump…
Isle of Skye
Tuesday, May 15
The Andrews have come to visit! They are still here so I won't write much, but check out the pictures on our photo site (see link above). Below are a few of our favourites:
All of us outside our B&B on Monday morning.
The sunset outside our B&B on Sunday night.
Here is our complete album of the trip:
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| Isle of Skye |
Wednesday, May 9
It's always sad when you discover that the people you held on a pedestal aren't who you thought they were. It's usually no particular surprise to me when celebrities dethrone themselves, whether by addiction (as with the shocking and unexpected fall of Robert Downy, Jr. at the hand of cocaine), by going absolutely nuts (as with the recently shorn Britney), or by just showing how truly horrible they are when you actually have to come in contact with them (as with Charles Barkley spitting on a little girl, throwing a man through a window, and admitting to squandering over $10 million in gambling). But today, I was taken aback as I realized one of my heroes has been living a lie....
There I stood, practicing my Scottish accent for a prank I was going to play on one of my unsuspecting buddies back at Mustang with Dave, another from the honorable rank of Electrical Engineers. Dave hails from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the Northern-most city in England which is close to the Scottish Borders. The Newcastle accent (called "Jordie") is a strange mix of English and Scottish accents - strong enough to qualify as a brogue, but tame enough for you to have a slight idea of what they're saying. It's charming in its own right, but today, the Jordie tongue took on a whole new dimension for me.
I would practice my Scottish, and Dave would give me feedback, thinking of funny and slightly off-putting things to say to my unsuspecting victim. But one of the things he said caught me in an odd way and threw me back, wondering where I'd heard it before.... I can't even remember what he said, but I knew where I'd heard it...from Bond, James Bond. I've been wondering the whole time I've been here where exactly Sean Connery's accent comes from. I've gotten pretty good at telling where people come by their accent, and while I knew Mr. Connery theoretically comes from Edinburgh, he definitely doesn't have an Edinburgh accent. Nor does he have a Glasgow "Weegie" accent, an Aberdonian Doric accent, or a Highland Brogue. So what's with his accent? Here's what: HE'S A JORDIE!!!! Aaaaaughhh, it hurts. It hurts deep, but it's true. And if he actually is Scottish (who knows at this point) then he comes from the Borders, but it matters little at this point. The accent I have come to love, admire, and mock for cheap laughs is a farce.
I know you're probably vomiting and convulsing right now and I'm sorry to do this to you, dear reader, but it's better this way. Trust me laddie....
April showers
Wednesday, May 2
This last month has been amazing! The BBC just announced that this past April in Britain has been the hottest in recorded history. I wouldn't say it has been hot, but I did wear flip-flops for two days. The weather has been significantly nicer and the sun returning has been a nice change. I have even had to use an eye mask since the sun comes up before 6am! I am not complaining though in the least.
Here is a rundown of what April has been like:
Scott came to visit Scotland:
Sander's old college roommate, Scott, came to visit this month! We have since learned that Scots only call the significant other 'roommate' so I guess I should call him his old housemate...Anyway, he came and we had a great time. The picture above is when he and Sander visited Edinburgh castle.
Being in a new place is great in some ways, but deep down Sander and I have really just longed to be with people who know us and understand us. Thankfully Scott is just the guy to do that and we had a fabulous time.
Irish Dance World Championship:
Here I am in front of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall with my friend Karen. I felt a lot of 'closure' getting to go and see what it would have looked like. I was surprised by how little Irish dance had actually changed over the past few years. Yes, there were a few dancers with feathers on their skirts, and a few did these strange turns, but for the most part everything looked like it did when I left dancing in 2001. I miss it tons and still think, 'what might have been,' but all in all I am so happy with the way life has turned out. Maybe Irish Dance will play another role in my life, but for now it was great just to go and see it on this scale.
Road trips:
Sander and I had our first real Scottish road trip this month! Since we finally have a car that gets decent gas mileage and we finally had the first flexi-Friday without guests or me at work, we took off. We just took our map and National Trust booklet and hit the road. We eventually made it over to Dunkeld in Perthshire. They have this incredible, half ruined cathedral in Dunkeld that we really enjoyed. I am going to go back there with my parents when they come and visit in May so they can appreciate it too. I reminded me of Colorado with ruins so it should be a good combination.
May is going to be another full month as we have three sets of visitors coming. We're looking forward to it, but are also trying to balance out our day-to-day life here in Scotland. We are trying to spend as much time with the good friends we made here while also staying involved at the church. There is a lot going on with the older youth/university students that we are involved with and I know we want to do as much as we can before we go. In a way I wish we could stay (it is certainly easier to see people here since it is so much smaller) but in another I am ready to wrap things up. I think that life is just difficult in some ways and our lot right now is to be nomadic. We are just making the most of each opportunity and day and not get to caught up in the future.
Check out our pictures for more details on our adventures. Click here for the full post after the jump…
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