Random Edinburgh Adventure

I went to St. James shopping center in Edinburgh as I really have no warm weather clothes to bring with me to London in a few weeks. As I was walking up to the entrance, I noticed a crowed uf people hovering around a tented enclosure. When I got closer, I discovered it was an exhibit containing birds of prey. They were raising donations for their falconry club.

I think most people in my life know that I have a "thing" for owls. I found out recently that there is an owl sanctuary west of Edinburgh that I would not be able to visit while I am here due to transportation issues. Well, there were plenty of owls hanging out in Edinburgh yesterday!

For a couple pounds (a donation), you could choose a bird to take a picture with. I chose this little owl named Oscar. I'm not sure the owl above would have fit on my arm...

 So that was my random owl-encounter in Edinburgh! It was a great surprise!

Internship Reflection

So much has been going on lately that I feel I have neglected to write about my internship! 

As usual, things are going well. I have been fortunate enough to be able to sit in on a number of sessions with different therapists. It has been such a learning experience for me, witnessing how various therapists facilitate their sessions. The sessions I have watched have been formulated around Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, just to name a few of the models. It has been great because I am starting to understand the language used more depending on the theory, and have been gaining ideas of responses and techniques used in different situations. I really want to write more about how I have been conceptualizing the client stories, but I need to be careful of confidentiality.

Sometimes it is odd being in the room with clients who have been in therapy for a while, because they often feel that they have to include me in the session. Being foreign, they are curious what all I am doing here, how I am liking Scotland, and what all I have done and seen so far. That is fine (and natural, I suppose), but I wonder what influence that has. I'm not really in a "therapist" position, so it's not exactly a client-therapist relationship, but I feel like it should be maintained as such? My direct supervisor is on holiday now, but the therapists I have asked do not seemed to concerned about the clients including me in the sessions - everyone here is so friendly, I think it is just expected they are going to take interest in me.

Something else I have noticed is my personal reactions to sessions. I sat in on a few back to back last week, and I was absolutely exhausted afterwards. They were all very different cases. For example, the first person was extremely gregarious, and I think the therapist said VERY little during the sessions. However, the next person was referred due to wanting to work on communication difficulties. It is not a medical issue or anything, but rather an active choice to allow time to pass before responding. Thus, there was SO much time between everything that was said. We sat in silence most of the session, and it was so uncomfortable. Each time after a session, the therapist and I sit and talk about our reactions, and it often involves what we felt during it. This is often a reflection on what people in the "real world" feel as well, so it can be useful to understand. 

My supervisor has been away on holiday this week, so I have been helping out the other therapists more - scoring their neuropsychological assessments and inventories, case notes, and accompanying them to their sessions. I have still been working on the research for the Dissociation Project as well as the Women's Trauma Group. 

I have also started compiling a paper detailing the differences between the NHS and the USA's privatized system. My responses are that there are merits and drawbacks to both systems. However, through the NHS you're guaranteed to get some sort of treatment, regardless of what issues you are dealing with. The NHS is constrained by budget difficulties, so some of the newer or experimental medical treatments might not be available through the NHS yet. However, you will get what help they can provide using approved treatments. In the USA if you can afford it or your insurance will cover it, you can get the newer and experimental treatments. But the problem is, not everyone has that. I think in the USA you have more options too of your healthcare providers (as long as they are in your insurance scheme). Another major drawback I think to the NHS is there is often a long waiting list for issues that are not deemed accute. For example, the target waiting list time now for psychological therapies is 18 weeks. I was shocked when I heard this. But many of the people on the list are not considered here to need immediate attention, and patients who need to be seen sooner can be pushed towards the top. I think the idea in the States is, if you want to start therapy, you should be able to start right away before your motivation to diminishes. Mainly, I think there are aspects of each system that have their merits, and that really we should be looking at our differences and try to learn what we can from each other to strengthen our systems. The Obama Care plan is vastly different from the NHS, but ultimately I think we are moving towards a universal health care policy that will one day resemble the NHS. It would be a good idea to look to countries such as the UK, Australia, the Netherlands and Canada to help us tackle the growing pains we will face when moving towards this type of system. Hopefully I'll be able to work on it more in the next two weeks, before I leave Scotland to travel until the end of August. A month from today, I'll be back in the States. I can't believe it - and I don't think I want to!

Ceilidh Band

I wish I had recorded the beginning of this song. But it was the beginning of a new set, and it sounded like they were just playing around before it exploded into a full song!

Traprain Law

On Wednesday, this rainy week cleared long enough to take a hike up Traprain Law, one of East Lothian's iconic landmarks. This huge volcanic hill has been a settlement to people from the Neolithic Age through to the Iron Age. Although the rain had ceased, the sound of thunder could be heard still rumbling in the distance. However, we decided to carry on our trek up to the hill fort.

In order to begin the hike, we had to hop over this fence. That little flap on the right you could pull up to let dogs through. 

Traprain Law in modern day, has a reputation of being an active site for paranormal and UFO activity. However, this natural land formation has been shrouded in myth and legend for hundreds of years. One of the legends says that King Loth (the Pictish leader from whom Lothian takes its name) resided upon this summit. He had a daughter, who is said to have fallen in love and become pregnant with a local shepherd. When King Loth learned of this situation, he became angry and ordered his daughter to be thrown off Traprain Law. However, she was saved by divine intervention, and was floated to the place now known as Glasgow. She gave birth to a son, who she named Mungo. St. Mungo is now hailed as the founder and patron saint of Scotland's largest city. It is also said that the shepherd exacted his revenge upon Loth, killing him, and burying his body at the base of Traprain law. There are a number of other folk legends surrounding the site, but that is the most famous of them.

When we finally reached the top of Traprain Law, we had an incredible panoramic view of East Lothian. Off in the distance over the foggy coastline, we could see lightning flashing. One another side was an amazing view of the rolling hills and farmlands, blanketed in the rosy glow of the setting sun. The third direction looked towards Edinburgh, who's silhouette could faintly identified in the distance. Then on the final side, to my great delight, there was a herd of wild ponies!

 These Exmoor ponies were herded up Trapain Law in order to graze on the grass to reduce the risk of the area catching fire in the summer months. They were very curious creatures. At one point, I sat down on a boulder at the edge a clearing on top of the hill, a place that used to be a Bronze Age round house. One of the ponies walked up to me, and cautiously sniffed at the sweater I had folded in my arms. Once he sensed I was neither a predator nor a source of food, he gave what I could only interpret as a sign of boredom, and walked away towards the rest of the herd. On his way, he stopped to nuzzle a friend's neck with his long face before rejoining the grazing party.

On the summit, there was the remains of a stone defensive structure. You could also make out the outlines of the Bronze Age roundhouses. The Romans were known for creating angular structures, but I could not really tell if there were structural remains, due to having the eyes of a novice. However, Roman silver has been found buried here - I saw a number of pieces on display in the National Museum. It is amazing to me to think about the different peoples of centuries gone by who made Traprain Law their home. It was the center of their universe. 

 After enjoying the views for a while, the ponies began to prick up their ears and a few began stomping in what seemed like frustration. The thunder began rumbling more loudly. That was our cue to begin our decent down Traprain Law.

Weekend with Leah: Day Three

We got up early on Sunday to go to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, which was just a 10 minute walk or so from the hotel. But on the way, we realized it was Sunday, and we would get there before it opened! So, we had about 20 minutes or so of sitting outside on a bench, staring at the various sculptures on the museum grounds.

 It is kind of hard to see in the picture due to the fact that only half of the first word is illuminated, but the sign on the museum says "EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT." Isn't that just fantastic?

Once the museum opened, we headed straight for the cafe! It was a scones and latte kind of morning.

 We took our breakfast outside to the lovely gardens. Even on a cloudy morning, it seemed a lovely, tranquil place.

 As like most modern art museums I have been to, the theme of sexuality radiated throughout the exhibits. There was a particular exhibit that is currently open, called "From Death to Death and Other Small Tales." It was all about the human body, and touched upon everything from a physical exploration using fibers that are similar to the texture of skin like in the piece below, to looking into the early childhood experiences we may have that shape the way we view our bodies and what we do with them. Some other common themes were examining traditional gender roles, statements about the objectification of women's bodies, and explorations about sexual orientation. I found the exhibits really interesting, and many of them were shocking.

 One of the most interesting parts of the exhibit was actually a film reel. A highly popularized exhibit was being opened at a museum (I'd say it was the late 1960s/early 1970s), and people were endlessly coming through the doors. The two artists who thought up this idea, decided to stand naked facing each other in the doorway, forcing those who entered the museum to squeeze between them. Little did the museum patrons know, they were being filmed the whole time! It was interesting to see how the people reacted - most blatantly ignored the artists. I should mention too that one was a man, and one was a woman. Leah and I kept watching, and we realized that most of the men seemed to squeeze through by facing the women, and the women usually preferred to face the men. But rarely ever did any of the people coming through acknowledge what they were doing. It was so interesting.

 After the museum, we headed off to the Royal Botanic Gardens. At the point, the clouds gave way to sunshine. I wish we could have spent more time here, because it was so lovely! I am going to try to go back to do a little bit more exploring, I think. Best of all, like the museums in Edinburgh, the Gardens are free!

 We hung out in the gardens for a while, and then headed back to the hotel to get freshened up. We had a reservation at the Balmoral Hotel on Prince's Street for afternoon tea! We decided to take a bus from the hotel we were staying in to the Balmoral, and we were worried at one point we wouldn't make it! There was road work being done, so we had to take a detour. Thankfully, we made it in time for our reservation.

Walking into the dining room was amazing. There was a harp player serenading us all from the balcony, and the walls were decorated with romantic images of fine ladies in gowns. We got the tea for two - as you can see, a fine spread of finger sandwiches and desserts! We had five types of sandwiches, three desserts each on the tier, all the tea you would like, a signature hotel drink made with pommes, and scones and jam were delivered after all of that! There was also a trolly that brought over another selection of sweets.

Everything was incredible, and it was so nice to be pampered! As you can see, we devoured everything but two scones, which were packed up for us so we could bring them home.

As you can see, even the loo was posh!

 After our delicious tea, we headed out onto Princes Street. Most of the stores in this area of town are designer brands, and quite out of our price range. But it was really fun to look around and see what they had to offer. One thing I wish is that I had left room in my bag for shopping. At this point, I have yet to buy any souvenirs, and the only thing I bought for myself was a ring which obviously is not going to take up any space in my luggage. I have had this idea of collecting local pottery from every country I travel to, as I feel they are so reflective of the feeling of the place their made in. But I did not think ahead very well, so I may have to rethink this. But pardon, I do digress...

 We were quite sleepy after our busy day, so we went back to the hotel to freshen up. The weather for the day began colder and cloudy in the morning, turned to warm and sunny, and then began to get cooler again. So we changed our clothes to something warmer, and headed to Georges Street, a road that runs parallel to Princes Street. It is also full of the upscale stores, but many of the restaurants are reasonably priced for New Town. One restaurant that was recommended to us was "Cafe Andalez." It is a Spanish Tapas place. We thought it might be nice to try something different, and as it had an appealing menu, we decided to head inside. The restaurant was very atmospheric, with beautiful artwork and painted plates on the walls. It was all so colorful Even the floor was decorative, with little colorful tiles carrying through the Spanish theme to literally everywhere you looked.

As you can see, we had a delicious spread of dishes. It was great, because they had an extensive vegetarian menu, so we shared most of the orders! My favorites were the spicy potatoes and the goat cheese topped with marmalade. I'm getting hungry again thinking about it!

                                             Our meals also came with desserts!

 We had such a fantastic time, that I did not want to leave. So I ended up staying over (Sunday night) and heading right to the hospital from Edinburgh on Monday morning. Because I had only packed for three days worth of sunny-weather clothes, I was not really prepared for the rainy morning we awoke to. I think the rain contributed to the bittersweet atmosphere. I was really sad to see Leah off, but knowing she was continuing her adventure into the Highlands of Scotland made me feel better - I knew we would have to catch up again soon to hear about the next set of adventures! It was a great weekend!

Weekend with Leah: Day Two!

On Saturday morning, Leah and I got up early to head to tour the castle! I had pre-purchased the tickets, which was really good, as the queues were really long. It was another hot sunny day, I think it was even warmer than it was on Friday. We headed up Queensferry towards the castle, passing through in a lovely farmers market on the way in. It was mostly local food products, but unfortunately, most of it needed to be cooked! So we passed on by.

We decided to have out breakfast in one of the cafe's in the castle. We both had cappuccinos, and Leah had a scone, and I had a raspberry and white chocolate muffin. We sat next to a window that allowed us to look out over the sunny city.

After finishing up our meal, we decided to head out into the sunshine! The Castle is amazing, simply because it is its own little contained community. I feel like in Edinburgh, I'm constantly visualizing myself being in another time in the places I go to - a time without rushing tourists, the disruptive stop of traffic due to people taking pictures, or the sounds of traffic in the streets. Instead, I try to imagine what life would be like on top of this enormous military fortress. One story that popped into my head is that of a night watch soldier, standing guard on the ramparts, facing the icy wind coming off the Frith of Forth in the dead of winter. Even in the heat of this summer day, the breeze from the sea lead us to seek the comfort of our sweaters wrapped around us.

This is the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle. It has been restored to look the way it may have originally.

We got to watch an armory demonstration, while listening to tales of Robert the Bruce and William Wallace.

 From there, we decided to brave the queue to see the Crown Jewels. Unfortunately, photographs were not allowed in this part of the castle where the Jewels and the Stone of Destiny were housed, but it the exhibit prior was neat. It detailed the royal lineage and provided information about the coronation ceremonies in which the Crown Jewels, or "Honours" of Scotland were used. The Honours are made up of three items: the Crown, the Septre, and the Sword of State. If you have ever seen Scotland's Coat of Arms, you may have noticed it depicts a red lion, wearing a crown, and holding a sword and a septre. Those are the Crown Jewels!

 After exploring many of the exhibits, we headed outside to catch the firing of the One O'clock Gun. This ceremony, which has been performed since the 1800s, was once used to notify the ships on the coast what time it was. I am not sure if you can hear it in Leith or any of the coastal suburbs now, but if you are on Princes Street at that time you may hear it.

There is a joke I have been told a few times to contrast the social differences between Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland's largest city. I have been told that if you hear a gunshot in Edinburgh, you don't have to worry - they're just letting you know the time. If you hear a gunshot in Glasgow though, you better run the other way!

For the ceremony, I grabbed an Irn Bru, the unofficial drink of Scotland, for Leah and I to try. I think between the two of us, we finished a quarter of it. All around us, little kids were chugging bottles of the soda, which tasted similar to cotton candy. However, we found it sickly sweet! But that crossed something else off my list to try.

Once we finished touring the rest of the exhibits, most of which were about military history, we headed up to Leith. We had lunch at a cafe called The Roseleaf Cafe. We both had the soup of the day - carrot and ginger. I was so fascinated by all of their china! It was so interesting!

 One of the draws of the Roseleaf that contributes to its popularity, is that it hosts private tea parties. There was a "hen" party (what we know as a bachelorette party) while we were there, all dressed up with their hats and fascinators. Another one of the Roseleaf's signatures is that they serve their cocktails in teacups! They've termed them "pot-tails." It was pretty brilliant.

After lunch, we headed off to the Edinburgh Dungeons, a live-theater tour and the city's "most haunted attraction." It was mostly funny, but it touched upon some of the darker histories of Edinburgh, such as the story of Burke and Hare. They were famous for digging up the bodies of the recently deceased and selling the corpses to the medical schools. It also played on the story of Sawney Bean - a cannibalistic tribe. I'm not sure how true that story is, but I am sure it was dramatized for the tour! There were a few rides too, one boat ride through a dark tunnel which reminded me of Disney World. The other major one was a free-fall drop that was supposed to be a play on what would happen in a hanging. Leah and I had a good laugh, especially when we allowed ourselves to get scared! It was good fun, and certainly something completely different than I have done in my time here.

We wound up the evening with a trip down towards Grassmarket to an Indian restaurant. It got really good ratings, yet we were the only ones there at first! Unfortunately, the waiter, who must have only been 15 or so, was so nervous he dropped a glass of water all over the table and I got quite wet. He was so embarrassed and could not even talk to us, so his boss took over! I thought it was funny more than anything, and after moving tables, I dried off soon enough. At the end of our meal, a lovely older gentleman who had entered the restaurant not too long after us came over and started making conversation. He apparently hosts people from all over the world in his home for various Edinburgh events, and currently had a few American people in his home for the golf Open. He seemed genuinely kind, and was so curious about our experiences thus far in Scotland. He actually said that he loves Americans, and has always been struck by their generosity and friendliness whenever he encounters them. I expressed to him what a change that was from the normal opinion that is shared with me about my homeland. Honestly, it really was refreshing! I am glad our evening concluded with that interaction!

Weekend with Leah: Day One!

I had an absolutely fantastic weekend! In the morning, I went to Dunbar with my supervisor to sit in on a session. It was another beautiful, sunny, hot day. Again, I had an hour beforehand to just wander around by myself. I sat on some rocks, looked out on the sea, and just enjoyed being outside.

As I may have previously mentioned, Dunbar is still an active fishing town. To the left in this picture, you can see the remains of a castle.

My cousin, Leah, has been in Paris for the last 6 weeks on a study abroad program. I was so thrilled when I found out she was making a detour to Scotland before going home! On Friday around 1:30pm we met up at the hotel in Edinburgh. We would have started our adventures together earlier in the day, but due to phone issues, we were delayed. On my end, my Tesco phone was receiving calls, but would not let me dial anything out. Every time I tried, even with numbers I have previously called, I was getting a "this number cannot be recognized" message. Then my Iphone would not connect to any of the wifi hot spots well enough to send an Imessage. Later I found out she was having the same issue! But eventually, Leah attempted to call my Tesco phone and we connected (I was at the hotel at this point), and she quickly got a cab to meet me there!

It was a joyous reunion, witnessed by the hotel staff, who minutes earlier I frantically bombarded with questions to help me get in contact with Leah, and the two nice travelers who offered to let me use their phones to try to call her/email/text her. I am thankful to have family who I can instantly reconnect with, even when there has been time in between visits. The whole time, we were saying how it was hard to believe that we were halfway across the world spontaneously adventuring together!

After I dropped my backpack off in the room, we grabbed lunch, went to the National Gallery, wandered around the Royal Mile, sat in Princes Street Gardens, and had delicious Italian food for tea. To the left, you can see the yummy gelato we had for dessert. It was so warm out, we couldn't resist!

After that, we spent the evening participating in the Ceilidh at Ghillie Dhu! It was fantastic! It was just as fun as the first time I went, and I think we both really enjoyed the experience. A different ceilidh band was playing this time, and they were fabulous as well. I really love live music as it has always been a part of my life, so it is really great that in Edinburgh it can be found everywhere. Everyone has been so nice at these events, too. It seems to be a mix of locals who claim the bar and restaurant as a local haunt, and visitors who are keen on having a truly Scottish cultural experience. If you're sitting down in between dances, it's likely you'll be asked to be someone's partner. Because of this, you rarely get a break unless you say no!

After the ceilidh finished, we were both tired so we concluded our day walking back to the hotel in the light of the full moon! We decided against going straight to bed, and continued hanging out in the hotel cafe and just catching up on life, until we could no longer keep our eyes open!