It has been a long time since I've posted, simply because I've been so busy. Things have really picked up at my internship, and I am doing quite a lot there. Next week I get to administer a
What is also nice is that now there is a clinical psychology trainee in the office with me 4 days a week. She was away on holiday climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, but is back now! She's from Ireland but has lived here now for a few years for University, so it's interesting to get her opinion on various aspects of the psychological field. We have had some really intellectually stimulation conversations. Although our opinions differ sometimes, it just provides me with another view. She also lived in Pennsylvania for 2 years, so she's been able to share her own reflections on our health care system. I really appreciate that. She has also been using some Irish slang and common phrases which has been fantastic. I may be able to tell a compliment from an insult by the time I go to Ireland!
I have also continued to attend the exercise group for some of the patients. Although the atmosphere is really informal and only focuses on exercise, it's a good experience just to have interaction with people in that setting. The class takes place on Wednesdays, so it's a nice mid-week break. Though come Thursday morning, I dread the 1.5 mile uphill-both-ways walk!
Yesterday, which was Friday, I came home to find a package waiting for me from my friend Tucker! I opened it up to find a lovely letter and incredible cynotype of a killdeer on the beach back home. It is now displayed on the top shelf of my desk so I can see it all the time! The birds here are so different than the ones back home. There are seagulls everywhere, which I find strange...even in Old Town in Edinburgh! It seems so far from their natural place! One of my favorite birds to see here are the magpies. They are almost always on the lawn of the hospital. Anyway, I really love mail. I hope everyone I sent postcards to have received them by now! I wanted to write more this week, but I did not have much extra time!
Since last night was Friday, we went to a pub that was located on the lawn outside of this castle. It was a really tiny place. Most of the pub seemed to be focused on the Wimbledon match on the one TV in the building. We sat outside in the beer garden, until the midges were too much and we retreated back inside. As I have mentioned before, I do not like beer, so instead I've made a point of sampling ciders from around Scotland. The one I picked was SO sweet it did not even taste like cider...more like a fizzy fruit juice. It was yummy though, which I'm glad, because I paid 3 quid for it!
Unfortunately the castle was closed due to the time we were there, so we just had a wander around the outside of the walls. The town of Dirlton, which took its name for the castle that resides there, is a sleepy little village. Aside from the people at the two restaurants and a few kids playing on a swingset, there really was not anyone in sight.
We were also lucky to catch this amazing sunset. Since we were just going to the pub, I did not bring my real camera, but I am sorry because my iphone did not do the orange of the sun justice. We joked and said it is the color of Irn Bru, the famous Scottish soft drink! It's a citrus soda that is incredibly sweet, but it outsells both Coke and Pepsi here in Scotland. The only reason I have not tried it yet, is because I do not think I could drink a whole bottle alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment