More than just a climbing club...

The last 2 weeks have some fun highlights to share with you all... as i described in my last blog there was the semester's EUMC theme party... GBH as i explained... and let me tell you it was quite an entertaining evening! My Great Britain-happy costume was a hit (tho i had to explain the whole concept of -happy, example trigger-happy, to a few - and my German friend Anna just didnt get it hahah. There were some very creative costumes... and some which were just downright wrong (note the pictures of my friend Duncan who dressed as Borat... or for those of you with weak stomachs you might want to avoid those in general!) But overall there was an abundance of male hookers, and my favorite had to be my friend andrew who painted himself entirely blue, gelled his hair, and was a "giant blue hedgehog" hahah or anna who was a banana tee hee. Do look at the pictures, you're in for some good laughs.

Must note in between that that weekend i had some visitors from London. Some friends of Sammy's (my best friend from home) from Lawrence visited from London where they are studying for the next couple months. They had 6 girls with them, so stayed in a hostel, but we managed to meet up for meals and i tried to point them in the right direction for touristy deals. Gabby and I joined them Saturday night for the "City of the Dead" ghost tour. I hadn't been on any of the infamous ghost tours yet (Edinburgh is famous for the amount of ghastly murders and countless plague victims that have made their graves throughout the city) and had heard this was the best/most scary. Unfortunately, tho the stories and history told on the tour were very intriguing, it was far from terrifying. We did get to go into Greyfriar's Kirkyard, where some insanely large number of bodies are said to be buried, underneath and around those that actually have gravestones, and was also the sight of a concentration camp of scottish rebels... this was/is the haunting ground of the famous Mackenzie Polterguist - google it if you want to find out about all the supposed attacks and failed exercisms that have taken place on his account! We also were told all about the Kirkyard's status as legendary inspiration, apparently having inspired Braham Stoker's Dracula, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekell and Mr Hyde (based on the real life character Deacon Brodie, doctor by day, theif and murderer by night), and of course J.K. Rowling, whos portrayal of Hogwarts is based on the primary school Harriet's which can be seen jsut beyond the graveyard from the window of Elephant House Coffee shop (one of my fav coffee shops of course! birthplace of harry potter is their claim). All of the authors lived in Edinburgh at some point in their lives, and it really isn't hard to see how the gothic and sometimes gloomy feel of Edinburgh could promote such grisly yet imaginative tales! Moral of the story though: cool tour, but (alas) i emerged in the end alive, unattacked, and (pretty much) unafraid. It was a fun night though, and i'm glad i was able to check off another edinburgh attraction from my list of touristy must-dos.

On to the next EUMC highlight - BURNS SUPPER!!! Honestly one of the things i am most excited to have been in Scotland for! For those of you unfamiliar, Burns Night is the time when the Scottish celebrate the genius of their most famous poet, Robert Burns - who wrote, among many other things, the famous New Year's toast "Auld Langes Syne". The celebration consists of a traditional recitation of the poem "Ode to a Haggis," a meal of haggis (i don't care to describe what haggis actually is...) neeps'n' tatties (mashed turnips and potatoes), a toast to the lassies, and then a ceilidh (scottish dancing). Burns Night actually takes place on Thursday the 25th, but as most things are booked and more expensive for the actual night, we had our EUMC supper the following Thursday, the 1st of Feb. It was at a hotel banquet room, I got all dressed up with my girlfriends and then we went, had the traditional ode to a haggis, wonderful 3 course dinner - my veggie haggis, neeps'n' tatties were delicious - followed by a toast exchange (traditional toast to the lassies, EUMC version turns out to be quite slanderous - all in good jest - but then the girls get to have their return bashing, quite hilarious!!) and then topped it all off with a romping good ceilidh! I danced the night away (much to the sorrow of my feet the next day!) and then proceeded to get 2 hours of sleep before embarking on a fun-filled trip to London... shall continue those stories in the next post!

for fun videos from burns supper click the following:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R1DCsSf_74
(mike playin the pipes during the haggis procession)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_a2KS1gPHY
(malcolm reciting the ode to a haggis!)

~R