WAY PAST LIVIN’ by ERICANA
It’s been awhile since I have written, I am too busy living in the moment. Since I’ve last written I’ve been lazing around in Aberdeen, and exploring our surroundings.
We celebrated Otto’s 22nd birthday. He got to wake up to a Star Wars decorated kitchen, with a yummy diabetic type 3 chocolate cake. Two layers of chocolate cake, chocolate icing, a middle layer of chocolate pudding, and topped with crushed Oreo’s. Would you like a glass of milk with that? We managed to make our way out to the bar to have a few drinks, and play board games, while not being so bored
We finally made it to the cat cafe, as some of you are probably shocked that I went to a cat cafe, well I enjoyed myself. They have around 10 cats, from kittens to old grumpy cats. The rules imply that you are NOT allowed to pick them up, they have to come to you. We managed to accumulate a couple of them. One was a fluffy white cat, he would come running at you if you had a toy for him, it was like watching a flying fur ball. They serve desserts, and luscious drinks, of course the time that we went they had some sort of problem with the running water, which limited us to all the lovely drinks. The way the cafe is decorated is very adorable. They made it feel really homey, with couches and fluffy rugs throughout. Although you only got to spend an hour with the cats, it was worth the money.
Paintball
I made the courageous decision to go paint balling with the ESN group. Being shot at was a little painful, but watching your paint ball hit the other team was pure satisfaction. We separated in two teams; red or green. We played until mid afternoon, they had many courses set up. The first game we were to grab a canteen and either protect it or steal it from the other team, which was harder than expected. The other ones were set up as battle fields; two of them were like tree forts, there was a train, and the last one was an open field with two buses at opposite sides with metal sheets throughout the field to hide behind. Each game you had to either steal an object from the team who is protecting it, or put something in the fort. My team won a bunch of times, we tied, and I believe the other team won at least once, muahaha. I managed to get shot once on my back, it felt as if I was going to fall down. The other times were on my fingers, those ones HURT the most. Although I experienced being shot at, I would definitely play again.
St.Patricks Day
Celebrating St.Patrick’s Day in Scotland is a lot different than celebrating it in Canada, you actually get to hear proper accents. We started out at my flat with a few friends over. One of our roommates felt that it was too loud at 9:30 pm so she told us to turn it down. But the rules clearly state that we are to quiet down at 11:00pm. As we continued to play music, and tried to be quiet, an hour and a half snuck by us and the door barged open to our lovely roommate, “Guys its WAY past 11:00, you have to be quiet or else I am going to report you.” Way past 11:00 meant 11:07 (the joys of living with roommates), as we laughed our way out of the apartment we made our way over to an Irish pub. They had a live band who sang some Irish songs, one of them being in my movie ‘PS I love you’. We danced around and then decided it was time to move to the next place. We made our way over to a tiny club, where our other friends were and danced the night away. We made new friends, and new memories. This night was one of the nights where they actually played music we loved at the club, the old classics. Which made the night a lot more fun. After the tiny club we made our way over to the casino, I managed to find 25 pounds on the ground… the luck of the Irish? I think so. All in all this was one of the nights I will always remember.
We had an early start this morning making our way to Bennachie Mountain. It looks more like a hill, taking us 40 minutes or so to get to the top. Along the way there were some trees, but not the same as the ones back in Vancouver. The climb up to the mountain was mostly along slate rock, with a lot of stairs. We made our way to the top, and as soon as you reached the top rock it felt as if you were going to fly away. The wind was so strong making it fast for us to cool down. We could see all of the green grassy fields in the distance surrounding us. We camped out for some lunch, then made our way back to the bottom. As we followed the first person (Dave) down the mountain, he took us on a Billy Goat climb along the side of the mountain, which was filled with lots of rocks and no path. As we made our way to the normal path the rocks were a little wet from a slight drizzle of rain, making it slippery… Meaning I slipped down one of the slanted parts. Just me being a klutz again, no big deal. After we left the Bennachie Mountain we made our way over to Castle Fraser. They were hosting an easter egg hunt for the children. We walked around the land of the castle, making our way into the forest.
It was definitely different not having Good Friday, or Easter Monday off of University, but we managed to get by. On Easter Sunday, a few of us girls met up at the Hippy Market. I imagined the Hippy Market to be more of a Farmer’s Market, with lots of cheap exciting souvenirs. But it consisted of home made products that cost an arm and a leg just to buy. Some items were reasonable but not what I was looking for. They had a live band playing, it was awfully crowded making it hard to get around to look at everything. After the Market we made our way over to a cafe that was inspired by Alice in Wonderland. It was so lovely decorated inside. We sat down for some iced tea and sandwiches. The way the tea was served was in a hot teapot with the tea steeping, a jar filled with ice, and a cup to poor it in. The whole concept made the experience of having tea so much more fun. The food was absolutely delicious as well. I can see myself going back there soon. For dinner four of us girls met up at Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant. I have heard so much about this restaurant, and Jamie Oliver (whom I ‘surprisingly’ didn’t know of before). We all ordered pasta of course, mine was so delicious. It looked like perogie’s, but inside was spinach and cheese lathered in a tomato sauce with more cheese in the sauce..YUMM.. Alex ordered a pasta which was made to make your mouth on fire.
Presentation Day
This week consisted of getting ready for my only presentation. We had a few group meetings, and then we were ready to give it all we got. Surprised as I was that I only had to plan for one, I was so relaxed. Our group met up in the designated room, as we finished practicing it was 8:59 am and there were no teachers to be found, as our presentation was to start at 9:00am giving us 10 minutes to present. We managed to find Sarah, who is the coordinator for all of the international students, we told her what was happening and she decided to help look into what was going on. Fifteen minutes past and she came back telling us what room they had switched it too, as everyone was all panicked we made our way over to the other building. One of our group members ran all the ay there frantically, afraid that they wouldn’t allow us to present. As we made our way to the building walking toward the classroom, the teacher came out with a confused look as to where everyone was. We made our way in the room, and explained to them what happened. Was it just an April Fools joke? We got to present our presentation, and left feeling as if we won them over with our innovative ideas. We then celebrated eating donuts! Yay for being done my only presentation of the semester.
Happy Birthday Dobby
We had to celebrate Dima’s birthday a tad early as some of us were going away for Spring Break. The boys and I had planned to surprise him on Friday. Dima had told me how weird it was going to be not to have his friends with him this year to celebrate his birthday, but little did he know we had something up our sleeve. Connor and I decorated the kitchen with balloons, and a Happy Birthday banner. I baked a delicious cake for him, it was a lazy daisy cake, covered with vanilla icing and on top was lathered with mini eggs, and chocolate flakes. We managed to finish decorating in time, about 20 minutes after decorating Dima walked through the kitchen door, as I yelled, “SURPRISE”. He was so shocked, that he had no words to say. Which meant we were successful at surprising him. Although it was a couple days before his real birthday, we got to celebrate it with him. After eating cake, Alex and I made our way to the Aberdeen bus station to start our journey to Vienna, Austria.
Happy Birthday to Otto
We celebrated Otto’s 22nd birthday. He got to wake up to a Star Wars decorated kitchen, with a yummy diabetic type 3 chocolate cake. Two layers of chocolate cake, chocolate icing, a middle layer of chocolate pudding, and topped with crushed Oreo’s. Would you like a glass of milk with that? We managed to make our way out to the bar to have a few drinks, and play board games, while not being so bored
Cat in the Window Cafe
We finally made it to the cat cafe, as some of you are probably shocked that I went to a cat cafe, well I enjoyed myself. They have around 10 cats, from kittens to old grumpy cats. The rules imply that you are NOT allowed to pick them up, they have to come to you. We managed to accumulate a couple of them. One was a fluffy white cat, he would come running at you if you had a toy for him, it was like watching a flying fur ball. They serve desserts, and luscious drinks, of course the time that we went they had some sort of problem with the running water, which limited us to all the lovely drinks. The way the cafe is decorated is very adorable. They made it feel really homey, with couches and fluffy rugs throughout. Although you only got to spend an hour with the cats, it was worth the money.
Paintball
I made the courageous decision to go paint balling with the ESN group. Being shot at was a little painful, but watching your paint ball hit the other team was pure satisfaction. We separated in two teams; red or green. We played until mid afternoon, they had many courses set up. The first game we were to grab a canteen and either protect it or steal it from the other team, which was harder than expected. The other ones were set up as battle fields; two of them were like tree forts, there was a train, and the last one was an open field with two buses at opposite sides with metal sheets throughout the field to hide behind. Each game you had to either steal an object from the team who is protecting it, or put something in the fort. My team won a bunch of times, we tied, and I believe the other team won at least once, muahaha. I managed to get shot once on my back, it felt as if I was going to fall down. The other times were on my fingers, those ones HURT the most. Although I experienced being shot at, I would definitely play again.
Celebrating St.Patrick’s Day in Scotland is a lot different than celebrating it in Canada, you actually get to hear proper accents. We started out at my flat with a few friends over. One of our roommates felt that it was too loud at 9:30 pm so she told us to turn it down. But the rules clearly state that we are to quiet down at 11:00pm. As we continued to play music, and tried to be quiet, an hour and a half snuck by us and the door barged open to our lovely roommate, “Guys its WAY past 11:00, you have to be quiet or else I am going to report you.” Way past 11:00 meant 11:07 (the joys of living with roommates), as we laughed our way out of the apartment we made our way over to an Irish pub. They had a live band who sang some Irish songs, one of them being in my movie ‘PS I love you’. We danced around and then decided it was time to move to the next place. We made our way over to a tiny club, where our other friends were and danced the night away. We made new friends, and new memories. This night was one of the nights where they actually played music we loved at the club, the old classics. Which made the night a lot more fun. After the tiny club we made our way over to the casino, I managed to find 25 pounds on the ground… the luck of the Irish? I think so. All in all this was one of the nights I will always remember.
Hike up Bennachie Mountain
We had an early start this morning making our way to Bennachie Mountain. It looks more like a hill, taking us 40 minutes or so to get to the top. Along the way there were some trees, but not the same as the ones back in Vancouver. The climb up to the mountain was mostly along slate rock, with a lot of stairs. We made our way to the top, and as soon as you reached the top rock it felt as if you were going to fly away. The wind was so strong making it fast for us to cool down. We could see all of the green grassy fields in the distance surrounding us. We camped out for some lunch, then made our way back to the bottom. As we followed the first person (Dave) down the mountain, he took us on a Billy Goat climb along the side of the mountain, which was filled with lots of rocks and no path. As we made our way to the normal path the rocks were a little wet from a slight drizzle of rain, making it slippery… Meaning I slipped down one of the slanted parts. Just me being a klutz again, no big deal. After we left the Bennachie Mountain we made our way over to Castle Fraser. They were hosting an easter egg hunt for the children. We walked around the land of the castle, making our way into the forest.
Since the hike it remained windy and rainy all throughout Aberdeen. As the rain finally stopped Dima and I made our way to Alex’s to have a dance party. As it was so windy when we decided to leave to go out we decided to RUN to the clubs, flapping our arms as if we were birds, as poor Avery was behind us running in her high heels, “Guys slow down.” We danced the night away once again.
Easter Sunday
It was definitely different not having Good Friday, or Easter Monday off of University, but we managed to get by. On Easter Sunday, a few of us girls met up at the Hippy Market. I imagined the Hippy Market to be more of a Farmer’s Market, with lots of cheap exciting souvenirs. But it consisted of home made products that cost an arm and a leg just to buy. Some items were reasonable but not what I was looking for. They had a live band playing, it was awfully crowded making it hard to get around to look at everything. After the Market we made our way over to a cafe that was inspired by Alice in Wonderland. It was so lovely decorated inside. We sat down for some iced tea and sandwiches. The way the tea was served was in a hot teapot with the tea steeping, a jar filled with ice, and a cup to poor it in. The whole concept made the experience of having tea so much more fun. The food was absolutely delicious as well. I can see myself going back there soon. For dinner four of us girls met up at Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant. I have heard so much about this restaurant, and Jamie Oliver (whom I ‘surprisingly’ didn’t know of before). We all ordered pasta of course, mine was so delicious. It looked like perogie’s, but inside was spinach and cheese lathered in a tomato sauce with more cheese in the sauce..YUMM.. Alex ordered a pasta which was made to make your mouth on fire.
This week consisted of getting ready for my only presentation. We had a few group meetings, and then we were ready to give it all we got. Surprised as I was that I only had to plan for one, I was so relaxed. Our group met up in the designated room, as we finished practicing it was 8:59 am and there were no teachers to be found, as our presentation was to start at 9:00am giving us 10 minutes to present. We managed to find Sarah, who is the coordinator for all of the international students, we told her what was happening and she decided to help look into what was going on. Fifteen minutes past and she came back telling us what room they had switched it too, as everyone was all panicked we made our way over to the other building. One of our group members ran all the ay there frantically, afraid that they wouldn’t allow us to present. As we made our way to the building walking toward the classroom, the teacher came out with a confused look as to where everyone was. We made our way in the room, and explained to them what happened. Was it just an April Fools joke? We got to present our presentation, and left feeling as if we won them over with our innovative ideas. We then celebrated eating donuts! Yay for being done my only presentation of the semester.
Happy Birthday Dobby
We had to celebrate Dima’s birthday a tad early as some of us were going away for Spring Break. The boys and I had planned to surprise him on Friday. Dima had told me how weird it was going to be not to have his friends with him this year to celebrate his birthday, but little did he know we had something up our sleeve. Connor and I decorated the kitchen with balloons, and a Happy Birthday banner. I baked a delicious cake for him, it was a lazy daisy cake, covered with vanilla icing and on top was lathered with mini eggs, and chocolate flakes. We managed to finish decorating in time, about 20 minutes after decorating Dima walked through the kitchen door, as I yelled, “SURPRISE”. He was so shocked, that he had no words to say. Which meant we were successful at surprising him. Although it was a couple days before his real birthday, we got to celebrate it with him. After eating cake, Alex and I made our way to the Aberdeen bus station to start our journey to Vienna, Austria.
Until next time,
XO
Erica is a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree program student at Capilano University. Erica is studying abroad at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland.
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