Early recovery

Wednesday, 7h30pm it was. I feel much better now although hot and sweaty, so I still wish for scottish rain. I am never satisfied with what I have, am I?
My running shoes have just been washed, and down the drain went the scottish mud. And as I read an article about Iceland this morning, I learned that there are twice as many sheep (shoops) than people in that country. In Quebec we have a similar situation with squirrels, but we don't milk them... Besides, our federal government doesn't offer subsidies for keeping squirrels on one's land.

Return to homebase

After wearing sunglasses, getting a tan, watching rainbows and, let's not forget, modifying the english language for the better in Scotland, I touch base once again. Montreal is sticky and hot whether it's day or night, shade or sun. That was the unpleasant "surprise" upon my arrival (surprise because I sort of refused to think about what I knew to be true). Anyway, it's still livable, but we are only in June, so hell is only a few weeks away. Luckily, I am on vacation on the east coast for the first half of July. Nice and cool, windy yet sunny.

I have (or more like "there are") many more pictures from the summer school on Skye, which I will put up shortly (the ones I have) or whenever I get them (Krys' pictures, ahem! and others).

The truth is, my feelings are a bit on the melancholic side, as always after such experiences. Estimated time of recovery: Thursday, 12pm Montreal time :-)

Our most demanding summer school activity

We go to the pub. Every night. About half of Krys' 500 or so pictures (that's only the first 4 days) are taken at the pub, so it was difficult to choose which precious few to post here.

The first night at the pub, there were mixed reactions.



But after a few drinks



things started to get interesting



Let me illustrate this in a different way. Before drinks:



Cards. Pretty boring right? After drinks:



In Scotland, not even performing can prevent one from drinking:



That was Bonnie, one of the co-organisers.

One night, we had a ceilidh (pronounced "cay-lid") dancing workshop



Look at this. Holding hands and running around in circles. And they call themselves grown people :-)



This one ceilidh was insane



Ceilidh dancing can help enhance cardiovascular endurance and silliness. Perform with caution.

One shoop, two sheep

The challenge on Skye is to take a picture without any sheep in it. It's not so easy.







Beheheheheh.

Good Morning, Skye!

The rain has gone, the sun has come. Skye is showing her rare colors.

False alarm

Well, despite yesterday's forecast, we did not see the sun today either. So relaxing is the sound of the rain drizzling on the roof. I'm surprised I still notice it. My new polish friends are very optimistic though: they believe that although it is distressing now, once the school ends and we all return to our respective homes we will miss it. Perhaps they are thinking of the scenario in which we become stranded on Skye longer than expected... But there is hope in the bridge, and I believe it can be reached by foot in a couple of days.

Despite the weather four of us intrepid explorers hit the road today and walked the 4 kilometers to Armadale. Here is a map of Sleat (pronounced "slate" in gaelic), the southern part of Skye. Roughly 3 km separate the college from Armadale castle, and another 1 km brought us to the pier. Nearby there were two pottery shops, two gift shops, the ferry to Mallaig (not for sale) on the mainland, and a tiny petrol station shop where we found a variety (three) of chocolate bars and some postcards.
The "general store" (we made bets on its size) conveniently closes for lunch around the time we take lunch, and opens half an hour before our lectures start again (not enough time to walk back to the college).
We haven't visited it.

I forgot my camera this time, but I sense we will have several more opportunities to walk to Armadale, so pictures should follow shortly. I should mention that while walking along the coast, we met a few of these



It is an oystercatcher. They don't like Krystof.

We might see the sun

Our arrival at Sabhal Mor Ostaig, Scotland's only gaelic college, on Monday took place in somewhat cold weather (8 Celsius). Today, I believe we have reached 15 Celsius. The rain has also been incredibly cooperative: it has only stopped about 4 times, for 2 to 5 minutes each time.

We were each assigned a room with a bathroom





Here is the view from my window (north-ish). My room is located on the main campus of Sabhal Mor Ostaig. There is another campus a five-minute walk down the road. The tower in the picture also contains guests. Doesn't it look like a lighthouse? In fact that really helps it fit in the decor, when seen from far away. Just before it is the main building where we eat and where the lectures take place.



And the view from the room at the end of the hallway (east, towards the mainland)




We get fed decently, and I must say that the seafood is delicious. There was some confusion at first about what we need to pay for and what is included in the school fee. It turns out we only need to pay for canned or bottled drinks. They do provide water pitchers though. And lots and lots of coffee and tea.