Unidentified Singing

Day Twenty-Two

I woke up pointlessly early and had a disappointing encounter of the toast kind. We ate slowly and followed our feathered friends out of the cafeteria. We’ve gotten them to start taking bread from our fingers, and guess what that means — we can touch the ducks!!! I touched a duck!!! I TOUCHED A DUCK!!!! It was so soft and sleek and I just *melts into a puddle*

The morning was a rush and a neighbourly nap. JF taught us about hotel websites that lie and how monasteries can actually be mental institutions. We broke, and I learned a new rhythm, before we reported back to learn more new rhythms and to recreate what it feels like to be a hostage. I honestly couldn’t tell you more without sounding mad.

Lunch was a warm and informational hour. I headed off to find the “Natural History Museum” of St Andrews (I’ve put that in brackets because it’s actually just a very large collection of animals, fossils, skeletons, corals, and the like), where I met up with my tutorial. We held a bomb and played with the animals before it was time to find and attend a lecture on undergraduate admissions.

We wandered home in merry, sleepy company. Dinner came quickly and after we exited the cafeteria, a duck managed to get itself stuck in the maze of tables. This required the chef coming out of the kitchen to do his special whistle to get the duck to exit. Very dramatic, to be sure. 

I gave into my neglected work and research this evening. And now, I must return to it. 

 

Quote of the Day: Krysto (speaking to me) – I’m glad to know that you care more about napping than the important affairs of the world.
Currently Reading: Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Currently Listening to: It Catches Up With You by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Spitting Rain

Day Twenty

The morning greeted us with delicious yoghurt and a surprise storm that Eva was glad to have dodged. Krysto eventually turned up and while he and Eva were both very distracting, I managed to finally finish reading Writing with Style and boy, am I happy to see it done!

Our hair got soaked as we took a shortcut to town. We wolfed down pizza that was more expensive than we thought it would be and polished it off with – you guessed it – ice cream.

We wandered into a used/antiquarian book store, which just ate up the time. Krysto met up with his grandparents and left us to go to the library for me to grab research materials for my final project. This took longer than we thought it would – the St Andrews library is very distracting – but when we went back to the bookstore, I had a new recommendation, an Oxford anthology, and a friend! The store owner is expecting a letter from me as soon as I finish the book he picked out for me.

Eva and I wandered home in spitting rain, only to be caught up by Krysto! The mist had settled in quite heavily, so we were delayed by taking pictures and shaking the rain from our hair.

The evening was A Cinderella Story (we managed to get a boy completely invested in a chick flick! SCORE!), pasta on top of meatballs, and T.S. Eliot read aloud. A lovely evening, to be sure. I hope I have another week’s worth of them.

 

Moment of the Day: Standing on the edge of a mist-filled field in complete, pocketed silence.
Currently Reading: Nooooothiiiiinnngggg and it’s so beautiful!!!!
Currently Listening to: The Child Inside by Depeche Mode

The WarmColdWarmAgain Sea

Day Fifteen

It was lazy morning punctuated by stressing over an assignment. I finished mine quickly and had to descend to the fairy circle to coerce Eva into writing. We like to think it was the fairies who did the job. Although it might have been my pomegranate seeds.

Then, we (meaning: me, Eva, Krysto, Jen, Grace, Clara, Leah) gathered our strength for a walk to West Sands (which, yes, is where they filmed that scene from Chariots of Fire). I strolled with Krysto and he treated me to a music-less karaoke of at least four different songs. Not that I complained!

The sand here is finer than a sigh and has the touch of silk. I will never stop fangirling over the sand here. Never.

I immediately seized a sunny window to strip (down to a bikini, that is!) and CHARGE into the water. I was quickly followed by my bravest friends and Eva finally learned what swimming in the ocean is like!! It was very exciting and also quite funny – hearing someone squealing over a six-inch wave is hilarious to a Los Angelian.

We later ditched the surprisingly warm North Sea to play an unfair Monkey in the Middle. Then, we rushed to town and stocked up for that night’s dinner – I was cooking spaghetti with cream sauce, mushrooms, and peas, followed by Eton Mess (which is one of my favourite desserts everrrr seriously eat it you won’t regret it).

We got home and starting cooking: chopping mushrooms, chopping strawberries, whipping the cream — you name it, we did it! After a stressful beginning and an unfriendly stovetop, we sat down to a very rich dinner and dessert.

Later, as per suggestion, we sat in a circle and told life stories. It was an illuminating and bonding experience that I will never forget. I love all the people here so much. (We’ve all taken to forbidding the whole leaving thing we’re in denial ok?)