I've been here for a while and yet I struggled to wrap my mind around the geography and partitioning of the United Kingdom. I live in London... No, I live in Central London, which is not Greater London. London is the capital of England, which is a nation or not a nation because it is a part of the U.K. Then comes the rest, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Not all of Ireland. But hold on. They all have their own rugby teams that compete internationally and rival each other as if they were separate nations. Wales even has its own indigenous language. It's all right. As long as I understand that they are all under Great Britain or the U.K., I'm good. Wait, the U.K. is a part of Europe right? Now that was just ignorant. I know they're a part of Europe. I bet you were asking the same question though. Lol.
I wasn't sure what to expect when going to Scotland. We began our journey at New Lanark, a quiet village and home to the godfather of cooperative establishments, Robert Owen. It was a really nice and tranquil place to be. Alongside the village, lay a river and a waterfall that I had the pleasure of climbing a hilly range to see. It was beautiful. I've never been near or seen a waterfall so is was an experience and a workout for me.
After New Lanark, we headed to Stirling, where we experienced a tour of its castle, and home to monarchs of Scotland, most notably Mary the Queen of Scots. It was a grand castle, and cool to walk around. If there has been one thing I've noticed since my voyage around the U.K. and Europe, it's been looking at all the vestiges of the royal past. We don't know how to do it up any more. If you want to see conspicuous waste, consumption, leisure, this is where to see it. I've never seen place more elaborately designed, beyond my imagination of individuals actually living in such places.
The most memorable experience for me in Scotland was in Edinburgh. It is a great city. I found the Scots to be very nice and kind. I also found it hard to understand most of what they were saying although they spoke English. However, someone did stop me and greeted me in their indigenous language, Gaelic. When I asked what it meant, I was told it meant be happy. Which then made me smile for a good while.
Near the Scottish Parliament is a hill/mountain. Well, to me it was mountain. It looked cool to climb, and I decided to do it. If you told me a couple of months ago that I would be doing something as crazy as this, I would have told you that you were crazy. On the way up, I was with three other students when It started to rain, as it does in Scotland. I was left alone to decide whether I wanted to go the rest of the way up or not. My crazy behind decided to do just that, on the slippery rock, walking past warning signs that boulders fall from the top at times. I guess that made me liable. Not Scotland, since they warned me if I got crushed.
As I continued on my journey up the slope, the rain calmed, and the sun came out. I could see most of Edinburgh. Glistening because of the rain and the reflection of the sun on its structures. I looked yonder and there was a rainbow in the sky. It was beautiful and comforting, encouraging me to go on. At this moment, I received a revelation about life and our trials.
At times, we have heavy unexpected rain and storms, making our journey hard, stopping us on our path, and causing us to want to give up. I cried for the rain to go away. I asked God to make the rain stop so I could climb the mountain and because it didn't happen immediately I became frustrated. I couldn't see, and didn't know that the rain would eventually stop. I didn't know that on the other side, in patience, there was glorious sun and rainbow awaiting me. You can't have a rainbow without a storm.
I'm glad I didn't get off the mountain, and I am even more pleased that I got to see such a beautiful sight. I felt like I was next to the rainbow, letting me the storm has calmed, and everything is alright from here. For me that meant getting through the storms in life are worth the rainbow that awaits us at its calm when the sun rises. Furthermore, after the storm we appreciate the rainbow even more. God is always working it out for me. The storm inevitably always ends. Meantime, I'll be patient, and press on in thanks, knowing that 'trouble don't last always.' Let me stop preaching, but that is how I felt right then.
After this I went on up, the rest of the mountain. Now, there is an easy way to get up this mountain that I had no idea of, and I found myself taking the difficult way, because I didn't know any better. I ended walking up the steepest side of the mountain to get to the top, walking in a zig-zag manner so that I didn't fall off, trying not to look down. I did look down and there was no going back. I held on the shrubs and rocks on my way up. When I got to the top it was wonderful, I saw what felt like everything. The wind was still strong and I was concerned I was going to fall off.
However, I felt like I had accomplished something great. It was new for me. Someone probably couldn't have paid me enough in the past to get me to do it, but I did. It was a great feeling and a glorious view, I was very thankful that I had that experience. Honestly, the only thing that allowed me to do it was my dependence on God. That was probably something easy for some folks but for me it wasn't, and I was scared a lot of way. I knew that God was with me and it was alright. It was one of the most liberating physical experiences I've had in life, consciously. I'm glad I didn't pass up the experience. I took lots of lovely pictures as well that I hope to share with you all soon.
The next following blogs will be about my experience in France, Rome, and Venice during fall break. Thanks to everyone for being patient with me. It's been hard for me to get this stuff up. I still miss my family and friends at Bucknell. I pray you all remain blessed.
Peace!