An Ode to Ranch Dressing

One of the most important and bonding characteristics of any culture or society is food, and Scotland is no exception.  I have tried many different dishes and drinks since I have been here with varying success.

I love the family atmosphere of the Melville dining hall.  We all go through the same line and sit at long tables together.  One great thing about Erskine is that they have a lot of different options at meals, whereas here there tends to be a red meat option, a poultry or fish option, and a vegetarian option for the main dish, followed by 3 choices of sides and a dessert.  Of course there is the small salad bar, fresh fruit, and sandwiches or baked potatoes if you prefer.

I think one of my absolute favorite things about the Melville dining hall is the hot drinks machine: you put a mug under it and press a button indicating the beverage of your choice (hot chocolate, with water or milk; coffee, cappuccino, mocha, latte, tea, hot water for tea bags, or several other options) and it automatically fills the mug.

I also like the fact that there are fewer meal options; I am much more willing to try an unknown dish because I don’t have the option to stick with a safer or more familiar option.  As with any kitchen, sometimes dishes are a success and sometimes…they’re not.  But I never go hungry and mealtime conversations are always incredibly enjoyable and involve lots of laughs.  When the staff kicks us out of the dining room, we tend to carry on our conversation in the foyer downstairs until gradually we all realize that we have some place to be or homework to do.

I have recorded several videos of me trying different unique foods, and as I cannot upload them directly onto the blog site I have put them on youtube. Links are below:

You may recall me mentioning that I attended a ceilidh my first Friday in St Andrews in honor of Robbie Burns day; while at the ceilidh we had a traditional meal involving haggis.  Here is my reaction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgzlSYemaqs&feature=youtu.be

The second strange food that I tried was Marmite.  In my right mind I may have been a wee bit more wary of trying something advertised with the slogan, “love it or hate it,” but in my defense I was still half asleep (I have yet to become accustomed to waking up at 7:30) and agreed before I realized what I had agreed to. Here is the Marmite test. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O6pVrlyf6k&feature=youtu.be

At the Six Nations rugby game there was an abundance of haggis, various kinds of pies, and alcohol.  I chose to indulge in one of those, namely Scotch pie.   I figured, what better time to try another traditional Scottish delicacy than at a national rugby match?  My experience was recorded and you can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1Rt7L7phUM&feature=youtu.be

speaking of haggis….
we passed this bus on North Street one night. only in Scotland.

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Now, you may be wondering why the title of this post refers to Ranch dressing. Well, let me tell you why:
There is no Ranch dressing in Scotland.

I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in.

It astounds me that the number one salad dressing in the United States is all but impossible to find in the UK.  It has also been an adjustment for me, because I am one of those annoying people who eats ranch dressing with everything : salad, chicken, vegetables, bread, French fries, pizza, pretzels…you name it.  And the Brits unfortunately like to eat everything with vinegar, which means that now I dip my fries–or chips, rather–in mayonnaise because that is one of the only options that I like.

However, I have some wonderful friends, and I am now a very happy American.  My friend Scott had an interview in London a few weekends ago; while he was there he searched around until he found a Whole Foods store that sold Ranch dressing and brought me back a bottle. Granted, it is not Hidden Valley, but it’s delicious nonetheless and the bottle is over half gone already.

But wait–there’s more!  About a week ago I received a care package from a friend in the States; inside was SIX packets of Ranch mix, Hidden Valley style, which means that I am set on dressing for the remainder of my time here and I have plenty to introduce it to friends who have suffered their entire lives without experiencing the delicious taste.

My care package also included, among other things, a box of Cheez-Its and 2 bags of cheddar Goldfish, neither of which can be found in the UK (except perhaps at specialty stores, but who has time to find one of those?).  They taste of home and it’s wonderful.  I have introduced several European friends to both goodies so far, and they have been a hit all around.

I think that is enough talk about food for now (are you hungry yet? I am! I’m heading off to dinner), but I have tons more pictures to post and lots of exciting adventures to tell you about.  Until then, have a wonderful week and God bless!

If It’s That Kind of Day…

Erskine professors are really wonderful. Not only are they excellent teachers and academics, but they also care deeply about Erskine students as individuals. At the risk of sounding like an emotional basket case, let me share two examples from my own experience.

Once last semester, and once this semester, I have—to my dismay, mind you—found myself in tears upon answering a professor who kindly asked how I was doing. Certainly, the usual response when asked, “How are you,” is to smile cheerily and say, “Quite well, thank you!” regardless of how exactly one’s day is going. When, however, a variety of factors and struggles combine to make a person (in this case, me) particularly emotional, a profoundly sincere, “How are you doing?” may be all it takes to unleash the floodgates. Case in point being the two aforementioned conversations, which were not entirely dry-eyed on my part.

Rachel enjoying some pleasure reading before French class begins.

What I so appreciate about my Erskine professors, though, is that, confronted with the admittedly awkward experience of having a student begin to cry while talking to them, they responded with great grace and compassion. I was left without a doubt that, rather than being anxious to extricate themselves from a conversation turned suddenly more serious than they’d anticipated, the professors to whom I was talking truly cared about my well-being as they listened to my sniffled explanation with genuine concern. I love being part of a learning community in which it is safe to have such a meltdown, not only in front of a fellow student, but also in front of a professor. It’s just one of the things that makes Erskine special.

Class Act

Has it really been that long since my last post?! Time certainly flies and it needs to slow down.

I realized recently that I have not shared which modules I am taking, so allow me to briefly summarise each.

Scottish Music, a second-year module, meets 3 days a week for an hour each; it is co-taught by two really wonderful professors with a passion for music.  In less than three weeks, I have learned tons about Scottish history, church history, and both “classical” and folk Scottish music through the centuries.

This module also includes hour-long tutorials every other week.  Monday was our first one and we learned how to play the penny whistle.  It was a lot of fun!

In addition to Scottish Music I am also taking three fourth-year psychology modules, each of which meets once a week for two hours.

In Group Behaviour, we are talking a lot about crowd dynamics and crowd psychology which is a different perspective than I had anticipated, but it has been very thought-provoking and it has already done a lot to broaden my global perspective and reassess media portrayals of world events.  The class neatly combines aspects of sociology with social psychology.

I am also taking a class called Emotion, which has been quite philosophical so far; we have discussed the history of ideas on emotion, largely focusing on philosophers’ interpretations and ideas on what they are.  We also discussed the experience of an emotion and considered how to define what an emotion is.  It seems simple enough at first, but when you get into it you quickly discover that there is no one straightforward or really correct answer.  I never realized how little literature there is on definining emotions especially considering how much they are studied and discussed.

My third psychology course is entitled Cognitive Psychology and the Emotional Disorders.  My main area of interest is the clinical side of psychology and this class is a great complement to the counseling and abnormal psych classes I took last semester at Erskine.  We focus mainly on depression and anxiety and have been looking at some interesting research about implicit and explicit memory bias in individuals with depression, dysphoria, or anxiety.

A lot of that probably sounded quite nerdy; I apologize.  Needless to say I really love and enjoy my classes!

The light about a week ago was so beautiful: dark grey clouds contrasted with golden sunlight streaming through. I took this photo in the upstairs lobby of the arts building after my music module. Such a beautiful scene.

It’s also quite nice to be done with classes by 1 or earlier every day, though I always have to hightail it back to Melville for lunch because the dining hall closes at 1:30.  (You eat meals in your hall of residence here.)  My classes are all a 20 minute walk from my hall, but at least I get several miles of brisk walking in every day:  no wonder I’m always hungry!  I’m also rather cold all the time, especially when it’s very windy.  Which, come to think of it, is almost always.  My poor fingers and toes–by the time I get wherever I’m walking they are usually numb or aching and it takes forever for them to warm up.  Thankfully  my room is quite toasty and I’ve even had to turn the radiator down a few times at night after waking up too hot.

I still love living in Melville.  I am slowly meeting more people and the food is usually quite good.  I really appreciate the community atmosphere: that’s something that Melville has always been known for and it is very evident.  I also really appreciate our cleaning staff; just like at Erskine, they do a superb job keeping all of the common areas clean. Unlike Erskine, though, they also pick up our trash every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; and vacuum our rooms and clean our sinks once a week.  It is certainly incentive to keep my room picked up and, as I do not have any cleaning supplies with me, it’s nice to know that it will stay clean.  Melville really does feel like home; we are such an eclectic group of people that as far as I can tell get along splendidly.

In my next few posts I will describe some of the events and activities that I’ve experienced so far and share some more pictures.  I take my camera with me everywhere so I have tons of photos.  I also plan to devote a post to food, and one to language–I promise there are some interesting stories there!  Until then, cheers!

I walk by the Old Course and the hotel every morning that I have class and about a week ago the hotel was literally glowing golden from the way the light was hitting it, even though the sky was so dark. It was incredible!

St. Andrews: the first week in pictures

this grass was completely covered in snow when I walked by the night before. The grass is so green!

view of the Cathedral from the road

old stained-glass window on the Cathedral

looking to the right of the Cathedral: how beautiful!

posing by the tiny archway–people must have been shorter back then!
Molly, me, Jordan, and Ross

every time I walk through this section of road, I feel as if I am traveling backwards in time. Pictured: Max, Ross, & Molly

the old pier: we walked all the way to the end and as I admired the view and the fresh air, I thought about all of the footsteps that I was walking in. what history!

I took this at the end of the old pier, looking back toward town and the Cathedral

as we were climbing from the higher part of the old pier, we discovered this little niche that was a perfect fit for me!

looking toward the Cathedral from the back as the sun was just beginning to set

St. Andrews Castle

me posing on the beach below the Castle

we walked out to explore the huge rocks on the beach, and a nice stranger took our picture

This is one of my favorite pictures I have taken so far. 4 of my new friends: Max, Ross, Molly, and Jordan

This is supposed to have been planted by Mary, Queen of Scots.

This is the psychology & neuroscience building–so beautiful!

I took this standing in the middle of St. Mary’s Quad, looking toward the South Street entrance. Over that archway are the words “In pricipio erat verbum.”

This is the Old Library in St. Mary’s Quad, where all 3 of my psychology modules meet. My friend Mark is walking along the aisle.

I snapped this looking out of the window in the arts building, where my Scottish Music module meets. the sunrise is always so beautiful! The views from this building always take my breath away.

This was the first red phone booth I saw while in the UK. I was quite excited to see one in real life!

 

getting my toes wet

(This post continues where my previous entry left off.  Corny title, I know.)

We dropped my luggage off in my room and then headed to Joanna’s room for some proper British tea.   I met quite a few people along the way,  including my new friend Rebecca from Sarah Lawrence College.  After tea, the three of us walked to Tesco in town to buy some dinner.  Rebecca and I decided on frozen pizza (typical college student meal, I know, but we were too tired to cook properly).  As we were looking at the different options, one caught our eye because it looked like it had noodles on it.  Rebecca and I asked Joanna if it was a British thing to eat pasta on pizza and she gave us a very confused look, then looked at the pizza and started laughing at us:  it was margherita pizza.  What we thought were noodles was actually cheese!  We laughed about this the entire night.

the pizza that we mistakenly thought had noodles on it when we saw it on the shelf. that’s what jet-lag does to you!

When we returned to Melville, we realized we had no plates, cutlery, or cooking utensils, so we improvised with what we could find in the kitchens.   It took us a little while, but we figured it all out on our own and the pizza was delicious!  As we were finishing up, a few guys came by to invite us across to K1 to meet people, but the group quickly became too large so we made our way to the middle common room, 1 of 3 in the hall.  (Melville has 3 kitchens, labeled K1, K2, and K3.)  There were so many people in the common room!  Everyone was incredibly kind and welcoming and I surprised myself by how many names I managed to remember.
After staying up MUCH later than anticipated, I finally left and went to sleep around 2 AM (which is 9PM for the Eastern United States).  I did not wake up until lunchtime the next day, and only then because I needed to eat.  Lunch was great though!  I spent the afternoon at an informational session for new students and then attended a reception with all of the JSAs (Junior Study Abroad students) where we had the opportunity to meet and talk with professors. I met so many people and learned a lot about the psychology department, which is the best in Britain.  I also found out that the psychology building is in one of the most beautiful locations in town.  Tough life, I know.

On Friday I managed to wake up for breakfast, which is 8-9 every day, and then I went to matriculation at 10AM.  There are a lot of JSAs here this semester!  They had a very helpful team directing us to where we needed to be and answering questions.  Staff members checked our passports and finances and advisers from each department helped us register for our course modules.  Everything worked out really well, thankfully.  Friday evening, in honor of Robbie Burns’s day, I attended my first ceilidh [pronounced Caley] with my new friend Scott (from Scotland).  If you have ever done English country dancing, it is somewhat similar.  We danced for several hours straight, and I even tried haggis for the first time; surprisingly, I really liked it!  I talked to the two callers after and they told me I should come to the weekly intermediate ceilidh lessons.  I have added that to my list of potential clubs to join!  I learned later that it is compulsory for all Scottish primary school students to learn ceilidh dancing.  A member of the Celtic society read Robbie Burns’s famous poem, Ode to a Haggis, before we ate and then we enjoyed a traditional meal of haggis and neeps & tatties.  Neeps and tatties are some kind of turnip-like food and mashed potatoes–different but good.  On the way home, Scott gave me a tour of St Andrews and told me loads of stories about the history of the uni and the town.  After dancing all night and then walking for an hour my feet were extremely sore, but it was entirely worth it!

I am standing on the Swilcan Bridge between the 1st and 18th fairways of the Old Course in St. Andrews. this bridge is at least 700 years old!

When I woke up for lunch on Saturday, I met a group of JSAs who invited me to come explore the town with them.  We spent all afternoon being touristy, taking pictures, sharing stories, and getting to know each other.  It was so beautiful outside but the wind here is so cold, especially along the shore!  I shared with them all of the stories and tidbits that Scott shared with me about the town and uni the night before.  My next blog entry will be entirely photos from our adventures.

Saturday evening I finally started to unpack my suitcases!  My first couple of days were so full of excitement that I neglected to set up my room.  But it feels quite cozy now and Melville truly is like home.  I have my own sink in the room, but I have to go up- or downstairs and through about 4 doors for the toilets or shower.  Our hall is built to resemble a ship and we have 5 blocks of rooms; it’s a very interesting setup.  Melville is not very pretty but it certainly has character and the people more than make up for it!

As I have no class on Fridays, I will post pictures soon and try to write down some more stories.  Every day is filled with exciting things to talk about–the difficult part will be deciding what to share with you!  Until then, God bless and keep you and know that I am sending my love and well-wishes from Scotland. Cheers!

looking out to the North Sea and the night glow of Dundee to the north