colour-blind cities and curiosities
Aberdeen is grey like no other city I've ever seen. Literally, every building is made of grey granite stones, regardless of if they're 500+ years old, or 50. The sreets are grey. The sidewalks/pavement are grey. And of course the usual cliche--the weather has been grey. It was a very surreal experience when I walked out of the station and swung my head around and seriously only saw different shades of grey towering over me.
I've enjoyed my time up here though. The conference was less scary than many I've attended, and I was lucky to have Alice up here with me. We shared a room and decided early on to form of small clique of grad students in order to avoid the forced/awkward conference networking that one should of course partake in. Being broke, I skipped all the conference lunches and dinner (except one dinner), which actually allowed me to enjoy walks into town more than the others. One of my favourite places was this old castle that was turned into a goth-themed pub and named Slain Castle. You could drink one of the Seven Deadly Sin cocktails, walk up a dark winding stair case crowned by a spider-web covered chandelier, and use the secret toilet that was part of a bookshelf you had to push in. Far better use of my time and money than the conference dinner, if you ask me.
The other highlight was the sea. Alice and I decided to skip a panel one day and walk to the beach and watch the waves. With her being from Cardiff and me being from Chicago, we both have fond memories of going for walks and reading on the beach, and so this visit provoked a bit of homesickness in both of us. I kicked off my shoes, pulled off my tights, hiked my skirt up just below my ass, and ran into the water, screaming at how absolutely freezing it was. Alice just laughed, saying she wished she had her camera. It was wonderful.
I'm writing this in Aberdeen Uni, where I have about an hour to kill before catching a bus to the airport. Plan is to get back to Leamington tonight (Sunday) and begin my packing and cleaning, as I'll be moving to London on Thursday! Now that this conference is over and the move will be shortly, I should be able to relax a bit and spend the rest of my summer actually working on my thesis--something I've been too distracted to do lately. Hope the English heatwave will have passed by time I get down there...
I've enjoyed my time up here though. The conference was less scary than many I've attended, and I was lucky to have Alice up here with me. We shared a room and decided early on to form of small clique of grad students in order to avoid the forced/awkward conference networking that one should of course partake in. Being broke, I skipped all the conference lunches and dinner (except one dinner), which actually allowed me to enjoy walks into town more than the others. One of my favourite places was this old castle that was turned into a goth-themed pub and named Slain Castle. You could drink one of the Seven Deadly Sin cocktails, walk up a dark winding stair case crowned by a spider-web covered chandelier, and use the secret toilet that was part of a bookshelf you had to push in. Far better use of my time and money than the conference dinner, if you ask me.
The other highlight was the sea. Alice and I decided to skip a panel one day and walk to the beach and watch the waves. With her being from Cardiff and me being from Chicago, we both have fond memories of going for walks and reading on the beach, and so this visit provoked a bit of homesickness in both of us. I kicked off my shoes, pulled off my tights, hiked my skirt up just below my ass, and ran into the water, screaming at how absolutely freezing it was. Alice just laughed, saying she wished she had her camera. It was wonderful.
I'm writing this in Aberdeen Uni, where I have about an hour to kill before catching a bus to the airport. Plan is to get back to Leamington tonight (Sunday) and begin my packing and cleaning, as I'll be moving to London on Thursday! Now that this conference is over and the move will be shortly, I should be able to relax a bit and spend the rest of my summer actually working on my thesis--something I've been too distracted to do lately. Hope the English heatwave will have passed by time I get down there...