To all my friends and family members who don’t use Facebook, but have probably come here several times in the past few weeks wondering if I dropped off the planet or not… I’m sorry for being so terrible at updating this blog!

I never anticipated being THIS busy while I was here, but I am still having so much fun with everything. I’m posting the public links to the photos from London and Dublin at the bottom of this post, but unfortunately, I’m not going to recap everything at this moment. I can’t wait to talk with everyone about my adventures once I get home, but in the meantime I hope you enjoy the photos and forgive me for being so terrible at updating this blog!

London: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1821789705334.2090679.1257930094&l=cdf74e98f0

Dublin: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1832932263891.2091301.1257930094&l=fba9f4c634

lots of love,

- Charisa

Heading to Dublin, Ireland in the morning! It seems like I haven’t stopped moving since I got here, but I think I’m okay with that :) Still don’t have the London pictures posted, but I’ll work on getting them (plus the Dublin ones) up sometime early next week. In the meantime, here’s a photo I took from my bedroom window. I still can’t get over the beautiful views from our flat! 

In other fun news, I booked a flight to Paris for late July… Eeeeek! 

Hello All, 

First off, sorry for not posting sooner! It’s been a ridiculously busy and fun couple of weeks, and I have so much to catch you all up on! Let’s start from where I left off, eh?

I spent most of last week exploring Edinburgh and getting out into the city as much as I could. The weather has been a bit dreary (an average of 55 and rainy), but there were certainly a few nice days that I was able to take advantage of! My flatmates and I spent a day walking through “The Grassmarket” which is a charming part of Edinburgh, not far from our flat, that’s full of small cafes, boutiques, and other fun things. It’s really quite pretty down in the “Old Town” district of Edinburgh, and I enjoy spending as much time as possible by the Royal Mile and other historical places. My internship is now in full-swing, and I really couldn’t be happier with it. Because of privacy laws for the dementia patients I’m working with, I’m not able to give too much information, but I am having a blast! I can see myself working in a similar career one day, so I guess the internship placement has been a success :)

One of my favorite things I’ve done since I’ve been here was climb Arthur’s Seat! Two of my flatmates and I decided to venture up the inactive volcano mid-last week, and it was stunning! Arthur’s Seat looks over Edinburgh and gives you the most amazing views of the city (if you’re able to reach the top!). It took us about 2 hours to make it all the way up, and I was so worried I was going to fall and break a bone! There wasn’t much of a path, and the slope was quite steep and slippery, but once we made it to the peak, it was completely worth it. On our climb down, we stumbled upon an Saint Anthony’s church, an old ruin at the side of Arthur’s Seat. It still amazes me how many old castles and churches there are in this country; each one is unique and beautiful (and likely older than the entire U.S.!) 

Here is a public link to the photos from last week’s adventures: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1774662087173.2089462.1257930094&l=d88b4bbbc7

More recently, this past weekend, my flatmates and I went to London!!! I really enjoyed my time there (mostly because the weather was gorgeous!!! 80 degrees and sunny!) and am so thankful I was able to make it down there! We spent three full days there, so we were able to hit up all the major landmarks, as well as explore some of the city’s smaller attractions. I will post more details and photos from the London trip once I get a chance, but I’m off to class for now! Oh, and in case you were wondering if we had any other travel plans, we’re going to Dublin next weekend, and if it’s at all possible, Rome or Paris sometime in later July.

Thanks for checking in, and I promise to post more soon!

Lots of love 

- charisa :)

Hello everyone!!!

Well, I’m sitting here in Princes Street Gardens, across from the Edinburgh Castle, writing this blog post, and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my life. The weather is finally starting to warm up (it’s a whopping 65 degrees out today!) and people are coming out of the woodwork and the city is bustling with positive energy. From where I’m sitting in the park, I can hear a bagpipes and singers, and see school children (in their precious uniforms) doing cartwheels in the lawns. I’m pretty sure Scotland is the most beautiful place on earth, and I really can’t believe I’m lucky enough to be spending the summer here.

Since my last blog post, I’ve journeyed into the Scottish Highlands and had the time of my life taking photos of amazing landscapes and spending time with my flatmates. We all seem to be bonding really well, and I’m so thankful that I get to live with such awesome people for the next two months. We started our Highland adventure on Saturday morning and left from Edinburgh at 10am.  We went to so many wonderful towns and made lots of stops for picture taking and food/ drink tasting. There were castles everywhere, each one with a unique history (which our tour guide, Alan, told us all about), along with Lochs (lakes/ rivers), Glens (valleys) and Bens (mountains) – Oh my! On the first day, my favorite sites were Glencoe, a historic village about 3 hours north of Edinburgh, Ben Nevis, the largest mountain in the UK, and Foyers Falls, a series of massive waterfalls positioned between some mountains and Loch Ness. We stayed the night in a lovely town called Inverness, which is the largest city in the Highlands, and shared a room in a small hostel.  The next morning we journeyed to Fort Augustus and spent most of the afternoon exploring Loch Ness! We were even able to take a boat tour onto the Loch and try our hand at finding the infamous Loch Ness monster. Everything was beyond gorgeous and I don’t think I put my camera down for more than 2 minutes the entire trip. Hopefully most of you will be able to look at the photos from the trip – I posted an album to facebook, but here is the public link in case you haven’t seen them yet: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1755464327241.2088476.1257930094&l=9165284190

Because of the wonderful trip up north, I think my flatmates and I have caught the travel-bug, because we’ve begun planning other trips since our return Sunday night. So far, we’ve booked a flight to Dublin, Ireland for  July 1^st, and have been looking at prices for a trip to London and Paris, as well (maybe even Rome, if we can swing it!). Travel within Europe is surprisingly inexpensive, and we were able to buy our roundtrip flight to Ireland for about $50! If anyone has any suggestions for cheap places to stay or go while we’re there, I’d love to hear them!! Unfortunately, unlike flights and trainrides, most things here are very expensive, but I’ve been keeping track of all my purchases and have (so far) done a good job keeping everything within my set budget (You’d be proud, mom and dad!).

I will continue working at my internship the rest of the week, and am looking forward to spending more time with all my coworkers and new friends at the Centre. I was also able to send out about a dozen postcards today to some friends and family, but if you haven’t sent me your address, please email it to me at CEG11@albion.edu, so I can send out some more soon! Thanks for checking in, and I’ll be sure to post some more updates in the near future :)

Lots of love,

- Charisa

Hello Everyone!

Wow! It seems like I arrived in Edinburgh ages ago, even though it’s only been a couple days. A lot has happened over here, both good and not-so-good, but I’m still loving it (I mean, who wouldn’t?!). Let’s start with the good, eh? On my second day here, our EPA Internship Advisor took me and my flatmates out on a walking tour of Edinburgh. Everything was absolutely gorgeous, and I’ve fallen in love with all the historical sites, beautiful architecture, and charming people from this city. I was able to take lots of photos from the tour, and if you’d like to check them out or haven’t seen them yet on facebook, just head to this link: 

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1745178910112.2087811.1257930094&l=87bf74bcf6

(I’ll likely be posting photos in facebook every week-ish, so I will do my best to also include the links here so everyone who doesn’t have a facebook will be able to stay in the loop!)

Today I had my interview for my Neuroscience Internship, and have officially accepted a position at Alzheimer Scotland. I’ll be working Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and some Fridays for 6 hours at a time, then be taking a private Scottish History Course with the rest of my flatmates on Mondays. At Alzheimer Scotland I’ll be working with patients with early onset dementia, doing one-on-one clinical rehabilitation work to help them maintain their verbal and motor skills, in addition to shadowing my supervisor who is an expert on clinical neurology and dementia. I begin work tomorrow morning and couldn’t be more excited! 

Unfortunately, my debit card number appears to have been stolen (I’m assuming at a restaurant when I gave our waiter my card and they took it away to make the charge) but I’m working things out with my bank at home to cancel the fraudulent charges and get a new card (if need be). It’s been a bit confusing and hectic, but my EPA director and flatmates have been incredibly helpful and I’m sure everything will turn out okay. I’m currently just waiting to hear from the bank to see if the transactions go through or not, but I’m crossing my fingers that they’ll be able to stop it before then!

Oh, and on the brightside of things, my EPA group will be heading to THE HIGHLANDS this weekend!!!!!!!! I am so, so, SO excited for this trip…. I’m sure I’ll take hundreds of photos, and I can’t wait to share them with everyone. Inverness was one of the places I wanted to visit most while I was here, and I’m jumping out of my skin just waiting for Saturday to get here! 

I hope everyone back home is doing well! I’ll post again soon to keep you all updated, and thanks for checking in :)

PS: If anyone wants to send some snail mail, here’s my Scotland address:

2A Ramsay Garden

EH1 - 2NA

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Okay, I think that’s all for now…. Later, gators!

Hello Everyone!

So, I arrived in Edinburgh at 10:30 this morning (about 5:30am Michigan time) after about ten hours in transit. The flights went really smoothly, thank goodness - I even had my own row of seats to stretch out and sleep in! The food wasn’t so great (surprise, surprise), but the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean was absolutely gorgeous! I tried taking as many pictures as I could with my phone, so I’ll post those later once I get a chance. Upon arriving at the airport, I was greeted by a woman working for my internship program and she drove me to my apartment in Ramsay Garden. I can’t even count how many times I instinctively slammed my foot into the ground trying to stop the car - the drivers here are crazy!! 

My flat is unbelievable though… It’s three stories, with the first floor being the general living area (kitchen, living room, bathroom), the second floor containing three bedrooms and another bathroom (this is where me and the other two girls will be living), and the third floor is a loft-type area with, again, a bathroom - this is where CD (the only guy in our group) will be living. My room itself is the largest in the flat, and I was able to push together the two existing full-size beds into a single massive one… I also have a fireplace and bay window in my bedroom!! I can’t believe I am so lucky! The apartment is a wonderful mix of old style details (chandeliers, giant windows, winding staircases) with all the modern renovations you could ask for (stainless steel kitchen appliances, washer and dryer, hardwood floors, and stylish furniture)! Overall, I’m beyond happy with the flat, and my flatmates all seem to be really friendly. We even went out into downtown Edinburgh for dinner tonight, passing the castle and enjoying the views along the way.

The weather here is still very cold, much more so than I anticipated. It’s currently 46 degrees and rainy, but it should warm up significantly by the end of the month. If it’s too much to handle though, I might invest in a heavier jacket since I didn’t bring one along with me. I’ll be sure to post some pictures as soon as I get a chance, but I think I’m going to call it a night (it’s already 9pm here!). Orientation starts tomorrow morning, so I’ll keep everyone posted how the details of my internship work out and other fun things :)

Thanks for all your love and support — it means so much to me to know that you’re all thinking of me (Even from 4,375 miles away)

Lots of love,

Charisa

As my departure draws closer and closer, I’ve sort of begun mentally constructing a “To-Do” list of places I’d like to visit while I’m there. From what I’ve heard, getting around the UK is fairly easy and inexpensive, so I’d like to see as much as I possibly can!

So here’s my current Wish List…

• - Stirling
• - Glasgow
• - Aberdeen
• - Isle of Skye
• - Inverness
• - (+ All of the Highlands, really!)
• - Loch ness
• - Loch Lomond
• - Ben Nevis (high mountain in the UK/ Ireland)
• - Wallace Monument
• - Stonehenge
• - Ireland
• - London, England
• - Wales
• - And if it’s at all possible, France. I have some friends that live in Paris and Versailles that have offered to host me and my housemates if we decide to visit.

I realize that I won’t be able to visit all of the places on that list, but I’m eager to try since I’ve never been to Europe and want to experience as much of it as I can while I’m there. Also, I know at least some of my readers have been to the UK before, so if you have any suggestions, I would absolutely love to hear them!! 

Thanks for checking in :)

- Charisa

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my blog! I will be documenting my adventures in Scotland for the next two months — As most of you know, I’ll be traveling to Edinburgh, Scotland on June 4th and will be there until July 31st. I have been accepted into a Clinical Neuroscience Internship by “Alzheimer Scotland” and will do rehabilitation work with patients, along with shadowing some of Scotland’s best Clinical Neurologists! I’m very excited for this opportunity, and will do my absolute best to update this blog as frequently as possible with pictures, posts, and other fun things. Thanks for checking in, and I look forward to sharing more with you all soon :)