my #1s of 2012

It's the last day of 2012, so I thought I would update you with my favourite discoveries of 2012! =)

#1 Musical artist - Gaby Moreno - she sings in Spanglish and her music has a lot of different influences which gives it a very fun vibe!

#1 Song - Florence and the Machine-Shake It Out - Such great lyrics, inspires me to be stronger.

#1 Movie (Kid) Brave (with Wreck-It Ralph as a close second) I saw Brave 2 days before I left Scotland, so maybe I was a bit more reminiscent realizing how much I was going to be missing Scotland, but I still think it has a great storyline and worth seeing.

#1 Movie (Adult) - Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - Great movie and it challenges you to change some of your perspectives. Watched it on the plane, not in theaters, but it definitely made the flight more enjoyable! Also enjoyed Bill Nighy in a serious role.

#1 TV Show - I have 2 new shows I really enjoy; the first is Happy Endings. I think I started watching it because a lot of the shows I watch were taking a break so I didn't have anything new to watch, and I had heard this show was funny (which it is!) Very light-hearted, and usually leaves me in stitches! Here is one of my favourite clips!

The other show I like is Once Upon a Time. It has a lot of connections to LOST which is a series I really enjoyed, plus it has nearly every fairytale character you can think of!

#1 Book - Mindy Kaling-Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? - I have to admit I've started a few books this year and haven't finished any of them. This is the book I've gotten the furthest in, and every chapter is filled with laughs! =)

#1 Travel Destination - Tie between Stockholm, Sweden and San Sebastian, Spain (That's a lot of S's!)
Stockholm was amazing, I can't wait to go back and visit more of Scandinavia!

San Sebastian was one of my favourites too! I loved everything about it! It has beach, mountains, art, architecture and great food! Can't wait to get back there as well!!

Although I enjoy all the above, what really makes my life great are all the lovely people who I've gotten to know, I've spent time with and who have made me laugh! Hope you all have a wonderful New Year filled with happiness!

Merry Christmas!

(Or happy merry Christmas as my 4-year-old niece would say!) I hope everyone has a great day celebrating with family and friends!

I saw this picture on Pinterest today of baby moose! So cute! Quasi-Christmas related so I thought I'd share =)

New Job

So I haven't be too vocal about my new job, but I was offered a position to be the assistant curator at the Derby Museum around Thanksgiving, and I will be starting this Wednesday. I am really excited about the new job! I will still be working as a tour guide 2 days a week, but I am really excited that I have my first big girl job in the museum sector!!

I am also excited that I will be able to pay off my student loans! Hahaha =D

I'll update you on the job once I start!!

I'm back! (sort of)

So it's been over a month since my last update, and although I don't really have much to say, I feel obligated to post.

I have been home for over a month now. Culture shock is weird, but it is even weirder when you experience it when you return to your own country. I am slowly getting adjusted to being back, but I still have very little desire to be social. I hate going out in public (part of this might have to do with working with the public 5 days a week keeps me from wanting to be social the rest of my free time.) I also hate meeting up with people because I know they are going to ask me "How was Scotland?" and it is really difficult to sum up an entire year of experiences in a few sentences.

But slowly I am getting readjusted to being back, and I keep trying to make myself get out of the house a few times a week so I won't turn into a hermit! Haha =)

multiculturalism

I think one of my favourite things about having lived abroad is the way it opens up the world. I have had 2 experiences this week that I have loved and make me feel 'it's a small world after all' isn't too far off from the truth.

The first was from the beginning of this week when I uploaded my last photos from Scotland. The father from the family I stayed with while studying in Costa Rica saw the pictures, shared them with his friends on Facebook and wrote that he hopes to be able to travel to this part of the world soon. How cool! Through facebook, an American was able to share her photos of Scotland and inspire a Costa Rican to travel- the internet can be incredible sometimes!

The second was from today. I am currently staying with my pastor and his wife, who are missionaries from Brazil. Today for dessert we had home-made strudel and my friend Lesmi joined us, so I am in Spain, eating a German pastry with my Brazilian and Honduran friends! I love my life right now and am going to miss being surrounded by so many cultures when I return to the States.

It's my last day in Scotland =(

Today is my last day (for a a while anyway) in Scotland. Sad times =( I've had a wonderful year. Here are some of my favourite photos from this year!

Cathedral

 Smoked fish

 Rory MacIlroy

 Rainbow in Edinburgh

 

 The Americans on Thanksgiving

 Christmas ball, I love that Fraser is sharing his icecream with Santa! haha =)

 Northpoint

 Jamie and I

 Sonia and I

 Our exhibition team

 Nautical Knots to Knitting Needles

 Me and Liu

 Ready to see the pandas at the zoo

 Zoo- meerkats (haha, spell check wants me to change it to beermats!)

 Holyrood Palace Abbey

 Panda!!

 Kentucky Derby

 Highland Fold Museum

 Organ

 Sheep!

 Rachel and I in Sterling

 Highland Games

 Me on Isle of May (not sure why this picture isn't with the rest from Isle of May)

 Old Course

 Sunset in St Andrews

 Hotpot!

Me and Holly

 Cliffs on Isle of May

 Isle of May lighthouse

 After turning in our dissertations

Heather

I had a few more pictures but the internet in the hostel isn't working very well. 

Puppy Love

You know how some women have this moment when they realize their biological clock is ticking and suddenly have the urge to have children? Well, I feel like that except instead of a baby, I want a dog. If you are my friend on Facebook or follow me on Pinterest, you probably have already realized this.

I know full well this is because I am a bit depressed getting my dissertation finished, packing and saying goodbye to so many wonderful people I have met, and all that sadness/stress/mental fatigue has left me wanting to have a puppy around me 24/7 that I can play and snuggle with! These are all the dog related photos I have downloaded to my computer in less than a week (no joke!)

 

 I think this one is my favourite. Look at the that little ball of fur!! I want it!!!

 

Seriously! How cute are these dogs?? So basically, if you want to give me a dog for a graduation gift, I would totally be cool with that =)

Also, these two photos are (relatively) older, but still so so cute!!

Olympic Update

The Olympics are now over. Did anyone watch "Spicy Girls" at the closing ceremony?

I have had a ton of people looking at my last post (check out the stats below!) So I though I would post an update about my top olympians! Gabby Douglas had already won her 2 golds when I wrote last, so I will just talk about the other 4 athletes.

HULK

Hulk (and the rest of the Brazilian football team) won silver medals, losing to Mexico in the finals 2-1. Hulk did get Brazil their one goal though! And since 12 people from Mexico checked out this blog last week, let me just say:

iFelicidades Mexico en su medalla de oro!

Ricardo Santos

Sadly, Ricardo and his partner did not get a medal. They lost to the Germans, Brink and Reckermann, who beat another Brazilian team in the finals to take home gold. Who would have thought Germany would win gold in beach volleyball?

Del Potro

My wish came true and Del Potro won bronze. Glad he didn't go away empty handed! Also, it should be interesting to see who is number one at the end of the year with a different player winning each of the slams and Murray winning the Olympics.

 (And is it just me, or does anyone else think Del Potro es un guapeton?)

Keri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor 

Finally, we have Keri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor, and they did not disappoint me! They won gold again by beating another team from the USA in the finals. I don't remember the names of the girls on the other team, but I didn't like their attitudes, so even though it would have been a gold for the USA either way, I was happy to see Keri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor get it again!