Scottish Right of Passage

Greetings from Glasgow! It's Jacob's turn to write the blog tonight.

Now that Jessie and I have more or less settled in to our Scottish apartment (complete with posters; we found a half-off deal in the Queen Margret student union and got four), we are beginning to sample the Scottish culture. We are planning another day trip to Edinburgh (pronounced edinburrow, by the way) tomorrow, during which I'll be buying my kilt. I am planning on a light-blue, and will be getting a full outfit to go with it, with hose and hose flashes to boot. You will get pictures tomorrow evening, don't worry.

We also attended our first Ceilidh (pronounced "kaylee," for reasons unbeknownst even to the locals), which was great fun. We had a drink or two, had some small appetizers, and learned several traditional Scottish dances while lovely, live music was played on the accordion and fiddle. We also visited a fairly fancy Scottish restaurant called the "Ubiquitous Chip," in which Jessie ordered, you guessed it, haggis as an appetizer. She talked me into trying some, and it actually wasn't bad at all.

A Traditional, Scottish Ceilidh for the International Students

Sheep Organs Inside Sheep Stomach??

After that, there remained one more major aspect of the Scottish culture to try:

Jessie and I went out to a pub nearby, called Tenant's, this evening. We went for dinner, and planned to get a shot of whiskey to share afterwards. The food was amazing; I ordered a rack of ribs, and Jessie had a steak pie, which we both immensely enjoyed. We each got a slice of chocolate fudge cake for dessert as well, which was a great deal as a two-for-one. And then the time came. I had seen some posters for Jack Daniel's, and it had sounded like it might be stomach-able.

Whoo-wee, I am definitely not a whiskey man.

Neither is Jessie.

(A Whiskey Woman, that is)

The fellow next to us couldn't help but notice the Jack I had brought back, and that Jessie and I were making a bit of a deal out of drinking it. Having had a couple of beers himself, he surprisingly brought Jessie and I back two more "proper" whiskeys, as well as a glass of water (kind-hearted man, he was).

Well, long story short, we drank the three whiskeys, much to our surprise and discontent. We did learn that Jack Daniels is actually a very mild whiskey in comparison to the two others, "extreme," "real" whiskey, we were told. One was very smoky, and the other tasted like cough medicine, rubbing alcohol, etc.

We learned from Ivan (the kind whiskey-donor) that Tenant's had been around for almost 150 years, was one of the last pubs to allow women entry, and was in fact his favorite pub (due to its proximity to his bus stop). He gave us a few other local hints on what to see, talked to us about our studies at the university, and told us a bit about his own life as well. He wished us well several times, and told us to enjoy ourselves and our time in Scotland. It was our first real experience of the fabled Scottish hospitality, and we were very much impressed and gratified by Ivan's generosity and personality.

We have drunk of the Scottish drink, whiskey, and survived. I doubt we will ever again, for it is a rather unpleasant drink. I honestly don't know how it ever came to be so popular. But for us, for now, after sharing a strawberry daiquiri, two pints (I actually enjoyed the apple ale), and I guess three whiskeys, we are ready for bed. Good night all. Go enjoy yourselves, wherever you are. You don't need to be abroad and on your honeymoon to enjoy the life God has given you (although I must admit, our circumstances lend themselves rather well to enjoyment). ;)

Much love to you all,

Jacob and Jessie