Sense of place

I have good intentions of walking daily in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which is challenging given the frequency potatoes are available as part of our diet here at the House. It is not uncommon to have macaroni & cheese, garlic bread, and chips at one meal. I know “poor me” having most meals prepared and all I need to do is have my red plastic tray out to receive the daily meal. It is communal living at its finest. Henry “our chef” is a character. A rough and tumble sort of chap, always trying to engage the students with a hearty “You al’right?” to which an appropriate response would be “Fit to hellish”. He badgers them with comments about their hangovers, late evening romps, etc. Although it may be somewhat accurate of a few students it is not characteristic of the majority. Many have commented that this group is a serious, committed, socially conscious one. In fact this past Thursday afternoon the majority spent time clearing portions of the Esk River of debris. Piles of bicycles, toys, prams, etc were dredged out of the river. Several garbage bags full of trash were also collected. They did this as a gesture of taking care of our home. I am proud of these students, their spirit and sense of place. Walking over the bridge that crosses the Esk I could see more debris that looked buried in the silt. It is an ongoing issue, flagrant disregard for the beauty of place.

My thoughts as I walked out of the grounds today and up the road to Woodburn were related to the American way of travel – we are dependent on our automobile for what we do on a daily basis. Here my primary mode of transport is on foot and public bus. So where I go to do errands (“fetch messages” as the Scots would say) has an element of pre-planning. Walking and riding the bus require me to ask questions I normally wouldn’t think about in the US: What do I need? Where will I get it? How heavy is it? Will it fit in my recyclable Tesco bag or backpack? I suspect friends who live in large cities and do not have a personal vehicle are faced with similar questions. I like having to reconsider ways of meeting needs and exploring. My travels are limited; I do not have the means to explore far and wide on a daily basis. However I find ways to create a sense of adventure on these daily jaunts. There is always something new to see and experience.

These past 2 weeks contained family interactions – some wonderfully anticipated, some unexpected. Niece Jane and her beau James departed yesterday after some r & r at the house prior to finishing music gigs in London. They seemed to enjoy all that the grounds offered, mentioning it’s the most rested they’ve felt since arriving in the UK. I am happy that Jane has someone in her life that loves her dearly, is a gifted musician in his own right, and a happy employee of Qualcomm working on cutting edge abstract software development. I learned about the continuum of abstract and pedestrian software to a point of being duly impressed. Their plans to relocate to San Francisco are exciting although they recognize the effort of re-establishing careers and connections will be challenging.

Today is a beautifully warm and sunny with a stiff breeze. Although much work waits, I hope to get out and enjoy the day.

Music, pubs, and Andy's family of friends

This past weekend, fondly referred to in our academic calendar as a travel weekend, I spent in London. For those who do not know, my youngest brother (Andy) lives in the Notting Hill neighbourhood in this urban Mecca of 11 million.

I was rather late in booking travel and found airfare more economical than rail. Although I love the relaxed pace and experience of rail, I am mindful of my expenditures. Easy Jet is one of the many discount airlines operating in Europe and their blaze orange colour is easy to spot in busy airports such as Gatwick.

Andy was thoughtful in providing me with instructions for bus #52 from Victoria station. If all worked according to plan I would disembark within a few blocks of his flat. Directions in hand, I boarded the bus only to find that Ladbroke Road is a huge thoroughfare through London. Unlike my first experience in Dalkeith, I got off the bus early, a little too early. After many mobile phone calls, walking instructions, and circling each other around several blocks we found our way to each other. I spent the better part of Thursday walking around this lovely neighbourhood. Holland Park is delightful. We met up at King’s Cross early evening and walked to the venue hosting Jane Lui’s first gig in London. My niece has her second cd out and is currently doing some gigs here. Her performance brought the house down (exclaimed her totally biased aunt).

Friday I walked the Portobello market and enjoyed exploring the stalls and vendors. Friday evening we met up with several of Andy’s friends and trotted off to hear Sun Volt at the Lumminaire in the Kilburn area. A venue that packed several hundred of us into a space that was made for less. I was pleasantly surprised by how polite people were as they walked to the bar to fetch a pint, stand to listen to a set, or chat with their neighbour.

Saturday was a day spent eating breakfast at the Greek café in Andy’s old neighbourhood. Hugs from the owners when they realised I was part of Andy’s family. We were joined by friends Shephali, Andy, Pat, Jen and their pug Mini. A few games of pool at a local pub, then off to Sean & Lorraine’s for the England rugby tournament where we met several more couples and babies Lucca and Dillon. It was nice to be in a home and more importantly England won. A surprise to all.

Yet another pub to meet up with Pat, Jen and pug Mini. I am reminded how often pubs are used as gathering places for friends. As an older sister I am of course concerned by the frequentness of imbibing and wonder how Andy and friends seem to manage their high flying careers (many are venture capitalists, marketing, & business development professionals).

We ordered Thai food to be delivered Saturday evening and enjoyed a seemingly mellow evening chatting and enjoying each others company. I am fortunate to have a fulfilling relationship with my brother. My heart is warmed knowing he has people in his life who love and support him.

I am now back at work in full swing. Ready for the week that lies ahead. Niece Jane will be here for a few days – she is in need of a break from her concerts and Dalkeith will be the perfect resting spot. Provided there is heat in her room…and the weather remains relatively warm.

Siblings

This past week John has been here visiting. It is beyond words trying to describe how incredibly uplifting it was to be together here in Scotland at Dalkeith. To affirm after 20 years of togetherness that we fit nicely into each others lives is an understatement. Aside from reconnecting the other reason the Chiang, Welch, Lui crew travelled to Scotland was for golf. That’s the fearless foursome at the 18th hole on the New Course of St. Andrews after a day of gale force cold wind. The other pictures capture the essence of brother sister relationships. We are fortunate indeed!

Pictures...

Visuals typically enhance the stories of people places and things. So this blog posting will have several along with brief commentary. I must begin with the day students arrived. Take a look at the expressions on their faces! They are piped in by Mr. Frank Orr who has been greeting our WIS students for over 20 years. Complete with uniform after he finishes he provides a salute for all. It is very touching to witness.

The Scots love their dogs – this is Cameron, ranger here at Dalkeith grounds with his 3 dogs. One he refers to as a “subterranean” canine – the golden literally swims underwater to pick up rocks. Cameron travels everywhere with his 3 dogs. The palace grounds number over 1500 acres and people are here constantly walking their dogs. Many have three. The pet cemetery at Edinburgh castle is more testament to the affinity for dogs.

Communal Living

Living in our palace, castle, house (all terms are used to describe our home for the semester) with 40 other folks with ages ranging from 18 – 60 is interesting, sometimes fascinating, and presently frustrating. I have some sort of flu bug that is rampant in the house. It is rumoured that this bug came attached to one of the many student travellers and we’re all reeling from coughing, sinusitis, fever (mild for some not so for others), and limited sleep. It has taken many of us by surprise without access to whatever remedies we normally keep in our arsenal. The interesting part of this experience is the shared medicine closet – literally there is this 6’ x 4’ closet housing loads of toiletries and meds that folks from previous sessions have left for use. We are all making due and getting better. Thankfully this is a short lived nuisance.

Part of our responsibility living here is “duty”. Not the Adam Sandler definition, but duty in the sense of taking care of our environment. All faculty and staff share breakfast and weekend duty and I am 10 minutes away from handing in my duty tools – namely a mobile phone and the keys to the kingdom. Not all has gone smoothly this week. You see I’m not very mechanical and I’ve managed to break a key off in a lock, run an industrial dishwasher without the plug, remove an overheated toaster from the kitchen before the Dalkeith Fire Department had to respond, and on Thursday I failed to forward the mobile phone number resulting in the previous duty holder getting all the calls. I’m sure he launched some choice sentiments my way. In essence I am living and learning a new organizational culture. It is an interesting reflection and filled with stories to share with students in my courses.

In the time it has taken to write this blog post I am now officially off duty! YPEE!

Courage

A hike with students to Arthur’s Seat on Saturday proved to be challenging and exhilarating. A warm day, a bit of a breeze, and 30 hearty souls attempting the climb. It’s one of those hikes I refer to as “unfair” partly because it starts with an immediate incline. Although the path is well travelled it is steep and for those of us working on increasing our fitness level – a bit slow going. There are a series of summits – the first of which comes on rather quickly. Thinking that we made it only to discover the true summit is “over there”. As one of the staff that participated, my hike started out with a curious request from a student; “Can I walk up there barefoot?”. “I wouldn’t advise it, why are you asking?” Apparently her $50 pair of Vans – oh so cool “kicks”- were creating blisters. Since we had the same shoe size, we switched shoes and she scampered off in my “oh so practical” kicks and I trudged up in the very cool Vans. I made it and I attribute it to the Van Factor. When I figure out how to load pictures I’ll post the famous photo as proof that Arthur’s Seat can be done in a pair of Vans.

However I digress a bit from the title of this posting. Joe is a student who, like many of us, has a phobia. Unlike many of us his was visible during our hike. His fear of heights was raging that day. Those of you who know this hike understand how challenging it can be for one who is free of this phobia. Apparently, Joe was inspired by Bob’s words "my senses are on fire" to be exact, a well told story of taking risks. Joe chose wisely and safely – he hiked with another staff member. It wasn’t pretty and there was some ridicule, but he did it. I am beginning to believe this is part of the magic here…people like Joe taking on the world and in a small way proving to himself that he is able to do “it” . We all have our “it” that we fear, avoid, or nibble around the edges, but Joe took it on. I will forever remember him clutching the top of the Summit...a true display of courage.

Lessons' Learned

Week one in Scotland has been filled with experiences. I have successfully navigated the #3 Lothian bus that travels from Dalkeith to Edinburgh several times now. In fact the other day as I was listening to my I-Pod on a return trip I felt this was the ultimate in familiarity. As if to say to the world; “I know where I am going, I can listen to my favorite tunes and get off at the right stop”.

A few lessons learned this week: be careful about mobile phone charges…somehow I blew through $40 in 5 days. Although I pride myself on not being a slave to my mobile phone, my once or twice daily calls to the US to say good morning and good night to John added up way too quickly. Local Scotland calls are 30p/minute using Vodaphone…so this week will be spent downloading Skype and locating a plug in microphone so John and I can talk at our leisure. The number of wine and cheese parties hosted here at Dalkeith House should count as dinner – they are not to be confused as a mere appetizer. Haggis is actually ok in small amounts – with crackers and red wine it is fairly tasty. Grocery shopping at Tesco should last no more than 30 minutes when Bob Hendricks has graciously offered to drive faculty there and wait patiently while we stock up on our favorite foods. Five liters of water is heavy and can only be carried short distances without risk of shoulder or arm injury. Fireworks (celebrating the end of the Edinburgh Festival) are fun to view from a hill with a whole lot of Scots actually enjoying the American repertoire live on someone’s car radio. Scots tell the same ‘ole tired lawyer jokes as Americans do.

Work began in earnest with an all day Faculty meeting. We learned about classroom assignments, schedules, expectations, and became more familiar with staff histories and preferences. I am fortunate to work with these colleagues as they are student focused and ready to engage in learning both personal and professional. I value their insight and respect as we begin to grapple with personal preferences, issues, and concerns. We are a committed group.

The “House” changes with each new person or group of persons who arrive. Routines shift, conversations broaden, and there are more folks pushing and pulling doors figuring out their ways. We eagerly await the arrival of students on Thursday!