Thursday, June 14, 2007

Lectures-r-us

Today I was able to sit and chat with my class about archaeology...it was nice, we actually had a discussion, the students really got into it, and the time went by really fast. We meet for 1.5 hours, then had a break for a few hours. Caren (the photojournalism professor) and I went and did a bit of thrift shopping, to ya' know, be amongst the people (she says with tongue-in-cheek). There are a whole bunch of them on one street, just one after the other. They were very clean, and full of thrifty things. I did buy 2 pairs of trousers (pants are tighty-whiteys or granny-panties) and a top. I optimisitcally brought 2 pairs of trousers, one capris, and one skirt. Well, the weather has been a might bit chilly since we got here, even the Scots say it is unseasonable. Seriously, the high today was 52 degrees F, with a brisk wind. It is now a bit drizzly. I don't mind the cool weather, it sure beats 90+ degrees, but it is about 15-20 degrees below the average. Anyway, no worries, right? I now have three very functional souvenirs!

Also today we took the combined classes to hear Professor Ian Ralston, Univ. of Edinburgh, speak. He took time out of his very busy schedule to give us an overview of Scottish prehistory. We spent a delightful 1.5-2 hours seeing pictures and taking notes in what is called the Old High School building. This building was the original Royal High School of Edinburgh, Sir Walter Scott was a student there in the 1820s, after which it was turned into the first Infirmary (hospital), and is now located at No. 12 Infirmary Street (although there is no street sign indicating the name, and no number on the building!).
Another interesting note about this building is that Dr. Lister, a surgeon made famous by his work with developing anesthesia (thank you, Dr. Lister), performed numerous surgeries there.

I think the students were impressed to know they were in a building with such history.
I didn't take any pictures of the building today, but will be back there on Monday, so will then, promise! I did, however, take a picture of the room with our classes in it waiting for the lecture to begin.

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