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2.27 Fri
When we got up early in the morning, we were shocked to see that it was 7:07 with the second time view. We had to hurry up in order to catch up with others. Fortunately, we were not late. I phoned my mother and shared the experience here with her. I also planned Sunday’s schedule with my partner. We headed for Carlton Hill, visited National Gallery and went shopping on Princes Street. We took many photographs and were surprised by the beautiful drawings and wonderful cartoons in National Gallery’s -1 floor. We also showed great interests to the traditional and classical paintings on the ground floor. We all played high while shopping. I bought scarfs, biscuits and calendars. I wanted to buy a new watch, but I haven’t searched out “the perfect one”. Even the experience of looking for the restroom was full of amusement and fun, although we were all extremely exhausted. We marched on and finally arrived at the destination in Mary kings Close to explore a so-called “Edinburgh Ghost Tour”. The Ghost Town which is located downstairs at the corner of the street was hard to find, for it used to be the place where the poor gathered to live. They settled down almost in the 1970s. Unfortunately, the plague which is called “the black death disease” in Chinese visited the poor town and people fell down with high fever one after one and gradually grow to death painfully. First of all, we stood in lines and stepped into a small room. There is a map of the ancient city hang on the wall and an actor dressed in a Scotland skirt who gave out detailed instructions while pointing at a certain point on the map with a light pen. Shortly after that, we walked downstairs and took a view of the rooms. One is decorated with pictures of people who can move and talk which reminds me of the film Harry Potter. Another one that greatly inspired me was a girl’s room. The poor little girl, Annie, caught the deadly disease and was deserted by her parents and blocked in the room to death. When the room was smashed from outside years later, people were confused to find that the wall cabinet and fire place were filled with toys like dolls, puzzles, tiny houses, coins and the girl’s favorite baby doll lying in the middle of the “fortune”. It is said that the complex became shrouded in myths and urban legends; tales of ghosts and murders, and myths of plague victims being walled up and left to die abounded. The close actually consists of a number of closes which were originally narrow streets with tenement houses on either side, where we took photographs together, stretching up to seven stories high. Through visiting the commercial tourist attraction, Mary king’s close, I found it not only to be regarded as an indeed ghost town, but also display a window of a historically accurate example of life in the darkness, fear and hopelessness between the 16th and 19th centuries. At around 6 p.m. we took coaches and headed for St. Cuthbert’s for School Musical: Jesus Christ, Superstar. The theatre was incredibly tremendous and had a sense of ancient. We took seats and waited in silence. The perform was the most amazing one that I have ever seen, especially the actors and actress are all students from Fettes College and had just prepared for half a semester’s time, I was shocked at the unbelievable effect the stage had on me and clapped hands with great passion. Besides the attractive plots, the authors and actress themselves performed well enough to fix my eyes on the stage. During the break, I went out to the hall with my friends. We saw girls in brilliant dress and boys in suits. After having a nice chat, we met a student who was interested in Yangzi River and learnt how to say “Hello” and “I’m fine, and you?” in Chinese. It was such a coincidence that we ran into each other again on the bus back to school. Thus, we indeed had a good time enjoy the performance. I even met a girl from Russia on my way back and exchanged each other’s e-mail address. What a great day! And how wonderful the art in Britain is!
2.28 Sat.
Due to the tiredness we had the night before watching the show, we were allowed to get up late and then had lessons with our partners. It was remarkable for me to have my first Maths lesson here in Fettes. The teacher warmly welcomed me and asked me about what we study here in China. I found there no difficulty at all to communicate with him and drawed Maths formulas and graphs on the white board. I had to say that Maths here is really very easy, but it is said that the higher grades will have to study much harder and questions will be more challenging as well. It is a pity that I failed to learn more about Maths here, but I really enjoyed the lessons. Students have 100% free imaginations and ask whenever he or she thinks of a distinct situation. For example, they used to consider the height of the tallest mountain into the question which ordered them to work out the average time needed to circle the earth by aircraft. I admire them for their bravery and desire to the truth. In the afternoon, I, together with my partner, left for Game session-observe. We played mental games instead of sitting and watching the match. Since I was not as sensible as them in English words, I found it harder to discover the key to each turn. All in all, we laughed and learned. Before we had the Dinner Chinese New Year event, I, as well as my partner and her classmates in Chinese course, decorated the dining hall with traditional Chinese-red lanterns and Spring Festival scrolls. With the help of ladders, we easily put them up. In the evening, all the Chinese in Fettes came to celebrate the most important festival in China. It was my honor to dance in front of the audience. To be honest, I was a bit nervous before giving the performance, for it was 5 years ago when I had last practiced it. Fortunately, I didn’t make any mistake and was encouraged by the kind students and teachers. Thanks a lot, guys! Finally, we went back to the boarding house with great delight and satisfaction.
3.1 Sun.
Traffic light is a special feature here in Scotland. Different from ours in China, they each have a push-button with a word “wait” written on it. Passerby are supposed to push the button whenever they would like to cross the road. Thanks to the powerful computer system, machines will figure out the best time for the traffic light to turn green. From which are we able to learn about the humanized thinking and great care for citizens. I spent the last day with my exchange partners and learnt some Spanish from her roommate, Breagh. I soon became a fan for Spanish. I tried hard and finally managed to make short conversations in Spanish. I also learnt to play hooky and table football. They were great fun! My partner and her roommate guided me to the playground and taught me basic rules when playing hooky. I soon learnt that success can be achieved only with great efforts. Practicing over and over again, I hit the ball and goaled! They congratulated me and videoed the remarkable period. We hugged when I was moved and expressed my gratitude. In the end, we three watch a movie together in sofa and shared the memorial moment.
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