I went to the Free Church, and it didn't cost me a dime

I've done my best to go to church regularly while I'm over here, and I started to go to Hope Park across the street from my flat mostly because it was so close. However, the church was closed for renovations when I got back to Scotland in January. The congregation is meeting somewhere else out of town, so I've been going to other churches. I went with an Armenian friend to the service at St Salvator's chapel (I've photographed this building several times), and the university's chaplain invited us to have lunch with him after church one Sunday a fortnight from then. Since I don't particularly like the services there because the sermons have poor delivery and barely reference scripture (the chaplain doesn't actually preach but invites a different minister every week), I went to church at Holy Trinity on South St for the next couple weeks. I felt bad when I showed back up at St Salvator the day I was to have lunch with the chaplain, but he knew I was just hopping around from church to church while I'm here. Along with my Armenian friend (who does attend St Salvator regularly), I joined a Catholic Scottish bishop from Oban, the chaplain, and his wife at the chaplain's residence on the Scores. I have a few photographs of the Scores on this blog, but just as a reminder, the Scores is the most expensive property in the UK outside of London. The chaplain's dining room window looks out over the Old Course, West Sands, and a monument honoring 4 Martyrs who died in St Andrews during the reformation. When the British Open comes to St Andrews this summer, thousands and thousands of tourists will be just outside his window watching the 18th hole. It was a lovely lunch.

Today, I went with my Wisconsin friend (mentioned in the previous post about jambalaya) to the Free Church of Scotland, which actually meets at the old Baptist church on South St near Drouthy Neebors. Hope Park and Holy Trinity are both part of the "Church of Scotland," and I'm not entirely certain about the official differences. I'm pretty sure both the Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland are Presbyterian. However, the Free Church does not have hymns in the service. Instead, they sing psalms a-cappella. I actually liked that because everyone participates. At Holy Trinity, I've noticed that few people outside the choir loft sing, which can be annoying when I'm the only person around me singing (then again, I do sit towards the back... maybe the folk back there don't like to sing). One weird thing about the church is that the sanctuary is on the top floor instead of the ground floor so that the congregation has to walk up a flight of stairs for the service. Overall, I liked the service and sermon, so I might go back. I'll probably try a few other places first, though.

Jambalaya- Belated Mardi Gras

Ingredients (all measurements are approximate):

1 whole onion (any kind, but red)

1 whole green/yellow pepper

1 whole red pepper

Garlic

Chicken (we used one for this recipe)

Andouille, chorizo, or Polish sausage (we used 1)

Shrimp (we used about 200 g)

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 - 1 can tomato paste

1.5 - 2 cups of rice

1 tsp basil

2 bay leaves

1 healty tbsp cajun seasoning (we used Hot Slap Ya Mama)

1/2 tsp thyme

pinch of ground pepper

pinch of salt

2 tsp cumin (we accidently put too much in)

Dice peppers and onion and cook down in a small amount of oil and garlic. Make sure raw meats are cooked and then add sausage and chicken to the peppers with tomato paste. In another pot, bring diced tomatoes and 1/2 can full of water to a boil with all the seasonings. Add rice (we put in 3/4 of the can of diced tomatoes) and let simmer for approximately 30 - 40 minutes or until rice is tender. Add shrimp towards the end of that period (our shrimp had been cooked and pealed already). once the rice is cooked, add the meats, onion, and peppers for several minutes.

Optional ingredients: okra, celery, chicken stock (instead of water), lots of tobasco sauce.

Just before Mardi Gras a couple weeks ago, a friend from Wisconsin suggested we get together for a jambalaya dinner party at some point. Truth be told, I've never had jambalaya even though I grew up in Mississippi with a lot of family on the gulf coast. Therefore, she had to make it when we all had the dinner party a couple nights ago. She gave me permission to post the recipe on the blog as long as I emphasized that she is from the far north (not to far from Canada, eh) and made up the recipe by picking what she liked from other recipes. She doesn't want to offend any authentic southerners with her Wisconsin version of jambalaya.

Sprechen Sie Englisch?

Last night I was talking to an English flatmate in the kitchen about girls, and she said, "Yeah. They really put a spanner in the works." (I'm italicizing her words to emphasize her English accent) I gave her a confused look, so she repeated herself several more times. Finally, I said, "I don't understand what you're saying." "You know. They put a spanner in the works. It's a really common phrase. Have you not heard of it?" "A what in the works?" "A spanner. You know what a spanner is, right?" "No." "It's something you turn to make something work. Do we need to get Remy in here to translate?" (Remy is a Swiss flatmate whose parents are English and American) When she made this explanation, I first thought she was saying something positive about girls, but I still didn't understand 'spanner.' She asked, "Do you not call it a spanner?" "Do you mean a wrench?" "I guess, but when you put a spanner into a cog, it messes it up." "A cog?" "You know, those round things with teeth that turn and make other cogs turn. They're in watches." "Do you mean gears?" "Well, I guess." "So you say they put a wrench in the gears?" "That took way too long to explain."

So last night I learned that "spanner" is a British word for "wrench." I'm still surprised by the small differences between American and British English. At least she doesn't call "soda" "pop." Or maybe she does... I'll have to investigate that.

What's really broken?

Pat Bagley. Salt Lake Tribune.

You might notice that the GOP's fuel truck says "Tax Cuts for

the Rich and Wars." Zakaria implies that tax cuts to the rich

aren't the only problem. Middle class tax cuts and programs

will also need to be cut for the US to balance the budget-

but what political partisan is going to admit that?

Lately, I've been hearing a lot on American news outlets about Washington being 'broken.' Even in Europe, there are headlines like "What's Gone Wrong in Washington" in The Economist. On CNN I saw Senator Bayh talk about how the political culture has changed so that good people who are caught in a dysfunctional system. This past Sunday I listened to what Fareed Zakaria had to say on the subject (I know- I've mentioned Zakaria more than a couple times on this blog, but I really do like his show). Here's an excerpt:

"Everyone agrees Washington is a mess. In a poll released last week, two thirds of Americans were angry at the way Washington works. And there is plenty of blame to go around: Washington is blamed for partisanship, dysfunction, paralysis, problems that are never honestly addressed; we kick the can down the road; et cetera; et cetera. You’ve heard it all before. But in one sense Washington is delivering to the American people exactly what they seem to want. In poll after poll we find that the public is genuinely opposed to any new taxes, but we also discover that the public will immediately punish anyone who proposes spending cuts in any middle-class program, which are the ones where the money is in the federal budget. Now, there is only one way to square this circle short of magic, and that is to borrow money. And that is what we have done now for decades at the local, state, and federal level. At the root of this problem, writes Jacob Weisberg the editor of Slate Magazine, is our national ambivalence towards government. We dislike government in the abstract, but we love it in the particular. Strong majorities don’t want any more stimulus spending, but 80% of the public wants unemployment benefits extended and more money put into roads and bridges. Another term for that, as Weisberg notes, is stimulus spending. The lesson of the polls in recent elections is that politicians will succeed if they pander to this public schizophrenia. So the next time you accuse Washington of being irresponsible, save some of that blame for yourself and your friends."

To see the actual video, click here.

Later in the show, Zakaria interviewed James Baker, a Republican and former White House Chief of Staff under Reagan and Bush 41, Secretary of the Treasury under Reagan, and Secretary of State under Bush 41. Baker also ran a couple presidential campaigns. He said there was no way the federal government can balance the budget with only spending cuts or only tax increases. We have to do both.

Snow makes me happy- very happy

I've decided that I need to live in a place that has enough snow to make me happy but not so much that I get sick of it. Maybe Virginia? Scotland along the coast gets a lot less snow than I thought it would, and I'm sure the United States has received much more this winter than we have. Nevertheless, we've had a few days with random snows that melt in a few hours. Last Saturday we had one of those snows, and I decided to go for a walk instead of read for class. These photos are from that walk.

St Salvator's Quad. I took my Theory exam

in the building with the white door.

St Salvator's Quad

The cathedral. I need to go when

the gates are open and take more photos.

View of North Street looking

at St Salvator's Chapel.

View of Hope Street just outside my door.

Why do the Welsh look like pansies?

One of Scotland's good plays in this rugby match.

Gareth Cooper and James Hook couldn't hold onto

John Barclay, who scored the game's opening try (equivalent to a TD).

They double-teamed him but still couldn't stop this dude.

www.rbs6nations.com

A little more than a week ago (on Feb 13- yes, I know I'm late making these posts), I went to The Rule (a pub on South St) to watch Scotland play Wales in the 6 Nations tournament. This is a rugby tournament every February and March between England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales. Apparently, Scotland isn't very good, but they play their hearts out in these games because they have nothing to lose. On this particular Saturday, Scotland was doing really well in the first half with a descent lead. Wales just didn't look like they wanted to play. The pub was packed with all the jolly Scottish fans starring a huge screen, and the patriotism was contagious. There was only one Wales fan in the crowd who was willing to cheer. A friend sitting next to me was cheering for Wales because he had a bunch of Welsh players on his fantasy rugby team, but he tried his best to be quiet. However, Scotland's luck changed dramatically in the 2nd half, and the Scottish fans became more somber as Wales scored over and over again. It finally came down to the final Welsh drive when they finally took the lead. I would have liked Scotland winning so that the pub would have been more exciting, but I still enjoyed learning about the game. I had seen rugby when I lived in France, but my friends who actually play rugby explained all the rules, strategy, and intricacies so that I had a better idea of what was going on this time.

One thing in particular confused me: why were the Welsh fans in the stands dressed like yellow flowers?

Welsh fans celebrate victory over Scotland.

Scott Heppell. AP.

Nothing says "intimidation" like pansy-looking costumes, right? I asked my rugby friend, and he explained that each of the 6 nations have a flower. Wales has the daffodil, which is a symbol of vanity according to Greek myths about Narcissus. Therefore, the fans wore these silly hats to support their team. I'm used to seeing fans dress up as Vikings, bears, and tigers or paint their bodies black and gold to support their team. I've never seen anyone dress like a flower. At least Scotland has an awesome flower: the thistle. It's a prickly flower that stings, so it is a symbol of defense. As far as flowers go, that's a cool one. But the daffodil?

Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't

I'm really late making this post since it happened almost 2 weeks ago (on Feb 10), but I just couldn't be bothered to take the time until tonight.

Most everyone is surprised that I had never shot a gun before 2 weeks ago, especially since I grew up in Mississippi where hunting is practically a rite-of-passage every 4-year-old has to complete before he starts kindergarten. Las January I admitted this factoid about myself, and a friend from Texas told me, "You just lost your 'Mississippi persona' for me." It's not that I didn't want to shoot guns or had anything against killing Bambi's mom. I just didn't have the opportunity. I didn't even know that there was a gun in the house until after I graduated from college (but I wouldn't want to shoot that gun- who knows when it was last cleaned). I've wanted to learn how to shoot and shoot well because I believe that is an important life skill: you never know when the revolution or zombies might come. A Canadian friend told me about the University of St Andrews Rifle Club, which meets just behind the Whey Pat pub. I was really surprised that this inconspicuous 2-story white building behind one of my regular pubs housed a bunch of rifles, ammunition, and a shooting range just a quick 5 minute walk from my flat. So, I went with a couple friends to try it out.

The guns weren't spectacular. They were small-bore with miniscule bullets. If I was trying to hurt someone, I would be better of swinging the butt of the gun into his face than trying to shoot him. When the zombies come to St Andrews, DO NOT go to the armory and take these guns (I'm not sure where I'll go in the zombie breakout- the castle? St Rule's tower? the Old Course? St Salvator's Quad? a pub?). From what I understand, the club shoots full-bore rifles in the countryside somewhere. The club's captain was very helpful in showing me how to work the rifle and get into the right stance. When it was my turn to shoot, I was surprised by how small the target was (only about an inch or two across). It just looked like a small, distant black dot through the sight. I've played enough video games and watched enough war documentaries to know that I needed to hold my breath in order to stabilize the gun as I shot, and the club's captain gave me a couple other pointers. Since the target was so far away, I couldn't tell if I had even hit it or where I had hit it. I just kept loading the next bullet in the chamber and hoped I was hitting something. The gun barely had any kick; I've probably shot paintball guns with more kick. It was slightly uncomfortable, though. The cheek rest was too high so that I couldn't easily look down the sight, and the stock was too short so that it didn't rest easily into my shoulder. I'm not sure if that's normal or not. The captain gave me a carpet roll to rest the barrel on since I was a newbie, but I found the roll annoying because it kept the gun lower than I would have liked. The more experienced shooters had jackets/slings that helped them keep their arms steady as they shot (when I first saw this jacket, I thought the dude had a broken arm but was stubborn and still wanted to shoot). After I fired my 5 bullets into each of the two targets, the captain gave me a scope so that I could see what I had done. I was proud that I had actually hit the target. He said I had done "some bloody good shooting" since I was consistently hitting the same point on the target. I would just need to adjust the sight a little in order to hit it perfectly.

I want to go back on a regular basis. I didn't go last week because I was slightly sick and really busy. Today I went, but the schedule was booked since a bunch of people were shooting for a competition. Next Wednesday I'll hopefully get another chance.

My 5 bullets in 2 targets

Russian Pooh

Last week I played cards with some Russian friends, and for some reason they referenced a cartoon character in Russia that I didn't know about but were shocked I had never heard of it. From there the conversation devolved into them singing "Winnie the Pooh" in Russian. I felt like this was the opportune moment for me to use the video camera. During one of the games, they said I would have to sing "Winnie the Pooh" if I lost. I never agreed mostly because they were ganging up against me. Nevertheless, they somehow finagled the camera out of my hands and made a recording.

Watching Football until 3 am

Jeb Jacobson

Getty Images

This past Sunday I joined a bunch of friends at DRA (university-owned apartments on the outskirts of town- about a twenty minute walk from anywhere in St Andrews) to watch the Super Bowl there. The apartment complex has a large bar with two large flat-screen tvs near the front entrance, and we had to watch the game here because the game didn't start until 11:30 here when all the pubs close at 11 or midnight. Most everyone in this bar was American, but some friends came along even though they didn't understand or respect the game. For a good part of the game I sat next to an Irish friend who studied at UT Austin and learned to love the sport there, and we pretty much analyzed every play. I am quite confident I annoyed everyone in the bar, even on the mundane plays when I shouted at the tv. Of course, everyone else cheering for the right team was standing and yelling during the Tracy Porter interception.

Having grown up in Mississippi, I had a soft spot for the New Orleans Saints, but they were of course the "Aint's." We wanted them to win, but we didn't have great expectations. Because my grandparents grew up in Pittsburgh, I also cheered for the Steelers, and I had more opportunities to cheer for them since they were in the playoffs more often. It seems like a good combination because the Saints and Steelers don't play each other often. I honestly do the same thing with college football when I support the Ole Miss Rebels and Texas Longhorns. I have no family connection to or history with Ole Miss and hadn't been to Oxford until after I graduated from college. At least with the Longhorns I'm very familiar with Austin and have family who has been to school there. But I do have a soft spot for the Rebels, and I would like to see them win a National Championship. That seems unlikely now, but 5 years ago the Saints probably had the same chances of winning the Super Bowl.

Classmates watching the game

Root, root root for the home team

Last night at the pub my friend used the word "root," but I didn't understand what he meant. He explained that he was using the word in the Australian sense, which implies... shall we say 'immoral procreation' or thereabouts. He then told me about a Canadian clothing company named Roots, which really confuses the Australians when they see the logo printed on jeans and shirts. I found this rather humorous, albeit inappropriately so.

Have a nice life

A couple days ago I was walking along North Street when a white delivery van suddenly stopped across the street from me. It was one of those windowless vans a creepster could use to stalk children in, but it was too new for that. The Scottish driver got out and waved at me as he crossed the street, "Are you local?" "I'm a student," I answered. He seemed disappointed when he heard my American accent. I figured he was about to ask for directions, and I know the town well enough to direct him to the major landmarks or streets. He asked, "Do you know where Boase Avenue is?" St Andrews is filled with small alleys and avenues that are only 40 yards or so long, and there is no way I know where all of them are unless I happen to live on one (mine is Hope Street). I politely told him that I wasn't familiar with that avenue. Once he walked back across the street, he turned around and said, "Have a nice life."

Back home, no one says "have a nice life" in a kind way. It's always a sarcastic remark with the same meaning as "go to hell." We would only use it with people we hope to never see again because they're worthless to us. I could see the British actually using the 'nice life' phrase in a cordial manner with strangers they don't expect to see again. When that driver told me that, I didn't know whether or not I should be insulted. Maybe those were fighting words, and I should have punched him in the face. Then again, he could have meant it in a cordial way and would have been very surprised to see an American's fist flying towards his face.

Suits: my sunday bests are my best friends

For the past couple months, I've been watching How I Met Your Mother, and I just recently caught up with all the episodes. One of the main characters, Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), is a ladies' man/pick-up artist who has an obsession with suits. He constantly tells his friends to "suit up." A couple weeks ago I talked with some friends/fellow fanatics about suiting up and having a pub crawl. Shortly thereafter I realized that my birthday was coming up, and that would make an awesome themed party. Ironically, there were only 4 guys in suits (and only yours truly and one other dude wore a tie with the suit) whereas there were about 11 girls in dresses.

That night my friends (especially the guys) wanted me to make some Barney-type moves, like going up to a group of girls I've never met and say, "Daddy's home." Fortunately, I had enough wits about me not to do that.

Dinner party at the Oak Room on North Street

Flatmates and honorary flatmates at pub #1,

Golf 1 Place (right next to the 18th hole on the Old Course)

Peace and Conflict represented

Anstruther: fish and chips and not much else

St Andrews is in the northern part of "Kingdom of Fife," and Anstruther is in the South. Whenever I heard about students here going to visit another city in Fife, Anstruther was the primary destination. This place had a mythical aura because Prince William would come here to eat at the Anstruther Fish Bar, which has been selected as the best fish and chips joint in the UK for years. I'm not a big fan of the fish and chips here in St Andrews, but everyone told me that this restaurant was legendary.

After my failed attempt to go skiing last week, I still wanted to do a day trip somewhere around St Andrews, especially since I had done so little traveling around here. I sent a mass facebook message at 2 am the day before we left, so only a handful received the message in time to go with me the next morning. I told everyone to be at the bus station at 10:25 because the timetable told us the Anstruther bus left then. Unfortunately, the bus leaving at 10:25 didn't have the right bus number and had the wrong town destination in the marquee. We still lined up with everyone to get on the bus because there were no other buses, but I was suspicious. I went back inside and checked the list of departures to see what was wrong while the others waited in line. Just before they got on the bus for Dundee (which is not exactly the most cultured or posh city in the UK), I waved them to come back inside. I then waited at the information desk for a few minutes before an employee actually paid enough attention to me to ask me if I had a question. She explained that road work had caused the buses to have different times and gave me a new timetable. I've gradually learned that Scottish buses are not the most reliable busses in Europe: more than once I've watched my bus drive away ten minutes too early or show up thirty minutes late.

Because we took the long way around Fife, the ride to Anstruther was about an hour long even though it is only 10 miles or so away from St Andrews. Our first stop was the infamous Anstruther Fish Bar overlooking the harbor. This restaurant did not disappoint. For £7.60 I got a box of fried haddock fish, chips, bread with butter, and a drink (for me- coffee, which isn't exactly a traditional drink for fish and chips, but whatever). I'm not sure why they gave us bread and butter as an appetizer. It was just plain sliced bread I could find at Tesco and cold butter that tore the bread apart. Besides, my meal already had enough fat and carbohydrates. Surely a healthier choice would have been some fruit? Then again, I love fried pickles with my fried catfish back home. That's not exactly healthy, either.

After lunch we strolled around Anstruther to see the other attractions. The only other open attraction was the Scottish Fisheries Museum, and most of us didn't want to pay £6+ to see old nets and stuff. Maybe another time I'll go if someone is so inclined, but this day we just walked around the harbor and towards a church in the distance. Along the way we learned that there's not much else to do or see in Anstruther. Other than their famous fish bar, it's just another Scottish fishing town not too different from all the other small towns here. I did get a chance to take some cool pictures of buildings and along the shore. After our hike on sidewalks so narrow that we had to dodge oncoming traffic, we went the the Ship Bar next to the harbor for an afternoon pint. Actually, I only had a coke since didn't feel like a drink this day.

We left the bar early enough so that we would not miss our bus. Once again, the timetable was wrong even though it was the most recent one. We finally found a bus going back to St Andrews about forty minutes later, but it was filled with school kids going home. I find it weird that there are no school busses and that the students use the regular bus system.

I might go back to Anstruther this semester because there are boat trips from here to nearby islands, including one with a 7th century religious site covered with birds.

Remy clicking his heels in excitement

about fish and chips.

The group waiting for the bread and butter.

Delicious food with brown sauce

and hot coffee.

This is my favorite picture from the day:

Danielle and Remy took a walk towards the sea.

I made a few videos on this trip. Here's one with Danielle explaining how to survive in Wyoming:

What annoys me this week

Instead of typing out what has annoyed me this week, I figured I'd post a couple political cartoons I've found recently and comment on them:

Bruce Plante. Tulsa World

Tulsa, OK

A lot of people, including Obama, have been criticizing the Supreme Court about their decision to let corporations contribute as much as they to political campaigns because laws limiting campaign donations would be a violation of the corporation's right to free speech. The logic leading to this decision seems interesting, but I don't think corporations are people who have the same guaranteed inalienable rights as actual humans. Then again, I'm not a lawyer who studies these intricacies. Intricacies aside, I don't want corporations to use their wealth to influence elections.

Luojie. China Daily

Beijing, China

This cartoon is more controversial, especially for some of my American friends. After studying in Europe for a little while, I can better see how American policy sees every problem as a military problem that needs a military solution. We're too eager to use sticks when we should use carrots, but we also use our carrots as if they were sticks. Americans also don't pay attention to what goes on in the world, so the US government can get away with much more than they would if the public actually read about foreign news once in a while. Case in point: many Americans look at Yemen and see terrorists; thus, the military needs to go in and root out the terrorists. However, the terrorists are there because there's a civil war going on there. Finding a way to fix the government so that the civil war can end so that the terrorists will lose their popular support seems like a more sensible solution than bombing them more.

Cameron (Cam) Cardow. The Ottawa Citizen

Ottawa, Canada

Another case of Americans being oblivious to US policy is Haiti: I've seen several news reports that bring up the several coups in that country and blame the local bad government on their current problems. However, the US is not innocent here. Some of these coups occurred in part because US policy was hostile to the local government, even if that government was democratically elected. Fareed Zakaria's program did mention that the US has blame in Haiti's problems. Specifically, Amy Wilentz mentioned on GPS that Haiti came of age when the US and other states were opposed to freed slaves controlling an independent state and undermined Haiti. On the same show, Madison Smartt Bell said, "We in the United States [...] tend to export our political divisions there, thus creating confusion in our foreign policy with them." I liked how Zakaria's show talked about the problems America has caused in this country.