Ah, Scotland. Land of wild beauty, untamable landscapes, lush mountains, and…. sheep?

The past ten days have been a series of adventures around the Scottish Lowlands and Highlands. Through gentle valleys, long, winding roads, and up steep one-lane mountain passes, me and the ‘rents went from Peebles to Oban to Inverness to Edinburgh. Although this may sound dramatic, I think Scotland may be the most beautiful country I’ve ever visited.

This could be because it reminds me of home. The verdant beauty of the PNW never felt far away as we traversed through the green, hilly countryside. The only difference is the random appearances of ancient crumbling castles and sleepy little medieval towns that seem to be populous around Scotland. And did I mention the sheep?

Now, as we ride the train back towards the bustling metropolis of London, I can’t help but miss those quiet little villages and the serenity that they brought after the business of my program and other travels. In fact, it was so peaceful that I felt like I caught up on months of sleep. I think I spent almost our entire roadtrip to Oban on my birthday snoozing in the back seat, nestled next to our suitcases. Turning 23 was no rager, so what?

One thing I loved about Scotland that seemed to be consistent in every place we stayed was the pride the Scots have for their history and ancestry. They refuse to merge themselves with the English, and hold their own lore close to their hearts – often at the expense of said English, which was hilarious every time. Especially in Edinburgh, where you can hear bagpipes on every street corner and brusque Scottish brogues inside dusky pubs, you can’t help but respect the Scots for so staunchly upholding their traditions and customs.

This is also very apparent in the care they take to maintain their ancestral castles. From barely-there ruins to fully functioning living spaces, these buildings have been carefully maintained, historicized, and set up to allow visitors an incredible learning experience. I absorbed so much knowledge about the clans, the Jacobite wars, and Scotland’s history of strength in the face of danger that now all I want to do is go read and absorb more information.

Other fun experiences had in Scotland include: hiking through people’s farms to pet their friendly ponies (Scotland has a free-roaming law), touring the Isle of Skye and seeing some incredible scenery (and at least ten rainbows), stopping to look at many of Scotland’s famous lochs (maybe I saw Nessie in Loch Ness, I’ll never tell), and touring one of their oldest whiskey distilleries (those drams aren’t so wee after a while).

There are so many other amazing things that we got to see and experience, but it would be hard to fit in one post, so I’ll leave it here for now. As I write this I’m getting ready to see my best friends in just a few hours, and I could not be more excited. We’ll be in London for a week and then Paris for a week – the Europe girls trip is making it out of the group chat! I’m sure there will be many stories to tell, and I can’t wait to share them.

But for now…

From Scotland, with love,

Haley

I’ve spent the last week in Amsterdam with my boyfriend, Ian, meandering through winding streets bordered by murky canals, taking in the grandeur of it’s many historical sites, and soaking in the freedom and possibility of being in a brand new country.

I won’t lie, though: right now, I am sitting in the airport (where I’ve been for the last six hours), waiting for my delayed flight (that keeps getting delayed) after my first one was cancelled. The plan was to meet my parents here to then fly to Edinburgh, but now I wait for a plane to take me to London for a night before we embark on our trip to Scotland tomorrow. My hope is becoming increasingly smaller as the hours tick by and my plane is still not here.

Alas! Now is no time for negativity. I have just had the most magical week in beautiful Amsterdam and I’m not about to let a silly flight ruin that. Let’s dive into it.

To start, Ian and I spent our first day here wandering through the city center, getting our bearings, and ending up at the Rijks museum – a strong start to the week. Here we saw famous artists like Rembrandt (their most famous painting is The Night Watch) and Van Gogh, but also other, more obscure – but no less beautiful – pieces of art from around the Netherlands. Did you know there are over one million artifacts in the Rijks? The place was insane, and the building itself was a work of art absolutely worth seeing. Throughout the rest of the week, we went to the Maritime Museum and got to walk up and down each deck of Amsterdam’s most famously recreated ship, aptly named the Amsterdam. We also did a canal boat tour, visited the city’s most famous farmers market, spent hours in the Royal Palace, and played with butterflies in the Hortus Botanicus. Every place we went was incredible, with fantastic historical recreations, intricate carvings and statues, beautiful art and plant life, and most of all, important reflections on the Netherland’s brutal history of slavery, racism, and colonialism.

Aside from historical sites, Ian and I experienced Dutch culture through food, people, and simply walking around. For one, Amsterdam is known for its delicious fries topped with parmesan cheese and truffle mayo sauce, so you already know we got this as a snack almost daily (it was actually insane). We also had plenty of stroopwaffels, devoured ginormous pancakes twice as big as our heads, and tried bitterballen for the first time (basically just stew deep fried into little balls). Even more importantly, everywhere we went people were incredibly kind and welcoming, making Amsterdam feel more homey than a city of this size would normally appear to be. It’s also a city of many cultures, making for a beautiful maelstrom of different languages, customs, and peoples.

So now, as I sit in this airport and reflect on the last week, I can’t wait to see what my next stop has in store. Starting in Peebles, then Oban, then Inverness, and ending in Edinburgh, Scotland will, I’m sure, hold many more incredible sights, tastes, and learning opportunities.. I can’t wait to share them all with you!

From Amsterdam, with love (and slight impatience),

Haley

Yesterday was the big day. A whirlwind of activity in the morning led to tearful goodbyes and Ian practically dragging me out of Exeter – as you can imagine, I was not happy to leave.. Before leaving, though, we stood on my “balcony” (actually just a ledge with a short wall, definitely not supposed to be out there) and took it all in. I knew that I would never see this amazing view again, and breathing in the chilly morning Oxford air, I felt – and still feel – endlessly grateful for the month I’ve just had.

Let’s run it back just a bit. We had our graduation on Friday after a full day of lectures. Graduation was a small affair, but was sweet and heartfelt: we all applauded and whooped and whistled for our 75 new friends individually walking across the stage. Shaye handed us our certificates and shook our hands, and now none of us are ever washing our hands again. We had sherry hour with lots of pictures and laughter and wine, followed by a very nice three course meal served to us in the dining hall. It was all incredibly bittersweet, and we took this time to reminisce on the month and the things we’ve learned, talk about future plans to visit each other, and commiserate about our fears of the job market.

The last week of the course felt a bit unreal. We had just completed our stressful hands-on book workshop week, and going from long assignments and meetings every day to sitting in lectures again was quite jarring. Regardless., we had a wonderful week of learning, networking (drinking wine), and adventuring with each other.

Now, I’m sitting in an adorable Airbnb with Ian (still in Oxford), writing this blog, and thinking about all of the wonderful things that I’ve gotten to experience in the last 30 days. It almost doesn’t feel real. I’ve met some of the smartest, most incredible people, walked around this beautiful, ancient city, and learned about my dream profession from top industry professionals. I’ll most likely have another post going more in depth on my thoughts once I’ve done some more reflecting, but for now I’m going to enjoy my last full day here – I’ve still got some bucket list items to cross off!

On to Amsterdam, then Scotland, then London, then Paris. I hope you’re not tired of me yet!

From Oxford, with Love,

Haley

I suppose I should say again: long time, no see. 

I apologize for the break in content – week 3 was, let’s just say, a whirlwind. At least I can say now that I’ve made it through the Columbia Publishing Course gauntlet: book workshop week. While I am under oath to not spill any details about this week (just in case another future student gets their hands on this blog), I can say that there is a reason everyone is so secretive about book workshop week. Shaye, our program director, refused to tell us anything about the project until 25 publishing professional – and book workshop faculty – showed up on Exeter’s stoop to live, eat, and work with us for the week.

It was incredible to work alongside these people. All of them have been successful in their publishing careers, and no two people had the same roles or career trajectory. We had marketing experts, publishing directors, sales gurus, and everything in between to help guide us through the week. I had two mentors in my small group who were incredibly helpful and gave me new perspectives on many aspects of book making and publishing. And now I must shut my mouth – I feel like Shaye can sense every word I write. 

On a non-program note, I finally had the chance to adventure this weekend and cross many of my bucket list items off. Because book workshop went through our second weekend, all of us here were practically scratching at the walls of Exeter to get out and explore. Me and my friends visited the Museum of Oxford – very small but well-curated and had some awesome interactive parts- – and the Ashmolean museum – ginormous, incredible, and had humanoid skulls from something like 3 million years ago. Absolutely insane. I love museums. Oh, and did I mention that I went to prison? I even have the mugshot to prove it. (I promise it was just the Oxford prison tour… wink wink.)

We also had some great food, delicious coffee, and some yummy pastries. And don’t get me started on the Oxford Outdoor Market. I may have gotten way too many things there, but at least I can say that I got them in one of the coolest places in Europe. We took some long walks around Christ Church Meadows, saw some fluffy cows, and got to experience one of Oxford’s first crisp, fall days. 

It’s hard to believe that I’m already in my last week here. It feels surreal, especially because I feel like I’ve finally found my routine and am getting used to living and working in this place. I know I’m going to look back on all of this fondly, but right now I am trying my hardest to soak up every single minute here and squeeze everything that I can out of this medieval city. 

Cheers to the last week of the CPC and new adventures coming soon!

From Oxford, with love,

Haley