Nollaig nam Aonair MMXI ~ The (Great) Couch-surfing Christmas of 2011

A' Chiad: Silidh Ubhail no 'The Poet's Second Stair'  

It was a damp and foggy start to the day yet surprisingly - and no doubt unseasonably - warm. Mist hung low over the scene endlessly attempting to secure a hold on its surroundings only to be loosed by the gentle hands of a mild winter breeze rustling its way through the morning.                            

A warm, crackling fire dancing in the grate; soft blues playing in the background; a freshly decorated tree twinkling with lights beside a dark window spattered with rain; this is my world as I write to you tonight. It must be Christmastime!
I was going to write a post about all the visits and gatherings I've been on since I got here, but I figured this would be just as good and besides, there will no doubt be many more to write about after the holidays.
---
Before I go any further, a note about the title:

Where I'm spending Christmas this year

I'm spending my Christmas in a small little village on the west side of Sleat, named Tarskavaig. where there are quite possibly - though I haven't counted - no more than 10 houses.  A good number of the staff from the college live here and, not surprisingly everyone knows everyone else's life story. The house that I'm staying in for the next two nights is that of a writer and bard, who I first officially met about a month ago. Just last week I ran into her again at a 'cafe' of sorts the college was testing out. We got chatting and I mentioned that I would be staying with another family here in Tarskavaig for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. At this, she replied [in Gaelic of  course] 'Oh, they have a rather small house as it is; if there doesn't end up being enough room, I live in Tarskavaig too and my door's always open. Feel free to walk in.'  It ended up working out perfectly, actually, because I would have been spending these days in a hostel in Broadford otherwise. If that's not serendipity, I don't know what is.

Though I've come across some amazingly kind and generous people, it never ceases to surprise me how hospitable people can be. When I arrived at Meg's house today, it was to learn that she and her son were packing to visit family in the Borders. Silidh Ubhail, or apple jelly, was written on a scrap of paper on the kitchen table, the remnants of some Christmas list I happened to glance at. As her son went off to deliver gifts to the community, I was left alone in the house and noticed amongst the piles of books and other scraps a note taped to the hall wall entitled 'The Poet's Second Stair'  Somehow, the two lines combined to stick in my head like the name of some weird melodrama.

A warning re: the Poet's second stair

Beware to guests a' bed upstairs who seek 

a quiet nightime relief of flowing;

who try to the bathroom to silently creep

with a desire for none to be knowing --

as the Poet's second stair will, with it's ample CREEK

set your cheeks a' rosy glowing! 

          - extract from the lost & bemused musings of               Mad Meic McManx

           (cynghannedly-challenged neo-bard)

When Meg returned from a few errands (I had arrived before she got home) the first words out of her mouth were 'Make yourself at home. If you see any food around, eat it; if you need the computer, it's upstairs; if you need to make any calls, there's the phone; feel free to start a fire in the woodstove; don't worry about taking off your shoes; just make sure the bed is made up when you leave.' And after a bite to eat and telling me to make sure to visit Donald John up the road, who is very fond of the fiddle, she headed out the door. It was as if I come to stay all the time!

---

So, here I am on the second and last night at the home of a true Scottish bard (though she probably wouldn't tell you that), surrounded by two of four cats, finishing off this post I started yesterday and the bard herself isn't even here!
I was out for a walk today around Tarskavaig, only for about half an hour before it started raining. Having gotten a brief introduction to the people who live in the village from both Meg and the head of reception at Sabhal Mòr - who picked me up along the road getting here - yesterday, it was nice to wander and recognize the names of others from the college posted outside their house. Numbers aren't really used, I've learned, in Sleat because it's such a small area to begin with. The mailman knows everyone. He even walked straight into the kitchen today to drop off some letters! I still haven't made it to Donald John's house; perhaps it would be a nice thing to do tomorrow before I head off to Michael and Becca's house, given that it'll be Christmas Eve.

'Fairy Lights'

Since this will no doubt be the last post I make before Christmas, I wish the very merriest of Christmases to all of you who are reading this and your families, wherever they be. Though my Christmas this year will be something completely new and unknown, I am still fully confident that it will be filled with all the joy, love and peace that surrounds this season of hope. Here's praying that the same may be true for all of you! Nollaig Chridheil dhuibh uile, as they say in these parts! =)
Le gach deagh beannachd; blessings, Daniel.

Christmas Eve eve in Tarskavaig

Seachdain a' Siubhail: Transcriptions [19mh agus 21d dhen Dàmhair 2011]

Halò a h-uile duine, 

The expedition continues...

Cala Eirisgeigh ~ Eriskay Harbour

19mh Dàmhair 2011

Ràinig mi [a] Barraigh agus tha e àlainn. 'S e Barraigh an aite as eòlaiche na Alba Nuadh, tha mi a smaointinn. Choisich mi dhan Bàgh a' Chaisteil bhon Aird Mhòr air sgàth gun robh mi a smaointinn e ceithir no còig mìle, ach bha e mar seachd no ochd. Ach uell, bha e sgoinneil co-dhiùbh! Chunnaic mi [am] bradan Gàidhlig! 

Nuair a bha mi ann an Uibhist a' Deas, cha robh duine aig Tobha Mòr ach mi fhìn. Bha e neònach ach bha e math cuideachd. B' e latha garbh a bh' ann ach bha torr 'blankets' a' siud so bha mi blàth gu leòr. Tha an osdail seo cho brèagha. As deidh na h-osdailean Gatliff, tha an osdail seo mar Hilton. 

---

   21d Dàmhair 2011

Uell, tha mi air am bata-aiseag eadar Bàgh a' Chaisteil agus Òban. Bithidh mi air an tìr mór ann an còig uairean! Bha Barraigh sgoinneil fhèin! Choisich mi gu Eòiligearraidh an-diugh agus bha na seallaidhean dìreach àlainn. 'Apart from' [A thuilleadh air] sin, bha mi ann an 'car accident' =) 

[NB: 'S e sgeulachd math a th' anns an latha siud ach tha mi ro sgìth an nochd airson a bhith sgrìobhadh ma dheidhinn. Cuir e anns mo cheann latha air choireigin eile...] 

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19th of October 2011

At the Barra hostel: 

Caisteal a' Chismul ~ Kisimul Castle

I arrived in Barra and it's stunning! Barra has to be the most similar place to Nova Scotia, I think. I walked to Castlebay from Aird Mhór, where the ferry docks, because I thought it was only four or five miles. It was actually about seven or eight! Oh well, it was great anyway. I saw the Gaelic salmon! [The Gaelic salmon is the symbol for Nova Scotia's Gaelic community]

When I was in South Uist, there wasn't anyone else at Howmore except myself. It was strange, but nice at the same time. It was a cold, wet and windy night but there were tons of blankets so I kept warm enough. This hostel is so nice. Compared to the Gatliff hostels, this is the Hilton! 

---

21st of October 2011

On the ferry from Barra: 

Beatha Barrach ~ Barra Life

So, I'm on the ferry between Castlebay and Oban right now and will be on the mainland in five hours! Barra was great! I walked to Eoligarry today and the views were just beautiful! Apart from that, I was in a car accident. =)

[NB:  That's a great story, but I'm too tired right now to be writing about it. Remind me some other day...]
 

Na tràighean ~ The beaches

Seachdain a' Siubhail: Transcriptions [17mh dhen Dàmhair 2011]

Halò a h-uile duine,

Part two of my Hebridean adventures:

17mh Dàmhair 2011

I'm having an English day today. Sorry, Iain Tormod! 

So, here I am on what is the fourth day of my excursion through the Western Isles and the wind is howling unrelentlessly. I've taken shelter in the only real building here at the Leverburgh Pier - complete with two washrooms and a set of benches. The town of Leverburgh looked nice, but it's on the opposite side of the bay from the pier and I don't fancy the walk back. When I say this is the only building around, that's not quite true. There is also a restraunt which doesn't open until one o' clock (in about an hour) and a 'Butty Bus' where I just enjoyed a brilliant breakfast sandwich - egg and bacon - and tea for only £3.50. It's a neat little place. I was expecting him to operate out of a side window like a chip truck, but he's actually converted the inside of the bus into a diner, with a small kitchen at the back end. It looks completely driveable too, so it's fully self-contained; no outside propane tanks or anything like that. 

Cidhe Òb ~ Leverburgh Pier

Bruidhinn mi Gàidhlig an-diugh. As deoghaidh faisg air ceithir uairean aig an cidhe Òb, ghlac mi am bàta-aiseag gu Bearnaraigh. Bha i glé gharbh anns an t-Òb; bha 'hail' ann! Tha e brèagha ann an Bearnaraigh. Feumaidh mi post a' cur am màireach air sgàth nach deach mi a dhèanamh an-diugh. Dhìochuimhnich mi . Bithidh an oifis a' phuist fosgailte aig naoi uairean 's a mhadainn, so cuiridh mi post gu Canada am màireach. 

Air an traigh ~ On the beach

Co-dhiùbh, bhruidhinn mi Gàidhlig le duine a thoirt lioft dhomh dhan osdail. Chuala mi Gàidhlig anns a' bhùth ann am Bearnaraigh 'The Lobster Pot Cafe', ach nuair a fheuch mi i, fhreagair an té anns a' Bheurla. 'S e taigh dhubh a th' anns an osdail seo agus tha e làn. Tha teaghlach ann às an Òban agus tha iad a' baichadh a Steòrnabhagh airson a' Mhòd. Tha trì no ceithir daoine eile [ann] cuideachd agus boireannach à Dealauair (?)

Bha an-diugh inntinneach air sgàth nach tàinig am bus gu Reineagdail. Mar sin, dhraibh an duine à Sasainn mi faisg air Tairbeart agus ghlac mi am bus gu Leverburgh. Tha mi ag iarraidh a' coiseachd mun cuairt an eilean am màireach aig sia no seachd uairean so feumaidh mi 'dol dhan leabaidh an drasda, no 'soon.' 

Tha gille ann a' seo a' sealltainn mar Liam. Ach uell, oidhche mhath a h-uile duine! Chì mi am màireach sibh...uell, sgrìobhaidh mi dhuibh am màireach. Beannachd leibh!                     

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17th of October 2011

In the hostel at Berneray:

Osdail Bearnaraigh ~ Berneray Hostel

I spoke Gaelic today! After close to four hours at the Leverburgh pier, I caught the ferry to Berneray. It was pretty blustery in Leverburgh; there was hail. It's lovely in Berneray. I need to mail a letter tomorrow because I didn't do it today; I forgot. The post office will be open at nine in the morning so I'll send it to Canada then. 

Anyway, I spoke Gaelic with a man who gave me a lift to the hostel. I heard Gaelic in the store here, 'The Lobster Pot Cafe' but when I tried to speak it, the lady answered in English. 

The hostel here is an old black-house [Black houses were the traditional style of building in the highlands right up until the beginning of the twentieth century, if not later in some areas] and it's full. There's a family from Oban here, who are biking up to Stornoway for the Mod. There are three or four others as well, including a woman from Delaware. 

Éirigh Gréine ~ The Sunrise at Berneray

Today was interesting. The bus didn't come to Rhenigdale, so the man from England drove me close to Tarbert and I caught the bus to Leverburgh there. 

I want to walk around the island tomorrow at six or seven o' clock so I had better head to bed now, or soon anyway. 

There's a boy here who looks just like Liam! Anyway, good night everyone. I'll see you tomorrow...well, write to you anyway. Cheers!

Seachdain a' Siubhail: Transcriptions [14mh dhen Dàmhair 2011]

Halò a h-uile duine,

'S fhada bhon uair sin! It's been a while!

To follow are transcriptions of my journal entries while I was touring the Western Isles back in October. I tried to write in Gaelic the whole time, so I'll translate each entry afterwards:

  14mh Dàmhair 2011

"Rud a chuala mi nuair a bha mi a' siubhail: 'I don't like the motion of the boat; you don't like the motion of the ocean?'
      So, dh'fhàg mi Sabhal Mòr 's a mhadainn agus ghlach mi am bus bho Armadail gu Port Rìgh. As deoghaidh sin, fhuair mi airgead bhon Banca Dail Chluaidh ron a ghlach mi am bus gu Ùige. 'S e baile glé shnog a th' ann a' sin. 'S e am pàirt na h-eilein snog a th' ann an taobh tuath cuideachd. Chuala mi tòrr Gàidhlig  mar thà , agus tha gaol agam air. Tha mi 'n dòchas gun urrainn dhomh Gàidhlig a' cleachdadh mus tàinig [correction: mus tig] mi air ais. Chì sinn. Chuala mi tòrr  Beurla le blas a' Ghàidhlig agus bha e sgoinneil. Tha mi air mo dhòigh ann a' seo. Bithidh mise brònach nuair a tilleadh mi air ais dhan Sgitheanach. 
Tha mi ag éisteachd ri daoine a bruidhinn mu dheidhinn an eaglais aca. Tha mi smaointinn gu bheil an té na minisdear. Tha a h-uile duine air am bàta-aiseag seo eòlach air gach duine eile. 
Tha sinn ann am meadhan a' mhuir an-drasda agus chan urrainn dhomh rud sam bith fhaicinn. Tha e mìorbhaileach! =) 
Tha mi ag ionndrainn Ceap Breatainn pìos beag agus na daoine ann a' siud ach chì mi iad nuair a thillidh mi air ais. Bithidh sin math. 

Reinigeadal ~ Rhenigdale

---
Ràinig mi aig osdail òigridh ann an Rhenigdale. Bha an slighe dhan seo doirbh is fada ach ràinig mi agus thog mi dealbh na dhà math. Bha an slighe sgoinneil! 
Tha trì daoine eile anns an osdail seo; da fear agus té. Chan eil Gàidhlig aca. Ach uell, 's dòcha am màireach . 'S e osdail snog a th' ann a' seo. Tha cidsin mór aige agus seòmar-suidhe glé bhlàth  is 'cozy.' Bithidh mi ann a' seo airson dà latha no trì oidhche. Bithidh e math, tha mi smaointinn. Tha gaol agam air na Hearadh mar sin tha mi 'n dòchas  gum bi gaol agam air na h-àiteachan eile cuideachd. Chì sinn. Tha mi a' tiormachadh na brògan agams' as sgàth [correction: air sgàth] gun robh an slighe beagan fliuch bho àm gu àm. Tha barrachd stocainnean agam so tha mi ceart gu leòr agus bithidh na brògan  agam tioram 's a mhadainn. Tha mise ag òl tì an drasda agus brot agus tha mi toilichte gu mór. =) 
Uell, oidhche mhath leibh, a' chàirdean. Chì mi am màireach sibh.                  

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 14th of October 2011

On the ferry to Tarbert in Harris: 

"Something I heard while I was travelling: 'I don't like the motion of the boat; you don't like the motion of the ocean?'

So, I left Sabhal Mòr this morning and took the bus from Armadale to Portree. After that, I got some money from the Clydesdale Bank before catching the bus to Uig. Uig is a really nice town. The north side of the island is really nice too. I heard a lot of Gaelic already and I love it. I hope I`ll be able to use Gaelic  before I come back. We`ll see. I`ve heard a lot of English with a heavy Gaelic accent too. It`s awesome!  I`m quite content here. I`ll be sad when I have to head back to Skye. 

Air an slighe gu Reinigeadal

I`m listening to people speak about their church right now. I think the woman is the minister. Everyone on this ferry seems to know each other. We`re in the middle of the ocean right now and I can`t see a thing. It`s fantastic! =) 

I`m missing Cape Breton a little bit and the people there, but I`ll see them when I return, so no worries. 

---

At Rhenigdale: 

I arrived at the youth hostel in Rhenigdale. The path here was long and hard but I made it and I got a few good pictures. It was such a sweet path! 

There are three other people at this hostel. Two men and a woman. [addition: The one was a young couple from Germany and the other, older man was from the south of England] None of them have Gaelic. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. This is a really nice hostel. It has a huge kitchen and a very warm and cozy living room. I'll be here for two days and three nights. It'll be good I think. I love Harris so I hope I'll love the other places too! We'll see. 

I'm drying out my shoes right now because the path was a little wet in spots. I have more socks so I'll be fine and my shoes will be dry by morning. I'm also quite happy as I'm here drinking tea and soup.

Well, good night friends. I'll see you tomorrow! =)

Cnocan a' Rheinigeadal ~ The Hills of Rhenigdale

Dè tha 'dol? Pt. I: A Canadian in Glasgow

Halò a h-uile duine!

So, it's been over a month since I've posted anything, but that doesn't mean I've not been busy. Rather, it just means I've been lazy with keeping this up. In fact, I've been up to so much, I need to break it into about five or six posts.
"Dè tha 'dol?" [jay ha doll?] is Gaelic for "What's going on?" and is a rather common alternative to "Ciamar a tha thu?" [kimar a ha oo?], meaning "How are you?" And, before I go any further, I might as well tell you, in case you haven't figured it out already, "Halò a h-uile duine!" [halo a hoola dune-ya!] means "Hello everybody!", Halò of course being an ancient Gaelic word that was stolen by the English many centuries ago.

Anyway, enough grammar for now. What's been going on? Well, the answer is a lot.

On Argyle Street

I went to Glasgow the last weekend of September to get some new shoes as well as just explore a bit. I think it was the warmest I've been since I arrived. A friend I've met here lives just outside of Glasgow and was going down to visit his family, so I tagged along and wandered the streets of the city while he was with his family and we met up each night [It was rather hard to avoid that given that we were both crashing at his friend's house downtown] 
Though it is a fair bit bigger, Glasgow reminded me a lot of Halifax. Where we were staying was right on the outskirts of downtown, so it was easy to walk to Buchannan and Sauchiehall Street, the main shopping streets which are almost entirely just for pedestrians! At the same time, we were close to the west end which is the more artsy end of town where the University of Glasgow is.

Kelvingrove Park

I took the train down from Mallaig on Friday afternoon and was in Glasgow by about eight or nine. I met up with someone else from SMO on the train and Sgotaidh [Scottie] and I ended up meeting up with them that night for a pint at one of the three "highland" pubs in Glasgow.
I spent the next day discovering all the neat things that Glasgow has to offer. Kelvingrove Park was essentially right next door where there were a nice collection of trails to explore. I also found a sweet little coffee shop and used book store to hang out in for a few hours. Biblocafe was it's name if anyone's interested. One thing I noticed about Glasgow though was the abundance of cafes...and Indian take-out. I'm pretty sure there were no less than two or three in every block, so no worries there.
The rest of my day was rather uneventful as I hunted for shoes that would stand up to the rather sporadic Skye weather. There were a number of buskers around and I'm sure they were making a killing since there were no cars to compete with. Perhaps I'll get some busking in before I head home. It was neat to watch the style of busking change throughout the day. I saw harpers, accordion players, pipers, fiddlers, violinists and singers of all genres. Surprisingly, there were relatively few panhandlers. I wonder what that's like? ;)

Thoughtful Graffiti

That night we stayed in and made homemade pizza which was delicious. I loved being able to cook again!
We caught the train back up to Skye on Sunday and had a nice chat with two native Welsh speakers who were touring around the area. It was neat to talk about the differences and similarities between Welsh and Gaelic, but, sadly, I am no better at speaking Welsh. Ach well!

That's it for now, a' chàirdean!


Gus an ath-thuras! [Goose an a-hoorus!]
Until next time!

A' Chiad Seachdain ~ The First Week

Halo a h-uile duine!

It's Sunday night here on Skye and I'm sitting writing to you after attending my first Gaelic church service ever. Though I could not understand a good percentage of the language, I still understood, for the most part, the general message. Perhaps by next May, I will be able to actually know what's going on.

My new home!

There were a few things that struck me about the service, apart from it being in Gaelic. Firstly, there were no hymns, but there were about five or six psalms. The minister would read the passage, after which two men at the front would alternate singing the passage. One of them would sing a line and the congregation would repeat it in song. It was very chant-like and almost monastic. I caught on by the third psalm and was able to fumble my way through the rest of them. All in all it was a very fitting arrangement, since psalms were, after all, originally meant to be sung. The second thing that struck me was the universality of what it is to be church together. After the service there was tea and conversation. Everyone there knew each other, as is to be expected, but they also didn't hesitate to ask me and my friend where we were from, what we studied at Sabhal Mor and whether we enjoyed the service.
Anywho...I could go on for ever about church services, but I won't.

I have now been in Scotland for nine days but it seems like I've been here a lot longer. Since the minute I arrived I've been busy with "induction week" and classes, not to mention being utterly bombarded with Gaelic 24/7, reducing my mind to mush.
All that being said, I'm having a blast!

First off, a few anecdotes from my travel.
I knew I had come to the right country when I was standing in line at UK customs. The man directing people to the desks asked me quite plainly when I got to the front, "Is that a machine gun?", pointing to my fiddle. I promptly said yes, to which he replied "Alright."
Try getting into the US with a comment like that. :)
Once I was actually at the customs desk, I had to answer a few questions about why I was entering the country and so forth. When I told her I was studying at Sabhal Mor Ostaig, a Gaelic college on Skye, she asked to see my acceptance letter. I then realized it was in my checked luggage. She asked if I had anything on me that could prove I was going to study at SMO. The only papers I had were a few random song sheets and a page on defective verbs that I had planned to read on the train. I was a little hesistant passing them to her, but was pleasantly surprised to see she deemed them acceptable. (But, she warned me to have my acceptance letter on me next time I need to leave and re-enter the UK)
All I can say is thanks Hector for teaching us Gaelic song at CBU! It's paid off in more ways than one. :)

The train and ferry ride to Skye were absolutely beautiful. A little bit of rain in Glasgow, but nothing for the rest of the day. In fact, it wasn't until the middle of this past week that we got our first day of wet weather. Actually, it hasn't stopped raining since then, but, ah well...

I've seen a fair amount of Southern Skye since being here. I walked to Armadale yesterday, where the ferry comes in, and went to a pub last night just south of Broadford. There was a music session there which was a great time.
On Thursday, a group of us also went to the Clan Donald Centre about ten minutes away from the university. It's a museum and archive around the Armadale Castle, complete with an academic library which SMO students have free access to! :)
I didn't manage to get any pictures because it was raining when we went, but I'm sure I'll be back on a nicer day. If you're interested, visit their website here.

There's been tons of music here as well. A few nights already, there have been dance ceilidhs at the campus pub and I've learned the steps to the Gay Gordons, Dashing White Seargant and others.

Well, that's most of what I've been up to over the past week. Classes have begun and are going well. There are only 17 of us in my course, so it makes for a nice group. We've only been having half-days since Wednesday, but full classes start tomorrow.

With that last thought, I'd better head to bed.

Oidhche mhath leibh!

Faclan ~ Vocabulary

Halò a h-uile duine!

'Se an ùine math a th' ann an seo aig Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. Cuin a thuirt iad, tha Gàidhlig againn agus bruidhinnidh sinn i fad' na h-ùine, tha iad a' ciallachadh fad' na h-ùine. Ach, tha sin ceart. Tha mi a' tuigsinn mòran gach latha. Beag air bheag.
--
Things are going really well here at Sabhal Mor. There has been a lot of Gaelic so far, and a number of times I've gotten lost (especially when speaking with near-fluent people) but I'm understanding a little bit more each day and hopefully will get even better now that classes have officially started. When they say, we can and will speak Gaelic all the time, they really mean all the time. But, like I said, it's been alright.

I'm creating this post as a bit of a dictionary so that you folks can understand some common phrases in Gaelic, in case you ever are in a situation where they'd be useful. One of the benefits of hearing Gaelic every single day is that my vocabulary is growing remarkably fast, even if I'm a bit slower at forming responses.
Here are some words and phrases that I've heard so far and will give you a good basic vocabulary:

Madainn mhath dhut [ma-ting va goot]: Good morning to you

Feasgar math [Feskur ma]: Good afternoon

Oidhche mhath leat [Oy-cha va leht]: Good night to you

Bithidh mi 'gad fhaicinn! [Be me gut aching]: I'll be seeing you! 

'S math 'gad fhaicinn! [Sma gut aching]: It's nice to see you!

 
Ciamar a tha thu? [Kimar a ha oo?]  How are you?

Tha mi gu math [Ha me goo ma]: I'm doing well

Tapadh leat [Tap a leht]: Thank you

Mòran taing [More-an tang]: Thanks a lot

Tha sin ceart [Ha shin key-air-sht]: That's right

Tha sin ceart gu leòr [Ha shin key-air-sht goo lee-or]: That's all right

A h-uile duine [A hoola dune-ya]: Everyone 

Rud sam bith [Root some be]: anything

Cuideigin [Koo-ja-kin]: anyone   

Aite sam bith [At-cha some be]: anywhere

Gach latha [Gack la]: each day

Fad' na h-ùine [Fat na hoon-ya]: all the time

Tha Gàidhlig againn agus bruidhnidh sinn i: We have Gaelic and will speak it. 
[Ha Gah-lick ack-ing egg-is breeney sheen ee]
---
That's it for now! I'll write again soon about what I've been up to.

Bithidh mi 'gad fhaicinn ann an trì laithean, Sgitheanach! ~ See you soon, Skye!

So, I'll be leaving for Skye in three days time and I'm super excited!! :)
These past few weeks (well, to be honest, this past month) has been filled with dozens of lists, multiple trips to various government and other offices, and a handful of emails and phone calls to Sabhal Mòr, ensuring that I won't be sent packing the second I arrive off the ferry.
All that being said, I haven't really had time to be excited about going. However, now that I can physically count down the days that I have left in this country, it's really starting to hit home. In less than 72 hours time, I will have no need of the following:

1. Canadian currency
2. The English language (except during the travel period and perhaps the odd time to get my point across...and to write to you folks of course!)
3. A good percentage of my possessions.

It'll just be me, my camera, my instruments, some clothing and my computer. Bring it on, Scotland! 

Gus an ath-thuras!

A' Chiad Litir ~ The First Post

Halò a h-uile duine!

Fàilte gu leabhar-dealan agam! Welcome to my blog! 

Since there are a number of people who I wish to keep in touch with while I'm here and who have been requesting that I send as many pictures as humanly possible I've decided to try blogging. I will make a disclaimer now that I am not the most consistent when it comes to e-mailing regularly so this too could fall by the wayside, but I will try as best I can to provide updates on a fairly regular basis.

It is only the middle of May and I am already getting excited to head overseas. I began looking at the cheapest ways of travel to get to Skye today and it got me even more excited! I still have a lot that needs to be sorted out though, before leaving, such as student loans, figuring out residence at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and getting myself a cellphone just to name a few.

I don't really have much to say in this post because I'm still in Canada, but I know a number of people might be wondering what's up. So, here are some facts:

~ I am heading to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in September for a year-long exchange until next May.

~ Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is a Gaelic immersion college located near the southern tip of the Isle of Skye, the largest of the Inner Hebridean Islands off the northwest coast of Scotland.

~ Scottish Gaelic is one of the Celtic languages [The others being Irish, Manx, Welsh, Breton and Cornish] There are approximately 58,000 people with some degree of Gaelic in Scotland and about 500 native Gaelic speakers in Cape Breton. On top of this, there are a large number of learners all over the world.

~ Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is the only college of its kind in the world and has a student population of approximately 200.

~ Sabhal Mòr Ostaig [pronounced: Saval more os-tayk] literally translates to "Big Barn at Ostaig" in English.

~ One of my goals in doing this exchange is to obtain a certain amount of fluency in the Gaelic language, so expect more Gaelic phrases to appear as the blog progresses. Perhaps you'll get to know a bit more about the language by the end of all this too! =)