Thursday, June 17, 2004 (Whisky tasting – uisge beatha or water of life)

It was hard to start in the morning but after the rush hour in the bath we met in the kitchen for breakfast. On the bus ride to town I read the free newspaper. Sure at home, there was a TV and the radio, but normally there was also talking between the house members and so it was hard to listen to two channels in a foreign language.

In school we learned more about real conditionals with if and main clauses as well as I wish & unreal conditionals. James required a lot from us, but we appreciated it. I liked the phrase “I wish I lived in Edinburgh for a longer time, so I could learn English better”. :-)

In the break we went to the Fudge House of Edinburgh, close by our school. The owners knew us, I think because we were good customers ;-). It’s on the Royal Mile and it has fudge to die for, including chocolate and peppermint, rum and raisin, hazelnut, tasty Highland cream and much more. Mmmhh.
I thought coffee had recently overtaken tea as Scotland’s most popular beverage and I mean that you needed something to drink, to wash down your shortbread. ;-) Something that you must try when you are in Scotland are scones. This small, round cake – normally you eat it warm – are served with butter and jam or marmalade and it goes deliciously well with tea or coffee.

What do Scotland and Peru have in common? They are the only countries in the world where a locally manufactured soft drink outsells Coca Cola. In Scotland it’s Barr’s Irn-Bru. A Barr's advertising campaign in the 1980s promoted Irn-Bru as “Scotland’s other national drink”. Tasting notes: The colour is a rusty, radioactive orange. Sniffing it reveals a bouquet of bubble gum, barley, sugar and something vaguely citrus, maybe tangerine?

Despite having some of the purest tap water in the world, Scotland has been quick to jump aboard the bottled-water bandwagon, with several brands of Scottish mineral water (notably Highland Spring) available in shops, bars and restaurants.

But back in school we had an interview with Jon Bon Jovi. Sure not really, but in the book and on tape. We also discussed in small groups our own answers to the questions. We then listened to the song “Ugly” from Jon Bon Jovi and put the lyrics of the verses in the song into the correct order. But what is "ugly"? Another discussion started.

David was asking for a different guest family and we hoped that he could quickly change his family. During lunch, Suzane and I looked for a telephone book – we saw it with another student – to write down new words in alphabetical order. But we didn't find what we were looking for. Back with muffins, we had lessons with Lucy. The theme was castles with ghosts. “Buildings with long histories tend to collect legend and stories like the moss on their stonework. There have usually been some dire deeds carried out within their walls which give rise to tales of ghosts and tortured spirits still, occasionally, to be seen walking (or floating) around. Scottish castles are no exception.”

After the lessons with James I went to the easyInternetC@fe in New Town. The first computer was very slow and I had to reboot twice. On another Computer I tried to send my photos, but it was also not possible so I just read my emails and answered them. I didn't go home for dinner, so I sat in a Mc Donald's and did my homework – I had to write a speech about Switzerland. After a burger and fries I went back to school for the Whisky Talk and Tasting.

Whisky Talk and Tasting (Cultural & Social Program):

We tried the follow Whisky`s:
- Glen Moray from Elgin, Speyside
- Old Pulteney from Wick
- Talisker from Skye (10 years old), 44.5%
- A`Bunadh from Aberlour, also Speyside, 60%



and learned the following words:
- brewery, hop, barley, peat, yeast, cask, remoteness, malting
- maturation, casks: plain oak, bourbon, sherry
- cooper e.g. in Craigellachie
- angels` share, non-chill filtered, cask-strength
- aroma, colour, body, texture: overall, fragrance, smoothness, sweetness, colour, complexity, body & texture

Mister McKensey(?) told us also a little bit about the culture of Scotland. Whisky (always spelt without an “e”) is Scotland’s best-known product and biggest export. The spirit has been distilled in Scotland since at least the 15th century. Now I know the difference between malt and grain whiskies, what a single malt is and why single malts are more desirable than blends. The official in charge was a very good singer, so between the tastings we sang a lot – also some lyrics from Robert Burns. But it needed a lot of whisky to understand the text, then it was spoken like Scots. ;-)
A to Z of Scotch Whisky Information www.scotchwhisky.net



Balmoral, Waverley Railway Station by night

On the way home I had a break in a really good pub, The Tass, where there was live music on. I enjoyed the atmosphere and between the songs I talked with other guests, then it was very loud in this small pub. While I was waiting for the bus – in the rain – I talked with some young men from Edinburgh. I wore my raincoat and they had just their t-shirts on, they didn't suffer and laughed the whole time. They asked me a lot about Switzerland and now it was good that I had the information for my speech. :-)

This night was very cold and after the ride back I was wet when I finally got home. The other students were also at home and our host mother dried our clothes. I just did some homework but then I fell asleep.