Friday, July 2, 2004 (A Lot of Last’s)

The whole class started the last day in the school. In the lessons with Andrew we spoke about family life. We extended our vocabulary on family relationships with words like nuclear, extended or single parent family. Then we practised multi-word verbs to do with upbringing; like “get on with” with the definition “have a good relationship with”. Afterwards the focus was on expressions with “keep”; like “keep an eye on it” or “keeping in touch”. In another unit we used the idiomatic expressions in sentences like “blood is thicker than water”, “two peas in a pod”, “like father, like son”, etc. At last we heard the song “Jeelie Piece Song Skyscraper Wean” from Adam MacNaughton – we read the text twice to understand it. It’s written in Glasgow dialect and with Andrew's help we then understands words like “wean” for a child, “maw” for mum and “doon” for down. But I like the lyrics and you will find this “problem” in every big city.

In the break I had my last scone with a tea, there after we learned some words in Scottish “It’s a braw bricht moonlicht nicht the nicht” or the like, what means “It’s a nice bright moonlight night this night”. Wan, twa, tree, fear, fef, sechs, seven, acht, nine, ten … it’s close to Swiss German … ;-)
We learned something about Robert Burns (1759 – 96); that there is a song “Auld Lang syne” and that it is a New Year's song. We learned that he himself spent only a few short spells in the capital between 1786 and 1788 and again in 1791, but that he was enthusiastically received by Edinburgh society, who hailed him as “the ploughman poet”. His love affair with the Edinburgh lady Mrs Agnes MacLehose inspired one of Burns’ finest love poems “Ae Fond Kiss”.
And at last, Kirsty told us, what a real Scotthis Breakfast is; bacon, egg, sausage, black-, red- or white pudding (but there is also one with fruit), tea or Irn Bru, fried bread, mushrooms and it could be also with salt and vinegar chips. Sure, now you have eaten enough until dinner.

Truly now, we were hungry and since it had rained the whole morning, we decided to eat lunch in a vegetarian restaurant. It was a little bit more expensive then other places, but it was good cooking and for a starter I tried a fruit juice. We told each other what we liked to do at home to improve our English and what we liked during our stay in Edinburgh. Sentences with “I wish I was studying English” … :-)

First I thought that I like to meet James for the Dean Village and the Water of Leith Walk, but I was still wet after going back to school. So I decided to write my last emails from Edinburgh, I wrote the last postcards, made the assessment about the school and the teachers, talked with other students and went in a coffee shop and the talk went on. Before I went home for dinner, I walked the whole Royal Mile for the last time and remembered some images and impressions.

After dinner I went to town to meet the others. We looked for a pub with enough room for the group, but the group grew bigger and bigger, so we changed pubs. After an hour the live music began and we had a lot of fun with dancing, singing and talking. I wish you were here …
Again it was a short night, but also my last one.

The Edinburgh visitor guide ISBN: 1-84107-225-7 Where to go, what to see, the ultimate guide to Edinburgh’s attractions.