St.Andrews ! The Best Reunion Behind ABBA
Wee lasses, I write to you today about the greatest reunion to ever occur (besides the new ABBA reunion apparently). You already know Jacob, but I have a new addition to feature on the blog and that person is Maiah Khin.
Maiah Khin and I have known each other since first grade when we were desk mates and I kept mispronouncing her name. Dorks do dork stuff so our paths crossed quite often from Odyssey of the Mind to Chess Club to talking about Greek mythology. She is my oldest and one of my most dearest friends. Our families are also quite close. I would consider the Khins a second family to me. To sum it up, shes a very special person in my life. Of course when we found out she was going to St.Andrews in Scotland and I was taking a gap year we had line up a reunion.
I decided to surprise Maiah one day early by getting in touch with her friend Bradford and scaring her from behind a door. Thanks Bradford! We spent that night catching up on each others lives. I got the chance to meet all her darling friends (Hi Georgina, Ollie, John, Bradford) and her lovely boyfriend Lewi. Jacob came the next day and we both felt like we were at home. Im sorry to say that this blogpost might be kind of boring compared to some of my other adventures, not saying that St.Andrews wasnt exciting, but this was definitely a chill and homey week. I did take part in some nice cultural activities. On Friday John, Jacob and I hit balls at the golf coruse in St.Andrews which is like the mecca for golf. Also, I am now woke to Tesco meal deals (at Steven Lane) and made Pimms for everyone so you could say thats some true UK culture. I also went on a walk along the Fife coastal path which was so beautiful. It happened to be a brilliantly sunny day. I even took a lay down in the grass and was woken up by a dog. I accidentally scared an old Scottish woman who thought I had passed out but really I was just admiring the grass. The true highlight of the week though was the ball that we went to on Saturday. For once I was not wearing jeans or hiking pants on a night out but rather a dress that we scooped after a day of charity shopping. We got treated to a three course meal which started with goat cheese, sea bass as the main, and sticky toffee pudding for the dessert. This was all paired with wine so you could say we were big ballers for the night. They had a live band that taught us how to do ceildings (I think thats how you spell it?). They are such a blast. Its essentially Scottish line dancing where you do lots of swinging around and clapping. Such good fun.
May Day was the other big celebration. I was told by my dad that its a big tradition in the UK, particularly in Oxford where he has celebrated it. On Monday we went to a procession on the pier where all the students wore their cloaks and carried torches. I wasnt exactly sure what the meaning was behind it, but it was still pretty neat to watch. St.Andrews is full of traditions. That night you prepare for the May dip which takes place the next morning at sunrise. Its a polar plunge type thing. The water, as you can imagine, is absolutely frigid, but so worth the cold.
Before you knew it a week had passed. It always nice to stay in one place for a while. St.Andrews felt like a little home away from home. You get burnt out moving from place to place and making temporary connections with people that you meet on the road. Maiah and I went out for one last hot chocolate before we had to say our goodbyes.
I just want to thank all the St.Andrews people for making me feel so welcome and loved. You guys are true gems. I cant wait to see where life will take you. Maiah Khin, keep crushing it!
Maiah Khin and I have known each other since first grade when we were desk mates and I kept mispronouncing her name. Dorks do dork stuff so our paths crossed quite often from Odyssey of the Mind to Chess Club to talking about Greek mythology. She is my oldest and one of my most dearest friends. Our families are also quite close. I would consider the Khins a second family to me. To sum it up, shes a very special person in my life. Of course when we found out she was going to St.Andrews in Scotland and I was taking a gap year we had line up a reunion.
I decided to surprise Maiah one day early by getting in touch with her friend Bradford and scaring her from behind a door. Thanks Bradford! We spent that night catching up on each others lives. I got the chance to meet all her darling friends (Hi Georgina, Ollie, John, Bradford) and her lovely boyfriend Lewi. Jacob came the next day and we both felt like we were at home. Im sorry to say that this blogpost might be kind of boring compared to some of my other adventures, not saying that St.Andrews wasnt exciting, but this was definitely a chill and homey week. I did take part in some nice cultural activities. On Friday John, Jacob and I hit balls at the golf coruse in St.Andrews which is like the mecca for golf. Also, I am now woke to Tesco meal deals (at Steven Lane) and made Pimms for everyone so you could say thats some true UK culture. I also went on a walk along the Fife coastal path which was so beautiful. It happened to be a brilliantly sunny day. I even took a lay down in the grass and was woken up by a dog. I accidentally scared an old Scottish woman who thought I had passed out but really I was just admiring the grass. The true highlight of the week though was the ball that we went to on Saturday. For once I was not wearing jeans or hiking pants on a night out but rather a dress that we scooped after a day of charity shopping. We got treated to a three course meal which started with goat cheese, sea bass as the main, and sticky toffee pudding for the dessert. This was all paired with wine so you could say we were big ballers for the night. They had a live band that taught us how to do ceildings (I think thats how you spell it?). They are such a blast. Its essentially Scottish line dancing where you do lots of swinging around and clapping. Such good fun.
May Day was the other big celebration. I was told by my dad that its a big tradition in the UK, particularly in Oxford where he has celebrated it. On Monday we went to a procession on the pier where all the students wore their cloaks and carried torches. I wasnt exactly sure what the meaning was behind it, but it was still pretty neat to watch. St.Andrews is full of traditions. That night you prepare for the May dip which takes place the next morning at sunrise. Its a polar plunge type thing. The water, as you can imagine, is absolutely frigid, but so worth the cold.
Before you knew it a week had passed. It always nice to stay in one place for a while. St.Andrews felt like a little home away from home. You get burnt out moving from place to place and making temporary connections with people that you meet on the road. Maiah and I went out for one last hot chocolate before we had to say our goodbyes.
I just want to thank all the St.Andrews people for making me feel so welcome and loved. You guys are true gems. I cant wait to see where life will take you. Maiah Khin, keep crushing it!
Sweet reunion with your childhood friend. I’m not sure you did the May Dip but if you did, good on you!
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