ENGLISH IS EASY! ENGLISH IS OK!: LETTER FROM SCOTLAND

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

LETTER FROM SCOTLAND

Sirle Šanin is our former student who lives and studies in Scotland. This letter is from her. It`s always nice to keep in touch with the students who have learned in Konguta School. Wish you all the best!!!

Dear friends,

I am writing you from the other side of Europe. Many years ago I used to be a student in a small village school in Estonia, Konguta School; maybe I was studying in the same classroom as you. After graduation of Nõo Reaalgymnasium, I decided to go to live to the United Kingdom, more precisely to Eastern Scotland to a city called Aberdeen. At the moment I am studying in the University of Aberdeen and I will graduate at the end of this academic year.

Aberdeen is a silver city by the sea. It is called so because all the buildings are built from granite and on sunny days granite is shining. Unfortunately most of the days sun is hiding behind the clouds and the city is filled with gray colours. Aberdeen is third most populous city in Scotland. Climate here is almost like in Estonia, main difference is that during the summer temperature is not rising above 20 degrees and during the winter it is usually above 0. This also means that snow is a miracle here. But not a positive miracle, locals see it as a disaster. It is dangerous to go outside while it is snowing: most of the schools are shut down; students have to stay at home and parents cannot go to work. To be honest, it is funny to see all the locals panicking about bad weather, when I am enjoying the snowfall. Spring is the best time to visit Scotland, because the spring arrives early and stays for a long time; first daffodils usually become visible at the same time when it is still snowing in Estonia. Living by the seaside is not only a joy, we do have long sandy beaches, but it is very windy almost every day.

Here is a picture of our storm from September 2012. Houses at the seaside were covered with sea foam.

University of Aberdeen was founded in 15th century (1495). At the moment there are more than 13 000 students studying in the university. Most of the buildings are old, similar to the ones that can be seen in Harry Potter movies. In 2012 Queen Elizabeth II visited our university to open the new library. A lot of people gathered outside the library to see the Queen.

Queen Elizabeth II exiting the library

University of Aberdeen library is the building with zebra stripes.

People in Scotland and also in the United Kingdom are very kind and helpful. Average person in Scotland is shorter than in Estonia. Food is slightly different as well. People are constantly eating chips and most of the food comes out from the fryer. Fast food is very popular here. A lot of people know nothing about healthy food.

Scotland is a country with very beautiful nature. There are mountains, hilltops covered with snow, beautiful lakes, amazing coastline and if you are lucky you might even see dolphins in the sea. There is also a pretty place called Stonehaven. It takes less than half an hour to get from Aberdeen to Stonehaven. Time stops when you get off the train. All you got to do is walk around and enjoy the calm wild nature.