St Andrews, having been around for hundreds of years, has a number of traditions. Most of them make no sense, and this is one of those. regardless, it's still cool, and it's one of those things that you have to do while you're here, just to say you did it. First, I think I need to explain the gowns. Students at St Andrews wear red academic gowns. The guides and the debate team always wear them. You can wear them whenever you want, so some people have them on in class or at meals. My friend Anna wore hers during a fire drill (they're quite warm). I wore hers to chapel and the pier walk, which is when most students wear them.
The pier walk occurs every Sunday after chapel. Students wear their gowns to the service, then afterwards, they all walk down to the pier behind the cathedral. The pier itself is made of rock. The right side, which is level with the shore, is rather wide (8-10ft). We walk out to the end, then climb up a ladder onto the wall on the left side. From the top of the wall, the view is amazing, At this point, however, I realize that instead of climbimg back down the ladder, we walk back towards the shore along the left side. It's about 3 feet wide, with no railing, and drops down a few stories to the rocky ocean. I'm not scared of heights, thankfully, but I now know that wearing heels is a BAD IDEA. Instability is the last thing you need when walking along the top of a wet stone wall. Fortunately, I made it safely to the end. While I don't think this is a tradition I'll be partaking in every week, I am glad that I experienced it.
Now, for the ball. This Saturday was the Charity Opening Ball. I originally had no intention of going, but one of my friends convinced me and Anna to buy tickets last minute. It was kind of like a prom or a formal, but for the whole student body. We all got dressed up and did hair and make-up, which is always fun.
Here's a group of my friends from Uni Hall- Sam, Anna, George, and Helen. We're still in Anna's room getting ready to go.
There I am with Anna, my lovely date, at the dance.
Later, we got 3/4 of the Elon crew together (that's me with Tim and Rachel).
The night was a lot of fun. They had free champagne, well only one glass, but still. Two tent were set up, one with a band and one with a DJ. The music was pretty good, mostly American so songs I knew. We danced a LOT, shoes were removed, and we danced some more. Anna and I polished off a pizza and a panini, respectively, around 1. Then after a few more John Mayer songs (gotta love it) we headed home. My feet killed, but it was definitely worth it. I mean, really, how many people get to go to a ball?
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