Foreword: The following is one of a number of articles I’ll be posting about my spring break trip with the Willamette Rugby Football Club in Ireland and Scotland. The posts range from personal reflections to picture updates, but all came from my thoughts and experiences between March 19th and March 26th.

While break was much too short and not nearly restful enough, I was able to spend a lot of time with friends and a lot of time in my head. One of the most intriguing things for me when I enter a new city is to look at what ads, magazines, and newspapers I see around. When in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the end of the trip, I picked up a magazine called The Skinny in the lobby of our hostel. (We stayed at SmartCityHostels, which I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a place to stay in Edinburgh.) Continue reading →