London Day 3:

Today was quite a hectic day. I ended up waking early and actually rushed to get breakfast then ran to get to Glouster station to meet one of my high school friends, Daniel. The circle station was actually delayed for 30 minutes sadly but at least I got to meet him? We ended up getting paninis, and then he went to his internship whereas I ran to finish packing and checking out of the hotel. 

Afterwards, I went to the UK Supreme Court. For those who don't know, the UK Supreme Court is like the US Supreme Court in the sense that it's the highest appellete court in the system/ court of last resort.  Personally, I didn't actually find the UK Supreme Court to be all that interesting, but I guess here are a few facts about the UK flower / UK Supreme Court interior?

In the UK Supreme Court there is a carpet with the 4 flowers of the UK: The Tudor Rose (England), the Thistle (Scotland), the Flax Flower (Northern Ireland), and the Leek (Wales.) Interestingly, both Northern Ireland and Wales have other national flowers i.e. the Shamrock, and the Daffodil respectively. The emblem of the Carpet was designed by Sir Peter Blake (the person who designed the Beatle's Album, "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.") 

After the UK Supreme Court tour, me and a few of the UCEAP interns ended up rushing to get onto the train at King's Cross Station. I know I did this in 2012, but I couldn't resist doing it again... so I did take a picture at Platform 9 3/4. Fun fact... now they have someone taking your picture for you + you can choose what scarf you want to wear to represent your Hogwarts House :). Unfortunately, that photo was accidentally deleted on my phone, so I will have to upload another picture another day.
After all that, I boarded the train from London to Edinburgh and pretty much passed out from 3 days of action packed adventure.

Anyways, until next time,

Cheers!

Tina

London Trip: Day 2

I woke up early in the morning, showered and went to get a proper English breakfast. In case anyone’s wondering what an English breakfast consists of with cold items: canned fruits like the peaches found in a fruit cocktail, grapefruit, mandarin oranges, and prunes with yogurt, granola, crossients and jam etc. (I had a bowl of mixed fruits and crossients with nutella spread.) AMAZING. What I so far described was the cold breakfast component. The other components: black pudding (sadly there wasn’t any), bacon (ham), sausage, fried egg, baked beans, sauted mushrooms, and fried toast.  Drink wise: black currant juice, tomato juice, orange juice, apple juice, milk, English tea, or coffee. After eating my fill, I walked to buy an oyster card. An oyster card is a card you can use to travel around London. It costs 5 pounds to get and 2.20-2.70 pounds / ride depending on the time. The travelcard on the other hand is a card for a day that costs 8.90 pounds but it lets you travel anywhere using the tube for that particular day till 4:30AM the next morning. I honestly wished I got the travelcard instead of the oystercard but oh well.

English Breakfasts are better than American Breakfasts

Anyways, after getting lost on a few lines, I arrived at the City of London in front of London Tower. For those who have no idea: The City of London is not London, and is a city within a city (London) within a country (England) within a larger country (United Kingdom). Place-ception anyone? After walking around London Tower, and taking pictures of the Shard, the Gherzit, and other views of the city I found myself at the Tower Bridge exhibition. Since it was 5.60 pounds I ended up going through the exhibition. After taking a lift up to the top of the bridge I entered a dark room. The first room had a gigantic TV screen with Queen Victoria I, the creator of the bridge (can’t remember name), and a scientist all discussing the overall bridge function and random facts about the bridge. For example, I learned that the bridge was operated by steam and hydrolic power. The second room was a photo exhibition about the bridges in the world as well as the history of the bridge creators. The third room was another photo exhibition though it had scenes from “This is London” and information about how suspension bridges worked. The fourth room was a hand drawn animation about the construction of the bridge, and finally the steam room on the lower level showed replicas of how the bridge’s internal functions worked. Needless to say I was amused. 

The City of London is NOT London. It is a separate entity that is older than London because of conquest + Roman Empire.

After the bridges exhibition, I proceeded to walk to the London monument passed the London Bridge. Maybe because I really thought it would be good to optimise the 5.60 pounds for the Tower Bridge and London Monument ticket, I ended up climbing to the top of the London monument....up all 311 steps. Not the smartest thing I did considering the view from the top reminded me that I am insanely terrified of flights but it was still amazing. 

The London Monument

Random fact about the monument: it was designed by Christopher Wren to commemorate those who died in the London Fire. Christopher Wren is also the designer of Pembroke College cathedral and West Minster Abbey.

The Blue Cock in Trafalgar Square

Anyways after the monument and bridge, I used the tube to get to Leicester square and proceeded to get a quick dimsum lunch. I ended up getting eggrolls and changfun since those two things were honestly foods I really missed quite a lot.  After lunch, I ended up buying milk tea and passed by a William Shakespeare statue while walking to Trafalgar square. Since I had an hour to kill before going to Parliament, I ended up going into the National Gallery and re-looking at works by Rembrandt, Titian, and other great artists. After my visit, I saw a gigantic blue cock (rooster) outside the museum, and proceeded to walk to Parliament. I stopped by the Covent museum and took a few pictures, but did not get near the soldiers with horses because I was afraid the horse was going to bite me. Afterwards, I saw a large mob of people at Downing Street. For those who do not know, Downing Street is the street where Prime Minister David Cameron lives in. I’m not sure what was going on, but I did take a picture of the street sign because it’s Downing Street. 

The National Gallery

Random fact: There is an official royal position in the UK government called “The Chief Mouser of the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain ….so in short: Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office for cats.

Larry the Chief Mouser of the Cabinet Office.

I honestly had no idea where Portcullis House was, and missed it until my friend called me. Portcullis House is like the place where MPS meet, or the Garden lobby of the Scottish Parliament. The security though is worse than airport security. At least with airport security there’s no need to take off your belt. In Portcullis House, the security is ridiculous that you might be subjected to multiple body scans. I ended up learning more about MPS and the UK political system in a nutshell. Random facts about Parliament:  UK Parliament is made of the House of Lords, Commons, and monarch. Monarch’s purpose is mainly ceremonial though she does have a lot of power. (I’ll write another blog about this another day.) 

After learning a bit about the UK Parliament, I was able to step into the House of Commons and House of Lords. I thought Westminster Hall was breathtaking because it looks like the great hall from Harry Potter, but after seeing the central room where the House of Lords and House of Commons meet I have to stand corrected. That central room is like entering the Versailles Palace in the sense that it’s ornate to the point that the Baroque style isn’t even overwhelming anymore It’s basically like the French came in and decorated that room with the Rococo style, furnishing it with paintings, intricate designs, ornate chandeliers, etc.  Anyways, so I watched the House of Lords debate and honestly I could not pay attention. If it wasn’t bad enough that the microphones are hanging from the ceiling, it’s worse that the speakers are so soft spoken that it’s actually hard to understand what is being said. After 15 minutes of that I ended up going to the House of Commons and watching that debate. Thankfully the speaker system was much better and I was able to listen to the Conservatives and the minister of pensions from the Labour Party argue about pension amendments.

At 6:00 PM I ended up leaving and getting Chinese food of xiaolongbao, szchuan dry noodles, and honey garlic pork. Delicious. I then ran and rushed to see Les Miserables on broadway. The singing was amazing and honestly, I was almost in tears by the end of the play. 

It's a MUST watch when you're in London.

After the play, I ended up walking around to Big Ben and proceeded to walk down the River Thames (though in the wrong direction and ended up at Chelsea instead of Tower Bridge). I also did walk to the London Eye, and I must say it is incredibly beautiful, though it is not worth 30 pounds to ride on the London Eye. Afterwards, I ended up exploring the tube station, going to Baker’s Street and taking pictures of the Sherlock Holmes Mosaic in Baker’s street.  Then I got lost on Russell’s Square trying to find my way back to the Harlingford Hotel. Thankfully a kind Londoner was able to help me get back home at 1AM. 

Overall, I must say it was the most productive travelling day, and I find it ironic that it’s easy for me to navigate the tube, but not to my hotel which was only one street down (going straight.) Oh well. That’s life.

London Trip: One day before and first day of the UCEAP :)

One day before London Trip:  I spent a majority of my time “googling locations” and attractions of what to do. I know it’s a strange habit of mine but I tend to like having a hand written goal list sloppily written out even if I don’t do everything on the list. The satisfaction of crossing off and adding things on that list is perhaps a bit amusing and satisfying to say the least. In no particular order I wrote down: Victoria Albert Museum, Sherlock Holmes Museum (8 pounds), Wellington Arch, Tate Britain, Les Miserables Broadway, Tower of London, Tower bridge from London Bridge, meet up with a friend of mine: Daniel.

Big Ben Clock tower.

Day of trip: I woke up and printed out everything, but realized I was running incredibly late. I ended up running up the Royal mile and taking a cab to Waverly station, fortunately arriving at 9:07AM 23 minutes before my train departure.  After meeting up with fellow interns James and Derek, we ended up walking into the wrong compartments to find our spots. Unlike the tickets in Scotland, the tickets to London have specific seat destinations, so unfortunately I could not sit anywhere I wanted to. This didn’t occur to me till later I realized I was sitting in another person’s spot. Besides that, the train was delayed for 2 hours because a tree fell on the rails in Scotland. This was slightly irritating, but on the bright side I can now refund my ticket so yay free ticket to London? 

UCEAP Selfie with Derek on the train to London

Upon arrival, I realised I did not have time to do much considering it was 4:05 PM, and most museums I wanted to go to close at 5PM. Fortunately the Sherlock Holmes Museum was open so I ended up running to 221 B Baker Street to do that. After paying 8 pounds, and getting my ticket verified by the Scotland Yard guard, I proceeded to enter 221B Baker’s Street. Wow. So there are about 4-5 floors and 2-3 rooms per floor. From the narrow hallways with wooden framed pictures of Sir Conan Doyle to a English classic fireplace, it was as though I had entered Mr. Doyle’s books. Dim lights, warm fire places, pipes, cocaine and antique chemistry glassware neatly placed in leather boxes, cursive hand written notes laid upon tables, exhibitions of evidence from previous cases, and much more- Honestly, my description of what I saw doesn’t even do justice to just how brilliant and spectacular the museum is as an attraction. Personally it’s one of those you just have to go there to see it for yourself. Just be prepared to be Sherlocked into London 1880s.

Sherlock's Arch nemisis: Moriarty!

Here's a snippet of the Sherlock Holmes Museum :)

After the museum, I went back to charge my phone and ended up meeting one of my good friends Mai. We ended up randomly getting lost and settling for Japanese food run by Chinese Londoners. I personally found it hilarious how the one street we were on had everything from Vietnamese food to Lebanese food, but the one food it did not have was Chinese food, the one that we were craving. We both ordered ramen (a rich tonkotsu ramen and a peppered beef ramen) Both were delicious. Additionally, I ordered a fried tempera-like roll: a tuna maki roll covered in tempera batter drizzled with a spicy hot pepper and garlic aioli. I already knew it would be texturally crunchy and taste amazing, but perhaps my biggest surprise was the fact that the tuna was not cooked after the roll was fried. After that, I went back and still charged my phone, and decided to call it a night. Not really ideal, but I did not want to get lost considering I had drained my phone after taking a bunch of pictures in the museum. 

Overall though, it was a good day.

Canvassing for Yes Scotland!

Since the Independence Referendum is coming up, I thought I'd share a bit about one of the few opportunities as an intern that I've had relating to the Scottish Independence Referendum: Canvassing. 

Canvassing is a method of grassroot campaigning in which one goes to doors, knocks, and campaigns to constituents. Think of a door to door salesman, only you're asking about political views etc.

For those who don't know, here's a wee bit of background on Scottish politics. On September 18th, 2014 Scotland will hold an independence referendum asking voters one question: Should Scotland be an independent country? Yes? No? If Scotland becomes an independent country it will no longer be a part of the United Kingdom. The main grassroot campaigning group supporting independence is called "Yes Scotland." The campaigning group that does not support an independent Scotland is called "Better Together." 

Better Together Logo. Credits go to bettertogether.net

As an intern for a Scottish National Party Member of Scottish Parliament, I definitely canvassed for "Yes Scotland" every Tuesday night in late April and May from 6-8:30 PM for Edinburgh Central. Why? Yes, I admit I did canvass for the work experience, but I also canvassed because I believe Scotland is better off as an independent nation than as a member of the United Kingdom.

Yes Scoland Logo. Credits go to YesScotland.net

Process of canvassing for "Yes Scotland"
So as a canvasser, I was given surveys with electoral information on the survey. As a canvasser my job was to ask the person on the survey 2 questions: 1. Should Scotland be an independent country? and 2. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being completely against an independent Scotland and with 10 being completely for an independent Scotland where would you place yourself at? 

If the person being surveyed was there, I would ask them and tick their responses; however, I have run into the case that people did not want to actually talk or weren't there at all. In the case that someone wasn't there, I just left the survey with an free post envlope so he or she could mail his/her response, but in the case that he or she refused to talk I just wrote a gigantic R. Other canvassing problems for me involved confusing the doors because the numbering system on UK doors is absolute rubbish. E.g. P means ground floor, and I would see things like PF4 meaning primary floor 4th room. The problem is when doors aren't labelled, you can get PF1 and PF4 confused/ deliver the wrong surveys. What I learned: Assume the door closest to the hallway/ staircase is 1. 

Other pain in the arse problems: sometimes the letterbox is either too high or too low to stuff surveys.

When I first canvassed, I was partnered with one of the most charming Parliament Assistants and canvassers ever, Sheena Clevland. She taught me how to get people to answer the buzzers and let me into the building (this is not as easy as it sounds), and just how to canvass in general. There is no one set canvassing strategy, but here's what I ended up doing: For the buzzer I would say "Hi, I'm canvassing for the independence referendum and I was wondering if you could let me into the stairs please?" As for the doors, I would ask if someone was in and if they had a moment to spare just ask them the questions, and answer any questions they had about independence.  

The act of canvassing itself is a little bit nervewrecking because at first the fear of rejection and failure is overwhelming. The first time I canvassed, I basically had 10 people who said nos or didn't respond / rejected me, and I was gutted; however, the fear of rejection and failure slowly stopped phasing me. As for speaking, yes I was nervous and I still am, but I've greatly improved at speaking and improvising answers on the spot. Sometimes my efforts did seem futile, but there have also been moments I've ran into the one person who passionately supported the Yes Campaign, and it was these simple moments that made my day, and made my efforts worth it. :)

Overall, canvassing was one of the most nervewrecking things I've done, but I also think it is one of the few things I already miss about interning at the Scottish Parliament.

I'll update more, but until next time

Cheers,

Tina 

Travelling in Scotland!

Transportation and costs in a nutshell: 

So like my fellow interns, I know that being in Scotland means you should take all the opportunties and explore Scotland...and so being the crazy traveller....I did. In terms of the cities I've been to in Scotland, I've been to Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Lilinthgow, Stirling, and Musselburgh. Additionally, I also went on a tour with some of my UCEAP friends to the Isle of Skye so we did stop by places like Fort Williams (where Loch Ness is), the island of Skye itself, Perth, and some other crazy places.......so yes I have travelled around in Scotland.

Me and some of my crazy Scottish Parliament buddies James Young Kim and Derek Westeroff :).

In terms of transportation, the train is definitely the most convenient method; however, I've also taken buses too. In terms of price difference.....depending on the time of day + the means of public transportation the differences can be huge. For example, Edinburgh to Glasgow takes about 1 hour both by bus and train; however, a round trip ticket via train will cost 12.60 pounds and a round trip via bus will cost 11.70 pounds. For places like St Andrews, and Musselburgh I did use the bus; however, most of the time I used train simply due to convenience...and the amazing pastys at "The Pasty Shop" at Waverly Train Station. 

When I'm in a hurry to go, and forget about breakfast....nothing beats getting a huge warm flakey pasty in the morning. :)

If you want to travel via train, the tickets aren't cheap. After leaving Scotland, what I learned from my friends, George Ward is to GET A 16-25 RAIL CARD.  As long as you're under 25, a 16-25 railcard costs 30 pounds and allows you to buy 30% off discounted tickets. It costs 30 pounds a year, but you can buy it for 3 years. Also if you can, buy the tickets online (advanced). This can save you so much money. E.g. A single ticket to London on the day of can cost 125.50 pounds, but if you use a railcard and book maybe 2 weeks in advance this could cost 44.50 pounds.

Where should I travel?

I can't exactly advise on this because everyone has different tastes; however, I tend to be a huge castle lover, so one of the things I did was invested in getting a Historic Scotland Membership card. The Historic Scotland Membership card allows you to travel to over 345+ places such as Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Linlithgow Palace, or Doune Castle.  

Yes to all of you Monty Python geeks, Doune Castle is the Castle where they filmed Monty Python. If you go there, get an audio guide because it's narrated by the one and only Terry Jones :). 

Also Historic Scotland places tend to have stamps, so yes my other main reason for travelling in Scotland was to go around and be like a pokemon trainer.....and collect all the stamps I could collect.

Gotta collect them all Historic Scotland!. Ok that did not sound as catchy as the Pokemon Song like I thought it did. Also yes I have been to more places, I just forgot to get my lovely book stamped. 

Travelling in Edinburgh? My favorite places :).

Sometimes I just become way too lazy to walk or take a bus to the train station, so in Scotland I also did a lot of travelling around Edinburgh. Here's my top 4 rankings:

Some of the lovely interns and I went to Edinburgh Castle...but sadly it was closed upon arrival. :< 

1. Edinburgh Castle 

Edinburgh Castle is definitely a must because you get a gorgeous view + you can learn quite a lot about Edinburgh Castle's role in Scottish Wars, history etc. They also have the National War Museum inside Edinburgh Castle with 7 gallery exhibitions. For those who don't want to get a Historic Scotland Pass one visit costs 16 pounds, but Edinburgh Castle is big enough that you may take 2-3 visits before you see all of what the castle hasto offer. (It took me 3 visits before I saw everything.) 

2. National Galleries of Scotland

For all you traditional art lovers (not the ones into contemporary art) I kid you not...the National Gallery of Scotland is the MUSEUM in Scotland where they have a ton of paintings by Titian, Rembrandt, Monet, and even a painting by the great Leonardo Da Vinci. It's a bit overwhelming because the walls are quite literally covered in paintings, but if you're a huge art geek like me you'll find yourself not wanting to leave the museum..until the staff tell you to leave because they're closing.

Admission cost: Free! 

If you go during January, National Gallery Scotland has a special limited William Turner Watercolour Exhibition.

3. Arthurs Seat 

Arthurs seat is the highest point in Edinburgh where you can get the best panoramic view of Edinburgh. Located in Holyrood Park, Arthurs seat sits on top of an extinct volcano. From the Scottish Parliament it's about a 35 minute walk to get to the top. :) My suggestion: climb and get up there before sunrise and watch the sun rise at 6AM. (This time will vary depending on the season.)

On a sunny day, hiking to Arthurs seat is the best!

4. National Museum of Scotland

For all you science lovers, history lovers, culture lovers, er..and taxidermy lovers, the National Museum of Scotland is a miniature Crystal Palace World Exhibition with amazing exhibitions on...well everything. Everything Scottish anyways (e.g. Dolly the Sheep, Higgs Particle, Tartan etc.) and a few things in the world: Ancient Egyptian pottery, Assyrian reliefs etc. Not as overwhelming as the National Gallery of Scotland, but still, the National Museum of Scotland is pretty big and you may find yourself spending a few hours to see everything.  Admission cost: Free! 

This is the stunning interior of the National Museum of Scotland

5. Palace of Holyrood

This is where the Queen officially resides in Scotland for a week or so every year. Palace of Holyrood is right across from the Scottish Parliament, and although it doesn't look like much.....it's quite deceptive. I didn't see the Queen's Gallery, but I did go into the Palace of Holyrood itself and it's a really gothic and ornate mansion. Additionally in the gardens, you will find the remains of Holyrood Abbey. Overall, the grandiose nature of the Palace of Holyrood with its extensive collection of silver will make you wish you were the queen just so you could live there. 

Fun fact: From the Palace of Holyrood to Edinburgh Castle, the distance is approximately 1 mile. This is why Edinburgh's famous Royal Mile is named the Royal Mil.e :)

Admission Prices:

Palace of Holyrood exhibit + queens gallery + garden tour = 18 pounds. 

Palace of Holyrood exhibit + queens gallery = 14.50 pounds

Palace of Holyrood exhibit only: 10.30 pounds.

The Palace of Holyrood exhibit does come with a audio guide :) and make sure you get your ticket stamped so you can enter again another day. *note if you are a member of Historic Scotland, you get a 20% discount.

There are a few places I haven't been to such as Dynamic Earth which I heard was spectacular, as well as the Portrait Gallery, so if I ever come back to Scotland, I will probably explore those and blog about it too.

Anyways until next time,

Cheers!

Tina

Finding Housing in Scotland.

Hello lads and lassies, 

After weeks of researching hell, I can finally say I'm back!!!  Anyways, today I thought I'd address the issue of housing.

One of my past Scotland Parliament intern friends, A.J. from BYU told me that finding housing was probably the biggest nightmare he encountered, but I honestly think the visa issue is a greater concern. That being said, I will admit that finding housing in the UK is STILL a miserable pain in the arse.

Finding housing BEFORE you arrive:

The UCEAP website tells you to preferably to look for housing when you actually move there, but honestly there is no exact way to go about looking for housing. Looking for housing before you're actually in Edinburgh is a pain in the arse, and can be mentally worrying because you never know if you're going to be scammed or what not; however, I did have a few Scottish Parliament intern friends who did do just that. 

Pros: you don't have to stay in a hostel or deal with finding housing once you're in Edinburgh.
Cons: you may not actually know how close you are to the Scottish Parliament, you can potentially be scammed, you don't know what the flat looks like etc. One of my friends did unfortunately get scammed, so my advice is just be careful when you're out and about finding housing.

You can always try edlets.co.uk or www.gumtree.com for housing arrangements etc. Just be wary that most landowners won't want to deal with you or take you as seriously. If you are taken seriously you may be asked to pay for a security deposit (this is where you can be scammed so be aware of this.) 

Student housing: This would be through UNITE and they maybe hesitant if you're not registered as a student of University of Edinburgh/ University of Heriot Watt/ Napier University etc. By the way for any uceap intern, you are NOT considered a student of the University of Edinburgh. I don't actually suggest using student housing because it's a pain in the arse trying to find temporary housing because they only offer year housing deals. Furthermore it can essentially cost more per month like £120 pounds more per month.

Finding housing AFTER you arrive:

This is probably the more sensible thing I would do because landowners are more likely to take you seriously. Anyways, I ended up staying at a hotel, searching gumtree.com, and finding housing through gumtree.com. I didn't want to stay in a hostel because I had bad hostel experiences, but a hostel is an affordable means of temporary housing. Where did I stay? Tunehotel in haymarket for £27 pounds a night. A bit far from city centre, but overall not too bad of a deal. Another option is try using Airbnb and seeing if they have any deals because sometimes they do. :)

Process: So once you check out websites and find something you want, call the landowner and arrange a meeting with them, and check out the flat. If you like the flat tell them what day you want to move in, and make sure to give them security + the first month's rent on the day you move in. Voila! That's the end of the process.

How much should housing cost? It honestly depends on the person, where you're living, landowner's contract, where you're at etc but I'd say roughly anywhere from £300-400 pounds/ month + utilities and council tax? Utilities (depends on where you're staying how much you use etc). Roughly £110 pounds for 2 months or less? maybe £170 on the high end (note this is assuming you're using the heater everyday.) 

Council tax: If you're living in student housing then no you do not have to pay for council tax; however, if you are not then yes you may have to pay for council tax. For those who don't know, council tax is a local charge on all households and pays for local services. I actually did pay for council tax which yes does suck because I don't get financial aid and all, but the perk of paying for council tax....it enables you to quickly establish a bank account because to obtain a UK bank account you need some form of address: (council tax, electric bill, gas bill etc) + 2 forms of ID (passport + drivers license). 

Supplies: Honestly, I think I may have bought a whisk for cooking, but other then that I never bothered buying furniture or anything because I never found the need for it. Flats in the UK are pretty equipped so you will find lamps, clothing hangers etc when you move into your flat. Also you can always go to Poundland, Poundsavers, and Marks and Spencers for all your housing needs if you really want to buy furniture.

Other things to note: If your rent contract says PCW it means Per Calender Week. If your rent contract says PCM it means Per Calender Month. 

Hope this advice helps, and if there are any questions feel free to leave a comment on this blog.

Until next time, cheers!

Tina 

Researching

Hallo Lads and Lassies,

I'm currently busy researching on Oil and the Economics of an independent Scotland so I probably won't update this blog until I am done (or until I get way too tired of research that I stress blog), but when I am I will include a section on travelling Scotland, London Trip, Canvassing, and other random things about Scotland Parliament including holidays etc. :)

Until next time,

Cheers

Tina

Meetings and CPGs

Honestly there are days that I do question what am I doing, but at the same time there are also a few perks to interning at the Scottish Parliament, and one of my favorite perks is going to meetings hosted by Members of Scottish Parliament and other companies.

In the Parliament there are committee meetings and Cross Party Group Meetings. What exactly is the difference? This is taken off the Parliament Website:

In Committee Meetings, "The Committee scrutinises the policies and performance of the Scottish Government and its agencies by considering relevant legislation; conducting inquiries; scrutinising spending proposals; and carrying out any other work that it considers appropriate." Essentially you're going in to a committee and listening to MSPS criticise the work of the Scottish government. :) 

Ongoing Committee meeting. Image taken by Scottish Parliament

"Cross-Party Groups (CPGS) provide an opportunity for Members of all parties, outside organisations and members of the public to meet and discuss a shared interest in a particular cause or subject." 

I've personally never gone to a committee meeting, so I can't say what that's like; however I have been to a few Cross-Party Group meetings for things like Oil and Taiwan. One of the things that is interesting about cross party groups is the fact that sometimes they're able to bring people together, and in my case before I actually went to this particular Cross Party Group I never met a Taiwanese person in Edinburgh. Anyways, I digress... In the Taiwan Cross Party Group meeting, MSP Colin Keir oversaw the meeting and there was a few speakers speaking about how Scotland could benefit from Taiwan (exporting whisky etc). I felt as though it may have disappointed some of the fellow Taiwanese because they were expecting to learn a little bit more about how Taiwan could be promoted in Scotland, and kept on trying to redirect the conversation to Taiwan's exports rather than Taiwan's imports. As a Taiwanese American, I can understand the want to express your culture and want for your homeland to benefit  especially when you're in a culture so different from your own...so in this case I did feel that while a majority of the conversation should be focused on Scotland's exports in Taiwan....just maybe there could have been more discussion on how Taiwan can attract Scottish visitors via (tourism, food, etc). Otherwise beyond that, I enjoyed my first Cross Party Group meeting and met the Taiwanese Embassy Ambassador, Peter and his lovely secretary Selina. 

Other then Committee Meetings and Cross Party Group Meetings, staff members (aka interns, parliamentary assistants etc) are able to actually attend group meetings hosted by companies such as Bank of Scotland. One of my favorite meetings though has got to be the "Lesser known Scotch Whisky" Whisky Tasting invitation by Scotch Whisky Cross Party Group and Scotch Whisky Association because I wanted to learn more about whisky + on a college student note.... it was probably the only time I was able to try Scottish whisky in Scotland (Note: I am way too miserly to spend money on alcohol.) What did I learn about whisky? 

Scottish whisky can ONLY be called whisky if it has been in a Scottish OAK casket for MORE than 3 years.  There are 2 types of whiskys: Single Malt and Blended Malt Whisky. Single Malt means it comes from a single distillery and 100% malted barley.  By the way for those who don't know Malt - (grains are mixed with water, germinated (process when seed becomes a plant)  then dried). 

Scottish Whisky comes in a tulip shaped glass. :)  Also you NEVER EVER spell  whisky with a E.  

 I did try a whisky mojito and maybe 3 other whiskies but I do not remember the names. All I remember was the fact that some of the whisky (single malt whisky) had an amberish color.....smelled very earthy, smokey, and had grassy overtones...then you would smell something sweet (I know people said honey but I thought overripened bananas).....then the potent scent of alcohol like everclear would punch you... Anyways the taste of it is .......interesting to say the least.... I'm not sure if I would use the word robust to describe it, but it's like vodka in the sense that it starts out mellow then you suddenly get smacked with overwhelming bitterness. Needless to say I'm not a huge fan of whisky, but it is still a nice experience.

Tunnock Caramel Wafers are heavenly <3!

Other then that I've also attended a trivia pub quiz between Parliamentary staff with my UCEAP friends James and Derek, as well as a Netherlander intern named Daniel. We got last place (6th) but you know that last place is better than 4th place when the 4th place group complains and wishes they got last place because the prizes for last place are better. Note: 6th place gift (Tunnock's caramel waffers) > 4th place gift (umbrellas.) 

I'll write more later, but yeah I thought this may give you a wee taste to the perks of being a Scotland Parliament intern :). Anyways until next time.

Cheers!

Tina 

Random Journal and thoughts about Child Poverty

Ok so I can't remember whatever happened to my journal 6 because I tend to be incredibly disorganised so here's a more recent journal in March about the debates and Child Poverty. 

With regards to this week, I honestly didn’t work on a single political briefing or anything Parliamentary related; however, I did start working on an Aberdeen Donside constituency report describing the suburbs of Aberdeen Donside from population to council resources. Perhaps the most interesting part of that research was reading the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) assessment of Aberdeen Donside. 

Aberdeen Donside is the region where my Member of Scottish Parliament, Mark McDonald works at, and well this is how it's divided.
Ward 1- Dyce/ Bucksburn/ Danestone
Ward 2- Bridge of Don                          
Ward 3 Kingswells and Sheddocksley
   Ward 4 Northfield                                      
Ward 5 Hilton/ Stockethill (part)            

In 2012, SIMD found that although the SIMD ranks measuring deprivation e.g- (employment, income, health, education, child poverty, crime, access to services, and housing ) were lower in Aberdeen Donside overall compared to other constituencies. However, the lower south-eastern suburbs of Aberdeen e.g. Northfield and parts of Hilton/ Stockethill contained 15% of Scotland’s most deprived data zones. Furthermore, what’s interesting about this is the fact that the SIMD 2009 analysis, the datazones in Aberdeen Donside containing the top 15% most deprived zones did not change. This suggests that there has been no change in regeneration policy etc to lower the depravity of this area, or that the policies of both Scottish Parliament and Scottish government were not executed to help decrease the depravity region. To me this point is relative in the sense that on Thursday there was a debate on child poverty in the Chamber; however, while both Labour Party and Scottish National Party agreed that it was a priority to reduce child poverty, the argument was mainly about Scotland Independence and how the policies of the other party historically have exacerbated the rates of child poverty. 

Child Poverty is when the child is living a life that fails to meet the minimum acceptable standard of living.  

For example, Labour Party’s Jackie Baillie stated, “the answer is independence, whatever the question. When Labour was creating the welfare state, the answer for the SNP was independence;….national wage…..SNP was independence…Scottish government has failed….to use the powers it already has.” In another case, SNP MSP Christine Grahame stated, “I voted for Labour……rich got richer and the poor got poorer….Blair….rich got richer- and the poor got poorer.” Personally, I do agree with Jackie Baillie’s statement that the SNP’s answer for everything amounts to independence, and that this is not politically efficient enough to reduce child poverty. At the same time though, it is important to note that child poverty itself is an incredibly vague issue, and if Scotland were to truly eliminate poverty, it would need to have some reserved powers e.g. ability to tax its citizens, and freely use that fund to support lower income families and children through multiple programmes. Right now with a SNP majority in both Scottish Parliament, and Scottish Government, I believe more support and policies can be done to tackle different aspects of child poverty.

According to Child Poverty Action Group, “One of the problems with child poverty is the fact that by the age of 16, children receiving free school meals achieve 1.7 grades lower at GCSE than their wealthier piers.” Education itself is a devolved issue in Scotland, and I believe that what Scotland could do is introduce a policy to make online educational sources available to all so that children would still be able to take the opportunity to learn. The other thing that can reduce child poverty or at least decrease the problems of child poverty is increasing community support financially and programmes. In Aberdeen Donside, the Woodside Community Centre has multiple programmess for children from afterschool classes to childrens clubs etc. These programmes have helped children from impoverished areas gain access to better childhoods. While these programmes do not effectively lower child poverty rates, or reduce rates of deprivation, they do mitigate some of the consequences of child poverty. Overall, I do believe that child poverty is an incredibly vague issue, and to truly tackle child poverty, a combination of reserved powers, support for community services, availability to academic information etc is needed to eliminate child poverty and its effects.