Farewell Scotland!

Greetings -

After doing a final Rotary presentation tonight, I’ll wrap up this journey and depart for Texas early tomorrow morning. As much as I’ll miss Scotland, it’ll be great to come home and see you all. Texas here I come!

Take care and God Bless -

Nick

Wrapping Up Activities in Scotland - Rotaract, Exams, Travels, and a Farewell Rotary Visit

Greetings Friends –

Hope the 2008 District Conference went well for all you back in East Texas! With the upcoming return to Texas less than two weeks away, I’ve been busily wrapping up Rotaract activities, studying for final exams, planning a final travel adventure, and of course, organizing a final Rotary visit.

Rotaract:
After spending two semesters with the Aberdeen Rotaract Club, it was great to wrap up this year’s activities by organizing a float and raising money for local charities at the annual Torcher Parade. Dating back to the days of horse-drawn carts, the Torcher parade has grown to become the largest student torch-lit parade in Europe, attracting tens of thousands of spectators each year. Over 50 decorated floats and 2000 students armed with collecting buckets from Aberdeen's three educational establishments took part in this year’s parade. Spectators throw pocket change at the themed floats they like, and several tons of coins are collected each year to help support local charities.

Having decided to build a pirate-themed parade float, the club spent a day designing, building, and painting a pirate ship and treasure island on flat-bed trailer. That night, we all donned pirate costumes and rode/walked through the parade while waving at the excited spectators and collecting donations. Although a vehicle accident cut the parade short, we had a great time and ended up filling several huge buckets with coins. Several pictures are included below.

Posing on the pirate ship section of the float:

Several of our members collecting donations:

The bagpipe marching band warming up at the front of the parade:

Me getting a closer look at the bagpipes:

The sun setting with the parade underway:

Final Exams, Final Travels, and Farewell Rotary Visit

With Rotaract activities finished for the semester, I’ve been focusing quite a bit on the upcoming final exams. After finishing exams later this week, I’ll have completed the requirements necessary to graduate with a Post-graduate Diploma in Business Administration. Studying at the University of Aberdeen has been an all-around enlightening experience, and I’ll definitely miss the historic atmosphere of the 500 year-old university.

After finishing exams, several classmates and I have planned a three day trip to Dublin, Ireland. In addition to exploring the Irish city and experiencing its culture, the visit should be a wonderful chance to spend time with friends before we leave Aberdeen and return to our homes all around the globe.

Following the return from Dublin, I’ve arranged a final Rotary visit with the Kintore Rotary Club on May 29^th. Spending the evening with Scottish Rotarians will mark a pleasant conclusion to this nine month journey. The following day, I’ll leave Aberdeen and will fly through London and Dallas before eventually landing at Gregg County Airport. Though I’ll definitely miss Aberdeen, it will be great to return home to Texas. As the final days fly by here in Scotland, I'll do my best to savor this culture I've come to know and appreciate over the course of this eight month journey.

Hope you all have a wonderful week! Can't wait to see you soon.

Best wishes -

Nick

Upcoming Return to Texas

Greetings Everyone –

Hope you’ve all been doing well back in District 5830! From the TriState newsletter, it seems that many of you have been quite busy with activities throughout East Texas. Life is excellent here in Scotland, and the final leg of this experience is underway.

Following final exams, I’ll wrap up this ambassadorial scholarship and will return home on Friday, May 30. During June, I'll look forward to visiting and presenting to any interested Rotary clubs. If any of you would like me to speak at to your club, please e-mail me at Nick.a.holda@gmail.com.

I’m excited about returning to Texas in six more weeks, but I know that I’ll miss this place that’s been ‘home’ for the past seven months. Surprisingly, most of the cultural idiosyncrasies that initally baffled me have become somewhat natural. So many Scottish Rotarians have kindly welcomed me into their community here, and I look forward to serving as a permanent link between our District 5830 and District 1010 in Northern Scotland. You all have provided such a wonderful experience through this scholarship, and I look forward to seeing you soon!

Take care and best wishes to you all -

Nick

Rotaract Pub Quiz Charity Fundraiser

Earlier this week, our Aberdeen Rotaract club hosted a ‘Pub Quiz’ charity fundraiser to raise money for an organization called WaterAid. This unique charity works with poor individuals and families in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific region to help them set up and operate sanitary water systems. If you’re interested, more information on the WaterAid initiative is available at www.wateraid.org. With over 45 people attending the Pub Quiz, we raised over $300 to contribute to the charity. Of course, we also managed to have quite a fun time at the event! Several pictures are attached below.

Our wonderful ‘Quiz Master’ – James Packham:

My team wasn’t familiar with British trivia (as our nationalities were Dutch, Korean, and American), so we decided to choose a team name that reflected our chance of winning the charity competition – ‘Team Low-Bar’:

It was fun to get to know YoungMin, a recently arrived ambassadorial scholar from South Korea:

Having a fun time with Rotaract members from Italy, Turkey, Amsterdam, and Ghana:

Happy Easter to all of you back in Texas!

Greetings Friends –

Hope you’ve all have had a wonderful Easter weekend! It’s snowy and beautiful here in Aberdeen, and it was great to celebrate this special day at St. Mary’s Cathedral downtown. The past several weeks have been packed with Rotary activities, visitors from Texas, and of course, classes at the university. After presenting at several more Aberdeen Rotary clubs, much of the past two weeks has been spent hosting visitors from Texas.

A friend from UT Austin flew in a few weeks ago during his vacation, and it was great nice to spend a week traveling and sightseeing around Scotland. This past week, my parents and two little sisters flew over for a brief visit during their spring break vacation. It was great to see and spend time with family! After sightseeing around Scotland for six days, we flew down to England and spent a final day touring the city of London. Wrapping up the adventure, I wished them a safe flight back to Texas and returned to Aberdeen for Easter. After several weeks of nonstop activities, it’s nice to enjoy a day of reflection and relaxation back at my flat near the university.

The journey in Scotland continues for another 10 weeks as I prepare to return to Texas in June. There are so many great stories and pictures that I look forward to sharing with all of you back home. In the meantime, hope you all enjoy the pictures of recent activities posted below.

Wish all of you the best, and have a wonderful week!

- Nick

Recent Rotary Activities

Exchanging banners with the St. Machar Rotary Club in Aberdeen during a recent visit:

Giving a presentation at the Rotary Club of Aberdeen Deeside:

Enjoying a meal with my Scottish Rotary counselor (Ian), his wife (Jan), and my family during their visit from Texas:

Touring the Glenfiddich Scotch Whisky Distillery

Glenfiddich (meaning Valley of the Dear) is one of the most well-known single malt Scotch whiskies. Touring the Glenfiddich distillery was a neat opportunity to learn why the Scottish are so proud of their Scotch:

Learning what makes Scotch Whisky so unique:

Learning how the whisky is stored and matured:

Trip to the William Wallace Monument

View of the countryside surrounding Stirling, Scotland:

The William Wallace Monument built in memory the Scottish national hero:

William Wallace statue – a.k.a. “Braveheart”:

Close-up of the tower and its 246-step spiral staircase:

Standing next to William Wallace’s sword:

Family Trip to Edinburgh, Scotland (Part 1):

View of Balmoral Hotel:

Old fashioned tour bus:

Walking through the city:

Looking up at enormous columns:

Enjoying bagpipe music on the street:

Family Trip to Edinburgh, Scotland (Part 2)

The family exploring Edinburgh Castle:

View of the city from Edinburgh Castle:

Statue in front of a World War I monument:

Tower within Edinburgh Castle containing the Scottish Crown Jewels:

View of St. Giles Cathedral:

Touring the Scotttish Countryside with Family

The family exploring the Dunnottar Castle ruins:

Happy to see my little sisters:

Visiting Glamis Castle near Dundee:

Visiting Crathes Castle in the Highlands:

Checking out Highland Cows:

Family Daytrip to London (Part 1)

Looking up at Big Ben:


Statue of Winston Churchill:
Welcome to Westminster Abbey:

Looking up at Westminster Abbey:

The magnificent entrance to Westminster Abbey:

Family Daytrip to London (Part 2)

The family posing in front of Buckingham Palace:

The view walking through London:
One of the fantastic buildings near the Hyde Park Barracks:

View of the courtyard next to the Hyde Park Barracks:

The Tower of London:

Family Daytrip to London (Part 3)

The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral:
Looking up at St. Paul's Cathedral:
The front entrance of St. Paul's Cathedral:
Standing on the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, England:
Prime Meridian plaque in Greenwhich (just outside of London):