Salut! from Paris:)
It was an early start at 5am, and nobody experienced that more so than Ariel and Morgan. As Ariel attempted to wake Morgan from her slumber, she was extremely concerned that Morgan's ridiculously sound sleeping was in fact unconsciousness. She literally had to physically awaken the beast after minutes of panic and fear for Morgan's life; Morgan arose with a murmur, until she realized she had less than 15mins to finish packing and eat breakfast downstairs. That certainly forced her to wake up; quite the episode to begin the morning.
The chunnel itself was also an experience as we struggled to make it to the platform in the morning rushhour. Chelsea, Emily and Ariel were all thrilled to discover that they were standing in the train station where Harry Potter was filmed. Although we did not hop on the Hogwarts Express, Ariel continued to struggle finding her way with 5 bags and every member of the team's drinks and snacks for the trip. She barely made it onto the train, as she dangled from the step, to put her suitcase inside. Because it could not fit in the compartment up front, she managed to drag it to the back of the train where she hit multiple Asian individuals. Even Morgan had to lift her 50lb zebra bag over her head in the above compartment and launch it in order to secure it. Talk about a morning work out. Luckily, we all were able to sleep for the majority of the ride.
Immediately arriving to Paris, we started out with a bus tour of the city. The traffic and heat combined to make a somewhat boring ride, but nothing took away from the natural beauty of the monuments and statues that we were fortunate enough to see along the way including but not limited to the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, L'arc de triumph, Notre Dame cathedral, and many more. Although our tour guide was nice, we still miss our dear Margot, who definitely spoiled us with her spunk. Interestingly, France has a great population of drivers, who are willing to drive over curbs and hit pedestrians on the street, especially riders on speeding mopeds.
Eventually we were able to arrive at our hotel where we were greeted by VIBRANT color schemes inside our rooms, and beautiful views. Moreover, we had a rooftop terrace that allowed us to overlook the ENTIRE city. We got plenty of pictures, to say the least. Our poor Emily felt a bit under the weather, so we scampered off to the neighboring grocery store to aid her illness with saltine crackers, peanut butter, and good ol sprite. Talk about your fixer-upper! After our saltine cracker party with Em, we decided to venture out in the local streets. We were able to eat dinner, shop at touristy shops, and have crepes all along our street with ease. Now listen up bloggers: if you ever need a bargain shopper, Loretta is the way to go! Lets just say she knew how to wheel and deal inside the locally owned shops.
As it began to darken, we ventured onto the metro in order to view the base of the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. We loved the accordian and guitar-playing musicians on the metro, who advised us to "don't worry and be happy". How original. At the base of the tower we were amazed by the size and stature of the edifice, and its specific architectural designs. The lights alone, however, illuminated the entire city and swept us all away. Soon even, sparkling lights lit up the tower and added to our amazement. Lots of vendors attempted to sell us keychains and glowing plastic eiffel towers, and they do not like to take no for an answer. One find we did enjoy, however, was a group souvenir of hand-crafted paintings of places in Europe, like the Notre Dame or Eiffel Tower. These were gorgeous and well done, and we just could not resist!
Perhaps delusional from sleep deprivation, the gang headed back to the hotel on the metro. Chelsea thought that the beeping sounds on the tube sounded like beats from a Lady Gaga song, and she opted to demonstrate for the entire group in a sing-song.
For now, we are going to partake in sleep for the duration of our evening, awaiting our introductions to our host families in Luxembourg tomorrow:)
Bon nuit:)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
our day in London :)
After waking up and taking the Tube to Westminster (yes, we minded the gap), we began our day at the London Eye. This was an incredible experience and the views were spectacular (no worries group photos were taken!). It was then decided that we were in dire need of coffee so we stopped at Cafe Nero, where each one of us got a version of a frappuchino- lucky enough for us our barista was SUPER sweet and adorable. We then progressed to Parliament Square. This is a small grass area where people were holding a protest against a variety of things including the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. In fact there is one man who has lived in this square for 14 YEARS. Morgan felt the need to talk to him, yet as she approached his general area he began LOUDLY communicating with a news reporter (in a not so friendly way). Once seeing that he was occupied we instead watched from approximately 10 yards away. After the reporter got flustered enough to leave he approached our group and asked to interview us (from the tourists perspective). After talking to Morgan and Emily it was obvious that he was not getting the answers he wanted (because we didn't call the protest a "visual sore") and we continued on our journey.
We came across one of the lovely red phone booths on our way to see the changing of the horse guards, and a team photo was taken (all girls in 1 not so flowery smelling phone booth). We continued our team photoing by taken pics with a guard and his horse. We then trekked into the stable area only to find a seductive blue eyed young lad slash guard. No worries lady readers, we broke his silence. We unfortunately had to leave him and began our walk through Green Park where Ariel became best friends for life with a variety of squirrels (aka rodents) and creatures of flight. The park led us to Buckingham Palace, home of the queen. We stopped for a photo op and dubbed the house Ms. Loretta's since she is "Queen Kong." Here, Ms. Loretta also suggested that Kiera make friends with a pole and Ariel also was able to 'fly' at this stop. Herrod's was our next desired stop, but of course we had adventures on the way there- this includes Chelsea further demonstrating her Chuck Norris skill's on an innocent by-standing tree, and also channeling her inner Mary Catherine Gallagher.
So if you are not aware of what Herrod's is, it is an uber expensive (AS IN REALLY REALLY expensive) 5 story shopping mall that includes an entire section for Pet Fashion. We kid you not. There was a dress for a small dog (at the puppy age) that was priced at 70 pounds. Also the baby carriage section was more like a car dealership with a variety of models priced around FOUR THOUSAND pounds. We visited a wide variety of stores from touristy places, to the most expensive kinds, and then in between. The streets were constantly packed with people, even some very attractive London boys, which triggered the "alert heifers."
Our food selection today was interesting, with lunch at quite the authentic Italian restaurant and then light appetizers in the early evening at a local bar and grill. At the bar and grill Chelsea successfully managed to try an anchovy after first throwing it in Ariel's glass. Let's just say she would not recommend them. We then headed to the show The Lion King, which we were all pretty thrilled about. The show was PHENOMENAL, with amazing voices, rocking, and dancing that shook the playhouse. Kudos to the woman playing Rafikki, and the intense puppetry and set design. Our favorites were the giraffes and the jaguar, which realistically pranced about the stage by ballet dancers. The light effects and musical talent swept us away in the African spirit, and we were uplifted leaving the theater.
(Believe me, we opted to join in a sing-song).
After navigating the tube, we came home for the night; it was indeed a long and packed day. Tomorrow we have quite the early morning starting at 5am, where we head to Paris for one day and one night. While we had tons of packing to do, Chelsea decided to try on every piece of Morgan's 30 pounds of jewelry and name every necklace. Equipped in shades and a scarf dewrag, she was definitely a figure of amusement to end the long day.
Good night all,
The Team:)
We came across one of the lovely red phone booths on our way to see the changing of the horse guards, and a team photo was taken (all girls in 1 not so flowery smelling phone booth). We continued our team photoing by taken pics with a guard and his horse. We then trekked into the stable area only to find a seductive blue eyed young lad slash guard. No worries lady readers, we broke his silence. We unfortunately had to leave him and began our walk through Green Park where Ariel became best friends for life with a variety of squirrels (aka rodents) and creatures of flight. The park led us to Buckingham Palace, home of the queen. We stopped for a photo op and dubbed the house Ms. Loretta's since she is "Queen Kong." Here, Ms. Loretta also suggested that Kiera make friends with a pole and Ariel also was able to 'fly' at this stop. Herrod's was our next desired stop, but of course we had adventures on the way there- this includes Chelsea further demonstrating her Chuck Norris skill's on an innocent by-standing tree, and also channeling her inner Mary Catherine Gallagher.
So if you are not aware of what Herrod's is, it is an uber expensive (AS IN REALLY REALLY expensive) 5 story shopping mall that includes an entire section for Pet Fashion. We kid you not. There was a dress for a small dog (at the puppy age) that was priced at 70 pounds. Also the baby carriage section was more like a car dealership with a variety of models priced around FOUR THOUSAND pounds. We visited a wide variety of stores from touristy places, to the most expensive kinds, and then in between. The streets were constantly packed with people, even some very attractive London boys, which triggered the "alert heifers."
Our food selection today was interesting, with lunch at quite the authentic Italian restaurant and then light appetizers in the early evening at a local bar and grill. At the bar and grill Chelsea successfully managed to try an anchovy after first throwing it in Ariel's glass. Let's just say she would not recommend them. We then headed to the show The Lion King, which we were all pretty thrilled about. The show was PHENOMENAL, with amazing voices, rocking, and dancing that shook the playhouse. Kudos to the woman playing Rafikki, and the intense puppetry and set design. Our favorites were the giraffes and the jaguar, which realistically pranced about the stage by ballet dancers. The light effects and musical talent swept us away in the African spirit, and we were uplifted leaving the theater.
(Believe me, we opted to join in a sing-song).
After navigating the tube, we came home for the night; it was indeed a long and packed day. Tomorrow we have quite the early morning starting at 5am, where we head to Paris for one day and one night. While we had tons of packing to do, Chelsea decided to try on every piece of Morgan's 30 pounds of jewelry and name every necklace. Equipped in shades and a scarf dewrag, she was definitely a figure of amusement to end the long day.
Good night all,
The Team:)
Monday, June 28, 2010
Warwick to London
Well we'll start you off from last night when we were lucky to be introduced to Gordon, a previous bus driver for Agrotours. After Margots emotional departure, we felt at ease to meet a new friend so quickly. This older man was quite a hoot; from old stories about Bruce and Esmerelda, to bent telephone poles, and sing-song concerts, we could not stop laughing. He is definitely a character we will never forget on this trip.
The morning started off towards Warwick Castle, a beautiful preservation of medieval life. We toured the quaint little city and then entered the castle. Upon entering the gates, we were greeted by a peacock, who was quick to give Morgan "the up-down" eye. We immediately were swept up in the medieval characters, including a swordsmen, archer, butler, and maid, who were eager to participate in group photos. Inside the castle we met numerous realistic wax figurines and robots, including Henry VIII's six wives. We climbed up many towers (all 530 winding stairs) to outlook on the distant scenery and magnificent landscapes. Ariel's calves were a-burnin and we all felt a bit discombobulated after the circuitous route.
After a quick lunch at an excellent service stop, we drove into London. We started out with a tour of the city and were immediately swept up by the overwhelming sights of the Cathedral, the Wembley Stadium arc, the London Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Buckingham palace, and the harmonious combination of antediluvian and modern architecture. The tour was longer than usual, with a stifling heat setting in, so we were excited to reach our hotel and unpack for the night. After a little while to recharge (physically and photographically)we decided to take our chances on the tube(British for metro)and struggled to get the tickets and find the correct destination before heading to London. Be sure to "mind the gap" everytime you enter a foreign subway. A heartfelt thank you to our own Morgan who terrifically managed to successfully direct our routes. Arriving in London, we enjoyed the buildings lit up in lights along the water. Although our attempts at the London Eye flights were failed for the night, we were able to take copious amounts of group photos and even came across a great place to eat! The Four Udder Belly was right up our alley and we enjoyed some big sandwiches and hearty laughs. After dinner we scooted off to the tube again, in bright spirits to end our evening.
Our discoveries in a nutshell:
-Ariel's highlight: "Our hotel has q-tips, a fan, and a toilet that always flushes!"
-Emily learned how to spell "knowone" the proper way. Spelling Bee Score: Chelsea 1, Emily 0
-Emily is the first to officially receive the retractable backpack awards
-Past Adopted Child: Morgan; Present Adopted child of the day: Ariel
-Food Battle at Dinner: Morgan/Chelsea 3, Ariel 0
-Chelsea is a disciple of Chuck Norris
London tomorrow loves, can't wait to share all the stories.
Chip chip, cheerio:)
~The Team~
The morning started off towards Warwick Castle, a beautiful preservation of medieval life. We toured the quaint little city and then entered the castle. Upon entering the gates, we were greeted by a peacock, who was quick to give Morgan "the up-down" eye. We immediately were swept up in the medieval characters, including a swordsmen, archer, butler, and maid, who were eager to participate in group photos. Inside the castle we met numerous realistic wax figurines and robots, including Henry VIII's six wives. We climbed up many towers (all 530 winding stairs) to outlook on the distant scenery and magnificent landscapes. Ariel's calves were a-burnin and we all felt a bit discombobulated after the circuitous route.
After a quick lunch at an excellent service stop, we drove into London. We started out with a tour of the city and were immediately swept up by the overwhelming sights of the Cathedral, the Wembley Stadium arc, the London Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Buckingham palace, and the harmonious combination of antediluvian and modern architecture. The tour was longer than usual, with a stifling heat setting in, so we were excited to reach our hotel and unpack for the night. After a little while to recharge (physically and photographically)we decided to take our chances on the tube(British for metro)and struggled to get the tickets and find the correct destination before heading to London. Be sure to "mind the gap" everytime you enter a foreign subway. A heartfelt thank you to our own Morgan who terrifically managed to successfully direct our routes. Arriving in London, we enjoyed the buildings lit up in lights along the water. Although our attempts at the London Eye flights were failed for the night, we were able to take copious amounts of group photos and even came across a great place to eat! The Four Udder Belly was right up our alley and we enjoyed some big sandwiches and hearty laughs. After dinner we scooted off to the tube again, in bright spirits to end our evening.
Our discoveries in a nutshell:
-Ariel's highlight: "Our hotel has q-tips, a fan, and a toilet that always flushes!"
-Emily learned how to spell "knowone" the proper way. Spelling Bee Score: Chelsea 1, Emily 0
-Emily is the first to officially receive the retractable backpack awards
-Past Adopted Child: Morgan; Present Adopted child of the day: Ariel
-Food Battle at Dinner: Morgan/Chelsea 3, Ariel 0
-Chelsea is a disciple of Chuck Norris
London tomorrow loves, can't wait to share all the stories.
Chip chip, cheerio:)
~The Team~
First Photos of England
Well we've all been battling the low battery issue with our digital cameras over the past 24 hours. The following photos are a compilation from the entire group and our first day in England. Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marylanddairy2008/sets/72157624253480891/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marylanddairy2008/sets/72157624253480891/
Scotland Photos
Hello! Kiera's photos from Scotland have been added to the web for you to enjoy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marylanddairy2008/sets/72157624249676843/
There are a lot of photos and they haven't been edited in any way yet but hopefully in the near future. Enjoy and thank you again for your interest and support!
There are a lot of photos and they haven't been edited in any way yet but hopefully in the near future. Enjoy and thank you again for your interest and support!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Scotland and England
Today we spent a lllooonngggg time on the bus and took numerous photos though the bus windows trying to avoid the window glare and trees that line the highway that always block your view of the sights. It was our last day with our tour guide Margot. She has been an awesome guide and has treated us more like family and friends than foreigners. We truly appreciate all her time and effort. We will never forget her humorous stories, cheerful dog, Tweed, and her rockin' Scottish pants. Our first stop was in Moffat to shop at Woolen Mills. There we bought Celtic jewelry, shortbread, postcards, cashmere scarves, heather-stone items, and much more. We also had a wee snack at the cafe. Then, it was back on the road. We made a quick stop for lunch at Burger King where we went on a napkin hunt...Kiera won. We ate on the bus to save time. There was almost a ketchup, tomato sauce, famine... it could have been deadly but we survived with one extra packet. Next we headed to Ricky Jones's Dairy. The farm was absolutely gorgeous and extremely well kept. He milks around 100 Holstein cattle in a double 6 parlor. And has around 30 heifers. We walked around the farm and visited many of the pastures and crop fields. He talked to us about milk prices in England and the control the super markets have over the farmers. Interesting tidbit... In England you are paid for your milk by liter for example the top price right now is 25 pence per liter. (Pence is equivalent to cents)The most interesting part of the operation was the feeding. The milking herd is fed grain while in the parlor and TRM in the free stall that contains whole potatoes! For dinner we went to Leedham Farms for a BBQ. There we had pulled pork sandwiches with sage stuffing and apple sauce on the sandwich. It seems a little weird but it was very tasty. Afterwards we mingled with the other teams and local farmers who came to visit. We also signed a petition in opposition of constructing four windmills about 1/4 of a mile from the farm. On the way back we looked through the Luxembourg sale catalog, in which we will be participating in a few days. Tomorrow we are going to Warkick Castle in the morning and then on to London.
The Maryland Dairy Judging Team
The Maryland Dairy Judging Team
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Final Full Day of Scotland
JUDGING CONTEST DAY !!!!!!
The last full day of Scotland was a day filled with smiles, laughs, and a lot good memories. The day started bright and early for us as today was the competition day! So we headed for day two of the Royal Highlands Show, which just as amazing as the our first day. The competition was quite different than the way we do judge at home. Classes were only 5 MINUTES!!! Whether they were reasons or not. Also, they don't use the same numbering or identification system of 1234, they use ABXY,which was very different and a little difficult when giving reasons to say " I placed this class XBYA ... " Also the cows were not necessarily lead in ABXY so it a minute to figure out what order the cows were in. Giving reasons was pretty similar to US reasons, but the atmosphere was much more relaxed and everyone was sitting on the lawn chatting after the classes were over. There was some confusion in the beginning as to how many reasons we were going to give at a time because we were told that we were going to give both sets back to back. We came to find out that it was one at a time. In Scotland, they wear white lab coats when judging and we thought we looked pretty cool and smart. The time constraints made us a little stressed. It was not always clearly announced when we were supposed to change rings which made us have less time in the next class. Although, it was different than we are used to we all managed to adapt and learned to "speed" judge.
After the judging contest, we went over and saw the parade of champions, there we saw the impressive lineup of animals, including, beef: Angus, Charolais, British blues, British Blondes, and much more. The dairy lineup included, Holstein, Jersey, Ayrshire, and Milking Shorthorns. Shortly after the parade show jumping fences were set for the international contest of Show Jumping. This was very interesting and we even captured some cool action shots of the horses jumping. Next came the Awards dinner, the meal included a choice between venison or fish and chips, and to top it off for dessert we had delicious strawberries with cream and tarts.
The Results:
( We were divided into judging pairs for the contest Morgan and Ariel were a team and Chelsea and Emily were a team)
*1st place 4-H team
*2nd place team overall
*Ariel and Morgan were 3rd pair overall
*Chelsea and Emily were the 6th as a pair overall.
*Morgan was high reasons individual
*2nd place reasons team
*Morgan and Ariel were 1st place reasons pair
We are very happy with the new experience and hope to cherish the Royal Highlands in our memories for a long time.
~The Team~
PS lady readers of the blog:
the men of Scotland are certainly not lacking in the looks department. They always have uniquely wonderful hair and wear IMPECCABLE jeans of which make the tushies look wonderful.
Also Emily pants were doodled upon unintentionally by a variety of Scottish male judgers, and Morgan got a kiss on the cheek by another Scottish man during the awards that was SUPER awkward because apparently its custom and she had already started to walk away.
Fans of Chelsea please inquire about her accident today (the one involving the bathroom and her pants!) But no bodily functions were involved :)
The last full day of Scotland was a day filled with smiles, laughs, and a lot good memories. The day started bright and early for us as today was the competition day! So we headed for day two of the Royal Highlands Show, which just as amazing as the our first day. The competition was quite different than the way we do judge at home. Classes were only 5 MINUTES!!! Whether they were reasons or not. Also, they don't use the same numbering or identification system of 1234, they use ABXY,which was very different and a little difficult when giving reasons to say " I placed this class XBYA ... " Also the cows were not necessarily lead in ABXY so it a minute to figure out what order the cows were in. Giving reasons was pretty similar to US reasons, but the atmosphere was much more relaxed and everyone was sitting on the lawn chatting after the classes were over. There was some confusion in the beginning as to how many reasons we were going to give at a time because we were told that we were going to give both sets back to back. We came to find out that it was one at a time. In Scotland, they wear white lab coats when judging and we thought we looked pretty cool and smart. The time constraints made us a little stressed. It was not always clearly announced when we were supposed to change rings which made us have less time in the next class. Although, it was different than we are used to we all managed to adapt and learned to "speed" judge.
After the judging contest, we went over and saw the parade of champions, there we saw the impressive lineup of animals, including, beef: Angus, Charolais, British blues, British Blondes, and much more. The dairy lineup included, Holstein, Jersey, Ayrshire, and Milking Shorthorns. Shortly after the parade show jumping fences were set for the international contest of Show Jumping. This was very interesting and we even captured some cool action shots of the horses jumping. Next came the Awards dinner, the meal included a choice between venison or fish and chips, and to top it off for dessert we had delicious strawberries with cream and tarts.
The Results:
( We were divided into judging pairs for the contest Morgan and Ariel were a team and Chelsea and Emily were a team)
*1st place 4-H team
*2nd place team overall
*Ariel and Morgan were 3rd pair overall
*Chelsea and Emily were the 6th as a pair overall.
*Morgan was high reasons individual
*2nd place reasons team
*Morgan and Ariel were 1st place reasons pair
We are very happy with the new experience and hope to cherish the Royal Highlands in our memories for a long time.
~The Team~
PS lady readers of the blog:
the men of Scotland are certainly not lacking in the looks department. They always have uniquely wonderful hair and wear IMPECCABLE jeans of which make the tushies look wonderful.
Also Emily pants were doodled upon unintentionally by a variety of Scottish male judgers, and Morgan got a kiss on the cheek by another Scottish man during the awards that was SUPER awkward because apparently its custom and she had already started to walk away.
Fans of Chelsea please inquire about her accident today (the one involving the bathroom and her pants!) But no bodily functions were involved :)
Friday, June 25, 2010
Hello blog readers :)
Scotland is awesome! Today we started out by doing a bus tour of Edinburgh which is the Capitol city of Scotland. Although it may not be as large as Glasgow it certainly does not lack in character. We were all incredibly impressed by the Edinburgh Castle and the architecture in general. There were tons of cute little shops and LOTS of kilts! Like expensive 200 pounds worth of kilts!
If we haven't already mentioned it the landscape of Scotland is beautiful- LOTS of hills and fields. In fact, Edinburgh is surrounded by these great hills and we were lucky enough to drive to the top of one and see the overlook- IT WAS AMAZING! And major kudos to Margot and her wonderful guide abilities, and humorous jokes.
So next we hit up the Royal Highland Show where they show in outdoor grass show rings with white fences. The show is huge and we wish we had even more days so we could experience each part. So we are food consuming girls, and thus we hit up the food area, and samples were the apples of our eye! I immediately found our initial sample, and by the end of our food excursion we had tried every sample possible, and boy were we stuffed! We tasted everything from strawberries to shortbread cookies, fudge, meats, ice cream, cheeses, jams and chips. We didn't even purchase a legitimate lunch and walked the entire length of the building. And we even had full-cream Jersey milk out of a plastic shot glass! John may have been bashing on Jersey's yesterday, but somebody in Scotland puts them to wonderful use :).
So back to the cow part, we were really impressed by the Young Farmers program that Scotland has, and they seem to be very involved and fun. They had a large booth set up and it was quite cool. Outside they had a Wii sheep shearing game that was led by an enjoyable young red-headed fellow. They also had a bike racing contest (on the kind you ride in the gym), all in hopes to raise money to promote agriculture education in Africa. Inside they had a variety of booths that Young Farmers created, much like those that 4-H clubs create in contests. They had AMAZINGLY decorated cakes in an African Safari theme- asks to see pictures because they were way cool.
We ended up being led around by two gents named Alexander and Graham. Alexander won the Young Stockman Contest last year and showed us all the livestock and dairy and explained how they evaluate each. VERY DIFFERENT they are when it come to beef cattle, but they really do judge Dairy in a similar fashion, with the exception that they prefer them to be more moderate framed, and are not as incredibly into the 'dairy' look (don't get us wrong they are still angular and feminine). They only show a few dairy breeds and they are Holsteins, Ayrshires,and Jerseys.
We have an early day tomorrow with the contest and will update you sometime tomorrow night with the results. Another long, but successful day, we are hungry for more!
<3 The Team <3
Scotland is awesome! Today we started out by doing a bus tour of Edinburgh which is the Capitol city of Scotland. Although it may not be as large as Glasgow it certainly does not lack in character. We were all incredibly impressed by the Edinburgh Castle and the architecture in general. There were tons of cute little shops and LOTS of kilts! Like expensive 200 pounds worth of kilts!
If we haven't already mentioned it the landscape of Scotland is beautiful- LOTS of hills and fields. In fact, Edinburgh is surrounded by these great hills and we were lucky enough to drive to the top of one and see the overlook- IT WAS AMAZING! And major kudos to Margot and her wonderful guide abilities, and humorous jokes.
So next we hit up the Royal Highland Show where they show in outdoor grass show rings with white fences. The show is huge and we wish we had even more days so we could experience each part. So we are food consuming girls, and thus we hit up the food area, and samples were the apples of our eye! I immediately found our initial sample, and by the end of our food excursion we had tried every sample possible, and boy were we stuffed! We tasted everything from strawberries to shortbread cookies, fudge, meats, ice cream, cheeses, jams and chips. We didn't even purchase a legitimate lunch and walked the entire length of the building. And we even had full-cream Jersey milk out of a plastic shot glass! John may have been bashing on Jersey's yesterday, but somebody in Scotland puts them to wonderful use :).
So back to the cow part, we were really impressed by the Young Farmers program that Scotland has, and they seem to be very involved and fun. They had a large booth set up and it was quite cool. Outside they had a Wii sheep shearing game that was led by an enjoyable young red-headed fellow. They also had a bike racing contest (on the kind you ride in the gym), all in hopes to raise money to promote agriculture education in Africa. Inside they had a variety of booths that Young Farmers created, much like those that 4-H clubs create in contests. They had AMAZINGLY decorated cakes in an African Safari theme- asks to see pictures because they were way cool.
We ended up being led around by two gents named Alexander and Graham. Alexander won the Young Stockman Contest last year and showed us all the livestock and dairy and explained how they evaluate each. VERY DIFFERENT they are when it come to beef cattle, but they really do judge Dairy in a similar fashion, with the exception that they prefer them to be more moderate framed, and are not as incredibly into the 'dairy' look (don't get us wrong they are still angular and feminine). They only show a few dairy breeds and they are Holsteins, Ayrshires,and Jerseys.
We have an early day tomorrow with the contest and will update you sometime tomorrow night with the results. Another long, but successful day, we are hungry for more!
<3 The Team <3
Thursday, June 24, 2010
our first adventure in Scotland
Day One: Complete.
Immediately following the flight we found ourselves on the tour bus ready to start. While some of us could barely keep our eyes open, we saw rolling green hills and tons of pastures with animals grazing. Our first stop was at the National Museum of Rural Life, where we saw a scottish "man trap" and soon ventured up to the preserved farmhouse. On film we captured a ridiculously photogenic Highlander cow and soon saw the owner herding his sheep in before a rain storm. This sight was impressive, noticing not only the herder's specific and alternating calls, but his sheep dog's aggressive and experienced training. Morgan also could not help but wonder why the sheep's tails were not docked.
Our next stop was at the Scottish Agriculture College, where we were greeted by the manager of dairy operations at the college, a pleasant Mr. John. John took us for a tour of some of his pasture lots, barns, and milking parlor. In Scotland, cows primarily graze on rye grass, unlike the Marylandish alfalfa and clover. We learned from John that cows are turned out when the length of the grass is approximately the height of a beer can, and they are switched to another lot when the grass is as tall as a golf ball. The average herd size is around 200, because it is the maximum number put out on pasture; even the number of cows spending the majority of time out on pasture alone, astounded us yanks. John informed us that because Scots are not good record keepers, they tend to view management and reproductive practices from other countries, like the United States, New Zealand, and Germany. (Never trust the records of an Italian). On another interesting note, we found the identification system to be much more strict, since the outbreak of BSE.
Down in the barns we were showed their grain supplement, a "PMR", pelletized distillers grain, pelletized beet pulp, and soy beans. Then we came across a calf pen, where John showed us his new automatic calf-feeder, which can be programmed to ration out milk, knew which calf was drinking and how much, and could slowly wean the calves by distributing less milk. There were about eight calves on just one machine, and the calves were in excellent health and condition. We learned new vocabulary when venturing into the "cubicles", or what we refer to as free stalls. Even the barn alleys are known as "passageways" in Scotland. The milking parlor was a double twelve herringbone, and parlors are the most type of milking facility in the UK, where most cows are milked twice a day (three if your lucky).
~The Team
Immediately following the flight we found ourselves on the tour bus ready to start. While some of us could barely keep our eyes open, we saw rolling green hills and tons of pastures with animals grazing. Our first stop was at the National Museum of Rural Life, where we saw a scottish "man trap" and soon ventured up to the preserved farmhouse. On film we captured a ridiculously photogenic Highlander cow and soon saw the owner herding his sheep in before a rain storm. This sight was impressive, noticing not only the herder's specific and alternating calls, but his sheep dog's aggressive and experienced training. Morgan also could not help but wonder why the sheep's tails were not docked.
Our next stop was at the Scottish Agriculture College, where we were greeted by the manager of dairy operations at the college, a pleasant Mr. John. John took us for a tour of some of his pasture lots, barns, and milking parlor. In Scotland, cows primarily graze on rye grass, unlike the Marylandish alfalfa and clover. We learned from John that cows are turned out when the length of the grass is approximately the height of a beer can, and they are switched to another lot when the grass is as tall as a golf ball. The average herd size is around 200, because it is the maximum number put out on pasture; even the number of cows spending the majority of time out on pasture alone, astounded us yanks. John informed us that because Scots are not good record keepers, they tend to view management and reproductive practices from other countries, like the United States, New Zealand, and Germany. (Never trust the records of an Italian). On another interesting note, we found the identification system to be much more strict, since the outbreak of BSE.
Down in the barns we were showed their grain supplement, a "PMR", pelletized distillers grain, pelletized beet pulp, and soy beans. Then we came across a calf pen, where John showed us his new automatic calf-feeder, which can be programmed to ration out milk, knew which calf was drinking and how much, and could slowly wean the calves by distributing less milk. There were about eight calves on just one machine, and the calves were in excellent health and condition. We learned new vocabulary when venturing into the "cubicles", or what we refer to as free stalls. Even the barn alleys are known as "passageways" in Scotland. The milking parlor was a double twelve herringbone, and parlors are the most type of milking facility in the UK, where most cows are milked twice a day (three if your lucky).
~The Team
We landed !!!!
Our adventure began with a lovely 45 minute wait on the excessively hot runway. Although Emily, Chelsea, and I sat together Morgan sat by herself and embarked on her journey by making new friends right away. She sat between a dear Alabamian woman and a Scots man. The Scottish man turned out to be a very interesting man. On the plane we watched Dear John and tried to sleep to no avail. Chelsea also had the opportunity of running into someone in the bathroom due to a faulty vacancy sign. We just arrived at the Glasgow airport and thankfully all our luggage arrived with us and we successfully passed through customs. US currency is worth about half the value of sterling. We will be leaving with the tour bus in a few moments. We are all very excited to venture out into Edinburgh today!!
The Maryland Dairy Judging Team
The Maryland Dairy Judging Team
Friday, June 18, 2010
So close!
Just purchased our tickets to the Lion King! There is a great little video on the following website to give you a taste of the performance.
http://www2.disney.co.uk/MusicalTheatre/TheLionKing/home/index.jsp
We also have organized our travel arrangements to the airport. Looks like we really are leaving in five days!
~Kiera
http://www2.disney.co.uk/MusicalTheatre/TheLionKing/home/index.jsp
We also have organized our travel arrangements to the airport. Looks like we really are leaving in five days!
~Kiera
Friday, June 11, 2010
Luxembourg Host Families
The Luxembourg Young Farmer assignments have arrived!
Emily Gill will be staying with Marc Scheer-Ewen
Chelsea Davis will be staying with Arnaud Bosseler
Morgan Meisenheimer will be staying with Jean-Paul Frish-Kuffer
Ariel Taxdal will be staying with Aart Versteegh
On Thursday July 1st, the 4-Hers will be meeting their hosts for the next few days. They will be living on the farms until Sunday July 4th. This is a day longer than it has been in the past due to the impact these visits make on both the Young Farmers and the trip participants. It is routinely ranked as the highlight of the two week trip.
~Kiera
Emily Gill will be staying with Marc Scheer-Ewen
Chelsea Davis will be staying with Arnaud Bosseler
Morgan Meisenheimer will be staying with Jean-Paul Frish-Kuffer
Ariel Taxdal will be staying with Aart Versteegh
On Thursday July 1st, the 4-Hers will be meeting their hosts for the next few days. They will be living on the farms until Sunday July 4th. This is a day longer than it has been in the past due to the impact these visits make on both the Young Farmers and the trip participants. It is routinely ranked as the highlight of the two week trip.
~Kiera
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Two weeks to the day!
We have all had our orientation meeting and have completed our fundraising goals. First and foremost, a huge thank you to all who have helped us get to this point. I know that the team is extremely honored to have been able to bring ANOTHER National Title back to Maryland and continue an amazing tradition. For those of you who do not know, this year's team members are:
Ariel Taxdal of Harford County
Chelsea Davis of Cecil County
Emily Gill of Harford County
Morgan Meisenheimer of Howard County
Loretta Wright of Carroll County coached this great group
The travel plans include visiting Scotland, England, France, Luxembourg and Germany. We will have the opportunity to judge cattle in multiple countries, see a play in London, take a cruise down the Rhine River and so much more. The ladies have even been invited to lead cattle in 1st Annual International Sale hosted by the Luxembourg Herd Book Association! So much more to be shared with you in the days and weeks to come. Thank you once again for your support as this trip would not have been possible otherwise.
~Kiera
Ariel Taxdal of Harford County
Chelsea Davis of Cecil County
Emily Gill of Harford County
Morgan Meisenheimer of Howard County
Loretta Wright of Carroll County coached this great group
The travel plans include visiting Scotland, England, France, Luxembourg and Germany. We will have the opportunity to judge cattle in multiple countries, see a play in London, take a cruise down the Rhine River and so much more. The ladies have even been invited to lead cattle in 1st Annual International Sale hosted by the Luxembourg Herd Book Association! So much more to be shared with you in the days and weeks to come. Thank you once again for your support as this trip would not have been possible otherwise.
~Kiera
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