Since when was Scotland famed for making beer?

I found out what all that noise was about the other night. Quite a collection of people had gathered on the corridor and we're planning to go for a late night picnic. It's the only way I can describe it really! I joined them with my cup of tea, which was allowed because it was in a Quebec mug. It was nice to sit in the cool night air, enjoying the banter flying around. Since most of the group came from France there was often explaining to each other what a phrase meant which was really helpful for me! Sometimes the conversation went right over my head but it was good to socialise.
Yesterday, oooh what did I do? Oh yes, I went shopping. I needed some international stamps and some aftersun. I also bought sun block which I've appreciated greatly today! I tried to get a sim card but that proved problematic and in the end I just gave up.
In the afternoon there was a welcome event for international students, which we got to quite early. However we did beat the rush since there are far more international students than we realised. The first part was a mixture of a slideshow and videos followed by a few speeches. The former was understandable - even we could spot the humour but the speakers spoke far too fast and they mostly aimed the speeches at african students. Not so useful for us! After this introduction which took well over 1.5 hours they provided us with a meal, comprising of pâte chinois (chinese pasta - nothing chinese about it. It's basically sheperd's/cottage pie with a layer of sweetcorn) and pouding chomeur (poor man's pudding). Whilst queuing up some of the French guys from the late night picnic spotted me and invited me to join them. So we did. We by this point was not just Victoria and myself but Nicole, the american from my corridor, and her friend, Hannah. We ended up right in the middle of their group so we were straight in with the French conversation. I particularly like that one of the guys regularly corrected us when we made mistakes and explained it- most useful indeed! Somehow the topic of beer came up and one guy wanted to know the names of some scottish beers. While I may be able to reel off a fair few beer brands, this doesn't extend to the location of the brewery. Newcastle ale is made in Newcastle is the best I can do in that respect so I text my dad, who came to the rescue.
Last night was so hot that it was difficult to sleep. I chatted to some people briefly on the corridor but tiredness and heat stripped me of any desire to attempt any French. This is coming more naturally now though at least.
Victoria and I made plans to go to Lac Magog this morning but we missed the bus which was entirely my fault. The next one was 3 hours later so there was some pratting around doing not an awful lot! 
                  It only saved up to here and deleted the rest :(  alors, on y va!
We got on a bus soon after midday ish, without a map or an idea of which bus stop we needed. Oh how well prepared we are! Although we recognised the name we definitely got off at the wrong place, because although we were by the lake, we were also in the middle of suburbia, with homes and private land right across the lake side. We started walking, which in the midday heat was incredibly hot. I was practically melting and my face gradually turned a plum shade of red. Nice. However, I was well equipped with my sun cream which I did offer to share but it was declined. With her bright pink shoulders I bet Vicky's wishing she put some on now! After walking quite far, we stopped, trespassed and rested under the shade of some trees. Eventually we asked a nice couple to point us in the right direction. They were very helpful and even offered to drive us to the beach if we would wait a while. We declined the offer on the grounds that we wouldn't know how to get back! They sent us on our way instead with a hand-drawn map indicating a park and a bus stop. We found the park, which included 2 jetties so we had a bit of a swing before paddling in the lake. It was so refreshing! Possibly because I soaked all but my torso, I was much cooler for it. I tried skimming stones, but clearly it is not one of my many talents.
The fish crowding round my toes and the spider spinning a web from Victoria's toe clearly entertained us far too much and we easily passed a large amount of time there. It made the whole adventure worth it. After we dried ourselves off a bit and replaced our shoes we headed for the bus stop. Bearing in mind that we had no idea of the timetable, we were in for a long wait. Just as we were giving up hope and pondering how to get a taxi, lo and behold, there appeared our rickety bus which took us back to the uni.
Following this, we visited the uni shop, first of all to get Victoria some food and then to find our course books. Well some of them, darn expensive they are too. With my new books safely packed in my bag I headed to the poste d'acceuil  where I procured a key to the piano room. Excitedly I then rushed back to my room, collected my music and dashed down to have a play. Sadly the soundproof room lacked any ventilation and was like a sauna, so much so that it was unbearable and I couldn't stay very long. However I have the key for future use, not when I want to sweat out any toxins though!
Just as I was wrapping up my blog I have been rudely interrupted. Well not so much. It's Tino's birthday (a guy from upstairs) so everyone is congregating in the kitchen to celebrate. Andrejean is tempting me out promising that I'll learn more French chatting to people than in a lesson. While he may be right I'm not sure whether swear words will arise in any of my exams! A social butterfly I shall remain so  à bientôt!