Hey everyone! From my dorm room again on Wednesday, October 26, 2010 at 4:30pm. Two weekends ago I took a weekend trip to Geneva, Switzerland with my girlfriend Kristen, and it was one of the most amazingly beautiful trips I have taken. Geneva is located in the southwest of Switzerland right next to the Swiss-French border on the western side and Lake Geneva on the eastern side. It is a picturesque city that is very much centered around Lake Geneva with the Alps boldly rising in the background on the southern side and green hills as far as the eye can see to the north, but the city itself is very much an urban place, but with a very quaint, old feel to it. Most of the buildings are 18th-19th century neo-classical style buildings with magnificent medieval cathedrals or churches scattered throughout, so it is quite the array of architecture.
I just got off the phone with my parents and I think to save time, per their suggestion, I'm going to quickly outline my time there.
When I got there on Thursday, I had the whole day to myself, so I went downtown right next to the lake and there was a free bike rental place on the lake shore. So, clearly, I was intrigued and took a bike around the city for around 3 hours. It was a beautiful ride through the old town part of Geneva, passing old museums, gothic cathedrals, and spacious parks and recreational areas. I pretty much got a brief lay of the land so that when Kristen got there, we would have a vague idea of where to go. She arrived late that night, so the next day was our first walking around in the city. We took a bus to the airport and caught the Geneva bound train from there. When we arrived in the city, it was just past noon, so we walked around and got some lunch near the lake at a Spaghetti place. The food was expensive, but the scenery was well worth it. So we walked around a bit longer, up towards the UN and Red Cross Museum direction mostly, then we had fondue at a restaurant near the train station and it was some of the best I've ever had, hands down. After seeing a little bit more of the city at night, we called it a day and headed back.
The next day, we walked through miles of city and parks, and ended up spending most of the time into the evening near a park dedicated to famous Reformation thinkers. We enjoyed our second (and best) fondue at a restaurant near the beautiful St. Pierre Cathedral. The restaurant was outdoors on the cobblestone alleyways that all converged there and it was a beautiful evening.
The last day, we took a paddle boat out onto the lake and saw all the beautiful scenery from the lake perspective and it was amazing, especially with the huge fountain in the foreground accentuating the already magnificent city. So after a little bit more walking around, we headed back for the airport where we left for home, knowing that one day we would be back there again to admire beautiful Geneva.
I also have pictures of our time there that you can find at the following link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ryman9097/Geneva?authkey=Gv1sRgCNHvi8r-kfGhRQ&feat=directlink
Tuesday 26 October 2010
Tuesday 12 October 2010
English Lake District Homestay
Hey everyone! From my dorm room Tuesday October 12th, 2010 at 12:45pm. Sorry this is so late, I've been really busy lately, but I have a lot of new experiences to share!
So 3 weekends ago I took a weekend trip organized by my group (Butler) to stay with an English family in western England near the Lake District. I stayed with the Myler family (Tony, Natalie, Alex, and their dog Jay-Jay) in a little village (yes, not city nor town, but village) called Maulds Meaburn near the city of Penrith. It's about a 3 hour car ride southwest from Edinburgh. When my group of maybe 25 arrived in Penrith, we were all greeted by our respective host families and taken to their homes in towns or villages near the central city of Penrith. So Natalie arrived to pick me and my friend Kiyo up at in her suave BMW upon our arrival. However, little did we know that our first impression of BMW's and the humble teacher and wife Natalie would be so different from the little rural village atmosphere we grew to love during that incredible weekend that lay ahead. Our visions of a nice English suburb were quickly discarded as soon as we took the first exit off the highway and started on our seemingly endless trek deeper and deeper into farmland and pasture that was the rural Lake District of England. I have never been so isolated from the city but it was an amazing feeling. I had the comforts of home, but the beauty of the countryside with Scottish sheep, old Medieval-looking architecture, beautiful green rolling hills, and, of course, the ever-loved local village pub. Upon arriving to the house, we had to take a detour to get to the front door due to the construction, as they were (mind you for the first time) installing main-line sewage pipes for the little village of Maulds Meaburn. When we entered the house, the front door opened to the staircase in front, the living room on the right, and the kitchen and dining room on the left. It was a small, but very well laid out house that was heated by a wood-burning furnace. I've never seen such grace and such good use of space in any house I've ever encountered. As the Myler family had attended the World Cup in South Africa, the living room was decked out in African souvenirs and was painted in earth-tone colors, which, along with the furnace, made it extremely pleasing and comfortable to sit in and relax in. I immediately felt at home in such an inviting atmosphere. So that night, we relaxed with the whole family, heard stories, and went out to the local pub for an hour or two before finally calling it a night.
The next morning, I woke to the stunning scenery outside my bedroom window on the second story of their house, that looked out to green hills, a little meandering river, and sheep grazing on the banks. Downstairs, a wonderful, hearty breakfast of french-toast and sausage that Natalie had cooked fresh for us awaited. She and Alex were off to London for the weekend, because he was going to live with his Aunt there for a year before attending University near London. So after breakfast, Natalie and Alex headed off to London, and Tony, Kiyo, and I left for our adventures through the English countryside. Our first destination was a mountain path near a river and waterfall that drained into the central lake in the area. Apparently, one of the Beatles (I believe Tony said it was John Lennon) proposed to his wife on the bridge over the waterfall we saw, so that added to the amazingness of the whole walk and experience. After perusing through the forest area near the river, we headed down to the end of the lake where we stopped for lunch and got to go out in rowboats onto the lake. That was really fun, because I don't think I can say that I've ever been in a true rowboat, especially near the hills of England where cattle and sheep grazed so nonchalantly by the banks. When we got back from rowing the boats, we headed deeper into the hills and arrived at a place known as Stone Circle built by the ancient farming communities that inhabited the land. Like Stonehenge, there were stones arranged in a very large circle on a hill overlooking the mountains further West and the hills and lake beyond to the East. However, these stones were much smaller and not stacked in any way. Once we had a good look at all the stones and the surrounding countryside, we called it a day a drove back to the house, where we relaxed for about 2 hours before heading to one of my favorite parts of the weekend: the Hogroast. Every year at a pub in the village next to Maulds Meaburn, there is a charity hogroast that takes place with live entertainment, an auction, and of course a HUGE pig roasting on the spit with all the trimmings. It was an incredibly great experience to get a glimpse of the local culture and way of life of the rural community there. The food was great, the drinks were great, and the atmosphere was like none other I've ever experienced. So after the band had been playing for about an hour, we decided to head out and arrived home around 11:30 to a cozy, warm bed. The next morning, we woke up, had coffee, and Tony made us a killer breakfast. We had farm fresh eggs (from the neighbor who raised chickens), bacon, baked beans, toast, and the traditional tea with milk (which is really quite good). Then we watched some English Premier League Football for the rest of the few hours we had left, and before leaving, took a little stroll around the village to see what it was like. They had their own little elementary school in an ancient looking building, a police station, and all the little kinds of local shops you could want or need in such a quaint little village. But the greatest thing about it was that it was all grass and dirt roads and the buildings were far apart from each other, leaving plenty of grassland in between for the abundant sheep that were grazing all throughout the village. So after our walk along the little river to the end of the village and back, we departed from Maulds Meaburn back to Penrith and then back to Edinburgh, bringing with us the fond memories we created and the bonds we forged on that magical weekend in rural England.
So 3 weekends ago I took a weekend trip organized by my group (Butler) to stay with an English family in western England near the Lake District. I stayed with the Myler family (Tony, Natalie, Alex, and their dog Jay-Jay) in a little village (yes, not city nor town, but village) called Maulds Meaburn near the city of Penrith. It's about a 3 hour car ride southwest from Edinburgh. When my group of maybe 25 arrived in Penrith, we were all greeted by our respective host families and taken to their homes in towns or villages near the central city of Penrith. So Natalie arrived to pick me and my friend Kiyo up at in her suave BMW upon our arrival. However, little did we know that our first impression of BMW's and the humble teacher and wife Natalie would be so different from the little rural village atmosphere we grew to love during that incredible weekend that lay ahead. Our visions of a nice English suburb were quickly discarded as soon as we took the first exit off the highway and started on our seemingly endless trek deeper and deeper into farmland and pasture that was the rural Lake District of England. I have never been so isolated from the city but it was an amazing feeling. I had the comforts of home, but the beauty of the countryside with Scottish sheep, old Medieval-looking architecture, beautiful green rolling hills, and, of course, the ever-loved local village pub. Upon arriving to the house, we had to take a detour to get to the front door due to the construction, as they were (mind you for the first time) installing main-line sewage pipes for the little village of Maulds Meaburn. When we entered the house, the front door opened to the staircase in front, the living room on the right, and the kitchen and dining room on the left. It was a small, but very well laid out house that was heated by a wood-burning furnace. I've never seen such grace and such good use of space in any house I've ever encountered. As the Myler family had attended the World Cup in South Africa, the living room was decked out in African souvenirs and was painted in earth-tone colors, which, along with the furnace, made it extremely pleasing and comfortable to sit in and relax in. I immediately felt at home in such an inviting atmosphere. So that night, we relaxed with the whole family, heard stories, and went out to the local pub for an hour or two before finally calling it a night.
The next morning, I woke to the stunning scenery outside my bedroom window on the second story of their house, that looked out to green hills, a little meandering river, and sheep grazing on the banks. Downstairs, a wonderful, hearty breakfast of french-toast and sausage that Natalie had cooked fresh for us awaited. She and Alex were off to London for the weekend, because he was going to live with his Aunt there for a year before attending University near London. So after breakfast, Natalie and Alex headed off to London, and Tony, Kiyo, and I left for our adventures through the English countryside. Our first destination was a mountain path near a river and waterfall that drained into the central lake in the area. Apparently, one of the Beatles (I believe Tony said it was John Lennon) proposed to his wife on the bridge over the waterfall we saw, so that added to the amazingness of the whole walk and experience. After perusing through the forest area near the river, we headed down to the end of the lake where we stopped for lunch and got to go out in rowboats onto the lake. That was really fun, because I don't think I can say that I've ever been in a true rowboat, especially near the hills of England where cattle and sheep grazed so nonchalantly by the banks. When we got back from rowing the boats, we headed deeper into the hills and arrived at a place known as Stone Circle built by the ancient farming communities that inhabited the land. Like Stonehenge, there were stones arranged in a very large circle on a hill overlooking the mountains further West and the hills and lake beyond to the East. However, these stones were much smaller and not stacked in any way. Once we had a good look at all the stones and the surrounding countryside, we called it a day a drove back to the house, where we relaxed for about 2 hours before heading to one of my favorite parts of the weekend: the Hogroast. Every year at a pub in the village next to Maulds Meaburn, there is a charity hogroast that takes place with live entertainment, an auction, and of course a HUGE pig roasting on the spit with all the trimmings. It was an incredibly great experience to get a glimpse of the local culture and way of life of the rural community there. The food was great, the drinks were great, and the atmosphere was like none other I've ever experienced. So after the band had been playing for about an hour, we decided to head out and arrived home around 11:30 to a cozy, warm bed. The next morning, we woke up, had coffee, and Tony made us a killer breakfast. We had farm fresh eggs (from the neighbor who raised chickens), bacon, baked beans, toast, and the traditional tea with milk (which is really quite good). Then we watched some English Premier League Football for the rest of the few hours we had left, and before leaving, took a little stroll around the village to see what it was like. They had their own little elementary school in an ancient looking building, a police station, and all the little kinds of local shops you could want or need in such a quaint little village. But the greatest thing about it was that it was all grass and dirt roads and the buildings were far apart from each other, leaving plenty of grassland in between for the abundant sheep that were grazing all throughout the village. So after our walk along the little river to the end of the village and back, we departed from Maulds Meaburn back to Penrith and then back to Edinburgh, bringing with us the fond memories we created and the bonds we forged on that magical weekend in rural England.
Wednesday 22 September 2010
First Few Days of Class
Hey everyone! From my dorm room about 5pm Wednesday September 22, 2010. I've finally had all my classes by today, and they definitely are gonna be tough (seeing as I'm taking 2 more classes than everyone I know), but I'm really enjoying it so far! It's nice because all my classes are in the same area (called the King's Buildings) about a 10 minute bus ride from the center of campus. The studying has already ensued and I'm thinking about going to get some books before dinner. And totally weird thing, I saw a kid from UCSD who also is a Mechanical Engineer studying here! Small world! Then this weekend, I get to go on my homestay to a family that lives in the city of Penrith in the county of Cumbria in England, so I'm really looking forward to it! Apparently it's in the lake district of England, so I'm sure the scenery will be magnificent! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures. I leave on the 24th and get back on the 26th, so it will be a nice weekend with a British family.
Well, that's about all for now, but until next time, hope all's well!
Well, that's about all for now, but until next time, hope all's well!
Sunday 19 September 2010
Fresher's Week
From my dorm room in Edinburgh, Scotland Sunday September 19, 2010. This week has been quite a week. It’s what is known as Fresher’s Week here at the University of Edinburgh, and it’s the biggest welcome week at any university in the UK. So pretty much my week has been jam packed with activities ranging from pub crawls to barbecues to registering for classes to seeing the pope! The week started off strong with me and my guys going out all day until late just taking in the atmosphere and craziness that is Fresher’s week. By the time yesterday came around though, we were all starting to slow down a little. Everyone has been getting burned out by all the events and fun times that I think we’re all ready for something a little more structured.
On Thursday, I got to see the pope and it was pretty cool! My friend and I were the only ones that got up to go see him, so we got up and ate around 7:30am. We got down to Prince’s Street at around 8:30 or 9 to see him, but found out that he wasn’t actually going to be parading down the street until 12:30pm, so we went around town and looked around for a little while and came back around noon to get our spot. At about 12:20 the whole parade started down the street and there he was in his pope-mobile. He was sitting in a little chair behind his bulletproof glass car windows so that everyone could see him and he was just waving to everyone. It really wasn’t as big a thing as I thought it was going to be, but it was really cool to see him! I probably saw him for a total of maybe 30 seconds before he was out of view, because he was speeding along pretty quickly. But it was really cool to be able to say that I saw him, even if it was for only such a short time.
Yesterday was a particularly fun day, because we all got to go to a Hibernian FC football match. They played Hamilton FC at a stadium in Northeastern Edinburgh and it was loads of fun. Everyone got their seats for £5 each because of the Member of Scottish Parliament who was able to get us a group discount. Wow, what an experience! This game was really a nothing game, but still, you would be hard pressed to find crazier fans at any sporting event in the US. Most of us didn’t want to wear team colours when we got their just because we thought it might cause to much of a ruckus, but luckily, since this wasn’t a very high profile game, everyone ended up wearing team colours anyways (which for the Hibernians is green and white). However, at the bars leading up to the stadium, many of them said that team colours were not allowed in the bar (because apparently fans get so riled up that they have had too many problems in the past). Crazy! Anyways, the game was really fun and the teams ended up tying 1-1, so many of the fans had choice words to say about that. Also, Max, my friend, had a date with the Member of Scottish Parliament to the game, so he got box seats with her and got to meet some of the Hibernian star players after the game. So that was definitely a cool experience he said.
Other than the football match, there really hasn’t been anything else too much out of the ordinary here. Really, it’s just been a week of having fun and meeting new people (both of which I have definitely done a lot!). Most of the nightly events are held at 2 main places, Potterow and Teviot. Potterow is like the events area of the university where bands play and students go to hang out with friends. Teviot is actually the oldest Student Union in the world and it definitely has some great character. It’s 3 stories tall with a basement and 4 or 5 different bars within it. It’s a pretty crazy place and a lot of things happen there. Both of these places are located within Bristo Square which is pretty much the center of campus, along with George Square which is right next to it.
Then today, I’m just finalizing my schedule and getting ready for my first day of classes tomorrow! I’m actually really excited because my classes seem really interesting. However, it’s kind of annoying, because all my classes are in the Engineering school which is in an area known as the King’s Buildings which is about a 30 minute walk south of the main campus where all the humanities and social science kids have their classes. But it will be an adventure and I am looking extremely forward to it!
That’s all for now and more to come soon once I’ve started classes!
Sunday 12 September 2010
Hey everyone! From my new dorm at Pollock Halls at the University of Edinburgh about 10:30am Sunday, September 12. I don't even know where to begin because the past few days have been incredible. Our program orientation went on for the last few days and ended yesterday when we all moved in to our new places. But wow what a great few days of orientation we had!
On our first day, we had breakfast at 8ish and then orientation at the hotel we were staying at until about 5pm, so it was a long day of orientation, but actually quite enjoyable. Probably one of my favorite parts of the first day's orientation was the Edinburgh police officer who came in to talk to us about personal safety and whatnot. He was incredibly funny and he talked to us for about 30-45 minutes during the middle of the day to kind of break the dry spell of information we were constantly being fed. And then today, the same hilarious police officer is going to be marching affront a parade (I believe for the queen's visit) carrying the royal flag, so a lot of us are going to be going to see him. Anyways, after the day at orientation, we all went out to get dinner and have fun out on the town and it was really a great evening. The next day, our second day of orientation, we did mostly class stuff the whole day so it was slightly dry, but still not bad. However, one of my fondest and most humorous memories so far was at the second day's orientation when one of the women in the Scottish Parliament came to speak to us. She was around maybe 70 years old, but she had more personality than any of us knew what to do with. And to preface this story, I must mention that there are two big football (soccer) teams here in Edinburgh, the Hearts and the Hibs (Hibernians). Each plays on different sides of the city and has traditionally been divided along Protestant/Catholic lines. So during her question and answer portion, one of my friends Max, trying to impress her with his "knowledge" of Edinburgh football teams, asked her if she liked the Hearts. Mistaking the fact that she was actually a die-heart fan of the Hibs, she merely stared at him with a very funny face, kind of scrunched up, and said humorously in quite a thick Scottish accent "Are you a jambo?" Clearly, none of us knew what a jambo was (apparently it's someone who is ugly whose knuckles drag along the ground), so he naturally stood dumbfounded at what he was just called. Then, he mustered up the courage to ask her what a Jambo was and again with the same kind of face, she just looked at him and asked him if he knew what a "jam tart" was. Not quite yet knowing Scottish terms for different things (jam tart meaning something like a tart or pastry with jam on it), she just kind of sat there and laughed and didn't understand that we didn't really know what she was talking about, so everyone was just cracking up at this series of playful insults that she had thrown at Max. Finally, after all of the insults were translated, we had a good laugh and then the real funny thing happened. Max had mentioned that he wanted to go see a local football team play, so she just cheerily asked Max if he wanted to come along with her, a well known and respected member of the Scottish Parliament, to a Hibs game, to which he said he would. So now we all constantly joke about his upcoming "date" with the 70 year old, distinguished member of the Scottish Parliament. So after all the hilarity of that session, it was about 2 or so in the afternoon. We then all congregated at 3 in the hotel lobby (7 or 8 of the guys that I've met) and, in great American fashion, had a fantasy football draft. It was quite funny to see the reaction in people's faces as the walked by the 8 or 9 of us strewn about the lobby with our laptops and a list of all of our players on a large pad of paper in the middle of us all. So after that, we all got ready and went to a Sportsbar for dinner and then when out to see the town, this time more towards Prince's street and the New Town. Needless to say, it was a fun day.
Then, yesterday we all moved in to our new places. I, for one, absolutely love my new place. It's spacious, has it's own sink, is right next to the dinning hall, and fairly near campus. Also, it's really nice living in a dorm style building because then I get to meet all the new Freshers as they're called. So after moving in, we all chilled until evening when we went out with all our new found Scottish and English friends.
Today, I just woke up and am about to start my day. It's the beginning of Freshers' week so today at 12 we are all going on a hike up to Arthur's Seat on Holyrood Hill. I am quite excited as the views from up there are supposed to be breathtaking. So that's about it for now and more to come soon!
On our first day, we had breakfast at 8ish and then orientation at the hotel we were staying at until about 5pm, so it was a long day of orientation, but actually quite enjoyable. Probably one of my favorite parts of the first day's orientation was the Edinburgh police officer who came in to talk to us about personal safety and whatnot. He was incredibly funny and he talked to us for about 30-45 minutes during the middle of the day to kind of break the dry spell of information we were constantly being fed. And then today, the same hilarious police officer is going to be marching affront a parade (I believe for the queen's visit) carrying the royal flag, so a lot of us are going to be going to see him. Anyways, after the day at orientation, we all went out to get dinner and have fun out on the town and it was really a great evening. The next day, our second day of orientation, we did mostly class stuff the whole day so it was slightly dry, but still not bad. However, one of my fondest and most humorous memories so far was at the second day's orientation when one of the women in the Scottish Parliament came to speak to us. She was around maybe 70 years old, but she had more personality than any of us knew what to do with. And to preface this story, I must mention that there are two big football (soccer) teams here in Edinburgh, the Hearts and the Hibs (Hibernians). Each plays on different sides of the city and has traditionally been divided along Protestant/Catholic lines. So during her question and answer portion, one of my friends Max, trying to impress her with his "knowledge" of Edinburgh football teams, asked her if she liked the Hearts. Mistaking the fact that she was actually a die-heart fan of the Hibs, she merely stared at him with a very funny face, kind of scrunched up, and said humorously in quite a thick Scottish accent "Are you a jambo?" Clearly, none of us knew what a jambo was (apparently it's someone who is ugly whose knuckles drag along the ground), so he naturally stood dumbfounded at what he was just called. Then, he mustered up the courage to ask her what a Jambo was and again with the same kind of face, she just looked at him and asked him if he knew what a "jam tart" was. Not quite yet knowing Scottish terms for different things (jam tart meaning something like a tart or pastry with jam on it), she just kind of sat there and laughed and didn't understand that we didn't really know what she was talking about, so everyone was just cracking up at this series of playful insults that she had thrown at Max. Finally, after all of the insults were translated, we had a good laugh and then the real funny thing happened. Max had mentioned that he wanted to go see a local football team play, so she just cheerily asked Max if he wanted to come along with her, a well known and respected member of the Scottish Parliament, to a Hibs game, to which he said he would. So now we all constantly joke about his upcoming "date" with the 70 year old, distinguished member of the Scottish Parliament. So after all the hilarity of that session, it was about 2 or so in the afternoon. We then all congregated at 3 in the hotel lobby (7 or 8 of the guys that I've met) and, in great American fashion, had a fantasy football draft. It was quite funny to see the reaction in people's faces as the walked by the 8 or 9 of us strewn about the lobby with our laptops and a list of all of our players on a large pad of paper in the middle of us all. So after that, we all got ready and went to a Sportsbar for dinner and then when out to see the town, this time more towards Prince's street and the New Town. Needless to say, it was a fun day.
Then, yesterday we all moved in to our new places. I, for one, absolutely love my new place. It's spacious, has it's own sink, is right next to the dinning hall, and fairly near campus. Also, it's really nice living in a dorm style building because then I get to meet all the new Freshers as they're called. So after moving in, we all chilled until evening when we went out with all our new found Scottish and English friends.
Today, I just woke up and am about to start my day. It's the beginning of Freshers' week so today at 12 we are all going on a hike up to Arthur's Seat on Holyrood Hill. I am quite excited as the views from up there are supposed to be breathtaking. So that's about it for now and more to come soon!
Wednesday 8 September 2010
Hey everyone! From Edinburgh at 10:06 on a Wednesday, September 8, 2010. Wow had a great evening last night. After arriving at the Cowgate Tourist Hostel, I decided to take a walk around the area to get familiarized with the location. 2 or 3 hours later, having seen the University and all its nooks and cranies, the castle, the Royal Mile for the first time, and even part of Holyrood Park, I returned to my Hostel to get ready to go out at about 9pm. By chance, I met this kid named Greg outside my place. Turns out he was from Belgium and he was here with his 2 other Belgian friends, Nikolai and the other whose name has escaped me since the second he told it to me. So, 3 or 4 hours into my trip and I already had 3 friends with whom I enjoyed an amazing night. We started off at the 3 Sisters Pub (which was right across the street from our hostel). It must be part of Fresher's week, because every 15 minutes a new group of kids with purple shirts saying 'fresherfest' would come in to the pub, hang out for a little while, and head out again. So me, Greg, Nikolai, and our other friend started our night off there, then proceeded to walk down cowgate to more pubs and restaurants, all along the way stopping in and meeting new people. Regardless of my apparently nonexistent jetlag, I had to make the most of my night with the guys who had just gotten in that day from Glasgow and were heading to Ireland the next day. Long story short, I finally ended the night with the guys in the kitchen of our hostel at 1:30am, hungry from a long days walking and touring with the guys, sharing a pizza four ways, and tired as ever. This morning, I just checked out from our hostel and now, the guys gone to Ireland, I am about to head down to the Apex Hotel where the next chapter in my Edinburgh adventure will begin. But wow, what an exciting start to what I know will be an amazing next 3 and a half months.
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