Robert Burns and Other Tales (Nominally- Why Is Haggis Involved?) Pt I

Who was Robert Burns, you may ask. I wondered the same thing. According to the lovely website known as Wikipedia, Burns was a Scottish poet in the 18th century. He is, in fact, the national poet of Scotland. Fun fact: you might know him by his song, Auld Lang Syne. So anyway, every year, Scottish people around the world feast on haggis, neeps and tatties, and whiskey on the night of Burns' birthday (January 25th). These festivities, however, can last for a week or so. Is anyone surprised? No I don't think so.
And apparently there's an order to these dinners, along with reciting Burns' poetry and such. My favourite is the "Address to the Haggis". Helloooo, Haggis. Haha no, not quite like that. It goes on and on and on and the last verse is:

 Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinkin ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a haggis!

Well so to start  my Burns experience pt I, I went to Lara's flat and arrived to her Scottish flatmates cooking the lovely dinner. Haggis, carrots (instead of turnips- they couldn't find any?), and potatoes. Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish, and is thus served on the Scottish holiday- more on that later. The table was set with a shot of Famous Grouse Scotch whiskey for all. I'd like to add that Lara and I were the only non-Brits at this dinner (there was one English girl- SCANDALOUS!). Soon it was time to eat the mysterious haggis...

What is haggis? Wellllll.... Some say it's a magical creature with legs shorter on one side than on the other so it can run around the hills better. But really, I'm not going to tell you what's in a haggis. It'll put you off ever eating haggis. Ever. Unless you don't care like me. If you're really interested, look it up yourself. It tastes like sausage though, so whatever. I had a very large portion because, well, if you know me, you know I'll try anything at least once. Most likely, I'll like it. And, of course, I did.

I would have smiled but I already had a large mouth full of haggis. That sounds rather dreadful, doesn't it?

We concluded the night with a wonderful apple and plum crumble. Quite delicious actually. I'm going to another Burns Supper on the first of February with my friend, Katie, and this one is put on by the University. I think that will be a ceilidh so there will be plenty of dancing and haggis, and I'll be happy. Sorry this was so short, but I really have been busy with school work so nothing super exciting has happened lately. Stay tuned for part II of the Burns festivities!