Obama and Robert Burns

Once again, a major U.S. political event is followed by a goofy, purely British holiday.
Yesterday's earth-shattering inauguration, which was in every news headline and even appeared in one of my lectures today because Obama mentioned the need for more science research, was followed today by my college's celebration of Burns Night, a Scottish holiday in honor of, well, Scotland and named after the Scots' favorite 18th century poet, Robert Burns, who wrote Auld Lang Syne (the New Years Eve song). (And you thought there'd be bonfires, right? Sadly, unlike Guy Fawkes Day (which was the night after Obama's election), Burns Night has nothing to do with burning... except maybe as the effects of Scottish whisky.)
Sometimes it takes bagpipes and incomprehensible traditions to shock me into remembering that I'm not in Kansas (Chicago?) anymore, and that's what I got tonight. First a bagpiper played in the Clare Hall lounge, surrounded by people in tuxedos and formal dresses. The piper had a kilt and a huge furry hat and enormous lungs, and was so cool to hear! Then we sat down in the dining hall and a cook came out carrying The Haggis (sheep's stomach stuffed with its lungs, liver, heart, etc, then baked... looks a lot like a football) on a silver tray, and then paraded it around the whole room with the piper following him. Seriously! The piper was playing in honor of the haggis, a traditional dish that the Scots are very proud of, and to which Robert Burns wrote a poem. But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself....
So we all sat and watched the haggis get paraded around with its musical fanfare, reminding me of the part during bar/bat mitzvahs when the kid carries the Torah around the room and everyone oohs and ahhs with reverence, though there is probably much less salivating in the synagogue than there was at Clare Hall tonight.
Then the haggis was placed on a table and a guy stood up with a big knife and recited Burns' poem, Address to the Haggis. He was amazing- very expressive and emotional and passionate, though I have no idea what he said. (Apparently he was actually Scottish, and he said Burns' poem with an authentic Scottish brogue!) At the climax of the poem, he plunged his knife into the haggis! Whoa.
Then the haggis (still with its piper piping!) disappeared into the kitchen, where it was cut up so we could eat it. I looked around my table, checking to see if anyone else's chin was on the floor or just mine. Wow. People think Britain and the rest of Europe have been Americanized into Starbucks that serve tea, and they have, but there are still pockets of foreign culture that we know nothing about and that are an absolute joy to encounter.
After haggis (which is served with nips and tatties- turnips and potatoes!) and steak and Scottish cheese, we had a ceilidh- a dance! An accordion player taught us square-dancing-type steps and then played traditional Scottish folk songs while we hopped around and laughed like maniacs. Imagine- people of all ages, in formalwear, full of food and whisky, clutching each other's arms and spinning to Scottish Reel #4! What fun!!

Thanks for a great time, Robert Burns.

For more info on Burns Night:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/news_and_events/events_burnsnight.shtml