Things I'm Appreciative Of

The value of culture shock comes during the last phase of the "shock" experience. It's after the jet lag, after realizing how the food is different, after getting used to a currency difference, and so on.

It's the appreciation for things you didn't necessarily think you would appreciate - or better, even, for things you started off hating. Or it's becoming acutely aware of small, everyday occurrences with a happy disposition.

Either way, I've started a list of things I'm thankful for that might help paint the picture of the life I'm living.

I'm thankful for:

• the pigeons that are building a nest right outside my window. I watch them every morning when I wake up.
• the old man who was playing golf last week in my backyard park. The Meadows is a large open park that has three short-game practice links on it. He was out there in all his glory practicing his swing, fetching his golf ball after every four hits, walking up and down the practice area just outside my window
• a man with a stellar mustache smoking his pipe en route to work
• Joan McLatchie, my most favorite lecturer this semester, who is nothing but a jolly teacher. Her jokes make me laugh and her early morning classes are always interesting.
• going for a walk and upon returning home, looking just past my apartment building and seeing the castle.
• having to visit Edinburgh's northeast coast for a class project. A sole post for that experience is much needed.
• the quirks of my flat ranging from toilets (the one flushes only with one forceful thrust of the handle ALL the way down - I'm talking 90 degrees from start to finish. The other requires a training session to ensure you have the right rhythm. It's two super quick, SUPER quick, flushes with the last one finishing at 90 degrees), to turning on the outlets before you use them, to having windows that open directly out sans screen.
• 2-litre bottles of beer.
• a fantastic jazz bar we stumbled upon last night that mixes Ska and up-tempo jazz with seven immensely talented musicians. I could have stayed there all day.
• visiting tourist attractions like "Elephant House" where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter, Greyfriar's Bobby, and the Royal mile.
• the history of this town. "Ye Old Golf Tavern", conveniently located right next door (as in, I walk outside 30 feet and I'm at the main entrance of the pub without crossing streets or needing a buddy), was founded in 1456. That.is.old.
• having flatmates and friends who will adventure with me. This includes going on ghost tours, climbing Arthur's Seat, reserving Riverdance tickets, seeing a rugby match of Scotland vs. Italy, and visiting the Parliament building. I probably wouldn't do these things if I were by myself so I am very thankful of their willingness to accompany me.
• The Concord, a take-away fish and chips store that has the best fish and chips around. Upon ordering, the father and son began bickering in a playful way when a regular came in to give them even more grief. The father and son team kept giving her a hard time about something, and they would each take turns winking at one another and the other patrons in the store. After my order was complete, I left with this immense sense of simplistic happiness that you could only find at a local fish and chips stand.
• my international friends in my classes: Chris from Switzerland, Kirstie from Hong Kong, Julie from France, Bex from Wales, and Lori-Jane from Scotland.
• sunny mornings when I'm awake before the sun rises over the buildings across the park. As I'm getting ready for class, I watch the sun come up and flood my room with golden rays. I.love.it.
• bumping into some favorite friends en route to class, realizing at 8:30 a.m. that my day is going to be glorious. This is amplified by a good shuffle of iTune songs and patiently waiting for the bus as the wind whips your hair everywhere - all because you're in a mindset of having a great day.
• sharing a new found thrift shop with friends and playing dress up.
• this experience <3
  

Glasgow!

I took a day trip to Glasgow with the girls and found it to be surprisingly likable!

I had heard Glasgow is dirty, a city recovering from centuries of industrialism, crime, and turmoil. It is by no means a glitzy tourist destination, but then again we did spend the entire day walking and shopping.

We took the bus from Edinburgh to Glasgow, an hour ride for 8 sterling pounds, and arrived to a massive shopping street lined with every kind of store a girl could imagine. Sauchiehall Street presented us with quite the feat and put a major damper on our wallets. However, we managed to find Primark, a similar equivalent to the State's version of H&M (even though Europe obviously has H&M). I have never seen less expensive clothing in my entire life. White t-shirt: 1 pound. Camisol tops: 98 pence. Floral blouses: 5 pounds. Red sunglasses: 1 pound. Tartan suspenders: 2.50 pounds. Not that I'm naming exactly what I bought or anything...

For the record, the tartan suspenders are KICK ASS.

After shopping for a while, we ventured to the West End to find an Indian and Pizza Restaurant, which was immensely hyped up by our "tour guide", i.e. Megan from the flat below. Indian and pizza all in one little restaurant did have me a bit worried, but I'm from Chicago - I want me some gooooooooooood pizza. However, after walking to just about Hong Kong and realizing the restaurant was closed (omen perhaps?), we settled for a great pub on the way back into the shopping district.

Where we proceeded to shop some more.

Rachel, Stephanie, Felicia, Maggie, and I took tea at the Willow Tea Room, a tea room made famous by celebrated restaurateur Miss Kate Cranston and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh. IT WAS SO COOL! We all ordered some funky type of tea from Black Currant to Orange Peel. Felicia ordered a latte that literally was thimble-sized. We also brought in the afternoon with some fresh bakery including scones, meringues with fruit and creme, and ice cream sundaes - a true ladies' tea party!


According to my super awesome "Scotland - Eyewitness Travel" tourbook, "everything in the tearoom, from the high-backed chairs to the talbes and cutlery, was of Mackintosh's own design. In particular, the 1904 Room de Luxe sparkles with eccentricity: striking mauve and silver furniture, coloured glass and a flamboyant leaded door create a remarkable venue in which to enjoy afternoon tea" (Scotland, Eyewitness Travel 2008). Mackintosh has this incredibly simple style of straight lines and flowing details that do no usually create images as much as divide a canvas into unique shapes and spaces, filled with lead piping, mirrors, and colored glass. I really felt like I should be sipping on my tea with my pinky up, wearing an afternoon sun dress adorned with a big hat..."My Fair Lady" style.


We decided that after our tea and crumpets, our feet were tired from our walk earlier and we decided to head home.

I fully plan on returning again to Glasgow for at least another day because:

a) I only shopped on about a quarter-mile of the road. Apparently there's about 2 miles of quality shopping. DAMNIT!

b) I really, REALLY liked the artwork and style in the Willow Tea Room and would like to visit the "House for an Art Lover" art museum that highlights Mackintosh's work.

c) I never saw a cathedral while in Glasgow. That just doesn't happen in Europe. So I'm going to return to say that I've seen the Glasgow Cathedral.

d) There's a bagpipe museum in Glasgow. How can you not go?

e) Once the weather's nice, I'd like to see the Botanic Gardens. Because I will clearly never have any kind of plant life that will survive around me for more than 1 week.

SIDENOTE: My flatmate, Rachel, bought mini planting pots, dirt, and Scottish flower seeds for us during the first week we were all here. Think of them as "Flatmate Love Ferns" if you will. I have my love fern patiently sitting on the window sill where she can obtain optimum sunlight and I've been concentrating on her watering cycles more than I have on my schoolwork. And what do I get after three weeks? A brown pott with dirt in it. No green. Anywhere. In my mind, this equals no love. Sad day in Flat 7 of Wright's Houses.

Needless to say, I totally went all "girl" in Glasgow with my shopping bags full of red sunglasses, tartan suspenders, and white t-shirts instead of appreciating Glasgow for its "dark and gloomy past" turned "pretty awesome city". Next time.

Rachel and I are planning a return visit so hopefully I'll have a better post than "Confessions of a Broke Student's Shopping Excursion in Glasgow".

Lauren's Lone Adventures

It's been a long time coming.

The day when I would...

actually have to go do something by myself in Edinburgh (gasp!).



Usually, this entices me to be doing something incredible all by myself. Totally fulfilling, right? Managing a city the likes of Edinburgh by yourself. During the day of course, but still...totally why I came here.

However, I've gotten in the habit of going everywhere with friends. The ONLY time I've gone anywhere alone is when I was meeting friends somewhere else. So today, I put on my big girl underwear and decided I need to find Carnival Chaos before my interview on Friday so I'm not running around, panic-stricken and probably bawling, 45 minutes late to an interview. Not cute. I found the right bus stop and proceeded to miss the bus by 1 minute. So I waited for another 15 minutes until the next bus came. In the meantime, I was totally targeted as a "tourist" for having my Leith and bus maps out because a lost soul came up and asked me for a shave, or at least money for one. "Sorry" was all I could manage.

I'm already having a panic attack finding my way around a city I still don't know that well, clutching my purse like a total American, and this gentleman totally reads it! GAH!!!! After apologizing (for something that is no fault of my own) five times and avoiding all eye contact and polite human behavior, my bus arrives. I hop on and once again, break out my maps having not a CLUE where I'm headed.

Minor detail:

Princes Street, the main shopping and tourist street beside the Royal Mile, is going through MAJOR construction due to a new tram system being put in throughout Edinburgh. This means that at every single hour of the day, Princes Street is like Chicago rush hour. Absolutely no lie.

Hence why AN HOUR LATER, I arrived in Leith - only about 4 miles away from my flat. I could have (maybe) walked faster. But now I know. Allow myself a SERIOUS chunk of time on Friday to get to and from my interview.

Leith scares the crap out of me. First of all, it's unfamiliar to me; like anything new, I have this weird sense of fear I experience before getting acquainted with everything. Secondly, I think I saw 9,385 old men smoking outside of shops. Butcher shops, bars, book stores, thrift stores, pubs - it's like 2 p.m. is "Smoke Time" for all the old farts of Leith. Third, Edinburgh as a whole is a very dull city. Everything that could be painted, is. But all the surroundings like buildings and roads blend in with the gray skies, people's dark black and gray coats, and the smokers' grey complexions. It's enough to make me want a Prozac. And lastly, after getting off the bus on the right stop (I patted myself on the back for that little victory, thank you!), I walked down this narrow little street to find Carnival Chaos.

I felt like I was going to get mugged. At 2 p.m. I'm sure it's totally fine, but I couldn't find the freaking door for Carnival Chaos because in Europe, you usually enter a little "vestibule" area, if you will, then buzz the appropriate flat/shop/office once you're in the right vestibule. And instead of being stared at and totally corner by two (you guessed it) cigarette-dragging locals, I decided that Friday I will arrive super early, find myself a cup of coffee nearby, relax, and arrive to my interview 10 minutes early with their phone number so I can call to say, "Hi! I'm Lauren, the American student who is really excited to be interviewing here! However, I cannot find the entrance. Could you please tell me how the hell to get inside?!"

Lesson of the day:

Use the buddy system.

A Ghostly Visit on Friday the 13th

Remember me saying that Scotland doesn't really get in to Friday the 13th?

They espeically don't when American "tourists" arrive on two pints of beer and a Bailey's cappuccino. Note to self.


We started our ghostly Friday evening at Mary King's Close, a "warren of hidden 'closes' or streets where real people lived, worked, and died" (The Real Mary King's Close brochure). A "close" are the tiny, tiny side streets that usually run perpendicular to the main streets. Dating back to the 1400's, the closes were where the poor people lived and they were absolutely treacherous.

The closes, now mostly underground because of the formation of the Royal Exchange (a.k.a. the Royal Mile and everything surrounding it), were extremely narrow walkways about the width of a sidewalk. On both sides would be 8 stories of shops and homes. The "homes" were really like large living rooms, sometimes housing 12 people! You had that solitary room to live in, work from, raise a family in, sleep in, die in, and do your business in the corner bucket. It was the responsibility of the youngest child (hahaha...MICHAEL!!!!) to throw out the bucket whenever it got full. I mean literally throw it out. The youngest child would open the home's door right into the close, yell "Gordy loo!!", and fling the bucket on the wall a mere 4 feet away. The trick was to do that SUPER fast, not look up, and close your door before gravity took effect.

So...EVERYONE did this. All eight stories on BOTH sides of the close. It was said that the close's ground was covered ankle deep, and you bet people had to walk in it to get anywhere. Mary King's Close was built at a steep slope so that there was a natural "movement" of city waste and dump. The bottom of the close ended at a loch and became the close's only official "sewage" area. According to our guide, it was DISGUSTING. Imagine that! This same loch was used a punishment when the witchtrials took effect. Those who were believed to be witches had their thumbs nailed to their opposite side's toe and were thrown in this loch. If they sunk, they were not a witch (which was a shame because they were already DEAD!). If they floated (usually butt up), they were a witch...and were now dead. Good riddance! On average, it took a person 10 minutes to drown in the loch. Ew.

Mary King's Close got its name from Mary King, a prized merchant and seamstress by trade who owned and worked in a shop just outside the close but actually lived in the close. Because she was so successful outside of the close, she moved up to the eighth story of her building, a privilege back then. She would scale eight stories of an outside spiral staircase to get from the muck of the ground floor to her eighth floor "haven" where sunlight could be seen, unlike eight floors below.

There was an area dedicated solely for livestock seeing as how the close was also a large market place. Again about the size of a living room, this room would house 20 cattle and countless sheep, chickens and pigs. They literally never moved because there was not enough room. And the slaughtering area was RIGHT next to all the live animals. So long Bessie!!

Since the close was a tad bit unsanitary, people were walking in ...stuff...up to their ankles, living in a room with 12 other people, livestock was just around the corner if not walking around the close with inhabitants, people were eating food sold from the close's markets, and rats were literally everywhere, people started getting sick. If people survived birth (a 1 in 10 chance) and lived until the age of 12 (1 in 5 chance), they had a VERY high likelihood of contracting the bubonic or pneumonic plague. Fleas from the rats and livestock would bite humans and seeing as how some people only bathed once in their lifetime, some humans were obviously playing host to fleas as well. Fleas spread the bubonic plague that devastated thousands of lives and eventually spread through all of the UK and the vast majority of Europe.

The closes were breeding grounds for the bubonic plague because people were living in such proximity to each other and because the medicinal practices blamed witchcraft for the majority of tragedies. In an attempt to stop the plague, the closes were closed (no pun intended) after all inhabitants and merchants were taken out and were not returned to until 150 years later.

It's said that Mary King's Close is one of the most haunted closes in all of Edinburgh. There is such a rich history in the underground chambers and streets that all the stories we were told were true and documented. While we didn't see any ghosts, feel any cold spots, or hear any ghastly shrieks that weren't part of the tour, it was still an incredible tour of Edinburgh used to be and quite eye-opening to the life below the street we walk.

The Royal Yacht - Britannia

The royal yacht "Britannia" was the last of the yachts used by the royal family. It's this MASSIVELY huge ship that is five decks high and housed about 300 people whenever the Queen or royal family went anywhere.

The Queen would bring along 45 servants with her whenever she traveled on the yacht including her media person (the person who reads the news for the Queen then relays on valid information so the Queen doesn't actually have to read), a dressing servant (the individual solely responsible for laying out all the Queens clothes and accessories and ensuring every clothing article was cleaned properly), and even her valet. "Why a valet?" you may ask. "The Queen is on a boat." Well CLEARLY the valet is necessary for driving The Queen both to and from a destination and the yacht in the ROLLS ROYCE that had its own garage on the ship. Clearly. And if the Rolls Royce wouldn't do, the royal Land Rover would just have to suffice. But no worries - usually at the port of call, The Queen had a better car already waiting for her.

She would also bring 5 tons (i.e. 10,000 lbs.) of luggage with her even for just a short week-long trip. And her "work" week was just excruciating! The Queen would be woken up at 7:30 a.m. with tea and a bath set to her temperature liking. Afterward, she would meet with the Dresser to discuss clothing for the day. Over a lavish breakfast, The Queen would be updated with important news via her media servant. Then, she would spend a solid 3 hours worth of time "working". Her work consisted of meeting with another media servant to sign documents, arrange other travel opportunities, schedule parties, and open the mail that was delivered once per day by other smaller post ships. After lunch and more "work", The Queen would rest for a while before preparing for a massively formal dinner followed by coffee and entertainment before retiring for the evening at 11:30 p.m. OH THE LIFE!!!


Princess Diana traveled on the yacht and used to hang out with the crew in the lower decks of the ship. They would sing and dance, and she totally broke all "royal protocol" by doing so; hence why everyone in all the UK loved Princess Di because she was NORMAL and FUN.

The State Dining room was incredible and each wall and nook area were adorned with gifts from other country leaders. There was a whale rib bone, a collection of Chinese swords, a 25-foot long "money rope" made of red fabric that was used as a form of currency in a country the Royal Family visited, and wood carvings from Australia.

Overall, we spent about two hours listening to the audio tour and reading every sign we came across to learn more about this incredible piece of history. It was definitely worth seeing and I enjoyed learning so much!

Greyfriar's Bobby

Cutest story in all of Edinburgh taken from "Britain by BritRail - How to Tour Britain by Train" (LaVerne Ferguson, 1998).

"On Candlemaker Row, a short distance from Edinburgh's Royal Mile, stands a statue in tribute to a small dog's affection and fidelity to his master. In 1858, a wee Skye terrier followed the remains of his master, Auld Jock, to Greyfriars churchyard, where the dog lingered and slept on his master's grave for fourteen years until his death in 1872.

People tried to take Bobby away. They even found a home for him in the country. Still, Bobby returned to the churchyard, where friends began bringing food to sustain him during his vigil. The story of Greyfriar's Bobby spread throughout Edinburgh, and soon Bobby's tale of devotion reached Queen Victoria in London. She sent a special envoy, Lady Burdett-Coutts, to investigate this unusual story.

Bobby, in the meantime, had made friends with children in a nerby orphanage. The terrier brought joy and love to the children, particularly to Tammy, a crippled boy with whom Bobby would play by the hour. Bobby lived his own life, however, and returned nightly to his master's grave-at first secretly, for the presence of a dog in a churchyard was unthinkable in those times. But as Bobby won hearts, he gained privileges, too. He won the heart of the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, who had a collar made for the dog in 1867 and paid Bobby's licensing fee.

Bobby never went to London to see the queen, but royal annals reflect that the queen actually was planning to pay him a visit at Greyfriars. Bobby died, however, before that honor became a reality.

The dog's body was buring alongside that of his master. Although Bobby is no longer visible, his presence is felt so strongly by the residents of the area that they frankly admit to opening their doors briefly before retiring at night, just in case. Perhaps when the door to heaven is opened for them, they will see Bobby again, running on the green pastures at the heels of his master, beside the still waters."

Job interview?!?!? In SCOTLAND?!?!?

Last week, while touring near Edinburgh castle I came across a little bus that said, "Carnival Chaos" on the side with a brief description of the company. Turns out Carnival Chaos is an event production company very similar to Total Event Resources (www.total-event.com), the company I interned with this past summer.

Out of curiosity, I Googled "Carnival Chaos" (www.carnivalchaos.com) and was awestruck at what awesome events they are involved with. After tailoring my resume (aka "CV" in Scotland), I sent an enquiry e-mail about offering my services as a student learner and expanding my horizons in the global event planning industry.

By the way, I did this ALL BY MYSELF. And by that, I mean that although I asked one of my flatmates for help writing one sentence, I did not ask my mother or father to look over my resume or edit my introductory e-mail.

It kind of makes me feel all "adult"-like. At 22 years old. Some may think it's about time - I just believe I like a variety of opinions. Take it how you will.

Great part:

After sending my e-mail and resume on Wednesday and having one or two (...) drinks on Wednesday night, I'm woken up at 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning by a phone call from a number I didn't recognize. Instead of answering it drooling and unprepared, I called the number back to find that Carnival Chaos wants to schedule an interview with me for next week.

I think I said, "Thank you very much! I'm so excited to meet you!" approximately 193 times, but can you blame me?!

I have an interview. In Edinburgh. At an event-planning company. Like a BIG TIME event planning company. After being here for under two weeks.

I don't know yet in what capacity I'll be able to learn. I just am so honored for the opportunity to learn more about my field in a completely foreign country.

Best part:

THIS MEANS I MIGHT GET TO STAY IN MY WINE TASTING CLASS BECAUSE I'LL BE DOING REAL LIFE THINGS IN MY FIELD!!!! :-)

I.love.Edinburgh.

Looking like a jackass probably means you're learning something

I'm learning a lot lately. Which is good. I can go home and tell my Dad that the $11,000 program he invested in was DEFINITELY worth it. Here are today's life lessons:

1. When a class is listed from 10 - 11, it does not mean 10 - 10:55. Therefore, do not walk into class 5 minutes early being the prepared student you are because you're going to be told that there are still 5 minutes left of lecture time for the previous class. This will probably take place very awkwardly - i.e. in a small classroom where there is one professor and three students. Not to be confused with the beginning of the next class when it is the same freaking picture.

2. When a class says it starts at 11 and your bus is running a wee bit late, no need to sweat bullets, check your cell constantly, or worry about the delay. While classes do end on the hour, they do not start until about 10 minutes after the hour. Thank you Lady's Degree, though, for your help.

3. Let the bus pull up to you. This is not Allendale, Michigan where two buses open their doors at the same time if there is one right behind another. In Edinburgh, if you walk to the second bus, be prepared to stand there watching the bus driver who avoids ALL eye contact only to pull up to where you were just standing 30 seconds ago. Be prepared to enter the bus with your head down and your pride swallowed because all 40 passengers have just watched you "learn".

4. "Muppet" is the Scottish word for "tool" - i.e. Prince Harry is such a muppet for making yet another racist joke. The UK version of Yahoo! also told me today that because of such actions, Prince Harry will now attend a equality and racial forum as an public apology. Tsk, tsk Prince Harry. The slap on the wrist this time will be nothing compared to future public apologies of having to actually do something.

5. Scotland does not share the same appreciation for Friday the 13th as America does. This saddens me. It's so few and far between that Friday the 13th happens. Except check your February and March calendars for 2009. WHEN, IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND, HAS FRIDAY THE 13TH OCCURED IN TWO CONSECUTIVE MONTHS?! There I go...looking all American again.

6. Don't call me. Phone me.

7. When making a purchase at the local grocery store, buy one item at a time. It is only a block away, after all. This will prevent you from selfishly grabbing a whopping eight items and slowing down the entire check out lane because you cannot coordinate getting your money out and unsticking the insanely static-clung plastic grocery bags. Also, I wouldn't recommend trying to pull apart two static-clung plastic grocery bags when you can't feel your frozen fingers therefore causing you to look like a freaking T-Rex with inoperable arms (...think "I have a big head. And little arms!"). Furthermore, do NOT proceed to lick your fingers thinking this will give you the traction you need to successfully open this ridiculously clung plastic bag. Because when you're already in a panic, that same "My bus is running late!"-type sweat starts again, the line of people watching you has now increased by 20%, the grocery employee is holding the next customer's juice just watching you, and then you lick your fingers?...makes you out to be the biggest idiot in all of Scotland. To be safe, let's say all of the UK.

Overall, the major lesson I'm learning is to swallow my pride first thing every morning. Idiot moments in moderation are far better than a solitary epic fail.

You're welcome.

Lessons in Edinburgh

After being in Edinburgh for approximately 5 days, I'm comprised a list of thing's I've learned thus far:

1. When asking about a certain nightclub called "Espionage" I was told it was "gush". "Gush" means "rubbish". "Rubbish" means "crap". Scottish language lesson #1. Also, soda is "fizzy drinks", "Digestives" is not the UK's equivalent to "Pepto Bismol" but are actually delicious cookies, and college is "uni".

2. Everyone drinks at the pubs. At all hours of the day. Every day. And it's not the stereotypical "European respectful" drink. It's a full on, shots and pints, loud and brash drunk. I'll fit in well here.

3. My entire building is all Americans. This is a double-edged sword in the sense that we can all relate to each other on very personal and similar levels, but it will take a massive effort to meet other international students and Scottish natives. I fully plan to put forth that effort and return with a crazy accent.

4. After a pub crawl arranged for the new students, I became fluent in Scottish. I am also an excellent Scottish speaker when falling asleep reading my novel...out loud...with an accent. Practice makes perfect.

5. I only take three classes. They meet for a combined total of 7 hours a week. I don't have classes on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Napier University, along with the rest of the UK, is known for having bunk education. Being the nerd I am...I am NOT amused.

6. Do not send tired, stressed out e-mails to people when they can trace who you are. Instead, write all your frustrations down and revisit them a day later to better phrase everything encompassed by jet lag, airplane food, crying infants AND toddlers, transportation miscommunications, freezing cold dorm rooms, internet and bus fees, a bed set that is comparable to tissue paper, and about 294583920 questions about my new "home".

7. Talking to locals is the best way to find out information. Don't look like a tourist, but ask people any question you want and you'll get answers.

8. Waterproof spray doesn't work no matter how many times you layer it on walking shoes. Buy a frickin pair of rain boots. And thick socks. STAT.

9. Contrary to popular belief, Scotland DOES get snow. Approximately 4 inches of snow. And people in Scotland drive worse than any terrible Michigan or Illinois snow-fearing driver you have EVER come in contact with because frozen precipitation is unheard of here. Furthermore, within an afternoon, it can rain, hail, snow flakes the size of New Jersey, then warm up to surround you in beautiful sunshine.

10. "Adam Braveheart" has a tattoo of the Scottish flag on his butt. I feel immensely blessed to have seen this personally; however, his "art" is copyrighted and sold in over 43 stores in the greater Edinburgh area. If you ever see a Scottish flag on a cushy piece of flesh, you can bet your ass it's Adam Braveheart's rear end. You're welcome.

11. Paying four pounds for grocery delivery is about the best idea in all of Edinburgh. Otherwise, set aside about 3 hours, 2 bus maps, 10 frozen and uncirculated fingers, and a half mile walk to accomplish the task of filling your "fridge and freezer"...which is literally HALF the size of a standard American refrigerator. For five girls.

12. I TOTALLY look European with bangs, sunglasses, and funky-colored scarves. I TOTALLY look American with bootcut jeans, gym shoes, and hips. You can't win them all.

Here's a list of things I'd still like to learn:

1. How do I turn down my heater because my room has now turned into a sauna?

2. How do I flush the toilet?

3. Every single piece of history about every single building in Edinburgh.

4. Why does Napier University make things so freaking complicated?

5. What is REALLY in haggis?

That's all I'm going to bore you with for my learning lesson. Here's been my schedule thus far, though:

Last Sunday - arrival, unpack, meet international students

Monday - academic induction, 5 mile walk to find a currency exchange to no avail, ASDA (Scotland's equivalent to Wal-mart)

Tuesday - pub pub-crawl with roomates and international students

Wednesday - tour of the city with a friend's Mom who showed us around the Royal Mile and Princes Street (two very popular and busy areas for shopping and sightseeing), "Matriculation" or Napier's fancy way of saying "student registration"

Thursday - "Fresher's Fayre" at the campus (similar to Campus Life Night where all student organizations have a booth and give you info). I'm now a member of the Dancing Society and the Whiskey Club. EXCELLENT COMBINATION!!! Wine night with flatmates and friends, getting to know each other more.

Today - toured around the Royal Mile again, played in a castle park, St. Giles Cathedral, spit on the Celtic Heart for good luck, and yet another pub crawl tonight at Napier's Student Union

It's been quite the experience already. I am incredibly happy for school to be starting soon because I'm getting antsy to get some education. It's going to be an incredible semester with trips to the Highlands and Loch Ness through our student association, having the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, keeping an open mind, heart, eyes, and ears to learn anything and everything about this city, its culture, and history, and finishing my studies in an incredibly holistic sense.

Thanks everyone for your support in this endeavor. I appreciate all your "good lucks" and "have funs" and I miss you all immensely!

The obligatory blog

In an attempt to be as cool as my new "Aunt" Jennifer, I'm starting a blog. To be honest, it's been something I've wanted to do for a while now. But...I have never known what to write on a blog.

Which is apparently the whole point.

As is only appropriate for modern day travels without a travel journal, diary, or notebook, there seems no better way to detail my semester in Edinburgh, Scotland than by utilizing a blog. While e-mail updates are great means of communication, this is much easier, a ton of fun, and it makes me sound cool (in a nerdy way) to say I have blog.

On that note, we'll see how this works out. Keep posted for updates on my slice of life's pie.