What ever stage of culture shock I'm in requires a Prozac

Up until now, I feel like I've provided a very optimistic blog accounting my endeavors in Edinburgh.

That's not going to happen today. In a much needed "venting" session, I'm letting lose the feelings of culture shock that I've been trying to accommodate. I can't anymore.

I'm over:

• people who think they are "all that and a bag of chips" because they're blessed with a positive bank account balance that allows them to show off
• hearing the the phrase "F** off!" approximately 8 dozen times a day
• sidewalks christened with vomit
• attempting to stay in contact with people when there is little, if no, effort in return
  
• "students" not showing up to class for five weeks and throwing a fit when they realized they have missed a project, presentation, and group assignment. You only have to go to school for 6 hours a week. What could POSSIBLY get in your way of that?! Sorry that this heavy academic load is destroying your schedule.
• people who crave attention and twist stories for mere shock factor purposes

Call it no fun, but all I can think about while I'm here is how this experience is so much different than I anticipated. I need a swift "Cathy Bolger" kick in the butt, but I find myself focusing on (in my opinion) higher goals like...oh, I don't know...FINDING A CAREER instead of wasting money and time by getting piss-drunk or taking far too expensive trips. I have this disdain for the shared experiences I hear from others who are leading this carefree semester when all I can think about is coming home and beginning a "real, grown up life".

My eyes are set on that prize right now, not on the gem-of-a-city Edinburgh.

Unfortunate?

I'd like to go with "smart". And a teaspoon of "jaded".

You know you're in the UK when...

You know you're in the UK when in one night, you get four "You have beautiful teeth" compliments.

THANKS MOM, DAD, AND DR. ALLEN!!!!

Harry Potter's Birthplace

I visited "The Elephant House", renowned birthplace of JK Rowling's Harry Potter series.


Here's what I learned:

1. Best mochas in all of Edinburgh
2. Best quiches in all of Edinburgh
3. Bullet points 1 and 2 should be enjoyed separately as their own individual entity of deliciousness (ech!!!)
4. The Elephant House accepts credit card payment on transactions of five pounds or more (visit numero uno - see bullet points 1 and 2...and 3)
5. The Elephant House does not accept credit card payment on transactions for 1.50 pound
6. The Elephant House will accept a handful of change amounting to maybe half of the total cost of your take-away mocha if you a.) look frantic enough, b.) look touristy enough, c.) told them last time you paid with a credit card, and d.) empty out your wallet, hand them all the one and two pence pieces you have and hit the road without looking back (visit numero dos...and unfortunately, probably last)

Are you ready for some RUGBY?!

Holy crap.

I don't know how else to describe our rugby experience.

We headed to the Scotland vs. Italy match two weekends ago. Yes, Italy has a rugby team.


The game was on a Saturday afternoon beginning at 3 p.m. We (and the rest of Edinburgh) began our procession to Murrayfield Stadium via bus to the pitch (field).


We would have probably saved time walking because there were people EVERYWHERE! Cars couldn't move, people adorned with their team's flag were carrying their 2-litres of beer, and the sound of bagpipes and the smell of nasty concessions filled the air. On the way in to the stadium, I had to buy a Scottish flag in support of our team - even though I have no idea what rugby is.


We arrived just in time for "kick-off" and the singing of Scotland's "national anthem". SO COOL!



Next thing I know 20 men in short shorts and no padding tackle each other, one team member lift his fellow teammate by his butt in the air, only to turn around and grope each other between the legs until they could again find the ball (no pun intended). Then, they scrum - or literally "Red Rover" each other in a football kind of way until someone turns up with the ball.


What.the.hell?!

Scotland was on a ROLL and eventually scored quite a few points. The stadium went NUTS and in true sport-like tradition, broke into a "pump-up" song. In the states at our big sporting events, after the home team scores there's some kind of "pump-up" song. A bad mix of Jock Jams, if you will. Nonetheless, something that 98% of all attendees recognize within 2 beats, know, and immediately jump to their feet screaming at the tops of their lungs.

In Scotland, they play The Proclaimer's "I Would Walk 500 Miles" after each point earning. I laughed my ass off at this little tradition. Just picture it: the whole stadium going crazy, hooting and hollering over some kind of scoring method or play, and then segueing into "Well, I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more...just to be the man who walks 1,000 miles for you! Da da da!!! Da da da!!!"



Nothing says "amp up" like The Proclaimers.

And nothing says "Half Time Show" like four guys skydiving to the middle of the field. Random? Yes. Did I take pictures? You bet.


But this whole process must work for Scotland because they beat Italy (surprised? I'm not.)

So in a haze of "What the heck did I just spend two hours watching?" and not knowing exactly where we were, we left the field as esctatic as the most hardcore of rugby fans over the victory of "Mon' Scotland"! The rest of the UK was walking with us, which made our trip home much more manageable and exciting. But cars couldn't move down the street thanks to a sea of people completely blocking the streets.


This just goes to show that while we may not fully understand traditions or cultures of other places we visit, you might as well pick up a pint, tie a flag around your shoulders, and sing your
head off solely because you can.

Biggest Relief of the Semester?

...is living with people I genuinely get along with and enjoy.

The only we ever argue about is who's done whose dishes for each other.

Heard just minutes ago:

R - "Did you wash my bowl for me?"
S - "Yeah, I was already doing my dishes and still had soap left on the sponge."
R - "Stephanie! Next time I'm washing your dish!"

Love.it.

Stephanie from California


Rachel from Louisiana


Devin from Montana

Felicia from Boston

Visiting the Coast

I'm here for school, right?

To ensure I'm staying on top of my studies, I decided to take a much-needed field trip.

I can already hear my father moaning about how my idea of a "field trip" totally does not constitute schoolwork.

HOWEVER - I have a class project wherein we must research the eastern area of Edinburgh to develop further tourism and leisure facilities in the area. This massive project involves an inventory and audit of preexisting resources and facilities, opportunities and problems of our devised plan, extensive research in the form of book studies, questionnaires, interviews, and meetings with local authorities to discuss the actual planning of our project, a SWOT analysis, and a complete development plan. Literally? I'm building an enterprise. Watch out!


While still part of the ever-expansive Edinburgh, this area is called East Lothian and lies about 30 miles east of Edinburgh's city centre. It stretches all the way across the coast on the north with small towns like North Berwick and Dunbar dotting the rocky beaches and playing quintessential home to dozens of beautiful golf courses. The views were absolutley breathtaking and getting out of the city centre to enjoy the coast was a much-needed activity.



We arrived in North Berwick by train, an hour's trip from Edinburgh city centre, and began our adventures at the Seabird Center, a small museum that overlooks four huge rocks at least 6 km offshore. These rocks, of which Bass Rock is the most recognized, are havens for literally thousands of island birds. From the Seabird Center, you can control cameras that are placed on the rocks to see the nests of all the birds. It was incredibly interesting, and I actually learned a lot (yes...about birds.) I also learned that once in a blue moon, whales and porpoises make guest appearances in these waters that meld the Firth of Forth and the North Sea.




We continued to explore the coastal region before departing on a half hour bus ride to Dunbar, another small coastal town known for its fishing. We stumbled upon an old castle that overlooks the sea and walked along the "downtown" area - two parallel streets each a quarter-mile long. East Lothian was very consistent in the sense that each town had two main roads usually running parallel to each other that housed pharmacies, school uniform shops, pubs and restaurants, coffee houses, and one-stop-shop storefronts. North Berwick, Dunbar, and Haddington, the three towns we visited, were all very, very small towns which my classmate did not enjoy. However, the small-town feel left me wanting to visit more, learn more about the cities, and explore all these hidden treasures have to offer.



Besides the fact that we literally did about 8 hours of walking (meaning yes, I subtracted out bus travel time, lunch, and our coffee break), I got to see such a cool side to Edinburgh that I never would have known about had it not been for my class. See Dad?? I'm learning something!!



I returned home with my ankles the size of New Jersey (thanks Mom and Grandpa!), immensely sore feet, my camera filled with pictures of the coast, a project idea, and the strongest desire for fish and chips I have ever encountered.

While I may have walked for 8 hours during this field trip, I ate back every.single.calorie in fried haddock and chips that same night. I look at it as "balanced" and "deserved".

Overall? An utterly and completely AWESOME day.