I've watched every episode of Doctor Who and Torchwood in existence, so now I have to come back to this. Okay, wait, that's not true. I've watched all of the new episodes of Doctor Who. Because actually, that show started in the 60s (?), and there are approximately 30 series. I've seen the entirety of the new series, which are the last 3 seasons. Basically, when the Doctor was played by Christopher Eccleston and then (now) David Tennant (who you may also know as Barty Crouch, Jr., or, alternatively, my new future husband). Shut up, I'm moving on from Heath. And this is why I try not to keep a blog; the world at large becomes audience to my insanity. But really, David Tennant is brilliant, and so is the show. Torchwood is also good, though a bit more melodramatic and weirder (yes, weirder than a show about an alien who travels through time and space in a blue box). Also, the wearing of Chucks with full suits may be the most charming fashion statement ever. But as nobody else is watching either of these shows, I should move on so as not to bore you.
In case you were hoping to hear about my life of late, that's what the first paragraph was. Also, I've discovered that the BBC, like the major American TV stations, has an internet player for already broadcast shows. It's more efficient in that shows are available as soon as they've aired, but you can only watch the shows for a week after they've aired (unless you download them, in which case you have 30 days or a week from when you watch it). It's a very complicated DRM system, but whatever. I can watch the new season of Torchwood on Wednesday nights, and Doctor Who in the spring, and I don't need to buy a TV or a license. Which brings up another point: to own a TV here, you have to buy a TV license. It's about 140 GBP for a color TV and 50 GBP for black and white. So double that to get the price in dollars. You buy the license for a year, and it covers all of the TVs in your household. I have no idea why they do it that way, except that it may or may not help to pay for the BBC stations, which are all publicly funded.
Right, my life. Enough about TV shows. I also do exciting things like go to the library to do readings for class. And go to class, of course. When it isn't canceled. Which has happened, so far, twice, because the professors were sick, and then I didn't have Buddhist Art this week or last because the professor went on a delegation to China. Yeah, my schedule is much easier than yours, probably. But when I was in the library yesterday, I did see some amusing graffiti on the desk at which I was working. British students, and European students in general, are very political. So there were lots of things like:
FUCK THE ENGLISH, REMEMBER BANNOCKBURN
which earned the reply:
no I wasn't born.
And then there was stuff like:
GALICIA IS NOT SPAIN
which I found amusing because we learned all about that in my AP Spanish class in high school.
Of course, there were some nasty things about Americans, one of which involved being able to recognize the American students from a mile away because of their "stupid-ass UCLA caps" (seriously, fuck those guys). But the very best, for a variety of reasons was (Dan, pay attention):
If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion.
Even the graffiti is cleverer here.
Something that may be of marginal interest to people, I realize, is food. I haven't actually talked about what I can and can't get here much, and that's something that always interests me, and maybe other people as well. I mentioned the American chain restaurants here, but besides them, there's a variety of food types and ethnicities represented. Within a two-minute walk from my flat, I can get: Indian (which is the Chinese of the UK), Chinese, vegetarian (which I think is an off-shoot of Indian), Middle-Eastern, African/Mediterranean, Thai, Italian, pub food, sandwiches, and whatever I want from the 4 grocery stores on my block or the next. Also, there are a variety of uncategorizable cafes and coffee shops and little restaurants, and some place called Elephants and Bagels. I find that place intriguing. There are also tiny ethnic groceries in the same area, as you would expect. And, my personal favorite so far, Greggs. In the simplest terms, it's a bakery/sandwich shop. However, it's better than that, because 1) it's damn cheap and 2) they have savories, which are a variety of (as the name implies) savory things wrapped in pastries. Delicious pastries. For less than 2 GBP, I can get a really filling lunch, with dessert.
If I leave the immediate area around my flat, I can find anything else, I think. I've seen an American style place with burgers/pizzas/salads, though done in an expensive, take advantage of tourists way. I've seen multiple Mexican places, a tapas bar, lots of take-away places with things like falafel/kebabs/fish and chips, and even a Nepalese restaurant. I'm particularly intrigued by that one. Plenty of new things for me to try while I'm here.
As for grocery stores, I can basically buy the same stuff as you'd get in the US, except better quality. Like most places in Europe, Scotland (and the UK) is big on homegrown things whenever possible. So there's a large variety of local meats and cheeses, and fruits and vegetables also to some extent. What I really enjoy are all of the different flavors of things. Juices here are phenomenal. They mix things that we'd never even think of in the US, often involving apples. I love apple juice when it isn't too sweet, which tends to be the problem with the available types in the US. Here, they treat apples sort of like we treat cranberries, for lack of a better comparison, and basically I'm in juice heaven. Apple/elderflower is my favorite so far, but apple/raspberry and apple/mango are also delicious. I'm going to miss the variety when it's time to leave.
Also, ridiculous weather. Today, it was raining early in the morning. Then, it stopped raining and was overcast. Then, it started snowing, like full-on blizzard-style. When I left for class at 10:45, it was sunny. When I left class at 1, it was getting overcast again. When I left for my other class at 1:45, it was overcast. Leaving that class at 2:50, I walked out into a blizzard (and to understand that, imagine the huge, fluffy kind of snowflakes that turn you into a snowman because they stick and 30mph gusts of wind [they're rarely more than 5mph in LA]). It did that for about 2 hours, and then it stopped and got overcast again. The best thing about the weather is the wind. It's awesome to be in the library, or indoors anywhere, and hear it whipping around outside. The snow was also spectacular, as I haven't seen real snow in a few years now. I've missed it.
I think the theme of this post is: variety is the spice of life. I'm thinking that it's impossible to ever really get tired of a place where so much is available and so much is different from hour to hour. Not in the few months that I have here, anyway.
My life is thrilling, obviously. You guys should definitely aspire to be me. That's all.
- C
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Getting out and doing shit.
The last few days have been incredibly active, as far as me actually going out and doing stuff goes. You'd all be so proud. No riots or anything though, I leave that to you. I'll do a rundown of this by day, so we'll see what I can remember:
Thursday: I went to class etc etc. That night, I went to the first meeting of the Water of Life Society for this semester. That's the university whiskey (Scottish spelling: whisky) appreciation society, for those that I haven't mentioned it to yet. It was incredibly fun and extremely informative. I met a couple of other American students, so it didn't end up just being me, awkwardly sitting by myself. That was cool. We tried 5 different whiskeys, of varying types (though all Scotch) and got information about each of them. So I've tried 7 different whiskeys since getting here, though damned if I remember all of their names. Not too shabby. After the meeting, I tagged along to a bar and then a night club with the other Americans. They're with one of the big, multi-school study abroad programs, so it ended up being a fairly large group of people. Completely different than the USC abroad experience.
Friday: Went grocery shopping, as I was out of everything. That night was a Burns Night supper/ceilidh at the church I've started going to. Tremendous amount of fun. I tried haggis for the first time; it's actually quite good. All of the traditions and trappings that go along with Burns Night are also something incredible to behold. It's a meal where there's never a dull moment. I'm tempted to have my own version next year, but I don't know how successful I'd be at getting people to try haggis. I'll have to discuss this with Kate later. The dancing would also be a problem, as I don't know any Scottish dances. Though, I did do a few last night. No lie, I danced. With a lot more practice, I could be a pretty decent Scottish dancer I think. It wasn't at all hard once I got the hang of it. Though I guess it does help that the person that I was mostly dancing with was spectacularly good. After that, which ended at like 11:15, I went back to the Scottish economist's flat for Mah Jong and whiskey. And ended up staying there until 3am, just like last time. It's becoming a weekend habit. I'll be a Mah Jong master by the time I get home.
Today: I woke up at 10, which was disturbingly early for the time that I actually went to bed, and took a trip out to Rosslyn Chapel with the girl that I met from USC. It's about a 45 minute ride on a public bus from here, so no big hassle to get to at all. It was absolutely incredible. The chapel and the surrounding hills and valleys are just gorgeous. And it's made about 100x cooler by the fact that my dad's a Freemason (yeah, yeah secret society shut up), so I know a lot of the lore and symbolism involved in the carvings and the chapel itself. It's somewhere that I've wanted to go for a long, long time. After that, we had lunch in this adorable hotel right near the castle, and it was delicious and warm. The warm aspect of food is incredibly important with the normal weather here. Then, I came home, watched four or five more episodes of the new Doctor Who (totally addicted) and did laundry. Now, I think I might call home.
Also, if anyone's wondering why I don't really talk about feelings in this blog (not that you would be, but might as well address it), it's because it's so easy to find, really. Like, I have no problem talking about my general impressions of stuff, mostly how I'm feeling, etc., but mostly I'm focused on what I've actually, physically been doing. I don't want to talk about the crazy boring emotional stuff in a blog that's so out in the open, on my facebook profile and all. Also, I was going to give this address to my parents, so they could keep track of me. I haven't, for various reasons (like you guys making references to my reputation as a drunken slut etc) [kidding], but that kept me from actually treating this like my other blog as well. I have this thing where I only put on a brave face for them, regardless of how I'm actually feeling. It's dumb, as they're my family, and they, more than anybody else, should get to know when I'm terrified/lonely/homesick/falling apart or whatever, but that's not how I operate. I think crying in front of my dad when I realized that I wasn't going to be able to make the situation with my visa work was the most embarrassing thing that has happened to me in recent memory. And yes, I mean that, despite whatever else may have happened within the space of this last semester. I have serious problems, I know.
Now that I've broken the "no feelings" rule (aside: however the previous may make it sound, I am completely and totally content, I love this place and these people), let's move on to Heath Ledger. I am totally heart-broken about his death. I was going to marry him, somehow. Not even lying. I had a total delusion about that. It would have been one of my 3 wishes if I ever came across a genie. And his death was sort of like the death of my childhood, in one of those stupid, symbolic ways. But yeah, that's neither here nor there. But I do really appreciate the eulogy that Joel McHale of The Soup said for Heath, so I think I'll end this post with that. Something reasonable, one good guy talking about another:
True class.
- C
Thursday: I went to class etc etc. That night, I went to the first meeting of the Water of Life Society for this semester. That's the university whiskey (Scottish spelling: whisky) appreciation society, for those that I haven't mentioned it to yet. It was incredibly fun and extremely informative. I met a couple of other American students, so it didn't end up just being me, awkwardly sitting by myself. That was cool. We tried 5 different whiskeys, of varying types (though all Scotch) and got information about each of them. So I've tried 7 different whiskeys since getting here, though damned if I remember all of their names. Not too shabby. After the meeting, I tagged along to a bar and then a night club with the other Americans. They're with one of the big, multi-school study abroad programs, so it ended up being a fairly large group of people. Completely different than the USC abroad experience.
Friday: Went grocery shopping, as I was out of everything. That night was a Burns Night supper/ceilidh at the church I've started going to. Tremendous amount of fun. I tried haggis for the first time; it's actually quite good. All of the traditions and trappings that go along with Burns Night are also something incredible to behold. It's a meal where there's never a dull moment. I'm tempted to have my own version next year, but I don't know how successful I'd be at getting people to try haggis. I'll have to discuss this with Kate later. The dancing would also be a problem, as I don't know any Scottish dances. Though, I did do a few last night. No lie, I danced. With a lot more practice, I could be a pretty decent Scottish dancer I think. It wasn't at all hard once I got the hang of it. Though I guess it does help that the person that I was mostly dancing with was spectacularly good. After that, which ended at like 11:15, I went back to the Scottish economist's flat for Mah Jong and whiskey. And ended up staying there until 3am, just like last time. It's becoming a weekend habit. I'll be a Mah Jong master by the time I get home.
Today: I woke up at 10, which was disturbingly early for the time that I actually went to bed, and took a trip out to Rosslyn Chapel with the girl that I met from USC. It's about a 45 minute ride on a public bus from here, so no big hassle to get to at all. It was absolutely incredible. The chapel and the surrounding hills and valleys are just gorgeous. And it's made about 100x cooler by the fact that my dad's a Freemason (yeah, yeah secret society shut up), so I know a lot of the lore and symbolism involved in the carvings and the chapel itself. It's somewhere that I've wanted to go for a long, long time. After that, we had lunch in this adorable hotel right near the castle, and it was delicious and warm. The warm aspect of food is incredibly important with the normal weather here. Then, I came home, watched four or five more episodes of the new Doctor Who (totally addicted) and did laundry. Now, I think I might call home.
Also, if anyone's wondering why I don't really talk about feelings in this blog (not that you would be, but might as well address it), it's because it's so easy to find, really. Like, I have no problem talking about my general impressions of stuff, mostly how I'm feeling, etc., but mostly I'm focused on what I've actually, physically been doing. I don't want to talk about the crazy boring emotional stuff in a blog that's so out in the open, on my facebook profile and all. Also, I was going to give this address to my parents, so they could keep track of me. I haven't, for various reasons (like you guys making references to my reputation as a drunken slut etc) [kidding], but that kept me from actually treating this like my other blog as well. I have this thing where I only put on a brave face for them, regardless of how I'm actually feeling. It's dumb, as they're my family, and they, more than anybody else, should get to know when I'm terrified/lonely/homesick/falling apart or whatever, but that's not how I operate. I think crying in front of my dad when I realized that I wasn't going to be able to make the situation with my visa work was the most embarrassing thing that has happened to me in recent memory. And yes, I mean that, despite whatever else may have happened within the space of this last semester. I have serious problems, I know.
Now that I've broken the "no feelings" rule (aside: however the previous may make it sound, I am completely and totally content, I love this place and these people), let's move on to Heath Ledger. I am totally heart-broken about his death. I was going to marry him, somehow. Not even lying. I had a total delusion about that. It would have been one of my 3 wishes if I ever came across a genie. And his death was sort of like the death of my childhood, in one of those stupid, symbolic ways. But yeah, that's neither here nor there. But I do really appreciate the eulogy that Joel McHale of The Soup said for Heath, so I think I'll end this post with that. Something reasonable, one good guy talking about another:
True class.
- C
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Illiteracy and the library.
I seem to have this problem that involves becoming illiterate the moment that I set foot in the library. It's rather problematic, as I usually end up looking like an idiot. This usually raises issues with using the doors, in that I'm always pushing when I should be pulling or vice versa. The handles are the same on both sides of the door, so I have nothing to go on sometimes. And occasionally, the doors are actually labeled "push" or "pull," and I still fuck it up. It's sort of frustrating, but mainly amusing. I'll probably figure it out. Eventually.
In general though, the library system here is a lot more complicated than what I'm used to. A variety of factors play into this, but I won't go into them, because it's not the most exciting of topics. But yeah, the library is testing my powers of intellect. And I have to use multiple libraries, because some things are in the main library, others in the classics library, and still others in the art and architecture library. Again, sort of like SC, but with less organization and more confusing doors. You can tell I've been spending most of my time doing assigned readings and being disoriented.
Something else that's different, academically, is the paper that's used for essays and handouts and notebooks and whatnot. A4 is the common paper here, which is drill chart sized. 8.5 by 14 or whatever. I would like to know why that is, sort of. Why can't paper be a standard size everywhere? I have to redo the page layout on Word. It's weird little things like that that nobody ever tells you before you go somewhere. I also have to format my papers slightly differently, with more spaces and different spellings and placements of punctuation. Little nit-picky things that I can totally handle.
Onto less boring considerations, have a video of James McAvoy on Craig Ferguson the other night. It's a good exercise in understanding why it's so fun over here:
That's all for now. I have nothing else with which to bore you, currently.
- C
In general though, the library system here is a lot more complicated than what I'm used to. A variety of factors play into this, but I won't go into them, because it's not the most exciting of topics. But yeah, the library is testing my powers of intellect. And I have to use multiple libraries, because some things are in the main library, others in the classics library, and still others in the art and architecture library. Again, sort of like SC, but with less organization and more confusing doors. You can tell I've been spending most of my time doing assigned readings and being disoriented.
Something else that's different, academically, is the paper that's used for essays and handouts and notebooks and whatnot. A4 is the common paper here, which is drill chart sized. 8.5 by 14 or whatever. I would like to know why that is, sort of. Why can't paper be a standard size everywhere? I have to redo the page layout on Word. It's weird little things like that that nobody ever tells you before you go somewhere. I also have to format my papers slightly differently, with more spaces and different spellings and placements of punctuation. Little nit-picky things that I can totally handle.
Onto less boring considerations, have a video of James McAvoy on Craig Ferguson the other night. It's a good exercise in understanding why it's so fun over here:
That's all for now. I have nothing else with which to bore you, currently.
- C
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Adventures of the religious sort.
Okay, so here's the thing: as much as I am a non-believer, church is a comfortable place for me. I know what to expect, generally, I know what's going to happen next and what the people will be like. And when I say church, I mean the Episcopal church. I was raised going to church on Sundays and major religious holidays. I was an acolyte and then a lay reader, I was baptised and confirmed in my grandmother's church of choice (Church of the Atonement, a tiny congregation in the town where she was born all of a million years ago). Church is safe. I even enjoy church, at certain times of the year/when I'm in certain moods. Lent/the Easter season is my favorite. Like spring, it's all about rebirth and making things new- a fresh start, if you will. So, while here, I've decided to go to church, as I was saying.
Most of the reason that I don't attend services in the US, besides the part where I'm way too busy/tired on most Sundays to bother and the fact that I don't have a car, is because religion in the US terrifies me. People who go to church regularly are becoming more and more the type of person that lives for religion. I'm not interested in that. I think that it makes people one-dimensional and boring, in addition to making them ignorant of most other things that make up a life worth living. Not everybody, but yeah, my feelings on all things religious are well known.
Here, it's much different. Religion isn't about abstaining from things and depriving yourself of worldly pleasures and not enjoying your time on earth. Religion, like everything else in Scotland, is fun. With that said, I went to a young persons' group meeting for the church that I'm planning on attending last night. The meeting was at a pub and was really just a small group of people who were willing to make me feel welcome. We talked about "church" for approximately 5 minutes the entire night. Other than that, we talked about everything else under the sun. While drinking. After the pub, we decided to go to CC Bloom's, which happens to be a gay nightclub. Yeah. Everyone's welcome in the Episcopal church. At I don't even know what o'clock, I left the nightclub with a girl named Alice, and Tom, an economist (ahaha) who are both in their mid to upper 20s. We went back to Tom's flat for "coffee" which actually ended up being a bottle of wine and some scotch (my first woo). I haven't been so drunk in a long, long while. I don't actually remember going to bed, though I do remember walking home.
Anyway, Tom's flat is in New Town, which is the other side of town. It's very wealthy, as well. Imagine the type of townhouse where you would expect to see a rich Victorian family, and that's Tom's flat. The person who owns it is the heir to the position of head of the Clan Cameron, though I didn't actually get to meet him. I assume that he's Tom's age or a little older.
Today, I got up and went to church (still slightly drunk, not gonna lie), which was a good way to pass the morning. There was a coffee hour afterwards where I met some more people and bought a ticket for the Burns supper and ceilidh that the church is hosting next Friday. Again, something terribly exciting to do.
And that has been my weekend. Also, I haven't been to church since last Easter, and I figure that I could use some spiritual cleansing after last semester ahaha.
I've heard that the weekend back home was passed with debauchery and insanity, so well done. Until next time, send me emails.
- C
Most of the reason that I don't attend services in the US, besides the part where I'm way too busy/tired on most Sundays to bother and the fact that I don't have a car, is because religion in the US terrifies me. People who go to church regularly are becoming more and more the type of person that lives for religion. I'm not interested in that. I think that it makes people one-dimensional and boring, in addition to making them ignorant of most other things that make up a life worth living. Not everybody, but yeah, my feelings on all things religious are well known.
Here, it's much different. Religion isn't about abstaining from things and depriving yourself of worldly pleasures and not enjoying your time on earth. Religion, like everything else in Scotland, is fun. With that said, I went to a young persons' group meeting for the church that I'm planning on attending last night. The meeting was at a pub and was really just a small group of people who were willing to make me feel welcome. We talked about "church" for approximately 5 minutes the entire night. Other than that, we talked about everything else under the sun. While drinking. After the pub, we decided to go to CC Bloom's, which happens to be a gay nightclub. Yeah. Everyone's welcome in the Episcopal church. At I don't even know what o'clock, I left the nightclub with a girl named Alice, and Tom, an economist (ahaha) who are both in their mid to upper 20s. We went back to Tom's flat for "coffee" which actually ended up being a bottle of wine and some scotch (my first woo). I haven't been so drunk in a long, long while. I don't actually remember going to bed, though I do remember walking home.
Anyway, Tom's flat is in New Town, which is the other side of town. It's very wealthy, as well. Imagine the type of townhouse where you would expect to see a rich Victorian family, and that's Tom's flat. The person who owns it is the heir to the position of head of the Clan Cameron, though I didn't actually get to meet him. I assume that he's Tom's age or a little older.
Today, I got up and went to church (still slightly drunk, not gonna lie), which was a good way to pass the morning. There was a coffee hour afterwards where I met some more people and bought a ticket for the Burns supper and ceilidh that the church is hosting next Friday. Again, something terribly exciting to do.
And that has been my weekend. Also, I haven't been to church since last Easter, and I figure that I could use some spiritual cleansing after last semester ahaha.
I've heard that the weekend back home was passed with debauchery and insanity, so well done. Until next time, send me emails.
- C
Saturday, January 19, 2008
How I've been spending my time.
Since I basically have nothing to do with myself for a lot of the time, I tend to wander around the city. It's pretty awesome, as it's basically impossible to get lost.
Yesterday, I went out to lunch with the girl that I met from SC. I also got a Young Persons Railcard, which basically gives you discounted train rides through the British rail system. SC is reimbursing us for the card, so mostly I did it because it was free, and it will probably come in handy later. Lunch was at a chain Italian restaurant, called Bella Italia, which was actually fairly delicious. I was impressed. And to get the railcard we had to go to Waverley Station, which is Edinburgh's main (and I think only) train station. It reminded me a lot of Paris' Gare du Nord. There are shops and food stands and whatnot down by the platforms. European train stations are basically the same as airports, just less of a hassle to get into and less crowded. So more pleasant, really. I wish the US had such a developed train system.
Last night, I was going to go on a pub crawl with the Water of Life Society (which is the university's whiskey appreciation society), but the pub that they were meeting at first was way too crowded for me to figure out who the members actually were etc. It was a tiny little place, and very loud. So basically I had a nice walk through the city at night, and then went to a different pub, closer to my flat and way less crowded. I sat by myself and had a pint of Stella and played the one game on my cell phone, which happens to be an impossible version of soccer. It's like electronic foosball, mostly. It was way less pathetic than it sounds.
Today, I walked over to the main shopping street, Princes Street. It's ridiculous on the weekend, but only on the side of the street where all of the shops are. The Royal Scottish Academy, which is that museum that I took pictures of from up by the castle, is also on that street. I went over there to buy a belt, because I desperately needed one, and got 2 for £2 at H&M- definitely my favorite store for accessories, here or at home.
Also today, I walked past the church that I think I'll be attending. I need something to do on Sundays, and church is as good an option as any. I can't spend all of my free time in my flat, and church is generally entertaining and basically free. It's also a possible place for meeting people. Besides, going to church once in a while couldn't hurt, in the event that I'm wrong about my whole well-reasoned atheism stance. But mostly, it gives me a reason to get up and out of the flat instead of just sitting here and eating shortbread (ahah so good). The one I'm looking at is called Old St. Paul's, and it's the oldest Episcopal church in Scotland. I really like all of the history behind it, my views on religion aside. It's sort of like a living museum, which is my favorite kind of church. It even has an impressive website, if you care. Added benefit: my grandmother will be absolutely thrilled.
Another thing that may be of interest to you is the type of American chain places that exist here. I've seen: Subway (albeit with different sandwiches to cater to British tastes, i.e. Sweet Chili Chicken), Domino's, Pizza Hut, KFC (which was the only place I saw a black family ahah terrible), Starbucks, Gap... I think that's it. KFC has ads for these weird chicken-on-a-stick things called Firecrackers or some such. It's like three balls of fried chicken stuck on a skewer. I guess so it's easier to eat and walk. And very exciting for me, I've so far seen 3 Mexican restaurants. One of them looks like Chipotle, with all the shiny metal and light wood, so I don't have high hopes for that place. But one of them is probably at least decent. Maybe. I'll try them all with an expectation of disappointment and see how that goes.
Something that I forgot to mention when I was talking about classes is that all of my instructors are women. And none of them are Scottish. One is Chinese, one is Canadian, and the other is American, though she did her undergrad work at St. Andrew's here in Scotland. It's odd, as I thought that the academic field was male-dominated everywhere. Granted, art history is becoming a very female-associated field, but classics definitely isn't. I think every semester at SC I've had a majority of my classes taught by men. So this is something else new and different.
I talked to my mom for a long time last night. She called, since she always does lots of shopping on the weekends and didn't want me to call today or tomorrow when she might be out. It's not like I'm that much further away from my family now than I am when I'm in CA, but I think, to them, it feels that way. My mom worries because at least when I'm in CA she knows that I can figure out how to get help if I need it, or she knows how to use the existing governmental/whatever structures to get to me, but here, she has no idea what to do in case of emergency. I understand her concern, and phone calls are as good a way as any to pass some time. Especially when I'm just sitting home on a Friday night. What I miss most, right now, is having people that I can just call up when I want to do something.
However, I do enjoy having the flat to myself on weekends. I can't decide if that evens out the weirdness of having Marina's boyfriend live here from Sunday night to Friday morning, but it definitely helps.
I think I might go read or something, as I'm tired of spilling my guts at this moment. Enjoy your day, kids.
- C
Yesterday, I went out to lunch with the girl that I met from SC. I also got a Young Persons Railcard, which basically gives you discounted train rides through the British rail system. SC is reimbursing us for the card, so mostly I did it because it was free, and it will probably come in handy later. Lunch was at a chain Italian restaurant, called Bella Italia, which was actually fairly delicious. I was impressed. And to get the railcard we had to go to Waverley Station, which is Edinburgh's main (and I think only) train station. It reminded me a lot of Paris' Gare du Nord. There are shops and food stands and whatnot down by the platforms. European train stations are basically the same as airports, just less of a hassle to get into and less crowded. So more pleasant, really. I wish the US had such a developed train system.
Last night, I was going to go on a pub crawl with the Water of Life Society (which is the university's whiskey appreciation society), but the pub that they were meeting at first was way too crowded for me to figure out who the members actually were etc. It was a tiny little place, and very loud. So basically I had a nice walk through the city at night, and then went to a different pub, closer to my flat and way less crowded. I sat by myself and had a pint of Stella and played the one game on my cell phone, which happens to be an impossible version of soccer. It's like electronic foosball, mostly. It was way less pathetic than it sounds.
Today, I walked over to the main shopping street, Princes Street. It's ridiculous on the weekend, but only on the side of the street where all of the shops are. The Royal Scottish Academy, which is that museum that I took pictures of from up by the castle, is also on that street. I went over there to buy a belt, because I desperately needed one, and got 2 for £2 at H&M- definitely my favorite store for accessories, here or at home.
Also today, I walked past the church that I think I'll be attending. I need something to do on Sundays, and church is as good an option as any. I can't spend all of my free time in my flat, and church is generally entertaining and basically free. It's also a possible place for meeting people. Besides, going to church once in a while couldn't hurt, in the event that I'm wrong about my whole well-reasoned atheism stance. But mostly, it gives me a reason to get up and out of the flat instead of just sitting here and eating shortbread (ahah so good). The one I'm looking at is called Old St. Paul's, and it's the oldest Episcopal church in Scotland. I really like all of the history behind it, my views on religion aside. It's sort of like a living museum, which is my favorite kind of church. It even has an impressive website, if you care. Added benefit: my grandmother will be absolutely thrilled.
Another thing that may be of interest to you is the type of American chain places that exist here. I've seen: Subway (albeit with different sandwiches to cater to British tastes, i.e. Sweet Chili Chicken), Domino's, Pizza Hut, KFC (which was the only place I saw a black family ahah terrible), Starbucks, Gap... I think that's it. KFC has ads for these weird chicken-on-a-stick things called Firecrackers or some such. It's like three balls of fried chicken stuck on a skewer. I guess so it's easier to eat and walk. And very exciting for me, I've so far seen 3 Mexican restaurants. One of them looks like Chipotle, with all the shiny metal and light wood, so I don't have high hopes for that place. But one of them is probably at least decent. Maybe. I'll try them all with an expectation of disappointment and see how that goes.
Something that I forgot to mention when I was talking about classes is that all of my instructors are women. And none of them are Scottish. One is Chinese, one is Canadian, and the other is American, though she did her undergrad work at St. Andrew's here in Scotland. It's odd, as I thought that the academic field was male-dominated everywhere. Granted, art history is becoming a very female-associated field, but classics definitely isn't. I think every semester at SC I've had a majority of my classes taught by men. So this is something else new and different.
I talked to my mom for a long time last night. She called, since she always does lots of shopping on the weekends and didn't want me to call today or tomorrow when she might be out. It's not like I'm that much further away from my family now than I am when I'm in CA, but I think, to them, it feels that way. My mom worries because at least when I'm in CA she knows that I can figure out how to get help if I need it, or she knows how to use the existing governmental/whatever structures to get to me, but here, she has no idea what to do in case of emergency. I understand her concern, and phone calls are as good a way as any to pass some time. Especially when I'm just sitting home on a Friday night. What I miss most, right now, is having people that I can just call up when I want to do something.
However, I do enjoy having the flat to myself on weekends. I can't decide if that evens out the weirdness of having Marina's boyfriend live here from Sunday night to Friday morning, but it definitely helps.
I think I might go read or something, as I'm tired of spilling my guts at this moment. Enjoy your day, kids.
- C
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Things of grave import.
Not really. Nothing I do is of grave import. I don't think so, anyway. But hey, let's go over the reason I'm really here: classes.
Just like for the rest of you fools, yesterday was the first real day of classes for me, due to getting here late/last week's snafus/etc etc. In case you're interested, this is the final version of my schedule:
Mondays:
9 - 9:50 Buddhist Art in China
11:10 - 12 Sinners, Saints and Seers: Scottish, English and Irish art from 600 - 900
2 - 2:50 Custodians of Empire: The Praetorian Guard
Wednesdays (Jan. 23, Feb. 6 and 20, March 5):
2 - 3:50? C of E seminar (aka discussion section)
Thursdays:
11 - 1:10? S, S and S tutorial (also aka discussion section)
2 - 2:50 C of E
4:10 - 6 B A in C tutorial
So, for every week that isn't one of the ones with special Wednesdays, I only have classes two days. And people wonder why I'm on the computer all the time. It's also because you're all still sleeping when I'm in class, generally, but whatever. I really need to find something to occupy my time, because homework? Mostly reading, and not too much of it. And then some seminar/tutorial questions, based on readings. For two out of three classes, my assignments consist of a paper and a final at the end of the semester. For the other one, I have a final, an in-class essay, and two copies of a log book (which is just where I have to answer my seminar questions) due. Shut up, I earned this after last semester's hell.
Anyway, yesterday was supposed to be my first full day of classes. Except I got to the first one slightly late, which actually didn't matter, because there were technical difficulties with the projector for approximately 25 minutes. Yeah. And then, the second class was canceled because the instructor was sick. Uh huh. And then the third class was fine. With the exception of Buddhist art, I have a serious and genuine interest in the subjects about which I'm learning. The readings that I've had to do so far, even for Buddhist art, have been interesting, or at least easy. And the classes have all been approved for credit by the AHIS/CLAS departments, which is another weight off of my mind. My semester is going to be awesome, thanks for asking. Hope all of yours go as well.
On another note, my flatmate apparently has a boyfriend. I first discovered this when she was gone for the entire weekend, from Friday to Sunday, and took her toothbrush. Brilliant deducer that I am, I figured it was a male. Sunday night, they both came back to my flat. And he hasn't left yet. Mostly, they spend their time in the shower. Not even kidding. They've had four while I've been home in the last two days. And it's not like they're having sex in there or anything. They do that in her room. This blog might turn out to be less about my sex life and more about Marina's. Whatever. And he's not even Scottish, so it's not like I get the joy of a Scottish accent around the flat out of this. It also sounds like they're arguing all the time. It might just be because of their accents and the fact that they're both speaking English (which is neither his nor her first language), but the word choice also suggests argument to me. Well, less arguing, more debating. God knows what. Okay, enough about them.
I've taken to writing down everything (shopping/to do lists, class info, contact info, etc) in a little notebook that I take everywhere with me. I entitled it "Shit to keep track of." I'm good at concise. It sort of helps, but I still bump things from one day's to-do list to the next's. As long as it all gets done, no harm in that.
This is what it is going to look like for the rest of the week. Grey. Also, it should look darker than this, but I don't feel like playing with the camera anymore. And it's only 3:45.
Just like for the rest of you fools, yesterday was the first real day of classes for me, due to getting here late/last week's snafus/etc etc. In case you're interested, this is the final version of my schedule:
Mondays:
9 - 9:50 Buddhist Art in China
11:10 - 12 Sinners, Saints and Seers: Scottish, English and Irish art from 600 - 900
2 - 2:50 Custodians of Empire: The Praetorian Guard
Wednesdays (Jan. 23, Feb. 6 and 20, March 5):
2 - 3:50? C of E seminar (aka discussion section)
Thursdays:
11 - 1:10? S, S and S tutorial (also aka discussion section)
2 - 2:50 C of E
4:10 - 6 B A in C tutorial
So, for every week that isn't one of the ones with special Wednesdays, I only have classes two days. And people wonder why I'm on the computer all the time. It's also because you're all still sleeping when I'm in class, generally, but whatever. I really need to find something to occupy my time, because homework? Mostly reading, and not too much of it. And then some seminar/tutorial questions, based on readings. For two out of three classes, my assignments consist of a paper and a final at the end of the semester. For the other one, I have a final, an in-class essay, and two copies of a log book (which is just where I have to answer my seminar questions) due. Shut up, I earned this after last semester's hell.
Anyway, yesterday was supposed to be my first full day of classes. Except I got to the first one slightly late, which actually didn't matter, because there were technical difficulties with the projector for approximately 25 minutes. Yeah. And then, the second class was canceled because the instructor was sick. Uh huh. And then the third class was fine. With the exception of Buddhist art, I have a serious and genuine interest in the subjects about which I'm learning. The readings that I've had to do so far, even for Buddhist art, have been interesting, or at least easy. And the classes have all been approved for credit by the AHIS/CLAS departments, which is another weight off of my mind. My semester is going to be awesome, thanks for asking. Hope all of yours go as well.
On another note, my flatmate apparently has a boyfriend. I first discovered this when she was gone for the entire weekend, from Friday to Sunday, and took her toothbrush. Brilliant deducer that I am, I figured it was a male. Sunday night, they both came back to my flat. And he hasn't left yet. Mostly, they spend their time in the shower. Not even kidding. They've had four while I've been home in the last two days. And it's not like they're having sex in there or anything. They do that in her room. This blog might turn out to be less about my sex life and more about Marina's. Whatever. And he's not even Scottish, so it's not like I get the joy of a Scottish accent around the flat out of this. It also sounds like they're arguing all the time. It might just be because of their accents and the fact that they're both speaking English (which is neither his nor her first language), but the word choice also suggests argument to me. Well, less arguing, more debating. God knows what. Okay, enough about them.
I've taken to writing down everything (shopping/to do lists, class info, contact info, etc) in a little notebook that I take everywhere with me. I entitled it "Shit to keep track of." I'm good at concise. It sort of helps, but I still bump things from one day's to-do list to the next's. As long as it all gets done, no harm in that.
This is what it is going to look like for the rest of the week. Grey. Also, it should look darker than this, but I don't feel like playing with the camera anymore. And it's only 3:45.- C
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Almost settled.
With the exception of a few small things and, you know, a group of friends, I basically have everything that I need here taken care of. So I can get into actual impressions of the city and whatnot, now that all of the boring stuff is off of my mind.
I honestly and truly love it here. It might actually be my ideal environment. Once I have people to go out and do stuff with on a regular basis and I can take advantage of the pubs and nightlife, this will probably be the perfect city. It's hard to really say why. I love the people, always hurrying somewhere, but not like we do in the US. Hurrying because if you're outside too long, your nose will freeze. They're all remarkably cheerful, despite the weather. The city is beautiful, old and impressive but still thriving. It's really sobering and cool to look up and see a castle from certain places. There's a sense that the city is nothing so much as solid, and it makes the rest of life seem a lot more stable. Everything around me has been in existence for hundreds of years, and it's hard to imagine that it won't be here for hundreds of years more. It's nice to be able to make dumb mistakes (which I do) and not have people look at you like you're a complete idiot, also.
And then there's the university itself, with its mix of old and new buildings, the type of place where the past and the future collide. Again, totally dumb, but it's what I imagined a university to be when I was young. A place where thousands and thousands of people have learned all sorts of things so they could go out and make the world a better place. Or not, but I was an idealistic kid
Overall, I think this semester is going to go by really quickly. Too quickly, I'm sure. I still have a lot of things to get used to, little things that don't matter much, but it's nice to be settled. I haven't been able to feel this calm since last summer, because calm and band season don't really go hand in hand. Now all I have to do is force myself to join a club or something so I can go out drinking every night like you guys do (p.s. holy shit, people).
Then maybe I can take pictures of boys and pubs and whatever else you guys want. And have some scandalous behavior to write about, which, as we all know, totally my style. As you may have noticed, I have a single bed. I'm tempted to scientifically determine whether that or an air mattress is more awkward for certain activities. I have no hypothesis, any opinions would be welcome.
And Lena, my flatmate being Russian (actually from Russia) is amusing because I have a friend from back home with whom I vowed to live in Edinburgh one day. She is also Russian. So I am, in fact, living with a Russian in Edinburgh, it's just the wrong one.
And I should probably go to bed now, since I have class at 9am. Sweet.
- C
I honestly and truly love it here. It might actually be my ideal environment. Once I have people to go out and do stuff with on a regular basis and I can take advantage of the pubs and nightlife, this will probably be the perfect city. It's hard to really say why. I love the people, always hurrying somewhere, but not like we do in the US. Hurrying because if you're outside too long, your nose will freeze. They're all remarkably cheerful, despite the weather. The city is beautiful, old and impressive but still thriving. It's really sobering and cool to look up and see a castle from certain places. There's a sense that the city is nothing so much as solid, and it makes the rest of life seem a lot more stable. Everything around me has been in existence for hundreds of years, and it's hard to imagine that it won't be here for hundreds of years more. It's nice to be able to make dumb mistakes (which I do) and not have people look at you like you're a complete idiot, also.
And then there's the university itself, with its mix of old and new buildings, the type of place where the past and the future collide. Again, totally dumb, but it's what I imagined a university to be when I was young. A place where thousands and thousands of people have learned all sorts of things so they could go out and make the world a better place. Or not, but I was an idealistic kid
Overall, I think this semester is going to go by really quickly. Too quickly, I'm sure. I still have a lot of things to get used to, little things that don't matter much, but it's nice to be settled. I haven't been able to feel this calm since last summer, because calm and band season don't really go hand in hand. Now all I have to do is force myself to join a club or something so I can go out drinking every night like you guys do (p.s. holy shit, people).
Then maybe I can take pictures of boys and pubs and whatever else you guys want. And have some scandalous behavior to write about, which, as we all know, totally my style. As you may have noticed, I have a single bed. I'm tempted to scientifically determine whether that or an air mattress is more awkward for certain activities. I have no hypothesis, any opinions would be welcome.
And Lena, my flatmate being Russian (actually from Russia) is amusing because I have a friend from back home with whom I vowed to live in Edinburgh one day. She is also Russian. So I am, in fact, living with a Russian in Edinburgh, it's just the wrong one.
And I should probably go to bed now, since I have class at 9am. Sweet.
- C
Friday, January 11, 2008
Now with internet.
I could wait and do this post on Sunday when I have nothing to do, but I'll probably forget stuff and have enough for another post then anyway. So I'll just do the big "first few days" post now. Get yourself a snack or something, this'll probably be long.
I left my house at 1:45pm on Tuesday, in order to make it to Newark for my 6:55pm flight. Newark is about the same distance from my house as NYC, minus the Lincoln Tunnel traffic, so I got there about 3 hours before takeoff. Yeah, awesome. My mom and dad both went to drop me off, and they were both crying when we said goodbye. It was terrible. I tear up thinking about it. Shut up, I'll bet a million dollars you've never seen me cry (unless we've watched Rome or certain movies together), and I've done it more in the last few days than in the last 20 years combined. I have a reputation to uphold. Anyway, I got to the airport, got through security in record time even with an "extra security check." Yes, I was chosen by the airline to get frisked. Whatever, I'm so threatening, I know. Then I sat at the gate and called people/read for 2 hours, until the plane started boarding. I have exactly $7 in American currency, so I didn't buy any food or anything. My grandmom had given me a bag with two chocolate covered pretzels, two or three packages of peanut butter crackers, and four Twizzlers, so I was obvs covered for days.
I got on the plane, sat in my window seat, and tried really hard to fall asleep. The plane left an hour later than it was supposed to, but the flight to London from Newark is slightly less than 6 hours, not the 7 that I was expecting. That was a nice surprise. Also, because it was a Continental flight going overseas, there were TVs in all the seat backs, with lots of movies and games and TV shows etc. That was entertaining for awhile. But yeah, I was completely unable to fall asleep, which sucked, because I lost 5 hours on that flight and got into London at 6:30am. In case you're wondering, I watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and most of Swingers while in transit. Skinny Vince Vaughn is terrifying. For dinner, I had some beef with noodles nonsense and salad and a roll. Breakfast (these two meals were served like 4 hours apart) was a fruit salad and a croissant, of which I ate half. That stuff doesn't really matter, except it's basically all that was sustaining me for the next 2 days.
Landed in London, got through immigration, reclaimed my bags. My flight from London to Edinburgh was a 10:30am flight, so I had some time to kill. How you're supposed to kill time in the entry area of an airport, I have no idea. Even if that airport is Gatwick, which is a ridiculous place. Fortunately, check-in for my flight started early, so I checked my bags (after paying $72 more because my bags were over the 45lb. weight allowance) and got my boarding pass. I then proceeded to sit in this weird limbo area for people on flights without gate assignments for forever. I was looking at all of the duty free shops (one of which was entirely devoted to whiskey!!) and being generally bored and dazed. Finally, a little TV told me to go to gate 1, so I did. Mostly that day was like wtf am i doing. Written exactly like that in my head.
The flight to Edinburgh was uneventful, mostly, except we had to go out on the tarmac and climb those rolling stairs to board the plane. That was exciting. It was a short flight, and I got the one hour of sleep that I had since Monday night. Reached Edinburgh, where it was damn windy, as I could tell because the plane was blowing around. I had a list of things that I had to accomplish that day, number 1 being "get keys to flat." The plane landed at noon, all of the things that I had to do would be impossible after either 4 or 5:00, depending. Okay, totally doable. Took my bags, got a taxi. The driver was young and cute and looked like Billy Boyd. Also, he called me "love," and, had he asked, I would have married him right off. It didn't take long, folks. I tried to be charming, despite my lack of sleep induced retardation. Went to the main residence halls, where I had to fill out paperwork, assure them that USC would be paying for my rent, etc etc. Finally got my keys and had to pay another taxi (this driver female and not as charming, though cheerful) to take me to my flat. Found the front door, after some questionable moments, through an archway that also happens to be the hangout for the local hooligans and right behind a mini-Tesco. Figured out which of my four keys was for which door. Couldn't get the door to my bedroom open, scared my flatmate by trying her door. Found out that she is Russian and named Marina. Got the key for my door to work, dropped off my stuff, asked Marina for directions to the main square of campus, headed out. It was lightly raining/snowing this day. Found the office of my Director of Studies, who is basically my academic adviser. Officially registered for classes and then went to the Registry to handle more paperwork. I also went to the art history office to pick up some stuff and get contact info/class locations/whatnot. At some point in those hours I ate a packet of peanut butter crackers as lunch.
All that taken care of, I needed to handle buying stuff for my flat. Namely, sheets, towel, pillow etc. Basically, the things that I would need to sleep and shower, because those were the foremost things on my mind. I wandered down my street to a store called Edinburgh Bargain, which seemed promising. Got the stuff I needed, though it required two trips. I also started the set-up of my internet at this point, because it is an involved process requiring the registration of your computer and whatnot. I bought an Ethernet cable and an adapter for my laptop plug, because I hadn't thought about doing that before. I unpacked my stuff. By this time, it was 6pm, and I just wanted to go to bed. So I did. Marina woke me up at 10pm to see if I wanted some of the soup that she made for dinner, which was really nice, but no. I ended up sleeping until 11am. At that point, I woke up and showered, and then I went to the library to find a computer. I should note, all of the door handles are the same in the library, whether you have to push or pull. Of course, I end up looking like an idiot every time that I have to use them. Still. I also went to the Re-Freshers Fair, which is the student activity fair, to see if there were any societies that I wanted to join. This being me, the answer was no. Insert the last packet of peanut butter crackers at this point. It was actually snowing, which was awesome. However, it was also raining, which meant that I was really just wet and cold. Hooray for "winter mix." I attempted to find the class and, as I said before, failed. So I went back to the library and waited for my 4pm tutorial (which is a discussion section). I knew for sure where that was supposed to be, since I had gone to the art history office the day before.
That went well. I'll talk about classes in a later entry, since I haven't had most of them, and it's just way too much for this novel. I went home and stopped at the Tesco to buy cereal, milk, juice, and water. After that, there was a welcome dinner for the USC study abroad group here at an Indian restaurant. Free food woo! A ton of food, actually, making it the best meal I'd ever eaten. Haha, mostly because it was my first meal in two days. And there was wine, which made me tipsy and conversational after one glass. Met some people, which was nice. After that, we went to this tiny pub called Bannerman's, which had Strongbow cider on tap. Again, free. So I went home, passed the hooligans outside of my front door smoking pot, attempted to call my parents (who weren't home) and then took two hours to fall asleep.
Today, I set my alarm for 11am, just because it can't be healthy to sleep as much as I have been for the last week. I actually woke up at 12:45. It's really hard to get yourself out of bed when the sun never comes out. I ate a lunch of cereal and juice, which was 20 times better than peanut butter crackers. I went to the library and sat on the computer for 3 hours. I then returned home and had dinner with another girl from the program. We walked to the city center and ate at a pub; I had pork sausage and mash and Guinness
Tomorrow, we are going to Edinburgh Castle. So excited. I will take pictures.
I know this entry is mostly boring, but it's all just logistical stuff. I'll get into actual impressions of the city and the people and post pictures later, probably tomorrow night or Sunday.
But here, have a picture of my bedroom:
Yes, my blanket is pink. My top sheet is purple, and the bottom one is teal. My pillowcase is tan. I grabbed what was cheap. I also have an armoire and a bookshelf that I keep all of my clothes on, which happen to be on the side of the room that you can't see.
Okay, I'm going to bed. I have shit to do tomorrow.
- C
I left my house at 1:45pm on Tuesday, in order to make it to Newark for my 6:55pm flight. Newark is about the same distance from my house as NYC, minus the Lincoln Tunnel traffic, so I got there about 3 hours before takeoff. Yeah, awesome. My mom and dad both went to drop me off, and they were both crying when we said goodbye. It was terrible. I tear up thinking about it. Shut up, I'll bet a million dollars you've never seen me cry (unless we've watched Rome or certain movies together), and I've done it more in the last few days than in the last 20 years combined. I have a reputation to uphold. Anyway, I got to the airport, got through security in record time even with an "extra security check." Yes, I was chosen by the airline to get frisked. Whatever, I'm so threatening, I know. Then I sat at the gate and called people/read for 2 hours, until the plane started boarding. I have exactly $7 in American currency, so I didn't buy any food or anything. My grandmom had given me a bag with two chocolate covered pretzels, two or three packages of peanut butter crackers, and four Twizzlers, so I was obvs covered for days.
I got on the plane, sat in my window seat, and tried really hard to fall asleep. The plane left an hour later than it was supposed to, but the flight to London from Newark is slightly less than 6 hours, not the 7 that I was expecting. That was a nice surprise. Also, because it was a Continental flight going overseas, there were TVs in all the seat backs, with lots of movies and games and TV shows etc. That was entertaining for awhile. But yeah, I was completely unable to fall asleep, which sucked, because I lost 5 hours on that flight and got into London at 6:30am. In case you're wondering, I watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and most of Swingers while in transit. Skinny Vince Vaughn is terrifying. For dinner, I had some beef with noodles nonsense and salad and a roll. Breakfast (these two meals were served like 4 hours apart) was a fruit salad and a croissant, of which I ate half. That stuff doesn't really matter, except it's basically all that was sustaining me for the next 2 days.
Landed in London, got through immigration, reclaimed my bags. My flight from London to Edinburgh was a 10:30am flight, so I had some time to kill. How you're supposed to kill time in the entry area of an airport, I have no idea. Even if that airport is Gatwick, which is a ridiculous place. Fortunately, check-in for my flight started early, so I checked my bags (after paying $72 more because my bags were over the 45lb. weight allowance) and got my boarding pass. I then proceeded to sit in this weird limbo area for people on flights without gate assignments for forever. I was looking at all of the duty free shops (one of which was entirely devoted to whiskey!!) and being generally bored and dazed. Finally, a little TV told me to go to gate 1, so I did. Mostly that day was like wtf am i doing. Written exactly like that in my head.
The flight to Edinburgh was uneventful, mostly, except we had to go out on the tarmac and climb those rolling stairs to board the plane. That was exciting. It was a short flight, and I got the one hour of sleep that I had since Monday night. Reached Edinburgh, where it was damn windy, as I could tell because the plane was blowing around. I had a list of things that I had to accomplish that day, number 1 being "get keys to flat." The plane landed at noon, all of the things that I had to do would be impossible after either 4 or 5:00, depending. Okay, totally doable. Took my bags, got a taxi. The driver was young and cute and looked like Billy Boyd. Also, he called me "love," and, had he asked, I would have married him right off. It didn't take long, folks. I tried to be charming, despite my lack of sleep induced retardation. Went to the main residence halls, where I had to fill out paperwork, assure them that USC would be paying for my rent, etc etc. Finally got my keys and had to pay another taxi (this driver female and not as charming, though cheerful) to take me to my flat. Found the front door, after some questionable moments, through an archway that also happens to be the hangout for the local hooligans and right behind a mini-Tesco. Figured out which of my four keys was for which door. Couldn't get the door to my bedroom open, scared my flatmate by trying her door. Found out that she is Russian and named Marina. Got the key for my door to work, dropped off my stuff, asked Marina for directions to the main square of campus, headed out. It was lightly raining/snowing this day. Found the office of my Director of Studies, who is basically my academic adviser. Officially registered for classes and then went to the Registry to handle more paperwork. I also went to the art history office to pick up some stuff and get contact info/class locations/whatnot. At some point in those hours I ate a packet of peanut butter crackers as lunch.
All that taken care of, I needed to handle buying stuff for my flat. Namely, sheets, towel, pillow etc. Basically, the things that I would need to sleep and shower, because those were the foremost things on my mind. I wandered down my street to a store called Edinburgh Bargain, which seemed promising. Got the stuff I needed, though it required two trips. I also started the set-up of my internet at this point, because it is an involved process requiring the registration of your computer and whatnot. I bought an Ethernet cable and an adapter for my laptop plug, because I hadn't thought about doing that before. I unpacked my stuff. By this time, it was 6pm, and I just wanted to go to bed. So I did. Marina woke me up at 10pm to see if I wanted some of the soup that she made for dinner, which was really nice, but no. I ended up sleeping until 11am. At that point, I woke up and showered, and then I went to the library to find a computer. I should note, all of the door handles are the same in the library, whether you have to push or pull. Of course, I end up looking like an idiot every time that I have to use them. Still. I also went to the Re-Freshers Fair, which is the student activity fair, to see if there were any societies that I wanted to join. This being me, the answer was no. Insert the last packet of peanut butter crackers at this point. It was actually snowing, which was awesome. However, it was also raining, which meant that I was really just wet and cold. Hooray for "winter mix." I attempted to find the class and, as I said before, failed. So I went back to the library and waited for my 4pm tutorial (which is a discussion section). I knew for sure where that was supposed to be, since I had gone to the art history office the day before.
That went well. I'll talk about classes in a later entry, since I haven't had most of them, and it's just way too much for this novel. I went home and stopped at the Tesco to buy cereal, milk, juice, and water. After that, there was a welcome dinner for the USC study abroad group here at an Indian restaurant. Free food woo! A ton of food, actually, making it the best meal I'd ever eaten. Haha, mostly because it was my first meal in two days. And there was wine, which made me tipsy and conversational after one glass. Met some people, which was nice. After that, we went to this tiny pub called Bannerman's, which had Strongbow cider on tap. Again, free. So I went home, passed the hooligans outside of my front door smoking pot, attempted to call my parents (who weren't home) and then took two hours to fall asleep.
Today, I set my alarm for 11am, just because it can't be healthy to sleep as much as I have been for the last week. I actually woke up at 12:45. It's really hard to get yourself out of bed when the sun never comes out. I ate a lunch of cereal and juice, which was 20 times better than peanut butter crackers. I went to the library and sat on the computer for 3 hours. I then returned home and had dinner with another girl from the program. We walked to the city center and ate at a pub; I had pork sausage and mash and Guinness
Tomorrow, we are going to Edinburgh Castle. So excited. I will take pictures.
I know this entry is mostly boring, but it's all just logistical stuff. I'll get into actual impressions of the city and the people and post pictures later, probably tomorrow night or Sunday.
But here, have a picture of my bedroom:
Yes, my blanket is pink. My top sheet is purple, and the bottom one is teal. My pillowcase is tan. I grabbed what was cheap. I also have an armoire and a bookshelf that I keep all of my clothes on, which happen to be on the side of the room that you can't see.
Okay, I'm going to bed. I have shit to do tomorrow.
- C
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Alive.
I'll save a long and involved post for when I finally have internet in my room, but right now a short library recap will do.
1. I am alive and safe in Edinburgh. The sun is nowhere to be found, but there are clouds and precipitation aplenty.
2. Since a breakfast of fruit salad and half a croissant on the plane at 6am (my time) yesterday, I have eaten nothing but 2 packages of peanut butter sandwich crackers and 2 Twizzlers. I have to go to the mini-Tesco in front of my flat today, probably just to buy cereal and milk. I have nothing with which to cook anything else.
3. My flatmate is Russian. This is hilarious, but probably only to me.
4. I am trying to decide if it is worth the effort of making friends, when I have no money to go out and do anything anyway. Right now, I am exceptionally bored, but that's mostly because my internet isn't set up yet.
5. I missed a class today because I couldn't figure out what room it was in. Both the internet and the board outside the department office were wrong. Off to a great start, academically. Hopefully, I have better luck with the other class that I have today.
6. I slept from approximately 6pm last night until 11am this morning, with about an hour in the middle of waking up and not being able to fall back to sleep.
7. I am of the opinion that I look like I belong in this city. Or else, everyone here looks sort of like me. It's brilliant.
8. I've been called "love" and had someone say "cheers" because I held the door. Being surrounded by Scottish accents is awesome.
9. I actually walk too slowly for most of the people here, who are always hurrying to get out of the weather. It's a new and different sensation. I'm not sure that I can walk faster than I do.
10. I promise pictures next time around, as long as the sun comes out at some point. Or I can stand outside without getting soaked. Whatever comes first.
Okay, I should try to find my other class now. Cheers.
- C
1. I am alive and safe in Edinburgh. The sun is nowhere to be found, but there are clouds and precipitation aplenty.
2. Since a breakfast of fruit salad and half a croissant on the plane at 6am (my time) yesterday, I have eaten nothing but 2 packages of peanut butter sandwich crackers and 2 Twizzlers. I have to go to the mini-Tesco in front of my flat today, probably just to buy cereal and milk. I have nothing with which to cook anything else.
3. My flatmate is Russian. This is hilarious, but probably only to me.
4. I am trying to decide if it is worth the effort of making friends, when I have no money to go out and do anything anyway. Right now, I am exceptionally bored, but that's mostly because my internet isn't set up yet.
5. I missed a class today because I couldn't figure out what room it was in. Both the internet and the board outside the department office were wrong. Off to a great start, academically. Hopefully, I have better luck with the other class that I have today.
6. I slept from approximately 6pm last night until 11am this morning, with about an hour in the middle of waking up and not being able to fall back to sleep.
7. I am of the opinion that I look like I belong in this city. Or else, everyone here looks sort of like me. It's brilliant.
8. I've been called "love" and had someone say "cheers" because I held the door. Being surrounded by Scottish accents is awesome.
9. I actually walk too slowly for most of the people here, who are always hurrying to get out of the weather. It's a new and different sensation. I'm not sure that I can walk faster than I do.
10. I promise pictures next time around, as long as the sun comes out at some point. Or I can stand outside without getting soaked. Whatever comes first.
Okay, I should try to find my other class now. Cheers.
- C
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Why haven't you left yet?
Until approximately yesterday afternoon, I was hoping to be on last night's 10pm Continental flight to London. I have an epic tale [as befits my epic nature] about why I have not yet left for the UK, as I'm sure that anyone who knew my original plans would like to know why they changed. And hey, I might as well document the good with the bad.
On one of my flights from LA to Philly after the Rose Bowl, I made the mistake of picking up a Spirit Magazine (Southwest's in-flight magazine). The Libra horoscope read: Stay home this month. Leaving will be stressful due to travel snafus. I paraphrased, but you get the point. Sure enough, my flight from Nashville to Philly, the final leg of my journey, was delayed. Well, damn, thought I. This does not bode well. I arrived home, an hour later than I was expecting, and with the knowledge that my passport had not yet been returned by the British Consulate-General in NYC. You see, in order to make my trip overseas easier, I decided to apply for a visa. With a visa, I will be able to pass through customs with ease (hopefully), among other benefits. Unfortunately, the visa process took longer than I thought/advertised. The Consulate-General's website reads:
I call that company, spend most of my call time on hold, and finally get to talk to a woman who says that she can send an email marked as "urgent" for me. Oh, good, because I have every confidence that they read their email regularly when elsewhere on the site it says that they take an average of 22 days to return emails. Uh huh. But what else could I do? I had her do that, said thank you, and freaked out. Things were looking more bleak. As my mom said, "What a cluster." I spent the night packing, not knowing if I would actually be leaving the next night or not.
After some deliberation, my dad agreed to drive to NYC first thing in the morning the next day. Note: I live about 2 hours away from NYC, depending on traffic. Sometimes it's less, but often more. We left at 8am and made good time until Hoboken. Which is how it always goes. Fortunately, my dad's GPS suggested an alternate route that saved us about 45 minutes of sorrow trying to get into the Lincoln Tunnel. Seriously. I was astounded.
As a quick aside, my dad hates driving in cities, NYC most of all. It's contrary to his driving style. So for him to do this for me, when we have no guarantee that this venture will be at all fruitful, is nothing short of the ultimate show of love. And I am incredibly grateful for my long-suffering father indeed. Most especially for what comes later.
We get to the city, find the Consulate, park. At this point, it's approximately 10:15, and we haven't eaten or done anything but drive since early that morning. Upon entering the building that houses the Consulate, we find a line of three or four other guys arguing with the security guard, an old Caribbean man. They are all apparently having the same problem that I am, and there is nobody in the entire building that we can talk to. Cue terrible feeling of doom. The guys in front of me had no luck, so of course I didn't either. We gave up after approximately 5 minutes, because what else could we do? Storm the Consulate? Nope. It was time to drive the 2 hours back home, after walking back to the car. My dad, because he is a phenomenal human being, said nothing, making this experience slightly easier for me. I did, however, cry for the next hour and a half, because I was more frustrated than I've ever been in my entire life. That, and I'm a woman. Whatever.
When I got home, I checked my email to find one that said that my visa application had been approved and had a UPS tracking number. When I tracked the package, it said that it had been billed on Jan. 2nd, but had no further info. I called UPS, they started an inquiry and found out that the package was just sitting at the Consulate, ready to ship that night. Um, WTF GUYS. So I think that my visa had actually been issued on Jan. 2nd, but they waited until last night to ship it. THANKS. AWESOME. The girl at UPS told me that it should arrive on Monday. Great, so I officially have to change my flight to London and then the connecting flight to Edinburgh. Which is what I spent yesterday afternoon doing.
Besides damages for emotional distress, I maintain that the British government owes me about $900 for last minute flight changes. Yeah, thanks, guys. Great working with you.
Barring any further unforeseen catastrophes, at which point I would probably have to take this semester off (because I am not, in fact, made of money), I leave from Newark at 6:55pm on Tuesday. At which point I will have missed orientation and my first three days of classes. But hey, whatever, I'll figure it out. At least I'll be there.
On the up-side, I get to be home for my dad's birthday tomorrow. I can tell him that I have nothing but gratitude for his existence, because that's the truth.
And that is the terrible story of why I am still home, bored.
Because it might come in handy, my exact flight info is as follows:
Outbound: Virgin Atlantic Flight 3118 (operated by Continental) departing Newark at 6:55pm Jan. 8th and arriving London Gatwick at 6:55am on Jan. 9th.
easyJet flight 703 departing London Gatwick at 10:30am and arriving Edinburgh at 12:00pm.
Inbound: Virgin Atlantic Flight VS0001 departing London Heathrow at 4:00pm Jun. 30th and arriving Newark 6:40pm Jun. 30th.
And now that I've told you all sorts of stuff, there are things that I want to know from you.
1) Who's planning on reading this?
2) Anything specific you want pictures/descriptions of?
That's really it. Just trying to cater to my audience and make this more exciting for anyone that chooses to read this. But yeah, seriously, if you comment, I'm more likely to update.
- C
On one of my flights from LA to Philly after the Rose Bowl, I made the mistake of picking up a Spirit Magazine (Southwest's in-flight magazine). The Libra horoscope read: Stay home this month. Leaving will be stressful due to travel snafus. I paraphrased, but you get the point. Sure enough, my flight from Nashville to Philly, the final leg of my journey, was delayed. Well, damn, thought I. This does not bode well. I arrived home, an hour later than I was expecting, and with the knowledge that my passport had not yet been returned by the British Consulate-General in NYC. You see, in order to make my trip overseas easier, I decided to apply for a visa. With a visa, I will be able to pass through customs with ease (hopefully), among other benefits. Unfortunately, the visa process took longer than I thought/advertised. The Consulate-General's website reads:
We aim to process the majority of mailed applications within 5 business days regardless of which visa you are applying for. However we would advise all applicants to make their applications a minimum of 14 days before their proposed date of travel. This is particularly important during the busy holiday periods at Christmas and the summer.Ok, fine, did that. Thought it would be fine. Silly me. I received an email saying that my visa application had been received and that it could take 5 working days to review. Oh no. So I attempt to call the Consulate-General the day after I get home, in order to inform them of my increasingly urgent situation. Unfortunately, it is IMPOSSIBLE to talk to a real person in that office about visas. And I'm serious when I say IMPOSSIBLE. You try: (212) 745-0200. Enjoy the switchboard voice, she's all you'll hear for about 15 minutes. The option that their website provides is calling an outside company, for $3 a minute or a $12 flat fee. They also let you know beforehand that this company can't tell you anything about specific applications, just give you general suggestions and advice. Thanks, British Consulate. You're so helpful.
I call that company, spend most of my call time on hold, and finally get to talk to a woman who says that she can send an email marked as "urgent" for me. Oh, good, because I have every confidence that they read their email regularly when elsewhere on the site it says that they take an average of 22 days to return emails. Uh huh. But what else could I do? I had her do that, said thank you, and freaked out. Things were looking more bleak. As my mom said, "What a cluster." I spent the night packing, not knowing if I would actually be leaving the next night or not.
After some deliberation, my dad agreed to drive to NYC first thing in the morning the next day. Note: I live about 2 hours away from NYC, depending on traffic. Sometimes it's less, but often more. We left at 8am and made good time until Hoboken. Which is how it always goes. Fortunately, my dad's GPS suggested an alternate route that saved us about 45 minutes of sorrow trying to get into the Lincoln Tunnel. Seriously. I was astounded.
As a quick aside, my dad hates driving in cities, NYC most of all. It's contrary to his driving style. So for him to do this for me, when we have no guarantee that this venture will be at all fruitful, is nothing short of the ultimate show of love. And I am incredibly grateful for my long-suffering father indeed. Most especially for what comes later.
We get to the city, find the Consulate, park. At this point, it's approximately 10:15, and we haven't eaten or done anything but drive since early that morning. Upon entering the building that houses the Consulate, we find a line of three or four other guys arguing with the security guard, an old Caribbean man. They are all apparently having the same problem that I am, and there is nobody in the entire building that we can talk to. Cue terrible feeling of doom. The guys in front of me had no luck, so of course I didn't either. We gave up after approximately 5 minutes, because what else could we do? Storm the Consulate? Nope. It was time to drive the 2 hours back home, after walking back to the car. My dad, because he is a phenomenal human being, said nothing, making this experience slightly easier for me. I did, however, cry for the next hour and a half, because I was more frustrated than I've ever been in my entire life. That, and I'm a woman. Whatever.
When I got home, I checked my email to find one that said that my visa application had been approved and had a UPS tracking number. When I tracked the package, it said that it had been billed on Jan. 2nd, but had no further info. I called UPS, they started an inquiry and found out that the package was just sitting at the Consulate, ready to ship that night. Um, WTF GUYS. So I think that my visa had actually been issued on Jan. 2nd, but they waited until last night to ship it. THANKS. AWESOME. The girl at UPS told me that it should arrive on Monday. Great, so I officially have to change my flight to London and then the connecting flight to Edinburgh. Which is what I spent yesterday afternoon doing.
Besides damages for emotional distress, I maintain that the British government owes me about $900 for last minute flight changes. Yeah, thanks, guys. Great working with you.
Barring any further unforeseen catastrophes, at which point I would probably have to take this semester off (because I am not, in fact, made of money), I leave from Newark at 6:55pm on Tuesday. At which point I will have missed orientation and my first three days of classes. But hey, whatever, I'll figure it out. At least I'll be there.
On the up-side, I get to be home for my dad's birthday tomorrow. I can tell him that I have nothing but gratitude for his existence, because that's the truth.
And that is the terrible story of why I am still home, bored.
Because it might come in handy, my exact flight info is as follows:
Outbound: Virgin Atlantic Flight 3118 (operated by Continental) departing Newark at 6:55pm Jan. 8th and arriving London Gatwick at 6:55am on Jan. 9th.
easyJet flight 703 departing London Gatwick at 10:30am and arriving Edinburgh at 12:00pm.
Inbound: Virgin Atlantic Flight VS0001 departing London Heathrow at 4:00pm Jun. 30th and arriving Newark 6:40pm Jun. 30th.
And now that I've told you all sorts of stuff, there are things that I want to know from you.
1) Who's planning on reading this?
2) Anything specific you want pictures/descriptions of?
That's really it. Just trying to cater to my audience and make this more exciting for anyone that chooses to read this. But yeah, seriously, if you comment, I'm more likely to update.
- C
Friday, January 4, 2008
Address to Edinburgh
Edina! Scotia's darling seat!
All hail thy palaces and tow'rs,
Where once, beneath a Monarch's feet,
Sat Legislation's sov'reign pow'rs:
From marking wildly scatt'red flow'rs,
As on the banks of Ayr I stray'd,
And singing, lone, the lingering hours,
I shelter in thy honour'd shade.
Here Wealth still swells the golden tide,
As busy Trade his labours plies;
There Architecture's noble pride
Bids elegance and splendour rise:
Here Justice, from her native skies,
High wields her balance and her rod;
There Learning, with his eagle eyes,
Seeks Science in her coy abode.
Thy sons, Edina, social, kind,
With open arms the stranger hail;
Their views enlarg'd, their liberal mind,
Above the narrow, rural vale:
Attentive still to Sorrow's wail,
Or modest Merit's silent claim;
And never may their sources fail!
And never Envy blot their name!
Thy daughters bright thy walks adorn,
Gay as the gilded summer sky,
Sweet as the dewy, milk-white thorn,
Dear as the raptur'd thrill of joy!
Fair Burnet strikes th' adoring eye,
Heaven's beauties on my fancy shine;
I see the Sire of Love on high,
And own His work indeed divine!
There, watching high the least alarms,
Thy rough, rude fortress gleams afar;
Like some bold veteran, grey in arms,
And mark'd with many a seamy scar:
The pond'rous wall and massy bar,
Grim-rising o'er the rugged rock,
Have oft withstood assailing war,
And oft repell'd th' invader's shock.
With awe-struck thought, and pitying tears,
I view that noble, stately Dome,
Where Scotia's kings of other years,
Fam'd heroes! had their royal home:
Alas, how chang'd the times to come!
Their royal name low in the dust!
Their hapless race wild-wand'ring roam!
Tho' rigid Law cries out 'twas just!
Wild beats my heart to trace your steps,
Whose ancestors, in days of yore,
Thro' hostile ranks and ruin'd gaps
Old Scotia's bloody lion bore:
Ev'n I who sing in rustic lore,
Haply my sires have left their shed,
And fac'd grim Danger's loudest roar,
Bold-following where your fathers led!
Edina! Scotia's darling seat!
All hail thy palaces and tow'rs;
Where once, beneath a Monarch's feet,
Sat Legislation's sovereign pow'rs:
From marking wildly-scatt'red flow'rs,
As on the banks of Ayr I stray'd,
And singing, lone, the ling'ring hours,
I shelter in thy honour'd shade.
- Robert Burns: 1786
As a poem is probably the best way to start anything off, and Robert Burns is the only poet fit to start off a blog of time spent in Scotland, I figured that this poem in particular was the way to go. Hopefully it leads to a more auspicious time than that which I've had so far.
I'm starting this blog in an attempt to keep everyone updated on what's happening in my life, as the internet is free and phones are not. Also, this allows me to post pictures and things that can then be shared with family and friends alike, instead of keeping one group separate from the other. So hello, welcome, I will update as much as I can, etc etc. I make no promises, but I do think I'll at least stop by to say "I'm alive" every once in awhile. And the nice thing about blogs is the ability to comment, so go for it.
- C
All hail thy palaces and tow'rs,
Where once, beneath a Monarch's feet,
Sat Legislation's sov'reign pow'rs:
From marking wildly scatt'red flow'rs,
As on the banks of Ayr I stray'd,
And singing, lone, the lingering hours,
I shelter in thy honour'd shade.
Here Wealth still swells the golden tide,
As busy Trade his labours plies;
There Architecture's noble pride
Bids elegance and splendour rise:
Here Justice, from her native skies,
High wields her balance and her rod;
There Learning, with his eagle eyes,
Seeks Science in her coy abode.
Thy sons, Edina, social, kind,
With open arms the stranger hail;
Their views enlarg'd, their liberal mind,
Above the narrow, rural vale:
Attentive still to Sorrow's wail,
Or modest Merit's silent claim;
And never may their sources fail!
And never Envy blot their name!
Thy daughters bright thy walks adorn,
Gay as the gilded summer sky,
Sweet as the dewy, milk-white thorn,
Dear as the raptur'd thrill of joy!
Fair Burnet strikes th' adoring eye,
Heaven's beauties on my fancy shine;
I see the Sire of Love on high,
And own His work indeed divine!
There, watching high the least alarms,
Thy rough, rude fortress gleams afar;
Like some bold veteran, grey in arms,
And mark'd with many a seamy scar:
The pond'rous wall and massy bar,
Grim-rising o'er the rugged rock,
Have oft withstood assailing war,
And oft repell'd th' invader's shock.
With awe-struck thought, and pitying tears,
I view that noble, stately Dome,
Where Scotia's kings of other years,
Fam'd heroes! had their royal home:
Alas, how chang'd the times to come!
Their royal name low in the dust!
Their hapless race wild-wand'ring roam!
Tho' rigid Law cries out 'twas just!
Wild beats my heart to trace your steps,
Whose ancestors, in days of yore,
Thro' hostile ranks and ruin'd gaps
Old Scotia's bloody lion bore:
Ev'n I who sing in rustic lore,
Haply my sires have left their shed,
And fac'd grim Danger's loudest roar,
Bold-following where your fathers led!
Edina! Scotia's darling seat!
All hail thy palaces and tow'rs;
Where once, beneath a Monarch's feet,
Sat Legislation's sovereign pow'rs:
From marking wildly-scatt'red flow'rs,
As on the banks of Ayr I stray'd,
And singing, lone, the ling'ring hours,
I shelter in thy honour'd shade.
- Robert Burns: 1786
As a poem is probably the best way to start anything off, and Robert Burns is the only poet fit to start off a blog of time spent in Scotland, I figured that this poem in particular was the way to go. Hopefully it leads to a more auspicious time than that which I've had so far.
I'm starting this blog in an attempt to keep everyone updated on what's happening in my life, as the internet is free and phones are not. Also, this allows me to post pictures and things that can then be shared with family and friends alike, instead of keeping one group separate from the other. So hello, welcome, I will update as much as I can, etc etc. I make no promises, but I do think I'll at least stop by to say "I'm alive" every once in awhile. And the nice thing about blogs is the ability to comment, so go for it.
- C
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