Gotta ride a camel before you meet your maker.

Old Rick Steves episodes are pretty fantastic, I must say. All of these tourists in early 90s clothes. Awesome.

Anyway, since I am currently doing nothing better and Lena has made a request, I suppose I should do a Europe summary post of things I've learned. I head back to LA in less than 2 weeks, so no better time than now.

Bullet points will have to suffice, otherwise this entry has the potential to be 40 years long. I know, ridiculous.

• Poland was incredible. Because Warsaw was approx. 99% destroyed during WWII, it is new and shiny and completely rebuilt in the old style. Buildings with beautiful colors galore. Krakow was one of my favorite cities of the trip, because it has a little of everything. Old World charm and university students coexisting happily. Unlike Hungarians, the Poles are still happy to be Polish after years of occupation. A much more upbeat place.
• Germany was... Germany. I dunno, everyone knows so much about Germany, it's almost not worth recapping. I had a ton of fun. Munich was another of my favorite cities, because it's spectacularly clean and has tons to see and do. Dresden I loved as well, because basically the entire point of the city is art. It's centered around 2 huge museum complexes, one for the old and one for the new. And like Warsaw, it's almost entirely new but rebuilt how it was before the war. It's still being rebuilt, actually, because after the war was Soviet occupation and then a period of economic troubles that just recently allowed for state building projects. There's something to be said for looking to rebuild a city exactly the way it was before a period of hardship. It seems sort of naive, like putting things back how they were will undo the trouble, but it's also really touching and shows sort of a pride in the identity of your ancestors.
• Paris was pretty great, especially since I had someone else to really explore with this time. I love the French way of life, because it's like that of Americans but with a widespread appreciation of the finer things, basically. Good food, high culture (and low), enjoyment of current trends in fashion etc etc. Also, Kate and I had a really good CouchSurfing host. I can't really speak highly enough of CouchSurfing. It's something that I think everyone should try, at least once. Some people are weird, but others are fantastic, and that's what's really worth experiencing.
• Ireland, I'd have a really hard time talking about. It really meant so much to me to finally be able to go there, a nation that's fascinated and entranced me since I was young. It's the place of my ancestors, to a certain extent, and the place that my family credits for our most notable traits (wit, lightheartedness in the face of adversity, ego haha). It was honestly and truly like going home, as corny as it sounds. I think the Irish people are absolutely the nicest in the part of the world that I've been to so far. It's not hard to believe that they would help strangers in need without a second thought. Hey, any nation whose favorite pastimes are talking and drinking is tops in my book. I would love to (and probably will) live there in the future. North or south, it doesn't matter. The political situation is stable, for the time being, and people really do just want to heal. They're tired with the killing and fighting and are really trying to live their lives in peace.
• Going back to Edinburgh and getting to show it to Kate was super nice. It's a fantastic city, and everyone should go there.
• London is stressful and will be forever. It's too big and too crowded to really be enjoyable. I guess it's sort of like LA. A good place to visit, but I would go crazy if I actually had to live there. It's best in small doses, which is a shame, because omg the museums.
• And the USA- Lena is wrong. The arctic AC in stores is probably one of the greatest things about this country haha. The first step into a store on a hot summer day is one of the things I live for.

So yeah, that's a lot in a condensed manner. After all that traveling, NJ has stopped feeling like home. I think that's the biggest change. I've said again and again I don't really feel like anywhere is "home," because I'm comfortable everywhere. Here, now, this really feels like my parents' house for the first time. It's somewhere I can visit, but it's not where I live. I know that I definitely want to get a Master's, and I have a general idea of where I'd like to go to grad school. LA, Boston, Ireland or Scotland. Beyond that, it's up to the school and scholarships.

Now, I am excited to get back to SC. I miss having people around me at all times. I miss drinking until I'm stupid, honestly. And I miss learning. Basically, I miss being a college student.

Getting started is always the hardest part.

Let me tell you a story. It's not an exciting story, but I feel that it's sort of indicative of much of my life.
I've been in Budapest for a week today. Our train to Warsaw, a night train, was leaving tonight at 10pm. Come 8:30pm, I looked at the ticket. The following conversation ensued:
"Hey, Lena, this ticket says 20:00. The train left half an hour ago."
*blank stare*
Yes, we managed to miss our train after spending the entire day in the apartment, doing nothing but packing. Obviously, life wants me to run out of money and starve away to nothing. Fortunately, we went to the train station and were able to get tickets for tomorrow morning's train (at $10 more than we spent before, but you do what you gotta). That's one less day we have in Warsaw and possibly dropping a city later on, but it's also a valuable life lesson learned: always check the ticket haha.
Other than that minor mishap, the time in Budapest has been fun. It's not really my type of city (large, dirty, decaying, incomprehensible signs in a foreign language), but I can see why people choose to study abroad here. The nightlife is basically never-ending, and there are lots of opportunities to live in a degree of splendor for an affordable amount of money. The baths are really nice, and the buildings would be super impressive if there were any degree of upkeep. Unfortunately, it seems like both the Nazis and the Soviets destroyed much of the pride of the Hungarian people in their nationality. Years and years of brutal occupation will do that, but it's hard to find redeeming qualities in a city like this when the people seem perpetually downtrodden. Still, maybe in 10 years, a new generation completely untouched by an occupying power will change the mentality here.
We've taken a couple of day trips: one to Bratislava, Slovakia, and the other to Eger, a small town in the wine producing region of Hungary. It rained both days, of course. Bratislava was a very nice place, well-kept and tiny. Eger, also tiny, had a lot of cheap wine as a definite upside. It was also clean and cute, in a Baroque way. The Hungarian countryside isn't generally all that nice, dotted with Soviet-era apartment blocks and crumbling, make-shift train stations. I don't know, I guess I'm just more contented in places that let me lead my typical American, charmed life, without reminding me how horrible people can be to others. I also appreciate people with a resiliency of spirit that the Hungarians just don't seem to have. I'm used to the Irish way of dealing with problems: make a joke and move on. There isn't a lot of laughter on the streets here. If you go to the baths or some other place for leisure, sure, people enjoy it. But day to day life seems to be more about straight up survival than just being happy to be alive. It's much, much different than Scotland.
I'm probably being unfair, but Eastern Europe is definitely not somewhere that I see myself ending up. Slavic stoicism is not my style. I expect that this will be one of those trips that makes me grateful that I grew up where and how and when I did.
Also, I am learning patience. I have to, otherwise I would DESTROY someone.
Time for bed, as I now have to wake up early in the morning and actually catch a train. Word.

More to a nigga's life than money and hos.

As it is now officially spring break, and I managed to pump out 4,000 words of academic drivel in less than 24 hours, I suppose I should update this, and you, on the state of my life.
First, I obviously don't remember exact details of the last 19 days, which means you miss out on all of the boring stuff. Lucky you guys. There is no structure beyond first. I'm too tired for that.
Mostly, I've been watching every episode of House ever and the occasional downloaded movie. Zodiac and The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford were both worth my time, and I'm not sure that I could make a definite decision as to which I liked better. They're totally different movies, and both played to some of my movie soft spots. I would like a tattoo of Jesse James' face. The real Jesse, not Brad Pitt in the role of... It's one of my absolute favorite stories of all time. And the folk song about his life (covered by the likes of the Pogues and Bruce Springsteen, if you've never heard it) is a brilliant piece of Americana. I will probably use it as a lullaby for some future child. Anyway, Zodiac bothered me for some indeterminate reasons, and I think Fincher was lazy in parts. Entertaining, though.
All of that media was a futile attempt to put off my essays indefinitely. It worked, in that I didn't actually start them until yesterday morning, leaving me until noon today to write 4,000 words, half on the symbolism of blood in insular art, and the other half on the Gupta and Chinese influences on Northern Qi Buddhist art. I turned them in at approximately 11:05 this morning, so well before the deadline. And I got 4ish hours of sleep and saw the sunrise. Rather, would have, had it not been so dreek (pertaining to weather, Google it). I think they're decent and will at least score a passing grade. Good enough.
Yesterday, between bouts of essay writing, I went on a field trip to one of the Historic Scotland labs to see Pictish stones being conserved/refurbished. It's one of those art historical considerations that you never really get to see or think about, so it was pretty awesome. I'd consider, and have done, a career in historic preservation. There's not much money in it, but it's pretty noble. I'm a big believer in making sure that some history is available to future generations. I also got the chance to talk to my teacher some in the taxi over to/bus back from the lab. I thought she was American, but it turns out that she's actually the product of an American Air Force cadet and a British mother, and she grew up on military bases in the UK and Europe. So technically American, but has only lived in the states for less than 10 years of her life. She had some interesting suggestions for what I should look at as possible thesis topics and said that she had exactly the same dilemma in school that I'm currently having (see: no fucking clue where my interests really lie). She also said that if I decide to apply for an internship at the Philly Museum of Art again (which I did last summer, and was summarily denied), I should ask her for a recommendation, because she has a friend who works there. That's a pretty sweet connection to have, so go me. If I end up going to grad school in two years, and find an internship during next school year, I'll definitely pursue that route.
Now, I am just waiting for Lena to get here. Her flight is supposed to land in Glasgow in a matter of minutes, and she should be in Edinburgh by dinner. Which is good, as I am already starving and have eaten all of my food. I think I have some frozen green beans left.
Speaking of food, sort of, I've eaten a disgusting amount of candy the past few days. I bought an assortment of little Cadbury chocolates the other night, because I anticipated needing them for paper writing. Two days later, I got a package from my grandmom with more Easter candy, as well as a small packet of rice cakes, a package of ramen, and some instant oatmeal. Also, lots and lots of Peeps and other fun things (like a deviled egg made out of chocolate that = awesome). Easter candy is by far my favorite. But yeah, I made the oatmeal, ramen, and rice cakes into meals to last for 3 days. That, plus 2 liters of Coke Zero and way, way too much candy. I should probably have gone into diabetic shock at some point.
And on to health matters, I had the distinct pleasure of dealing with the socialized health care system the other day. I thought I had an ear infection (I don't, but I had chronic ear infections when I was little leading to tubes being put in my ears blah blah blah I have an innate fear of them), so I decided to go to the campus health center. Basically, it was the same as the USC health center (crowded, noisy, etc), but more hectic. The only time for walk-ins is 9-10am, Monday to Friday. Total pain in the ass. I waited for about an hour and a half to be seen, and I was the second to last person in the waiting room. People who came in after me were seen before me. I don't really care, but that's like 100 times worse than my one experience with the USC health center. The doctors sort of had patients on an assembly line, calling the next patient as the previous one was walking out of his or her door. I know it doesn't sound that bad, but it was pretty stressful, haha. Erin claims that socialized health care fails in that it doesn't give doctors any incentive to actually figure out what's wrong with a patient. I'm all for the system, but, going by the get-you-in-and-out mentality that I saw, it definitely needs some consideration. I'd like to think that doctors don't need incentive beyond actually helping someone. I know, idealism. But the doctor was very nice, at least. I'm pretty sure I could more accurately diagnose my problem, and I would like that hour and a half of my life back, but whatever. Live and learn.
Now, I think I am going to watch more House, as I have no more class until August. Yeah, unh, whut.

If anyone asks, you got in a fight.

First, my horoscope for the day:

Don't let the current hesitant attitude of yours extend into your emotional life, because it's taking enough out of you already trying to work out which way to go with it all. A discussion with an informed friend helps you regain some clarity regarding your current situation.

That'll come into play later. I just wanted to get it out there for right now.
This weekend was London, obviously, and oh. my. God. This will be mostly incoherent, because I'm mostly incoherent. Also, there's reading/note taking that I should be doing for a presentation that I have to do next week, so of course I'm avoiding that. I predict a long post. Maybe even with some feelings, for your added enjoyment.
Thursday night: Whisky society meeting. Got pleasantly drunk, chatted with a few people, learned that The Sopranos = the international perception of New Jersey. It was amusing getting shit about that from an Irish guy and a Swedish guy though. Then, I came back here and packed for London. Drunk packing is a lot easier than normal packing. I already knew that, but it bears repeating. Of course, you then spend the whole journey there wondering what you might have forgotten in your stupor.
Friday: Train to London left at 11. It's approximately a 5 hour trip, through Newcastle, York, Doncaster, etc. Basically, farms and sheep. And the occasional nuclear power plant and cliff overlooking the sea. England is a beautiful country. I did the travel parts with the girl that I've been going out and doing stuff with every week, so it was an enjoyable ride. When we got to London (King's Cross woo), we successfully navigated the Tube to get to our hotel. I then successfully used a map to navigate the above-ground walk to the hotel. I was so proud of myself, you have no idea. The hotel was questionable, but USC paid for everything, so there are no complaints here. Ashley and I dropped our stuff off and then went to look for a bakery that her friend who was studying in London had recommended. Some more successful navigation meant that I got a delicious cupcake, and then we went back to the hotel to wait for dinner. More people from our group had arrived at that point, and we ran into 3 guys from SC as we were walking into the hotel, walking out. That detail is mostly pointless. Setting the scene. Anyway. More people. There were 3 of us in my room: Ashley (the girl that I've been hanging out with), me, and Chelsea (whom I'd met at the welcome dinner, and is a Tri-Delt). No en-suite bathrooms, whatever. Sitting in the room waiting for it to be 7pm so we can meet the USC UK liaison (John Sharkey, a nice British guy who enjoys getting drunk with us and spending USC's money), there is a knock at the door. I answer it, and a guy asks for fire in French. I realize he wants a lighter, say sorry, and move on. A little later, a greasy looking Italian guy (not racist, totally accurate description) knocks on the door with a bottle of champagne and asks us to drink with them. Uh, nope. Sorry. Finally, time for dinner. A group of us go to a pub, since there is an hour before our dinner reservation, and the guys drink while the girls (some of the London students joined us) talk. Pansy, I know. For dinner, we go to a brasserie attached to a hotel near ours (I have this thing against restaurants attached to hotels, ask me about it sometime if you have time to listen to me complain), the food takes forever, we get through two bottles of wine before the appetizers. There are 9 of us eating. Two more bottles appear later. I know this is nothing compared to typical 4 people/5 bottle parties, but I was drunk enough that the food went from passable to delicious. After dinner, some of us went back to the same pub that we were at before, while Ashley and Chelsea went back to the hotel and went to bed. This is the sort of hotel where you have to turn in your one key every time you leave, so there had to be some strategizing about how I would get back into the room. Apparently, pubs in central London have last call at 11pm, so it was an early night. Getting back in the room was fun though, because everything was noisy, and I, of course, was trying to be a quiet drunk.
Okay, to be perfectly frank, I'm boring myself. There's something that I actually want to talk about, so let's just move on to that.
See that tag at the bottom that says "geology?" I have completely and inexplicably fallen in love with an SC geologist. This is why my horoscope is at the top there. If you're reading all of this, consider yourself an "informed friend," and discuss. Because, as you'll soon see, I am over-thinking this, per usual. His name is Glenn, he's a junior, doesn't live in the Rock House but knows everyone else there (which, duh. There are approximately 12 geologists, and we know everyone in the Rock House). When I walked out of the hotel to meet the rest of the group out front before dinner, he introduced himself and promptly explained to us how he'd received the nice looking gash and bump above his right eyebrow. Apparently, he got to the hotel, got ready to go exploring in the few hours he had before dinner, and promptly got hit in the face with a door by a non-English speaking porter. He then had to go lie down for 2 hours, to stop his head bleeding and throbbing. Seriously. Immediately, I am endeared. He sat next to me at dinner and at the pub afterwards, so we talked a lot. His mom is from Jersey, and he grew up going to the Jersey Shore every year (though he lived in Baton Rouge until his senior year of high school and then in Texas). The universe is somehow responsible for this, obviously. And I've inserted these tidbits of info here, because it matters to Saturday's events.
Saturday: Woke up early for breakfast (which I'm not even going to discuss because it was the worst ever). Ate, Glenn came down and sat with me and my roommates. Had an hour between breakfast and when we had to leave for the Globe Theater tour, so my roommates and I went back upstairs and watched the news. British news, even on Saturday mornings, far surpasses anything on American stations ever. We left the hotel, and I spent the rest of the morning strategically positioning myself as we were walking in our big group to the Globe and getting intensely jealous when anyone else was where I wanted to be. Guys, this is rapidly becoming terrible. I'm going to need to tone it down. Anyway. We toured the Globe, which was awesome. I would really like to see a play there because, as the tour guide said, it's like being inside a giant wooden instrument. The acoustics are unbelievable. After the Globe, everyone else had time to go off and do their own thing. Ashley was going to go off and meet her friend who was in London, which she of course invited me to do. I said I'd think about it, we all went to look at the exhibit that's attached to the Globe. At the end of that, there was a partial group meeting, one of those "anyone else want to do what I want to do" things. Glenn mentioned the British Museum, which we'd been talking about with some Arch students at the pub on Friday night. Obvs, when he asked if anyone else was up for that, I said yes. Another kid was going to go with us, but then decided to go with Ashley instead, as she was going to do stuff outdoors, and it was a gorgeous day. The universe is in my favor right now, apparently. I will have to continue to sacrifice babies or something (less funny because it's kind of true, disregard). Glenn and I went looking for the nearest Tube stop, met a singing porter who advised us of a better route and sang snippets of Neil Diamond and Johnny Cash for us, found the better route, and promptly got lost exiting the Tube. The Tube is awesome, but the maps are only really handy underground. Once you get above ground, you're on your own. So we had a mini-adventure, involving walking in a great big circle and being rude to a lady handing out Scientology pamphlets in front of the Scientology Centre. Like being in LA, but with the wrong spelling. Finally, we figured out where we needed to go, did so, and rewarded ourselves with Korean food for lunch- satisfying a serious craving that I'd been having. We then went to the British Museum, and I'm really not sure that I can actually talk about it. It was everything that I'd hoped and more. For those who don't know, I put on my USC application that my dream job was curator at the British Museum.
After the museum, we had to get to a theater in Piccadilly Circus for a play (The 39 Steps). Cue another adventure. Once again, Glenn and I got off the Tube and went the wrong direction above ground. Quite a team, really. But we got to the theater with like 5 minutes to spare, so, success. And our seats were next to each other (well, one apart, so I just took the empty one next to him since it was a small part of our USC group that had all of the seats around us), and the universe is again on my side. At the play, I ran into a girl that I'd studied with in Dijon, so we talked the whole way to, and then through, dinner. Made tentative plans to go back to Dijon in our free time this semester, which will be super nice. It'll be nice to hang out with her again when the other students come up to Edinburgh later this month. Glenn tried out his more exciting injury story on her at dinner, telling an involved tale about a Scottish pub and supporting an English team. We helped him make it more believable. On a semi-related note, Glenn lives in a "flat" with 11 freshmen guys (it sounds like a suite, really), and he was saying that they want to have an "around the world" party that weekend, because his flatmates have become obsessed with that idea since he mentioned it one time. Hilarious.
Post dinner, people once again got to do their own thing. Most of us had been drinking at dinner (I had two Sapporos, as it was a trendy Asian restaurant), so obviously the drinking had to continue. Glenn, two other guys (John and Matt [also in T.O., though I've never had class with them]), and I went to a liquor store, bought shitty wine, and went back to the hotel. They showered, I watched some NCIS, and then we reconvened to pregame before we decided what we wanted to do for the evening (it was approximately 8pm at this point). They all shared a room, along with the one other guy from my program that went down to London, and he came in as we were drinking and said that he was staying with some friends somewhere else that night. Sweet. We headed out and essentially got off the Tube at a completely arbitrary stop, chosen by Matt. We walked for like a block and found a pub that was actually open until 1am. Our evening was decided. And what an evening it was. Tequila shots were involved. Matt's from Boston, John from the Bay Area, so it was the sort of mixed group of Americans that makes for great times. I should mention that the Tube closes at 11:30, which we knew going into this. At midnight, we were all wasted, so we decided to go back to the hotel and finish our shitty wine. We walked forever, ended up back in Piccadilly, and had to say fuck it and take a cab because we never would have gotten back otherwise. The driver offered to sell us weed ahaha. We were drunk enough to say no. We got back to the hotel and stayed up until I don't even know drinking our wine. Either 4 or 5am. Glenn got into bed and John put shaving cream on his face. Ah, boys. I laughed harder that night than I have in months. It was so nice. And drunk. Jesus. In total, I had the 2 Sapporos, 3 pints and a tequila shot at the pub, and 7/8 of my bottle of wine (we each got our own at the liquor store, because we knew it was going to be one of those nights).
Sunday: Woke up at an ungodly hour for breakfast again, still drunk. Ate and packed everything up, left our bags with the front desk, and Ashley, Chelsea, and I went and saw Westminster Abbey and then Kensington Gardens. It was another beautiful day, so we really just wanted to do stuff that would allow us to walk around outside. I then got hungover, so the sun and mild weather were nice. Went back to the hotel, picked up our stuff, and headed to King's Cross to catch our trains. Ashley and I had one half an hour later than Chelsea's, so we spent our extra time taking a couple of pictures at the Platform 9 3/4 thing that they have. So cute. 2:30 rolled around, and we started the long ride back to Edinburgh. I pretty promptly passed out, because, yeah. 3 hours of sleep will do that. It's funny, because Ashley and Chelsea were both like "How are you awake right now?" throughout the day. Band has trained me well. When I got home, I waited forever for my mom to call so I could go to bed, and she didn't. So I finally called her at 11:30 and said wtf, basically. Thanks, Mom. We took care of all of the involved stuff for the apartment application for next year, and she told me that my family is still looking into coming over here during Easter. Then I finally went to bed at around 12:30.
Today: Skipped my 9am Buddhist Art lecture, and I refuse to be blamed for that. I needed the sleep, and attendance at lectures isn't kept. And the class powerpoints are put online, so it's really not even that academically irresponsible of me. Went grocery shopping. Went to my other class. Worked for a little while on the presentation that's due next week, since the library has recalled the book that I need to do it with (so annoying). I have until Thursday to read 150 pages. Easy. I had Indian takeaway for dinner, which was delicious, and I have leftovers that will last forever. Good day.
That's a run down of everything in my life. The things that need slightly more depth still are 1) Glenn and 2) my family visiting.
1) Glenn: I've said a lot already, but I think another thing that bears mentioning is how easy it is to talk to him. There were very, very few awkward silences of any sort while we were hanging out. Some of that was because I was talking too much out of nervousness, as I do, but he talked too. There were a few times where one of us would say something and the other would immediately say that they were just about to say that or were just thinking about that same thing. That means absolutely nothing, but it's so rare for that to happen with someone that I've just met. And it was random stuff, like how it seems that there's no unspoken rule for which way you should step when you confront someone going the other way on the sidewalk here (seriously, there seem to be a lot more awkward run-ins here, and not just between foreigners and Brits, but Brits and Brits too). We have sort of plans to go to a football match here on Sunday, as you Facebook stalkers have probably seen, so I'm pretty excited about that. Okay, enough of him for now.
2) My family: I am so stoked (yes, stoked) that my family are probably coming to visit. It's really a shame that they can't come any other time, as that's part of my Spring Break, and I've had to tentatively cancel my plans to go to the Iberian Peninsula with Lena (seriously, sorry again about that), but I think it will be amazing to be able to show them around here. It always makes me sort of sad to know that I've done more extensive traveling than my father has, because I feel like it's something that he would enjoy so much. When he was young, he did a lot of traveling in the US and some in Canada, but he's never been to Europe. So much of my personality and so many of my interests come from him that it's an opportunity I would love for him to have. My brother is supposed to go to Germany with his class next year, and if that were to happen with my dad still never having been to Europe, I think it would secretly destroy him a little. He's very proud of us and glad that we've had the opportunities that we have, but can you imagine your children both getting to do something like going to Europe when you haven't? It's probably terrible. My mom went to Czechoslovakia in high school, so she's seen a little bit, but this is something else entirely. They're looking into airfares now, which is good. Approximately 2 weeks ago, they were fairly set on not coming. I have no idea what happened back home between then and now, but I'm glad it did happen. I sort of suspect that my dad keeps pushing this, which, good for him. This is the home of golf and Scotch, after all.

I am being so ridiculously sentimental right now. Holy fuck. I'm sorry for making that so long, but it was a bunch of stuff that I'd like to remember forever. Well, some of it. The rest is stuff that my horoscope said that I should discuss. If you read all of it, do what I do and blame the universe. Now I really do have to do some work. I'll put pictures up tomorrow, I'm sure. I'm too tired of typing to do the whole captioning thing right now. Something else for you to look forward to.

And Erin's back on AIM for me to harass, so that's that. Peace, fuckers.

- C

EDIT: Since I've been asked already, and to head off anymore stealth photo requests, here:


Far left, guys. And yeah, all of my pants are too big now. We'll not even get into that. Also, I am apparently tall-ish. Hah. Sweet. Posting this picture makes me feel slightly less creepy than stealing one from Facebook would. Next time you see Brad, get him to log into Facebook for you or something. Tell him it's research. They are obviously friends.

Further comment responses: No, Erin, I haven't found a boy for you yet. Unless the Scottish economist will do.

<3s.>

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

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