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.

Packing doesn't get any easier with less stuff.

My time here has come to an end. This is really strange, both to write and to think about. I'm trying to figure out what to put in a "wrap-up" post, and it's nearly impossible. I mean, to me it doesn't really seem that different from finishing up a semester at 'SC, except, of course, I'm in Scotland. I've learned, both in classes and in day-to-day existence, about myself and the world. I can tell you more about lots of things than I could before, and I can make unfair generalizations about more groups of people than I could before haha. Mostly, I'm content.
I am super thrilled that I did this, as studying abroad has been one of my goals for as long as I can remember. I hope that I pass all of my classes (haha I'm pretty sure I will), because that's all I need to do for USC to count them. Hopefully I didn't fuck anything up that would cause me to have to stay for an extra year or anything. I can't imagine that I did. I didn't really expect the British university system to be as different from that of the US as it is. I guess that's the one thing that really stuck out to me here. British students do a lot more self-teaching, and, at least in upper level honors courses, there aren't many grades. You have a paper and an exam, maybe something else. Everything is graded anonymously, and exams are taken in large rooms with students from one or two other classes, proctored like US standardized tests. I think the interactions between students and professors are similar, though maybe more formal. People don't tend to get really friendly with their professors as some US students do. I can't really say which system I like better, but I'm leaning towards the American system. Mostly because I like the structure of lots of assignments, more class discussion, more access to professors. Better grades, haha. That's another thing that I don't understand about university here: the grading system. It goes from 0-100, like ours, but at least in my departments, a grade from 100-70 is an A (they have different designations, 1-3). 60-69 would be a B, 50-50 C, etc etc down to H. I got an A3, a couple of Bs, and one C so far, and my finals haven't been graded yet. I think it's nearly impossible to get anything in the A1 or A2 category though, so I don't really know why they exist. Grading tends to be ridiculously harsh here. Granted, all of my courses are upper level courses, which means a lot more here than it does at home.
Anyway, that's what I have to say about education. Living here has been fantastic, though I wish it were warmer sometimes. I really like the Scottish people, as they tend to be pleasant and generous and happy (generalizations, see?). I also love the European mindset, as it is about 2958295 times less uptight than that of most Americans. I like living in a country where sex and alcohol aren't the hugest concerns in people's lives, and people care what politicians and world leaders are doing. It's nice to know that the entire world isn't close-minded and sheltered. There are problems here, as there are anywhere, but they seem to be less pressing when people seem genuinely glad to be alive.
As for what I've been doing since returning from vacation: nothing, punctuated by short bursts of studying and exam taking. I'm now a senior, as far as school goes, whatever band may say. I get one fun summer of no worries (except for my dangerously emptying bank account), and then I have to face THE FUTURE. But, I have one more thing to put on my resume to seem worldly and cultured, so there's another good things about all this. I've discovered that Gossip Girl might not actually be the evil that I assumed it to be (only because Chuck has my heart, with his unrepentant ways and clever smirk), and I've both read and watched Pride and Prejudice (the new one, not so good, despite a damn fine Mr. Darcy). I liked the book, though, which was a surprise to me. I watched PS. I Love You and cried a whole bunch because it reminded me of my dad (I have issues, yeah). I did genuinely like it though, as a cleverly charming sort of movie. I went and got my hair cut today, meaning I chopped it all off. I think it's shorter than it's ever been in my life. Well, in the back anyway. I'm sure there will be pictures once I start traveling (in 2 days wooo). I had to do something to get my money's worth, as it was the most expensive haircut that I've ever gotten. Not too bad though, less than $40. I just never pay more than $15. And by I, I mean my parents, because I don't pay to get haircuts.
Now, I just have to pack, which I so don't want to do. I have one little box, mostly full of British candy for the fam, to mail home. I have a bunch of crap to either donate or throw away. I have to divide my clothes and possessions into "going on my travels" or "staying here." I have to drop a suitcase off at a friend's flat, because she's generously agreed to store it for me while I'm gallivanting around Europe. I have to go to the library to return a couple of books and print some last minute things. I have to do one more load of laundry and thoroughly clean my room for the final inspection. And then I have to get to Glasgow Prestwick Airport by noon on Sunday, as I fly out at 2:10pm. And then Budapest. I have tonight and tomorrow to devote to these things, so I am completely unconcerned.
That, friends, is the end of my life in Edinburgh. I love this city, with all of my heart, and look forward to coming back someday (besides the couple of days in June haha). But I also look forward to what's ahead, and getting home, more than I can possibly express.
The last blog entry from Edinburgh, over.