cheeky. brilliant. wrecked: getting to know the UK lingo.

Today marks the anniversary of my tumultuous arrival in Edinburgh three weeks ago. I really cannot believe it has only been that long because most days I feel like I have lived here ages. Between all of the administrative tasks of moving and the program responsibilities starting just days after arrival, I really had no choice but to get settled quickly. The experience of being an international student versus a semester abroad student has also been very different and has contributed to me feeling more like I live here. I haven't had a program director to help me find my way around or to take me sightseeing, nor am I part of an instant American group of friends. As you all know by now, I very much like finding my way around new places so the independence has been positive. Really, the only 'difficult' part has been understanding the local lingo. Many times during conversations I find myself wondering what the heck they are talking about usually because they use words in a context I am not familiar with. Like 'I am so wrecked [tired]' or 'do you have a plaster [band aid]'.

my street

Classes are going brilliantly as well. Everything has been full speed from day one. No 'syllabus' days here; they expect you to have the readings done for the first class and they dive right into material. When I break my tuition down into a per class amount I guess I am glad I am getting the most for my money! The majority of my classes are comprised of a weekly lecture portion and then a tutorial, which is like a small group geared towards discussion. There is little in class time but a lot of independent reading. My grade will be determined by only one or two papers per class. I am slightly nervous for the papers only because they will be much different from the style of business papers I did at Truman and the writing style in general is different in the UK, as is some grammar, spelling, citation, etc.

Very late but here is my room! Pretty basic and a bit drab...

I am still finding time to fit touristy outings in. Last weekend two flatmates and I toured Holyrood Palace which is where the Queen stays during her visits to Edinburgh. The Palace construction began back in the 16th century and was home to royalty such as Bonnie Prince Charlie and Mary Queen of Scots. We unfortunately were not allowed to take pictures inside. Holyrood Abbey also sits on the property and though it is just ruins now, it was quite magnificent to see. It was founded back in 1128 making it almost one thousand years old!

Holyrood Palace

Holyrood Abbey ruins

More to come soon! Xxxx

Twas the Night Before School Started

Tomorrow will be my (20th) first day of school! I never thought I would be saying that again but here I am! I will be taking Politics & Theories of International Development, Cultures of Human Rights & Humanitarianism, and Development Research Methods during Semester 1. Semester 2 starts in mid-January and will consist of Gender & Development, Governance, Development & Poverty in Africa, and Development & Economics. Then, from early April until late August I will be writing my dissertation and hopefully doing an internship somewhere.

Over the weekend I hiked up Calton Hill which has a bunch of monuments on top of it as well as spectacular views of Edinburgh!

I also went on a Harry Potter tour over the weekend. For those of you HP fans, you might be jealous because I stood on Tom Riddle's grave and saw the building that inspired Hogwarts. I felt kind of silly going on the tour, especially as wands were handed out, but the girl giving it turned out to be awesome and I learned a lot about the city as well as the book and author.

Have to keep the update short - lots of reading left for my first day of class!

Becoming a local.

I have been here six full days at this point but it truly feels much, much longer. I have settled in quite quickly and things are definitely going smoother now than when I wrote my previous post.

I used Sunday and Monday to wander around Edinburgh, get my bearings and take in the touristy attractions of the city. I did not notice the beauty of the city my first afternoon here but once I stepped out of my flat I couldn’t help but see how uniquely picturesque it is. The old (up to a thousand years) buildings are almost magical and beyond anything you would be able to find in the US. The sheer size and detail of these building just boggles my mind considering how long ago they were built. I constantly find myself feeling as if I am walking through a movie set or perhaps Harry Potter's Hogwarts. 

The past few days I have had introductory meetings for my College (College of Humanities and Social Sciences), School (School of Social and Political Science), Centre (Centre for African Studies) and Programme (MSc in Africa and International Development). In addition I have had to register with a doctor, set up a bank account, set up a phone plan, get my baggage back from British Air, pay my tuition (so painful) and other various administrative tasks necessary to get myself established here. Every single one of those tasks ended up being way more complicated and lengthy than anticipated but I am happy that I now have them out of the way. It has been a lot to take in but I can honestly say it has been an easy transition for me thus far and I can already tell that I will gain so much from my upcoming experience. 

One thing that has helped is that I am very happy with my flat mates. There are six of us, all postgraduate international students.  Sarah and Amy are both from the States, the first an English Lit major and the later an International Business major. Evie is from Puerto Rico and is studying Animal Behavior. There is another girl from South Korea who is studying Sustainable Energy. The sixth girl is from India and I am not quite sure what she is here for. We each have our own room but share two bathrooms, a kitchen and tiny dining/living area. We are a pretty diverse group but I guess the fact that we are studying here means we have a lot in common as well.

While the city of Edinburgh itself is still growing on me, I am already in love with the University atmosphere. I keep questioning how I ended up here because everyone else seems so intelligent and interesting! So many great people entered this college before me; Sir Walter Scott, Alexander Graham Bell, Julius Nyerere, Charles Darwin, David Hume. The list of notable alum is truly impressive. The people I will be studying alongside all seem great as well. There are about 20 people in my programme and they come from all over the world. Some are recent college grads like me with little 'real world' experience, others have worked for many years and just now decided to go back to school or change careers. We have someone who has worked in the mental health field for 30+ years and another guy that has worked on aerospace engineering for quite some time - so we definitely come from varied backgrounds.

Alive in Scotland - Just Barely

First things first, I made it safely to Edinburgh! Mission accomplished!

Now to the adventurous part - the journey! I assumed, having traveled to South Africa (the land of no time consciousness) and back multiple times now, that a 'quick' flight to orderly Scotland would be no big deal. My first wrong. My bad luck started out from the very beginning! My flight out of Saint Louis was delayed an hour and a half just as we were backing out of the gate so of course we got to just sit on the plane. That 50 minute flight turned into 3 hours of sitting. I was left with 10 minutes to catch my connecting flight in Chicago. So I pulled a Home Alone and ran through the terminal just making it to the gate to be one of the last ones to board. At this point I'm sweating profusely and coughing up a lung due to a current cold but so proud to have made it. Turns out there is a mechanical failure on that plane. Glad I hurried to get on! We sit for over 2 hours, again not allowed off the flight. Once we have finally taken off, the flight from Chicago to London goes well until we go to land and there is too much air traffic so we have to circle the city multiple times. By the time I finally get off the plane in London, I have about 35 minutes to change terminals (have to take a 10+ minute bus ride there), go through security and customs, and make it to my final gate which, as usual, is a good hike. I thought for sure it was impossible. Luckily I got some bright orange 'Express Connection' pass and teamed up with another girl in my situation and we again set out running. I'm in boots and have two pretty heavy bags; I look ridiculous. I really knew I should have gotten in shape over the summer! In the end we somehow made the flight and touched down in Edinburgh 2 minutes AHEAD of schedule - even after all that!

I had finally landed! And early at that! Things had to go swimmingly from here on, right? Another wrong. I go wait at the luggage carousel and one of my bags come but not the other - the other that happens to have ALL my jeans and pants, the majority of my makeup and toiletries, and my jackets. The British Air people say they will 'try' to find it and 'maybe' have it delivered tomorrow. Thanks? So then the whole taxi situation is hectic because there are a TON of students arriving this weekend. I get one though and the guy takes me to get my flat key and then to my flat. I hand him my credit card to pay (I had specifically asked the company that arranged the taxi if credit card payment was an option and they assured me that it was) and he tells me he only takes cash. So he drives me to an ATM all the while racking up more money I owe him. For some reason none of my cards will go through. He takes me to another ATM, same thing. Not only am I worried about being completely money-less in a foreign country but also having to rely on this taxi driver to get me where I need to go without having any way to pay him. I get in the taxi about to cry and he says he will now take the credit card. I'm still confused.

So at this point it's about 3 in the afternoon (Saturday) when I finally stumble into my room. Like Scotland, it's pretty dreary. I realize I won't sleep unless I get bedding and spruce the place up so I immediately head out in search of IKEA. Thanks to a bunch of really friendly locals (most of whom I barely understood), I was able to find an ATM that worked, a business to exchange my paper money for coins (bus only takes exact fare), the bus stop, the correct bus to get on and the correct stop to get off at for IKEA. IKEA is overwhelming in and of itself but I managed to gather up the basics for the night. I think it was me and about 200 Asian international students shopping. 

Anyway, that about sums up the hectic parts of my journey. On the up side, I did just meet my 5 other flat mates a short while ago and they are extremely friendly and normal! Hopefully I will start getting to know them better tomorrow!

All in all Scotland is a beautiful place but I can't say I have fallen in love at first sight as I did with Cape Town/Stellenbosch. Could just be the rough entry, not sure yet. It's pretty dreary and the whole city seems to be brown. On top of that I haven't met Prince Harry or J.K. Rowling yet. What a let down!

I'll post pictures soon!