Well I made it to Edinburgh in one piece. Unfortunetly I left the cord that lets me upload pictures to my computer back in Atlanta, so this will be a picture-free post (as will all my entires until the cord arrives in my mailbox courtesy mom and dad).
Anyway. The three of us arrived a bit over a week ago (not last Wednesday, but the one before) and spent some quality time arguing over what I would be needing for my apartment and so forth. We did fine with that, but generally failed in the department of finding good food. We had a great meal at the Tower, a restaurant above the New Museum of Scotland. Fantastic fish pie.
I moved in last Saturday. I'm living in University housing, in a flat with 4 roommates. My room is generically boring and pathetic looking (minus about 15 photos on the wall) with a pale blue sheet set provided (seriously, I hate baby blue). So far, I have yet to actually have a single good night of sleep on the bizarre lump of a pillow I have, even after stuffing sweatshirts, scarves, and towels underneath it. I'll keep hoping though.
My roommates are an interesting mix (all nice at least!). There is one English girl (from York) who's fairly funky and loves to party. The other three are Americans: one is from Connecticut (I like her a lot, she's probably the most like me - the only difference being that she's not signing up for any clubs and stuff at all. I just find that strange. Whatever.); one is from near Chicago (she's a really nice girl, though not into going out really at all. International Relations major too. I haven't seen her all that much really); one is from the Midwest, which should say a lot in itself (she never stops talking and shares things that don't need sharing. terrible fashion sense. my greatest desire so far is to give her a total makeover. her goal is to find a boy while here, which should be interesting to watch. never really went out before coming here from some godforsaken school in iowa or something. ew.)
But what do I really think? Haha. We do all get along though, and everyone is actually really nice. We had a roommate dinner on our first night together (and actually managed to make pasta disgusting --- apparently there are switches to turn on ranges over here). I've been hanging out with the Connecticut one mostly. Fresher's Week really only seems to encompass excessive amounts of drinking at obscene hours for most people. I've been to bars and clubs, but (disappointingly) haven't spent time at a pub (not for lack of hinting that's how I'd like to spend my night either). I'll make it happen later. Other than that, there are tons of events going on. I was nearly crushed to death attempting to get on a tour of the castle. It was interesting to see and a good way to meet more people. Every other interesting thing I've tried to take part in has not happened. Everything fills up at least an hour early. I am just not dedicated enough to get up at 8am to go to the zoo at 10.30 or stand in line for 3 hours for a ghost tour. What kind of lives do you people lead that this is a worthwhile enterprise?
Instead I spend my time getting up early, arguing with my bank, running into the walls in my apartment because the lights are still off, and staring at my toast when all I really want is some delicious bacon before heading back to bed about 4 hours later. Mornings have never been my forte to say the least.
Evenings have been interesting. People start going out at about 8.30pm, which is beyond early. It's just bizarre. What's the fun in going somewhere when it's empty? We've been to places that were fun, places that were pathetic, places with horrible DJs, places with fantastic DJs (it's all mostly techno though, not that it bothers me), places with drunken Scots trying to talk to me (seriously, I cannot understand at all), places far far away from where we were trying to get, places full of everything bad in the human race (I pray for genetic dead-ends), expensive places, and even the occasional cheap place. The unions have more bars that should be respectable for university-owned property. It's all interesting.
Most of the people I've met so far have actually been Americans (many of whom I'm embaressed to be seen with). Failing that, they're usually English. I've even met a fair amount of Scandinavians. Still hunting for the elusive Scot though. Seriously, do they all hide together in some secret society? The only ones I've met en-masse are family, at a giant lunch my aunt had. I actually have three cousins studying in Edinburgh at the moment too, and one of them drove all of us there. It's strange to see so many people that I'm actually related to. Really nice though. Hopefully I'll see some of them again before leaving in December.
I've got my classes all sorted out and am sort of waiting for them to start. There's only so many times I can actually go out in one week before I have to start sleeping again. It's a night off tonight for me. Maybe a bad choice, with it being Friday and everything, but it feels wonderful to lounge for a while. I've signed up for a couple of organizations (we'll see what I actually end up doing). I'm hoping to windsurf while I'm here (provide I don't freeze immediately upon contact with Scottish waters). I may try to get a bartending job depending on what my schedule looks like. Right now I only have three days of classes.
I should probably spend the free time working on my cooking time-management. I've had several unfortunate issues so far owing to the fact that I don't start cooking until I'm actually hungry. How was I supposed to know how long it takes a baked potato to cook? I've eaten baked and sweet potatos semi-raw and failed at defrosting chicken breasts. Actually, there's not much in my fridge besides condiments at the moment. I've already eaten my way through a bag of frozen peas. There's some lentil pie in the freezer, but it tastes a bit funny and I'm not sure why. Cooking is hard when skills are limited. I can roast things, saute things, and cook pasta. That's about it. I'm going to chalk it up to a failure for mom here. Thanks a lot mom for being such a great teacher (seriously, I need help - I'm dreading the inevitable future of pasta and handfuls of frozen peas).
It's been an interesting start.
Anyway. The three of us arrived a bit over a week ago (not last Wednesday, but the one before) and spent some quality time arguing over what I would be needing for my apartment and so forth. We did fine with that, but generally failed in the department of finding good food. We had a great meal at the Tower, a restaurant above the New Museum of Scotland. Fantastic fish pie.
I moved in last Saturday. I'm living in University housing, in a flat with 4 roommates. My room is generically boring and pathetic looking (minus about 15 photos on the wall) with a pale blue sheet set provided (seriously, I hate baby blue). So far, I have yet to actually have a single good night of sleep on the bizarre lump of a pillow I have, even after stuffing sweatshirts, scarves, and towels underneath it. I'll keep hoping though.
My roommates are an interesting mix (all nice at least!). There is one English girl (from York) who's fairly funky and loves to party. The other three are Americans: one is from Connecticut (I like her a lot, she's probably the most like me - the only difference being that she's not signing up for any clubs and stuff at all. I just find that strange. Whatever.); one is from near Chicago (she's a really nice girl, though not into going out really at all. International Relations major too. I haven't seen her all that much really); one is from the Midwest, which should say a lot in itself (she never stops talking and shares things that don't need sharing. terrible fashion sense. my greatest desire so far is to give her a total makeover. her goal is to find a boy while here, which should be interesting to watch. never really went out before coming here from some godforsaken school in iowa or something. ew.)
But what do I really think? Haha. We do all get along though, and everyone is actually really nice. We had a roommate dinner on our first night together (and actually managed to make pasta disgusting --- apparently there are switches to turn on ranges over here). I've been hanging out with the Connecticut one mostly. Fresher's Week really only seems to encompass excessive amounts of drinking at obscene hours for most people. I've been to bars and clubs, but (disappointingly) haven't spent time at a pub (not for lack of hinting that's how I'd like to spend my night either). I'll make it happen later. Other than that, there are tons of events going on. I was nearly crushed to death attempting to get on a tour of the castle. It was interesting to see and a good way to meet more people. Every other interesting thing I've tried to take part in has not happened. Everything fills up at least an hour early. I am just not dedicated enough to get up at 8am to go to the zoo at 10.30 or stand in line for 3 hours for a ghost tour. What kind of lives do you people lead that this is a worthwhile enterprise?
Instead I spend my time getting up early, arguing with my bank, running into the walls in my apartment because the lights are still off, and staring at my toast when all I really want is some delicious bacon before heading back to bed about 4 hours later. Mornings have never been my forte to say the least.
Evenings have been interesting. People start going out at about 8.30pm, which is beyond early. It's just bizarre. What's the fun in going somewhere when it's empty? We've been to places that were fun, places that were pathetic, places with horrible DJs, places with fantastic DJs (it's all mostly techno though, not that it bothers me), places with drunken Scots trying to talk to me (seriously, I cannot understand at all), places far far away from where we were trying to get, places full of everything bad in the human race (I pray for genetic dead-ends), expensive places, and even the occasional cheap place. The unions have more bars that should be respectable for university-owned property. It's all interesting.
Most of the people I've met so far have actually been Americans (many of whom I'm embaressed to be seen with). Failing that, they're usually English. I've even met a fair amount of Scandinavians. Still hunting for the elusive Scot though. Seriously, do they all hide together in some secret society? The only ones I've met en-masse are family, at a giant lunch my aunt had. I actually have three cousins studying in Edinburgh at the moment too, and one of them drove all of us there. It's strange to see so many people that I'm actually related to. Really nice though. Hopefully I'll see some of them again before leaving in December.
I've got my classes all sorted out and am sort of waiting for them to start. There's only so many times I can actually go out in one week before I have to start sleeping again. It's a night off tonight for me. Maybe a bad choice, with it being Friday and everything, but it feels wonderful to lounge for a while. I've signed up for a couple of organizations (we'll see what I actually end up doing). I'm hoping to windsurf while I'm here (provide I don't freeze immediately upon contact with Scottish waters). I may try to get a bartending job depending on what my schedule looks like. Right now I only have three days of classes.
I should probably spend the free time working on my cooking time-management. I've had several unfortunate issues so far owing to the fact that I don't start cooking until I'm actually hungry. How was I supposed to know how long it takes a baked potato to cook? I've eaten baked and sweet potatos semi-raw and failed at defrosting chicken breasts. Actually, there's not much in my fridge besides condiments at the moment. I've already eaten my way through a bag of frozen peas. There's some lentil pie in the freezer, but it tastes a bit funny and I'm not sure why. Cooking is hard when skills are limited. I can roast things, saute things, and cook pasta. That's about it. I'm going to chalk it up to a failure for mom here. Thanks a lot mom for being such a great teacher (seriously, I need help - I'm dreading the inevitable future of pasta and handfuls of frozen peas).
It's been an interesting start.
hey hey hey don't go bashing the midwest!! we're not all bad!! haha. sounds like you're having kind of a rough start, but i'm sure it will get better soon!! in no time you will be surrounded by charming young scotsmen (picture a young sean connery) popping out of the woodwork to eat your bruschetta and lentil shepherd's pie! send me your address sometime soon so i can send you a postcard! xoxo luisa
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