Loving Edinburgh

I have found a flat! I meet with the landlady on Friday to make sure we're on the same page and if all goes well I can move in on Saturday! I will be living with 3 other postgraduate students:  2 girls from Italy who will be studying at the University of Edinburgh and 1 boy from Spain who is taking up accounting at Herion-Watt University.  The flat is at the southeast corner of the city, with a bustop to QMU at it's doorstep and well within walking distance of the centre, groceries, bank, pubs etc! I'm going just over what I had budgeted for a room, in part because it is so conveniently located but also because the room is HUGE and crying out to host visitors....I'll say no more.

On Monday night, Ronnie and Careen who have lived next door to Jackie and Ken for 30+ years invited the 3 of us over to dinner.  We had a phenomenal time, and ate and drank VERY well (Careen is a great cook!) I have realized through nights like this one, where I am being asked many questions about the USA, that in order to be a good ambassador I need to brush up on aspects of my own country!  I enjoy engaging these conversations, and asking questions about Scotland and Britain in return, but I am afraid that I am not as knowledgable as I should be in some areas- particularly government.  I am reading and watching the news daily, a habit I wish I had developed sooner!  I have been asked quite a bit about ObamaCare, about our healthcare system, our educational system and about our election process.  I am slowly getting a handle on Parliament, the Royal Family, the NHS, and the University process in Scotland.  To me, nights like this one are what make studying abroad such an invaluable growth experience!

With the accommodation issue almost settled, I took the whole sunny day yesterday to enjoy exploring the city.  I made it up the 287 steps (small, tight spiral staircase...meeting others on the way up or down was very...intimate) of the Sir Walter Scott monument, which yielded the most stunning views of Edinburgh (see pictures below!) I visited the National Museum, National Library and other galleries/museums, but did not spend enough time in any of them (couldn't be inside on a rare sunny day!!)

St Giles Cathedral (one of many in the city)

Sir Walter Scott Monument



View of Holyrood Palace from top of Scott monument

View of Edinburgh Castle and National Gallery



Princes Steet (main Street in Edinburgh) and Gardens

I matriculate at QMU this coming Monday, and the next Sunday (Sept 9th) begins 'Freshers Week'.  I just received a mailing, detailing all of the events for this pre-classes activity week.  Sunday opens with a Ceilidh (traditional Scottish dance) and the week is full of foam parties, bar crawls, day trips, club/sports fair, comedy shows and night clubs.  Not knowing anyone, I am considering buying the 'Fresher's Wristband' for free access/tickets to all events..may as well take full advantage of the opportunity to meet new people!

Tonight, I am making dinner for Jackie and Ken.  I had Mom send me the recipes to one of my favorite meals:  Beef Burgundy (with Sue's famous Sex on the Beach dessert!) The trip to (multiple) grocery stores took over 2.5 hours!  I had to get creative with a few of the ingredients..they do not have graham crackers, so I bought 'digestive biscuits' and put them in a blender to make the crust.  Cool whip was another tricky one...I bought creme fresh (a cross between yogurt and cream) and managed to find a rare bottle of whipped cream which I'm going to try and mix into a cool whip-ish topping! No instant pudding, but I found custard and 'chocolate dessert' that I'm mixing together.  Powdered sugar is close to 'icing sugar' in Britain.  I couldn't find Burgundy wine, but I think Pinot Noir is the same?  I also got a Merlot and a red French blend hoping that after a few glasses, anything I made will taste alright! Onion soup isn't unavailable, dried or canned, so I'm using dried onion flakes and beef bouillion as a base. Fingers and toes are crossed that it tastes alright- I had Mom on skype in the kitchen double checking some of my substitutions..

Scottish Linguistics:  I am finding that lots of things in Scotland are just 1 letter off from their counterpart in the US.  For example, they go shopping at TK Maxx (the same in all respects as our TJ Maxx) and dance to the Hokey Cokey (instead of the Hokey Pokey).  American attempt to be completely seperate and unique from the English??  I read Harry Potter #1, for probably the 15th time, but 1st time reading the British Version "HP and the Philosopher's Stone".  It's not only the title that is different, but words and phrases that we don't use (ie they talk about 'revisions' instead of exams).

Day 10!

Edinburgh Castle!

Day 10!  I'm hot on the apartment hunt in Edinburgh, which has been a blessing in disguise as I am quickly learning my way around the city!  I have seen about 7 places and I have 5 viewings in the next 2 days- I'm hoping that one of them will be home! As the Fringe Festival is in full swing, it is very entertaining to wonder the streets! There are lots of free and ticketed events and I have really enjoyed the atmosphere!

Last night, Caitlin and I went to the Military Tattoo, a phenomenal show celebrating Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee.  It featured international armed forces, bands, dancers, and of course- lots of pipers! I don't think I will ever get sick of bagpipes- such a cool sound! David Hasselhoff was sitting in the section next to us! The backdrop was the Edinburgh Castle, and the show concluded with fireworks shooting out of the castle!




President Bob Hislop of Rotary Club of Edinburgh

This morning, I had the pleasure of attending a meeting of the Edinburgh Rotary Club.  All of the Rotarians were genuinely welcoming and very friendly, and I really enjoyed chatting with the few I met before the meeting began!  The speaker gave a very powerful presentation on Auschwitz.  Caitlin and I were asked to return and give a speech together, which we enjoyed brainstorming this afternoon!  I presented the club with a banner from Downtown York Club and along with their reciprocated banner I was given a CD of Scottish music compiled by club members, as well as a wee bottle of single-malt Scottish whiskey!! Other things that were distinct about the club meeting:  we toasted to the Queen mid-meal, and toasted again to Rotary International at it's conclusion!  The Edinburgh Club has about 120 members, with 55 attending today (50% attendance is required).  The club is celebrating 100 years in existance this year!


            

 

We enjoyed dinner tonight with Caitlin at 'The Elephant House', the coffee shop famous for being the birthplace of Harry Potter! JK Rowling wrote the first drafts of the series in this restaurant- her photos hang all around and the bathroom is decorated with HP doodles and quotes all over the walls!

 

Some more Scottish linguistics: Arcade is a shopping mall, the Chemist is where one goes to buy nailpolish, makeup, medicines and so on. The letter Z is pronounced zed.  Apparently, the Scots find it odd/funny when North Amercans say "Have a nice day"...I haven't yet figured out why this is so strange...



It's already been a week?!?

I can’t believe that on this hour, exactly ONE WEEK AGO, I was boarding my plane in Newark to Edinburgh!  The flight over was great, although very turbulent, but just 6 hours and 15 minutes! My Rotarian host parents, Ken and Jackie, are angels sent from heaven and they kindly opened their home to me until I can find accommodation for the year.  Ken picked me up from the airport just before 8 AM on Tuesday, August 14 (Scottish time, it was just 3 AM Pennsylvania time) and took me to their house, which is just two miles from city centre.  Within 10 minutes of my arrival in Scotland, I had already made both classic American mistakes:  (1) nearly got hit by a car while looking left before crossing the road and (2) went to the driver’s side car door before seeing the wheel on the left.  After safe arrival, Ken took the official "First photo" in Scotland to the left!

Over breakfast, Jackie invited me up to their cottage in the Highlands, where several of her cousins were congregating to celebrate one cousin’s Golden Anniversary.  I instantly accepted, and before I knew it was in the backseat of their car driving north to Glenshee!  I spent a terrific four days with Keith and Mags (celebrating their 50 years of marriage), Jean, Anne, Ken and Jackie.   We shared many laughs as I struggled with Scottish words and phrases (it IS a different language- really!) The cottage is surrounded by 360 degrees of beautiful hills covered in lush green, heather, and lots of SHEEP! I joined the cousins on some of their outings:  we went to see the castle in which the Queen spends the month of August every year, which was only about 20 minutes from our cottage (I now understand why Queen Victoria picked the Highlands for this castle so many years ago- it is BEAUTIFUL!) That same day, we went to ‘Carthie Kirk’- the church where the Queen and Royal Family worship on Sundays through August.  AMAZINGLY we had missed the Queen coming through by less than HALF AN HOUR (she was driving her RANGE ROVER back from a HUNTING TRIP in the mountains…I hope I am half as cool at 86!) I hung back at the cottage with Ken a couple days to do some work outside- he has a tool shed filled with all kinds of fun toys! I drank more tea in 4 days than in the past 22 years, but since Ken introduced ‘Irn Bru’ it soon accompanied every tea time.  Scotland is the only country in the world where Coca Cola is not the dominant soft drink:  Irn Bru is an orange soda, which to me tastes like a hybrid of Sunkist and Bubble Gum- it’s very popular, it’s delicious and it’s high fructose content cures hangovers!  I had my first sherry (yum) and an assortment of Scottish whiskeys (working on it).  We went out to celebrate Keith and Mags 50^th and the first thing on the menu was “Traditional Haggis with Neeps and Tatties”.  It’s exciting to order something without the slightest idea what will show up on your plate.  Well ok, I’d heard tell of Haggis but I was PRETENDING I didn’t know what I was eating (for those of you who don’t know, Haggis is sheep heart, lungs and liver mixed with onions, oatmeal and spices simmered in a sheep’s stomach).  In all honesty, it was delicious- as were the neeps and tatties (potatoes and turnips) and all finished off with a sticky toffee pudding mmm.  Thank god Edinburgh is very runner-friendly!! Our last night in the Highlands, Jackie made a phenomenal meal for Keith and Mags, the whole dining room decorated in golden streamers and candles! It was such a special night that I will remember for a long time! We came home on Saturday night, and Ken compiled a slide show with all the pictures everyone had taken from the week- a perfect way to end a perfect holiday! 

Sunday was my first time going into the city!!  WOW I have never been to a more beautiful, unique place in my life!  The skyline, Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Castle, Royal Gardens, the parks, the buildings, the shops, restaurants and pubs!  I spent the entire day yesterday and today in the city, and I am beginning to feel that even with a whole year I won’t get to see the half of it! Edinburgh is currently hosting several festivals (International, Book and Fringe) so the streets are bustling with live acts, music and comedy on top of tons of ticketed events!  I saw a man dressed as a genie levitating in the street today (after 10 minutes of staring closely for strings, wires, magnets etc I finally gave up). I met another Rotary scholar, Caitlin, who is terrific…we were good Scottish girls and swapped stories and experiences over tea time! We are both hot on the apartment hunt (or as they are called here “flats” or “digs”).  We have tickets together to the Military Tattoo on Wednesday night together- should be fantastic!

I know I skimmed over some details trying to fit one week into one post- I'll get better at this!  The sun is shining in Edinburgh and LIFE IS GOOD!  Until next time, here are some fun Scottish vocab and phrases (I think I’ll put a couple at the end of every post!)  Cheers everyone!

Boot and Bonnet (Hood and Trunk of car), Dreich (Dreary/Dull..often referring to Scottish weather), Posh (Fancy), Wee (Small/Little), Spurtle (Tool used to make porridge), Zizzer (Blender), Kirk (Church)