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).