Has the way you think of culture shock changed since the beginning of the course?

Absolutely! I had experienced culture shock when I moved to the U.S. in ninth grade, but as high school was a very structured environment and I was thrown into not only a new culture but a new curriculum, I had no choice but to get on with it or I’d fail everything. This time around, however, it’s not an entirely new culture, but it is much less of a structured environment for me. I have one or two classes per day, and the motivation to go to them is only intrinsic, there is no attendance taken and the classes are so large I would not be missed, and the lecture slides are posted online. So when I arrived this time I felt like I just wanted to hole up in my room and not leave. The shock was felt in ways that felt similar to depression, without the emotional strain. I just wanted to stay in my room and watch Netflix, something that brings me great comfort when I’m home. This is a stupid way to live, there is so much to do and see and being outside and in the new environment is what makes you settled.

Have you had any experiences that you would like to share and analyse that have further informed your understanding of your own cultural prejudices, expectations, and assumptions about the world?

Scotland deserves its independence, even though that’s personally not what I want. Scottish independence is not talked about where I’m from in England, growing up I barely knew anything about Scotland, only that I enjoyed visiting it in the summer. However, upon living in the capital of Scotland, Scottish independence is treated as seriously as Brexit, if not more. Brexit has basically swayed those that wanted to remain in the U.K. in the other direction, as now the benefits of doing so aren’t so great since we will no longer be part of the E.U. It’s a whole massive mess over here, Brexit shouldn’t be happening, it’s a very contentious issue. But had I not come here I would be very against Scotland leaving the U.K., without even entertaining their reasons for wanting to do so. I still don’t for entirely selfish reasons (I want to be able to return without having to get a visa) but I now believe that every nation has the right to leave if they wish, and as a non-Scottish person, that’s all my opinion should be.

If you are still at your study abroad site, please reflect on what you think going back will be like. How do you imagine reverse culture shock? What do you think your experience of it might be like?

Ugh, I’m not looking forward to it. I mean I am, so so looking forward to being home with my family, and back at Bing. I am so excited to be back in an environment in which I am so settled and so familiar with. This study abroad experience has been fantastic, but in many ways it was like starting at college all over again, and that is not the most fun experience. Making new friends, finding your way to class, etc., these are all ways in which I am settled at Bing and it can be tiresome to go through the “freshman” process again. But, in regards to reverse culture shock, I think it will be quite shocking. I will definitely feel like a stranger on campus (I know this because I visited before leaving for Scotland and I felt totally out of place) and everything will be very surreal I think. As it was odd to return to a “freshman” state, I think it will be equally odd to return to normal. Normal is not normal anymore, I am forever changed! But nevertheless I will have to return to my normal, a new normal, and it will feel weird. I’m going to really miss understanding the currency (I never really learned the coins in U.S. currency, I just know quarters) and all my favourite foods here (fish and chips, my favourite crisps, Cadbury chocolate, etc.). But I have understanding friends and family, they’ve heard all my culture shocked comments about the U.S. over the years so I’m sure they’ll find it entirely normal to be hearing them again.

Come up with your own tips, or warnings, for future students/visitors to your study abroad site.

1. Don’t go with your phone provider’s “international plan”, that is a total rip off. As soon as you get here, walk into any supermarket and buy a sim card. They are literally £1. Top it up (put money on it), about £5, while you’re still at the supermarket. You can do this at the cashier when you buy it. Then go home, log into your new U.K. phone provider website, and pick a “pack”. These are 30 day plans, so you don’t have to sign any contract and you’re not on the hook for using it for a certain amount of time. I use a £15 per month “pack”, which gives me 2 GB of data a month, 1000 mins of phone call, and unlimited texts. There are options ranging from £5 a month to £30. This will be MUCH cheaper than using your international phone plan, and the service will be much better. Once you pop in the sim card to your phone, you will still have access to all your contacts and, if you have an iPhone, can Imessage them as normal as long as you’re on data or wifi without incurring any international charges. When you leave, just don’t buy another pack! The SIM card will work in the U.K. and Europe without any extra charges. One further option is to suspend your phone service at home. I use Verizon, and they allow you to suspend your phone number for 90 days, and you can pay $10 a month instead of the usual $40 (that’s my usual). So, you will have a U.K. number which will allow you to ring any number in the UK without any extra charge, and you can facetime and imesssage everyone at home to your hearts content with no extra charges (provided you have an iphone). No need for whatsapp or other third party messaging apps, and no stress.
2. Make friends with your flatmates! Here, more often than not your friend group ends up being those you live with. Don’t hide away in your room or expect to meet people in classes, class is not a social space. Joining clubs is also a great idea as well, but don’t be caught off guard that they cost a pound or two to join, this is the same thing as Binghamton’s “activities fee”, except instead of paying $80 to service all clubs, you only pay a few pounds for those you actually want to join. Clubs here are very social, holding events at pubs once a week.
3. Pub culture. Pubs are the casual social space here. Similar to a bar except they are nice places without a line of filth along the floor. More similar to bars are clubs. Pub culture is not something to miss out on! As I said clubs hold social events at pubs, don’t miss out on this, even if you don’t drink. Pubs have many non-alcoholic drink options and the point of a pub is to all be together, not to get smashed. So go! It’s a great place to have a chat, watch the game, or just relax with a book. Often pubs have quite good food as well, and for a good price. Pub is short for Public House, as everyone is welcome there and some pubs have a room or two for travellers upstairs.

Edinburgh is a VERY old city. We are lucky to live right in the centre of Old Town, which is composed of medieval through 18^thcentury architecture. There is also New Town, located across from the remnants of Edinburgh Castle’s moat, which is composed of Georgian architecture from the 18^thcentury onwards. Edinburgh is historically rich, and as the city is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site (yes, the entire city), old buildings take precedent over new ones. There are no skyscrapers or fancy glass buildings in Edinburgh, just a whole bunch of sandstone and turrets. However, Edinburgh’s historical themes don’t just come across naturally. The city caters highly to tourists, for example the only 24-hour public bus the city provides is the bus from the airport to the city centre. The city council utilises the medieval motif in their logo, which pops up on every public bus, tram, parking pass, etc.

While walking in Edinburgh, you cannot walk for more than a block without coming across a statue of a famous Edinburgher. The statues dotted around the city range from philosophers, authors, politicians, war heroes, and even dogs! Edinburgh is a very proud city, donning themselves the name “the Athens of the North”, due to the high amounts of literature and technological advancements that stemmed in the city, and because Edinburgh too stands on seven hills. I’ve never actually heard Edinburgh be called the Athens of the North anywhere but in Edinburgh, but I suppose that’s beside the point.

There are a few religious markers, on a tour we stopped at St. Giles Cathedral which has a very interesting past. It used to be called “High Kirk”, until one of the English kings wanted the Church of Scotland to stop being so annoyingly protestant and become more Catholic, like England. So, without telling anyone, he sent a bishop up to every church in Scotland. The requirement to be a cathedral is simply that it must have a bishop, and now the High Kirk did. The Edinburghers showed up at the High Kirk on Sunday, unbeknownst to them that there was a new name and new guy in town. To their surprise, there was a bishop leading service in a language they didn’t understand. As they were British after all, no one said anything for half the service. However, because they were Scottish in the first place, mid-way through the service a young girl stood up, and hurled her stool at the bishop. Everyone else joined in, and St. Giles Cathedral no longer had a bishop. The King’s plan had failed quite miserably, but the Scots quite liked the name Cathedral, it’s quite fancy, so they kept it and that is how it is named today. This story seems quite shocking, but after a few stories of the same sentiment, it becomes clear that this is the Scottish way, and the attitude is quite contagious. It’s the Scots’ way or the highway! Or, motorway, rather.

The best thing about Edinburgh, in my opinion, is how accessible it is. It is accessible in every way possible. The city is so walkable, despite the extremely steep hills, it is actually quicker to walk than drive most of the time. Furthermore, the majority of the touristy spots in Edinburgh are free. The national museum and national galleries are both free, as is the writer’s museum, the prince’s street gardens, and it is also free, but more importantly possible, to wander around the University of Edinburgh’s campus. I find that this makes life so much easier not only as a tourist, but also now as a local.

I find it very refreshing to see that historical preservation has won in Edinburgh. It is rare that modern architecture impresses me more than a 17^thcentury manor would, even the tenement housing in Edinburgh is gorgeous. However, what is interesting to see is the presentation of shops and stores on the high streets. At eye level, there is the typical, colourful, eye-catching advertisement of shops that any industrial psychologist would recommend. But once you look a storey higher, you’re looking at a building with gargoyles, turrets, or pillars. It is a weird juxtaposition to see the modern day and a time gone by so intertwined with one another. Not that there is anything beautiful about a strip mall, but it makes more sense to see a bagel shop in a concrete building than built into the sandstone of the renaissance. However, it makes walking around Edinburgh both delightful and extremely difficult that there is so much history, because you constantly have to stop to take pictures!

There is a bit of graffiti and public arts projects around Edinburgh, but neither are all that impressive. The graffiti is mainly hidden on the roads less frequented by tourists, like the road I live on, and it consists mainly of “tags”, which are scrawls of ink seemingly without any artistic influence basically to say “hey, look how cool, x was here”. I’ve only noticed one public arts project, which was put up on my university campus. It says “before I die, I want to…” and then there are many empty lines (although I feel as though the artist may not like it if people were actually to fill them in?), and one in the centre says “live”. Perhaps I’m missing something but it is not the most thought provoking piece out there, in my opinion.

There are definitely many sites of involuntary memory in Edinburgh. Probably the best one that comes to mind is the Edinburgh Castle, which sits upon a massive hill of rock overlooking New Town and built into Old Town. There is a bagpipe player that stands outside the castle every day and plays, so my associations with the site of the castle are of such rich history and strong Scottish pride.

Sorry for the long delay on this one folks! On Saturday the 15th of September, Quentin and I embarked on the longest one-day bus trip in all of Europe, a twelve hour tour of pretty much all of Scotland. Here is a pretty poor quality pic I snapped of our route while boarding the bus:

Each spot on the map was a chance to hop off the bus, some stops were 10 minutes and some were 2 hours. We obviously began in Edinburgh, boarding the bus on the Historic Royal Mile, a comfortable four minute walk from our flats. Our bus driver, Paul, donned a kilt and a heavy accent, and he immediately began our tour with very funny stories about Edinburgh and it’s history.

I did miss the first hour and a half of our trip because I promptly fell asleep once we had left Edinburgh. I was nudged awake by Quentin to have a look at Stirling Castle, but this was not successful and soon I was asleep again.

However I did jolt awake upon arrival at Kilmahog, a site famous for being the home of Highland coos. That’s cows for you non-locals. I, being deliriously tired, completely missed the cows at first and wandered away to take pictures of the beautiful hills.

However, upon an urgent message from Quentin that he lost me and was “with the cows”, I wondered 1) how we possibly could have become separated stepping off the bus and 2) who the hell he was calling a cow! As I looked around for him I spotted his mop of curls, standing with others crowding around a larger mammal with even moppier cows. Right, the highland coos!! We quickly snapped some pics before heading inside to secure some hot chocolate and sausage rolls.

Back on the bus, it was decided that if I couldn’t stay awake I couldn’t lay claim to the window seat. Booted from my throne, I promptly fell asleep.

I awoke again upon arrival of Glencoe. This was my favourite stop along the way, but alas we were allowed the least amount of time here, only 10 minutes to take some pictures. Quentin decided these short ten minutes would be the perfect time not to enjoy the view, but instead to chat to Paul about kilts and what it’s like to be Scottish, or something. I wandered off to take this:

It really was absolutely breathtaking. I ran back to the bus to drag Quentin away from his new idol, and he cheekily demanded that I take pictures of him! Luckily he was gracious enough to grant me a picture WITH him, as well as on my own.

All too soon, we boarded the bus again. I was yet again denied the window seat, which is just as well because within five minutes I was snoozing again. (Each journey was about 1-1.5 hours by the way, so I suppose it is good that Quentin at least had a good view since he had no companion during this time). Speaking of good views, Quentin took some rather beautiful pictures from his spacious window seat along the journey, and I will post some below.

Apparently, it was a really beautiful journey. Oh well. We arrived in Fort William, home of Ben Nevis, the highest peak in Scotland, just in time for lunch. I shared a hearty fish and chips with Quentin, boarded the bus, and fell asleep.

When I awoke again, we were pulling into Loch Ness! Quentin and I decided to shell out the £18 each to enter Urquhart Castle and take a cruise, via catamaran, on Loch Ness, where our bus would pick us up further upstream. Nessie was not spotted at this time. However, the ruins and history of Urqhart Castle were fascinating, and Quentin really enjoyed seeing his first castle!

We popped into a gift shop, and while Quentin was buying mini Nessie’s for his friends, I stole away and spent a £1 on one of those machines that press a penny flat, indented with a personalised image. I got Quentin one with Nessie on it saying Loch Ness along the bottom. I think these little trinkets are quite sweet and I enjoy collecting them. I have two in my purse now, one from Quentin in Binghamton and one from the HMS Victory, which I visited in Portsmouth this past Christmas with my family.

After that, we ventured north to Inverness to say that we had (we didn’t get off the bus or visit anywhere specific). We then turned back, and, you guess it, I fell asleep. Probably a good two hours later, I awoke and we were at Pitlochry to stretch our legs and have a bite of food. Paul mentioned an ice cream place and I made a beeline for a 99 flake, but the parlour didn’t have a seating area so I was stuck walking around with an ice cream in hand in the cold, light rain of mid-Scotland. We walked around the high street (me babbling to Quentin that no, it’s not the same as a Main Street/state street/court street as he wishes he had just stayed on the bus).

We boarded the bus for the last time, and folks, just in time to see absolutely nothing out the window because it was getting dark, I stayed awake. I actually got to listen to the funny anecdotes of our tour guide and driver, as we passed Fife he told us ghost stories his father told him (he’s from Fife!), I got to marvel at the new Queensferry Crossing bridge, the only site at which three bridges from three centuries stand next to each other in order in the world, and got to enjoy the music Paul played for us in between interesting sites.

As we neared the close of our journey, Paul surprised us with a quiz for which the winners would receive some Scotch whisky. The quiz was to identify three pieces of music, all from the soundtracks of films set in Scotland. I knew immediately that I had it in the bag. I was going to win this Scotch for dad! Our only clue was that Paul had mentioned a character from 2/3 of the films on his tour. I had no choice but to rely on Quentin for this information, as I had basically slept through all of Paul’s speaking parts. Nevertheless, I couldn’t wait to be victorious.

He played the first, which at first immediately confused us. We knew two films that would definitely be in the ranks, Braveheart and Harry Potter, both of whom Paul had talked about. But this first piece of music had a young, female singer singing over drums and bagpipes. It didn’t sound very Braveheart-y. After a few minutes of confusion, it came to me. BRAVE! This was a track from the soundtrack of one of Disney’s best Princesses, the one with the wild curly red hair and a bear for a mum. Knowing which other two Paul had mentioned, we knew we had this.

The second track, we decided would be Braveheart, simply because we both know all of the Harry Potter scores by heart as we listen to them while studying. Braveheart is a film based on Sir William Wallace, just one of the many famous Scots to take on the English. However, neither Quentin nor I had actually seen Braveheart… but we were confident that this sounded like battle music.

As the Paul started to play the third tune I was wiggling in my seat, wanting to shout out “don’t bother! We’re the winners! Hand over the whiskey!” But, alas, when the music started, Quentin and I knew… this was not from Harry Potter. There was no sense of magic in the music. Quentin and I looked at each other in despair, and Quentin violently shook his head at me as I began to search “films set in Scotland” on my iPhone. With time running out, and no inspiration popping into our heads, we decided to keep faith in our list and hope our HP knowledge was failing us, that this was in fact some somber score from a death scene.

Previously, I had decided on some particular words of thanks to Paul for such a lovely tour (even though I’d slept through most of it). However, as we stepped off the bus, there was only one thing in mind. THE WHISKEY!! We whispered our list in his ear, but alas, only 2/3 were correct.

We stayed behind to ask the victors where we had gone wrong, and it turns out on our way home we passed the Commando Memorial, which was featured in some film neither of us had even heard of. If you know what I’m talking about, please let me know!

All in all, we arrived back at our flat at 8pm, having set off at 8am, filled with stories of highland celts fighting for justice and alcohol, for land and for fun. Beautiful Scots music still playing in my head, I fell asleep.

I arrived in Edinburgh nearly three weeks ago and though I no longer feel like a tourist, I definitely don’t yet feel like a local. I’m really enjoying starting to figure out better shortcuts to places and beginning to feel a familiarity with my surroundings. I no longer say that I’m heading back to “the flat”, but now rather, heading “home”.

I’ve had an easier time with culture shock than some, solely because of my familiarity with the U.K. having lived here for 14 years. I know what Sainsbury’s and Tesco are, and I know that Tesco is cheaper but Sainsbury’s is nicer. I was in Edinburgh this past Christmas, so I know that it is more cost-effective to use the bus to get to the city centre than the tram, but that the tram is quicker.

These little things take the edge off being in a new city, but they do not free you from the feelings of culture shock entirely. I have found it difficult to put myself out there socially, and when I do have to talk to other people (groan), I find myself searching for the Americans. A group I feel the most comfortable with are other U.S. exchange students. The most interesting conversations I’ve had however, have been with a German girl and a Glaswegian guy. So it is definitely important for me not to shy away from other groups of people.

Interestingly, I have felt culture shock gradually, not feeling it most right at the start of my adventure here. For the first week, I was with a travel buddy at a hostel. We had each other, which is a massive benefit when moving to a new city. But we were also surrounded by other travellers, and the entire experience was geared towards a temporary, tourist type. There were excursions organised by the hostel, and someone on hand constantly for recommendations. I was very active in my first week here, doing something in Edinburgh every day, such as tours or museum visits.

After a week at the hostel, I was able to move into the University accommodation, where I would now embark on “Welcome Week”, devoid of classes and filled with events. Before arriving at Edinburgh, I had gone through all of these scheduled events, and put all of the ones that looked interesting in my calendar. However, when it came down to it, I think I attended a total of three, and none of them were social events. I think this is when the culture shock became apparent to me, because I would wake up each day and not want to do much. I was spoilt for choice, offered trips to the Royal Botanical Gardens, group walks up Arthur’s Seat, movie viewings, ceilidhs, pub crawls, club nights out, coffee crawls, a million things for everyone’s tastes. But I didn’t feel up to them.

I didn’t do nothing during this time, I did get some essential kitchenware and bedding, and me and my two friends from Binghamton went on a few walks and hung out in a few coffee shops. But as far as cultural immersion goes, this is pretty weak. I did sign up for some clubs at the activities fair, but as of right now I have yet to pluck up the courage to go to any meetings.

As you can tell, I’m not very impressed with myself. Yesterday I did go to a volunteer fair, so maybe if I’m not being social I can do something meaningful with my time.

—

Since arriving in Edinburgh, I’ve never felt so at home with myself. I struggled quite a bit at first, because people would ask me where I was from and I would give such a long and rambly answer, almost apologetically, most of the time the asker looks as though they wished they hadn’t. However, I’ve gotten it down to:

“I am originally from Surrey, but now I live and attend university in New York. I am here on exchange.”

At least that’s how it sounds in my head. Usually it comes out more like:

“New York. I lived in Surrey until year nine, but now I live in New York.”

I’m working on it. For real though, I have struggled so much since my move to the U.S. Struggling with, after reading this essay, what I now realise is massive amounts of culture shock, stuck in the “Integration of Difference” section. For the past six years, I have struggled SO MUCH with integrating to New York and becoming an American. When you move countries, every small inch closer to assimilation you are, the more of “yourself” as you know it you feel is slipping away. You can’t help but feel like you are morphing into a new person, based on some old person, and the two are constantly at conflict with eachother. Should I say to-mate-o to be understood and make my life easier (avoid a conversation about where I’m from when all I want is a pizza), or should I say to-mah-to to stay true to myself and ???? Say it the way I’ve said it for the past 19 years???

Moving countries at such a developmental age is the most confusing thing you could do. I began to cry as I was reading this essay, because for the first time, so many complex, confusing, and myriad emotions have been put into words in a way that I never could. In the U.S., I am constantly stuck between wanting to lose my accent in order to be better understood, received, and to just be normal, but not wanting to lose it because it feels like you are giving up a part of yourself that for most of your life has been concrete. After 6 years, the result of this is that most of my sentences have been a flip-flop of cultural relevance, using different accents for different words and different lingo all in one go.

Before coming to Edinburgh, I thought that I would be an American in America, and a Brit in Britain. However, I’ve never lived in Scotland, and with a (now very pronounced) Surrey accent I sound just as foreign to some as my American counterparts. For the first time I feel comfortable accepting my identities as BOTH an American and a Brit. Here, in a third country, I can say I am from both places. I am originally from one place, I am now from another. I make a joke that I am basically a citizen of the Atlantic ocean. No one has laughed yet, but it makes me feel better to feel that the identities of both were no longer in conflict.

I felt that they were in conflict because I am often asked, in both countries, which one I like more. No one has asked me that here. No one has pitted them against each other. Yes, my accent flip flops while I’m here too. But that’s just the way it is. And I won’t apologise or feel embarrassed by it anymore. Because that is ME! I am BOTH! I can be both.

I do feel like I am working towards having a multicultural identity. Being in Edinburgh is the best thing I could’ve done for myself in this regard. Being in a neutral third place, taking me out of a “one side versus the other” environment, has granted me the biggest gift. The ability to just be myself, regardless of my accent, my style, or my lingo.

—

I rate my current level of cultural competency at a 7/10. Much of this is not due to any effort on my part, but just from the advantage of having spent most of my life 5 hours south of here. However, I do have lots to learn and get used to about Scotland. Before living here, I did not realise just how starkly different the north and south of the U.K. are. It’s fascinating!

As I speak here with a Surrey accent, but can’t help but use the American lingo now integrated into my vocabulary, my conversations with people can be quite amusing. Yesterday, when ordering a coffee, I asked the barista for a mocha, pronounced “moacha”, like moat. She looked at me weird, and said “a what?” I looked back at her weirdly, and said again, a mocha. She laughed, and said oh, I’m used to British people asking for “mokas” (mocha said like mock), and not used to Americans saying it wrong!”. I smiled at her, and said in full BBC English, “Oh, how odd. That must be weird”.

She looked at me like I had three heads and made my mocha for me. It was great! I will never say “moka”, it’s Italian!!!!

I have learned a lot about the wish for a Scottish independence. I have also been made fun of when I say I’m originally from Surrey, as Surrey has a stereotype of being “posh”. I don’t help matters much when I say I’m not personally for a Scottish exit from the U.K.!

This was supposed to load as a regular picture but sometimes I’m not as tech savvy as I seem so click here to view it I guess

“Ah, another miserable day in paradise” – Edinburgh cabbie

Looking back on my first week here, I’m quite surprised at how easily we have integrated ourselves into a new city and country. Undoubtedly, some impeccable planning and previous knowledge on my part have helped, but in general, Edinburgh is quite an easy city to live in.

After one full week, I thought I’d reflect and write out all my likes and dislikes, if I can think of any. So here goes!

Food likes:

• The cost of groceries at the supermarket. Fruits and veggies (not that I’m buying any) for under a pound, along with everything else costing not much more than £2.50 a pop. I went to Sainsbury’s recently and filled my cart completely. At the cashier, I heard the employee request £60. I was a bit shocked, but I didn’t look up or question it until had opened my wallet to pay. I had misheard her, she had requested the £16 I owed! £16 for a full week+ of groceries is wonderful.
• The sheer amount of food options available at any given moment. Not only are there 700 pubs in Edinburgh, but squeezed between them are Italian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Burmese, and even American places galore, let alone places like Greggs and other cheap options for a bite out to eat. We always have more choice than we know what to do with, and often just go for a wander when hungry instead of looking anywhere up.

Singapore noodles with Quentin and Isaac!

Food dislikes:

• The cost of eating out is quite expensive. The downside of a strong currency is that you can’t help but compare currencies. £5 for a basic sushi roll seems like a great deal, until you remember that you cap yourself at $5 for the same roll in theU.S. £5 doesn’t seem much, until you calculate it’s equivalency of almost $7. For this reason, I have yet to get sushi here.
• It’s not the healthiest. I have a pretty poor diet as is, but for the past year in the U.S. I have been really working on expanding my tastes and choosing healthier options. However, green doesn’t feature that much in classic Scottish/British dishes (read: fish & chips and haggis). An easy lunch for me is a sausage roll, packet of crisps, and fanta, but nowhere in there are there any vitamins or nutrients beyond carbs, sugars, and some protein.

City likes:

• I love, love, LOVE how close everything is. Even today, Quentin and I wandered quite far (so we thought) to a distant Uni coffee shop to relax and read in. Because the city is so walkable with all its closes and wynds cutting through buildings, we didn’t use google maps to get there. I look up beforehand where we want to go, and we walk in the general direction until we get there, checking the address as we go to make sure we haven’t walked the wrong way. Upon arrival, I looked to our left, and saw the end of the road we live on. We were in a completely new part of the city to us, and even when we thought we were actually far from home, we were really on the other end of the road we live on.
• The people are so kind. We haven’t met tons of Edinburghers, as we have spent a lot of time right in the city centre in quite touristy areas. However, the ones that we have met have gone out of their way (against normal British etiquette) to explain our queries and take a minute to explain something to us. On the way from the airport, Quentin asked out loud what a building was, and the man sitting behind us told us all about it and many of his recommendations for our time here. This morning, Quentin pointed to a T and wondered aloud what it stood for, and literally a man walking past just shouted “a beer company” while walking past without turning his head!

Beautiful view from the Royal Mile. The blue right above the buildings is the ocean.

City dislikes:

• PEOPLE EVERYWHERE. Yes, yes, I am aware that we live in the city centre. But it is still tiresome nonetheless. You cannot walk anywhere without having to wade through swathes of tourists. The wynds and closes that don’t pop up on google maps have become our escape routes everywhere we go. Does this mean were locals?
• Cobblestones actually really hurt your feet after a while. I’m starting to wish I had a pair of mum’s rolly poly shoes to wear because the uneven footing takes a toll when you walk everywhere! Even my most comfortable walking boots cannot relieve my poor feetsies of the pain.
• Yes, this category has been quite weak. Honestly, I just love it here. I can’t think of anything else that’s bad. It’s great.

University accommodation likes:

• Location, location, location. I could not be happier with my choice of location. We are 5 minutes from the University and the rest of Old Town, and 10 minutes from Waverly station and New Town. As the city is so walkable and beautiful, it often feels like less time and the walks to places are just so enjoyable. I really know my way around quite well and I have been here for 7 days.
• Amenities. I live with 4 other girls, but the flat is split by a set of stairs so there is only one other girl on my floor. I love having my own room, and I really like the way that my room is set up so that my desk is in front of a big window that overlooks theCowgate. I can just sit and people watch, and every morning I plan my outfit based on what other people are wearing! Also, the university was very generous with what they provided us with. Three pots, a kettle, a microwave, an ironing board, vacuum, and broom are essential items that we are all very grateful for.

My view into my courtyard from my apartment.

University accommodation dislikes:

• The noise. I live on the second floor overlooking the Cowgate. Cowgate is student pubs/clubs central, and it can get very loud basically every night. So far, I’ve been able to get to sleep quite easily and not wake up too much from the noise, and I do have earplugs just in case, but it is not ideal. However, I am spoiled for choice for nightlife!
• I paid £25 for university provided bedding, and it is just awful. It is so starchy that I actually think it would give my skin a rash if I didn’t sleep in long sleeves/ pyjama pants. The duvet and pillow are fine, but the duvet, pillow cover, and sheets feel as though they’ve been made from woven plastic. Luckily, I was able to score all new bedding, aside from the duvet and pillow which I’ve kept, for free today from the University’s organisation that focuses on reuse and repurposing.

Quentin’s thoughts when asked, what do you think of Edinburgh after one week?

“Magnificent”. He shrugs, smiles, and says: “it is, approachable in every respect, it is cultured, and it’s beautiful. I can’t wait to try haggis”

Quentin pretending to “shotgun” his first Irn-Bru. Is this multiculturalism?

More tomorrow!

Em xo

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” – Neale Donald Walsh

Knowing that we only had one more sunny day in the near future, Quentin and I decided to explore New Town before we would have to be peeping at everything from beneath an umbrella. Quentin needed some cash exchanged so we stopped into the local Natwest, before taking a leisurely stroll along Prince’s Street. We nipped into Rose Street and Quentin bought a Harris Tweed wallet, made from tweed cloth handwoven on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides.

We found our way back to Princes Street, with the aim of taking a stroll through the Prince’s Street Gardens. The gardens are adjacent to the beautiful sandstone buildings of the National Galleries of  Scotland, and perched on the entrance plaza was an ice cream van selling 99 flakes! I dragged Quentin over to have one with me, and even though the price was £2.50 instead of 99p, it was still very good and almost worth it. Quentin’s review is as follows:

“Superb combination [of flake and vanilla ice cream]. Much creamier than American soft serve.”

We wandered around for a while with ice cream in tow. The gardens are very beautiful, and although it had clouded over the warmth was very nice. I’m going to  post more pictures here to show how pretty it was.

We began our trek back up to Old Town, but the stairs are so steep that halfway up we saw a little café and decided to take a breather. I got a hot chocolate ( no surprise there, I’ve had at least one per day since we arrived). After a thirty minute rest, we carried on up the steep steps back to the Castle Rock Hostel. Just to emphasize just how far up the walk from New Town back to Old Town is, I will include a picture below. To the left of my head is a large cliff with Edinburgh Castle on top. We are staying at the Castle Rock Hostel, which is across the street. So that is how far up we have to walk, and it is basically a vertical incline!

We arrived back to the hostel, heated up our leftover fish and chips, watched a bit of telly, until 9:30pm. After some quick debate, we nervously agreed to go to the hostel-organized event of the night. Every night, the hostel arranges for the guests to go out together in some capacity. One night it was a pub quiz, tonight is a pub crawl, so on so forth. However, last night’s event took a bit more courage. If you don’t know what a ceilidh is, look it up. We were committing ourselves to a night of Scottish dance, both being terrible dancers and never having done it before. However, despite the initial fears, dancing in the ceilidh was the most fun I’ve had since arriving.

I’m going to link a video of the band that played for us which takes place in the pub we were at while people are dancing a ceilidh! So this is a pretty good representation of what we did last night: Video of Ceilidh

Just in case it doesn’t work, I’ll add a picture below.

The University sponsors many ceilidhs during Welcome Week and I can’t wait to do another.

More tomorrow!

Em xo

I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list – Susan Sontag

Hello!!

While on exchange at Edinburgh, I hope to see and experience as much as I can. I’ve never lived in a big city before, so I really want to explore Edinburgh to the fullest and I think this site would be a pretty good place to dump my pictures and thoughts.

I’ll be in Edinburgh from September to January-ish. I haven’t booked a return flight yet. Quentin and I flew in yesterday morning, on an overnight flight with no fewer than three crying babies on it.

How we looked on the outside:

How we felt on the inside:

After a brief two hours of sleep, we successfully obtained Quentin’s visa, caught the bus to the city centre, and found our friend Isaac to help us with bags and lead us to our hostel.

Until we can move into our uni accomodation this weekend, Quentin and I are staying at the Castle Rock hostel in Old Town. We are staying in an 8-bed dorm, which is actually quite fun. The hostel is one of the best in the U.K, which a massive lounge for everyone to listen to music, drink complementary tea and coffee (and hot chocolate!), read from the bookshelf, and chat with one another.

There is also a “posh” lounge with lavish furniture that can be used for work/study. The kitchen boasts 7 fridges and freezers, massive cupboards for food storage, and two large dining tables for communal dining. There are plates, bowls, cutlery, cookware, and stoves and kettles and toasters and everything you could want really.

Our first port of call upon arrival was some lunch. I was dreaming up some sausage and eggs, maybe some bacon, and definitely some toast. However, our tour guide and dutiful helper Isaac brought us to a French patisserie, and I was too jet lagged to complain. I had a pain au chocolat and a hot chocolate to die for, and we were on our way.

We walked around for a while until we couldn’t hobble around the cobblestone a minute longer, and headed back to the hostel. We visited a tweed shop, Harry Potter shop, kilt shop, and a Sainsbury’s. Quentin and I desperately didn’t want to be jet lagged, so we forced ourselves to stay awake and watch Shark Tale. We then made dinner (toast with jam, cheese and onion crisps, cocktail sausages, and maltesers. A delicacy in Chez Emilie) and watched an episode before falling asleep at 8:30.

More tomorrow!

Em xo