Wah Wah Wah

During orientation for Edinburgh, one of the slides they showed while I was doodling away was about culture shock. Pretty much they told us all that we would fall in love with Edinburgh, and about a month in we would hate everything about it want to go home and this sucks and blah blah blah, before slowly coming to love and appreciate the city once more in a new way only living there can inspire.

Well, its over a month in and I still love Edinburgh. But, I am starting to feel a bit (dun, dun, dun) Homesick....well, not homesick per say. Homesickness to me is what you get in summer camp when all you want to do is curl up on the couch and watch TV with mommy and daddy-and nothing else that happens can distract you from that feeling, and its all you can concentrate on even though it is swim-time and you should be listening to your instructor teach you how to do the scissor kick. Thats not the feeling I have here. (Not that I ever got that feeling while in camp. Sorry Mom and Dad, love you, but we got to climb rock walls in camp and you can't do that in front of a TV.)

Right now its just silly moments occurring and me going "Oh, I wish so-and-so were here" or me telling stories about my family and wishing my friends could meet them, because meeting my family is like an entire chapter on why Andrea is as crazy and loud as she is. I do miss some things about home like burgers and days where it isn't raining, but I am more then capable of waiting for those things and putting them out of my mind. The family and friend thing is harder.

I don't know if it's because its of the "month in" thing or because the upcoming weekend made me realize how far from home I actually am. This weekend it's both my sister's birthday and the breast cancer walk. If I was at Brandeis right now, I would have been home for both these things because it is only a four hour drive and I would have had Thursday off anyway, so what does friday matter? Heck, it probably would have been my second time home because I would have come up two weeks before for Rosh Hashanah. But here, I don't have that option. It also doesn't help that this weekend I will be going to a home-stay so I will be spending time with another person's family. It will be fun, but certainly not the same :) Also, Mock Trial tournament stuff is coming up and I'm not there which is so frackin weird.

Huh, I just realized I have never gone more then two months without going home for some event or another. Oh man, true test of character coming up.

But seriously, I love you guys and I miss you.

Also, last weekend I went to Inverness and I never finished the post I wrote about it because frankly, the post itself was super boring and I couldn't really get down in words how awesome the highlands were so y'all are going to get a summery instead:

We saw some waterfalls that Queen Victoria liked. We got to see the Hogwarts Express go over a bridge. I lost my shoe in some mud. We got to play with sheepdog puppies, and I saw a cow stick out its tongue. I also made the mistake of making a "hat of shame" joke with the bus driver, when he had one on hand. We went on a whisky distillery tour. We hunted Nessy on Loch Ness, and by that I mean I sat in the saloon downstairs and drank hot chocolate. Then we explored some castle ruins before stopping for some breathtaking views of the hills. My guide wore a kilt the whole time :)

And now pictures!

If anyone wants to hear more about my jaunt up to the highlands, or you know- just want to chat: send me a Facebook message or an email or leave a comment. I miss y'all a lot :)

I am going to go try and find a Rock wall to climb now.

Creative Writing and I love my flatmates

Last Monday I went to my Create Society meeting. For this meeting we needed to bring in an item and come up with a character to go with it. How did they get the item? What did it mean to them? Etc.

I came in with a small pocket mirror that I had picked up in a shop the week before.

When we got there, we had to write a short piece about the character and the item. I liked what I wrote, so I decided to post it here. 

Marla Woole

I was standing in the line at the grocery when I pulled out my mirror. I was convinced my mascara had smudged and that would never do.

“Oh what a lovely mirror!”

The voice behind me was one I knew. I had heard it before, at meetings, in shops. I spoke to so many people it was sometimes hard to keep them straight. I turned to the woman with a bright smile on my painted lips.

“Thank you.” I said as brightly as I could manage. I recognized her. Lillian or Lilly, her hair was a pale red- dyed terribly. She hadn’t made the choice to go gracefully into silver like I had. My color also came from a bottle, but it was professionally done.

“Where ever did you get it?”

The smile stuck on my face and I held the mirror closer. “This?”

Oh dear. It was very rare I was caught without a story. I had bought it at a garage sale in Pensy for 50 cents, but that would never do. My reputation would be ruined- Every one knew that Marla Woole had no use for garage sales. It may have been where most of my gathered things I had come from, but really- there was no reason to ruin the fun.

“My second husband gave it to me.”

The lie spilled from my lips almost effortlessly, it should after years of long practice, and I wasn’t about to let my moment’s hesitation undo me.

“He would travel often and he brought it back for me from one of his adventures- Thailand I think.” I felt the sadness creep into my face as I concocted the next bit. I didn’t really want more questions before I could think through all of it.

“He died about six months after. The plane he was piloting went down over Africa while he was on Safari. The man he was transporting survived but he…” I trailed off for effect, and the result I wanted was achieved. Almost on cue Lily or Lillian raised her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide. I slowly closed my mirror and slipped it away.

“I’m so sorry… I’m glad you have something to remember him by.”

I offered her a sad smile and turned to the cashier, as it was my turn in line. I paid for my chicken and eggs and with a wistful wave I walked out to the parking lot before I could say anything more. I think my best skill is in dramatic exits.

I didn’t have time to relish in my efforts though. I had more to think about. I had never realized I had been married before, and now I had two husbands to work out-maybe more. I delighted in the prospect. I always love a good story. 

I hope y'all enjoyed that :)

Oh! And if you guys wanted to know how my flatmates and I are getting on, here is a small photo story:

They are actually really sweet and a lot of fun. I just wished they weren't so messy!
I really need some Mary-Ann magic up in this joint :P

Until next time!

Edit: Marleigh is excluded in the flatmate complaint because there ain't nothing to complain about :D

Livin' for the Weekend

Okay, time is going by quicker and quicker. I'm afraid I am going to blink and it will already be December. But time is not allowed to go that quickly because a) I am having too much fun and b) I have five pretty big assignments due between now and then and I really don't want to think about all the work I am going to have to do in between all the traveling and things I've been planning.

Speaking of fun, last weekend was pretty kick-ass. On Thursday I got to chat with my family over Skype during Rosh Hashanah dinner, so I got to see my grandma and my aunts and uncles. I think the best part of that, besides seeing all their beautiful faces, was seeing who understood technology the least. I can't tell if I found my great-aunt talking very loudly at the microphone or my mother's inability to turn the program off to be more amusing. I was kinda sad I couldn't be there to celebrate the madness that is a Honig family party, but I know there will be many more new years and only a few short months to spend in Scotland.

After that conversation, I ended up going out with some friends. We went out to meet a group of people who were spending the night in Edinburgh. The pub we went to meet them at was pretty full of people over the age of thirty, and us "natives" (yeah, okay) thought it was pretty odd that that was where they had chosen to drink. The next pub we went to was a bit better though. It was on the Royal Mile and had a nice atmosphere, though it wasn't nearly as charming as the pub our group has deemed as its own (Though there will be more on that in a later post). I finally got to have some whiskey while we were there. I can now cross "drink Scottish whiskey in Scotland" off my bucket list. Next up is "Have beer with breakfast." Though, I don't know how keen I am on knocking that one off.

After the pub we parted ways from the group of visitors. We headed back to our flats and turned in early because some of our number had class the next morning (naughty, naughty) and we had planned a full docket for that afternoon. Sleep proved particularly difficult that night and didn't help that one of my flatmates had blessed me with a cold. But, I didn't let that get in my way :)

Friday was absolutely gorgeous. the sun was shining, there was a slightly cool breeze, and it was actually warmer in Edinburgh than it was in New York which was really something to celebrate. It was the perfect weather for our next excursion; climbing Arthur's Seat. 

A bit of background:

-ahem-

"Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park. It is situated in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. The hill rises above the city to a height of 251 m (823 ft) and provides an excellent panoramic views of the city."

Thank you wikipedia.

So yes, there is a giant hill in the middle of the city and because it was such a breathtaking day we decided we had to climb it. (We being Lucy, Lucy's boyfriend, Marleigh, Lindy and myself)

Orginally when we got to the seat, I was very much daunted by the height. I was already a bit tired and I was feeling very out of shape, but I began the climb anyway. The way up was really steep, but the rocks formed a kind of staircase so the climb wasn't too terrible and the views were abesolutely stunning. Stupid me forgot her camera, but I have lovely friends that let me steal their shots :)

Afterwards we headed home and for dinner that night we went to Mums (Another destination that will be discussed at a later date.). I was bad and got a milkshake, but it was delicious so it was well worth it. After we stuffed ourselves silly we proceeded to the Royal Mile to go on a tour called "Hidden and Haunted."

It was run by the same company that did the the other tour I was on, but this one focused more on stories about ghosts then on people being hung or having their head chopped off. Here is our guide. She added to the experience tenfold.

See what I mean?

We even went down into the vaults, which are supposedly one of the most haunted areas of Britain. Apparently there is little boy down there, a cobbler, and a ghost called the watcher who isn't very nice. I didn't spot anything, but I think something stepped on my foot. MAYBE IT WAS A GHOST!!! ... or it could have been the guy standing next to me. I'll let you decide which one is more reasonable. I guess I will have to look for hauntings elsewhere. I did have a good time though, whether I saw spectres or not.

One of the girls did catch a blue orb on her camera though.

Ghost or spec of dust? The world may never know...

On Saturday we headed to Stirling and explored the castle.

It was very pretty, but it was so rainy and foggy and they didn't give us enough time to really explore the city because they decided we were going to the William Wallace momunment. Because it was so foggy we didn't even attempt to see it. We swung right into the cafe and grabbed seats. It ended up being a good idea, because about a half an hour later the cafe was packed- but we were already comfurtable. It was fun hanging out, but we were very glad to get on the bus back to Edinburgh.

After a quick dinner we decided to head out to do a pub crawl. I ended up having to leave early because my cold and lack of sleep the night before had finally caught up to me. What lack of sleep you ask? WELL my very lovely flatmate decided it would be super awesome to come home drunk with a bunch of friends, dragging a traffic cone behind them and screaming-   at 4 am. Let's just say I was not too keen about that, and on Sunday I had a very nice conversation with said flatmate about not doing that again- minimal bodily threats were issued :)

Luckily, I was able to sleep in on Sunday. I also spent the entire day in my jammies drinking tea and bopping around on the internet. Oh! I did some work as well.

That night My friends, Erin and Lindy, and I went to the pub quiz once more where once again we suffered a stunning defeat. It was still a lot of fun AND because it was czech night, they raffled off some Czech imported beer. Guess who won some?

Awwww Yes :)

Overall it was a pretty eventful and fun weekend- But I don't know how it is going to compare to next weekend. I am going to Inverness on an organized trip with my IFSA-butler group. Three days going through the highlands of Scotland. I know, such a hard life. 

Of course I'm working hard

As you could probably guess, I don't spend every minute of my life studying. At some point in the semester, that will probably be how I roll, but for right now I do have some free time to spend, and I'm trying my damnest to take advantage of it.

One of the benefits of going to such a large school is the amount of clubs offered. Here they get all fancy and refer to them as "societies". So far I have decided to join two of these societies while I'm here whiling away my semester.

First off is the "Create" society. There are actually two parts to this society. On wednesday, a group gets together to do arts and crafts and on Mondays a group gets together to do some creative writing. I have joined the creative writing part, mostly because I have no idea what I would do with the crafts once I make them. So far I have gone to two meetings and it was a lot of fun. We didn't do much writing, but we sat around and talked and I think it is a really creative bunch of people. I can't wait to read what they have to write, and I hope they don't find my pieces too terrible. Let's also hope my brand of short stories doesn't throw them off to harshly. I'll try my best to write about rainbows and butterflies and not my usual stock of plot points. Maybe I will even post a few of my pieces here, eh?

The next society I have decided to take part in is the Cocktail Society. I'm sure I need to go into length of detail about what that one is all about. This society meets Thursdays (guess who doesn't have class on fridayssss) and they go to a bar that is normally to expensive for a student budget, though we get some nice discounts. It was a lot of fun. I got to have a "Turktini" (Turkish delight martini made with chocolate schnapps) and an "Appleberry" (apple liquor, vodka, lime juice, apple slices and smooshed raspberries) as well as a flavored shot of vodka (blackwell tart. I was supposed to get chocolate orange, but the bartender messed up. I wasn't too upset). There are also going to be some "master-classes" on learning how to mix cocktails, so I can bring my new knowledge to the states. I will be 21 by the time I get back, so we can get super fancy.

The drinking culture here is something to get used to. Its not that everyone drinks a lot, it is just so available and there doesn't seem to be any qualms against drinking before lunchtime. The fact that the drinking age is so young also effects things. Because all stages of university (from freshers to four-years) can drink, it is entrenched into the university culture. So, both student unions have really nice bars, and oh wait, the university subsidizes the price of alcohol in said bars. You can get a pint of beer for 2.30 which is pretty kick-ass. I've only had beer there once, and that was on trvia night- which we did pretty well at considering we shunned smartphones and were at a complete disadvantage on general knowledge questions about football players and the bbc. It was a good time nevertheless :)

I've also taken some time to explore the city. But I think I will take another blog post to describe the things I found and what places I've taken an affinity to. Right now I am just happy I finally found some cheerios- now if I can only gets some Reese Peanut-butter cups my life will be complete.

Oh right, Classes

Well, this week has already flown by in comparison to last week. It might have something to do with the fact I now have classes to go to. Yay! It is weird to think it has been almost a month since classes started at Brandeis, and I am only a week into my semester. I think I am going to really enjoy my classes, though they seem like they might be a bit difficult. I only have to take three classes under this system, but you have to spend a lot more time outside the classroom studying- so that should be interesting.

I'm a History and an Economics major, and one of the departments they have in Edinburgh is "Economic and Social History", i.e. nerd heaven for someone like myself. Two of my classes are out of this department. First is "The Social and Economic History of British America from 1607-1770." which takes place at 9 am on Monday. The building is also the prettiest of buildings where I take classes.

The other two take place in a building that look like this.

And I thought Brandeis had the monopoly on ugly industrial classrooms.

The British America class seems like it is going to be the most work, even though it has the least amount of lecture time. I kinda suck at the whole "independent study" thing because I have no ethic apparently. I hope that I will be able to overcome that though, and tackle my multi-book reading list with fervor. I'm excited to learn early American history through a British lens, especially because this class is also going to cover the West Indies- which always seems to get left out of American lectures on similar areas.

The other class I have in the ECSH department is "Economic History 2.1: The Global Economy" This class is covering the growth of globalization from the 14th century to the industrial revolution. It is actually a full year course (the 2nd part covers up until modern times), so instead of taking the usual final exam, I will be able to take a Take-home exam. That, combined with it being a 2nd-year course, is making me feel optimistic about my workload in conjunction with this class. Now that I have written that, it will promptly become my hardest class. The two classes, funnily enough, also have the same professor. She seems very nice- and already asked why I am taking two-different year level courses. Hopefully my "Your third year course scares me" explanation was good enough.

Last, but not least, is my business class which is called "Business Research Methods I: Quantitative Techniques." -a long and fancy name for Statistics. And yes, all the course titles were hell to write on my course forms. Stats seems like it will be interesting. It is my largest class, in a huge lecture hall, but there seems like there is going to be a lot of opportunities for individual attention. I just hope it covers everything I need for my Econ major, especially because it is going to have to be my basis for Econometrics :x

Lets see how the optimism goes once all my essays become due, eh?

Roomate update: The girls are still very sweet, and Marleigh and I are really good about sharing food and things which is super neato. What isn't neat, is the kitchen. One (or maybe more) of the girls don't know how to clean out a microwave- and they seem to like to explode things in it, and sometimes the dishes in the drying-rack haven't been cleaned properly. Its like they don't know that just rinsing off a plate cleans it. We're going to have another flat meeting soon, so hopefully we will be able to clear that all up. They also like to make a lot of origami (cranes keeping popping up around the kitchen), so maybe whoever the paper-folder is can show me their techniques.

Until next time!

One week in

So this week as been something interesting. First off, it doesn't feel like it has only been a week since I've moved in. If I didn't know any better, I could have sworn a month has gone by. It is crazy. I think once classes start tomorrow, my perception of time is going to become normal- or maybe next week will feel like a year. Who knows!

I have settled quite nicely into my flat. I've gone grocery shopping, walked around a bunch, gotten lost, found a few short cuts, made dinner, bought a pair of headphones to sleep in, and found out how to get to campus. I also have met all my new flatmates.

Marleigh is the other American in my flat. She is from California and the two of us have been hanging out quite a bit. We even made dinner together, which was pretty neat. I'm glad that I was able to find a friend in the people I live with (always a plus) and hopefully things remain friendly. If nothing else, both of us actually clean up the kitchen when we are done using it.

Sophie and Rivkah are two Freshers (how the Brits refer to freshmen) from England and they also seem nice, though we have not hung out as much. Silvia, our last flatmate, is also a fresher- but she is from Singapore. (Our flat is quite international :) ) So far I think I have lucked out. One of the other girls I have hung out with is living in a flat with 3 girls and 3 guys, and apparently it is already a very messy affair because the guys all drink way too much and none of the girls are particularly neat. I'm crossing my fingers that my first impressions hold on the gals of flat 9, though it is kinda clear that some of them have no idea on how to live on their own. I think they will work out the kinks in a few weeks though.

One of the reasons I didn't really post this week is because there has been so much stuff to do. The orientation week here is nothing like how it was at Brandeis. Instead of putting the Freshers into groups and shuffling them around campus and having one set event a night, they just give everyone a huge booklet of all things and events they have and pretty much say "have fun". One of the strangest things to get used to is the fact that more than a few of the events include drinking because, oh wait, it is legal to drink here when you are 18. Another fun fact is that in order to buy cutlery (Including plastic knives) you need to be 21. I learned this when my friend was carded at the check-out line with some butter knives. (I managed to squeak by without getting ided.) I think that is a bit hilarious.

I took advantage of a lot of the events offered. I went to a movie-themed party (Yes, those freshmen parties are still awkward even if there is alcohol being served) to people watch, I went on a tour of the castle as well as a "Gallows to Graveyard" tour of the city streets. A group of us went to see a hypnotist as well as a few movies. We went out to a few pubs, and I even drank some beer. Yesterday I went to St. Andrews for the day, which was a lot of fun. We saw some ruins, of the Castle and the Cathedral, and walked around. We even went to the Golf Museum! Or rather, the gift shop of the Golf museum. While the city was nice, visiting St. Andrews made me happy that I had chosen Edinburgh as my university destination.

Okay. I am going to head out now, but before I do- here are some pictures

The rest will go up on facebook at some point soon.

Oh! And also. Pants in Britain means underwear. Keep that in mind if you come over here and you like someone's outfit- or telling your roommates about your pajamas. I promise, hilarity will ensue if  you don't.

Robertson's Close

Haha! A second post! Oh man, look at me go.

So today was move-in day. I am officially situated in Room 2 of Flat 9 in Block 9 of Robertson's Close.

The room is actually quite nice, and I think I might have gotten the largest of all five rooms- which is pretty sweet. Of course, it also looks out onto the Cowgate (the main clubbing street in Edinburgh) so that is gonna be pretty fun come trying to sleep. Right now I can hear a bunch of people singing, I heard some drunken shouts earlier, and there is a constant hum of laughter and chatter- though no music (thank goodness). I hope, since it is a Saturday night, that this is the worst it is going to get- but we will see. If not, I will invest into a pair of earplugs and sleep as far from the windows as I can get :)

The flat itself is on the third floor of the building, though there are several half floors- so that is probably an inaccurate estimate. I need to go up two regular flights, and three tiny flights in order to get up- which isn't that terrible. There are five rooms, a beautiful kitchen/common area (it looks like it was newly renovated) and two bathrooms (though only one shower). The entire flat is all girls. So far I have met 1.5 of my roommates.

I suppose I should explain the .5 first. Around 11 pm- two girls stumbled in after going to a pub crawl. Both of them had heavy british accents and both of them were rather drunk. From what I gleaned, one of them lives here and the other one lives in another flat in the building. I didn't catch whom was whom, but I figure I will find out in the morning.

This building is for both international students and Freshmen (called Freshers here) and each flat is a mix of both. Whoever the .5 turns out to be is a Fresher, but the other girl I met is another American in her third year. She is from California and seems rather nice. We already bonded over a misbehaving shower and discussing kitchen cabinets, so that is always good. I am excited (and a bit apprehensive) to meet the other two girls. As long as they don't shout and clean up moderately well in the common area, I think I will be happy.

Oh good. There is chanting coming from outside my window. Well, this should be an interesting night.

Just to note: I have the ugliest curtains known to man

At least I had a fun day. After lugging my suitcases up the stairs, I set up my room before going to lunch with two of the girls that I bonded with over orientation weekend. One if from Nebraska and the other is from Nevada, and both of them are really sweet and funny- and if nothing else, they seem to be amused by my antics (switching up letters in words, making up words, not being able to say words, etc.). We ended up going shopping in a store called "PoundStretcher" which is my new favorite place as they have everything I needed and it was all very cheap. I may actually go back tomorrow to get some more general stuff for the flat. Also grocery shopping! I am super excited about that.

I am getting a bit more orientated in the city. I know areas, though I am having trouble remembering where each area is in conjunction to everywhere else. I think I am going to spend an evening with google maps to see if I can help myself through that :)

Tomorrow I will be walking to where my classes are for the first time. Hopefully I won't get to lost, or fall down any hills. That would stink.

Cheers!