While not drastically different than the states, there are a million little things that combine to make Scotland and Edinburgh feel like a whole new world to me. I’ve been here almost a month a have loved exploring the city. There are so many charming little pockets to discover!
law library at the University of Edinburgh, I <3 Edinburgh sign set up for
freshers week, and an accessorizing statue - rub the toe for good luck!
One of my favorite areas is Blackford Hill – it’s a park near my neighborhood and when you enter in you don’t feel like you’re in the city at all. As a bonus, the view from the top is beautiful! I try to visit once a week because it really is that good.
One of the first things I had to adjust to upon my arrival here was my pronunciation of the city – I was going for a Edin-burrow kind of sound but was gently corrected to something closer to Edin-bruh. I’ve also picked up a few Scottish words and phrases that I haven’t gone a day without hearing since I’ve arrived: faff - for something that was a pain, cheers - for thank you, uni - instead of college, and everyone’s keen on everything!
I’ve traded in my Colby-jack for haloumi – a cheese that I had previously never heard of. Perhaps you’re a bit more cultured than I and are familiar. It seems like it’s served everywhere here: grilled, as fries, on sandwiches, you name it. It’s quite yummy and I’m already a big fan.
view from the top of Blackford Hill, view + me from the
top of Blackford Hill, and the view from my living room window
I haven’t traded all of my American food comforts though – I took a PB&J to campus one day and, unbeknownst to me, it’s quite a novelty. All of the non-American students were fascinated because they had never seen one in real life and looked quite intently at it (gave me a bit of stage fright to be honest). It really is the little things, isn’t it?!
I’m involved with an organization here in Edinburgh called Six Degrees and am serving on the committee as the Internal Affairs Director. Six Degrees is a student-led think tank and pro-bono consultancy that seeks to develop innovative and sustainable solutions in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. We’re gearing up to select our new members and hold our first meeting. It’s been a bit of whirlwind but already so rewarding and a joy to work with people who are as passionate about sustainability as I am.
It has only been one week since classes commenced and it’s amazing how behind on reading I am. The structure of the courses I’m taking here is wildly different than what I’m used to and will definitely take some time to get the hang of. That being said, even my three-hour lecture felt like it went by quickly and my thinking is being challenged and grown with every article I read. You just wait – soon I’ll be back in the US ready to espouse all my grand worldly, college-educated wisdom because I know everything (;
Over the past few weeks I’ve met loads of friendly new faces, from the Rotary club that’s hosting me, to the other scholars, people in my course, and church members to name a few. Spending time with them has looked like picnics on the beach, barbecues (essentially just a cook out) in the meadows (a large park new campus), day trips the North Berrick (a quaint seaside town), and chats over coffee.
some wild pony's in North Berwick (one of them is snoozin'), beach
picnic polaroid, and a little Rotary shoutout I passed by
I have gotten to attend a couple of Rotary meetings (virtually with the hopes that they will transition to in-person soon) as well as get together with the other three Global Grant Scholarship recipients who are studying in Edinburgh. The Rotary club has a couple of orientations planned for us over the next few weeks and we will also be joining them at their regional conference at the end of the month!
The weather here has been so crazy beautiful, perfect for a newly landed resident to explore in! In the past few days, though there has been a shift and it seems like fall is really here. We just entered in to the first, long, rainy stretch of the season. Probably about time to purchase some vitamin D.
Finally, to every adult who has asked how my mom’s doing – she’s fine! I call her multiple times a week to tell her every minute detail about my life – I promise! (;
thanks for checking in,
Nat
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