Welcome to Edinburgh

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Emily:

Hello!




Welcome to our blog. This spring all of our roommates are studying abroad this semester and we are very spread out. So we decided to start this blog firstly, just to talk to each other. Allison will have limited internet- maybe once a week- and no service, so this is a message forum. Secondly, we started it to record our experiences and thirdly, as a resource for family and friends who are interested. My grandfather writes amazing hilarious emails of his travels and he has inspired me. Don’t expect me to live up to that though, I’m just trying.




Braden and I flew out to Scotland on the sixth of January, we are one of the earliest study abroad programs. We moved into the dorm and it was very clear that there would be an adjustment this semester. The dorms are a 30 minute bus ride from campus and not run by the university. Each ‘flat’ has 5 small rooms with a tiny ‘cruise ship’ bathroom. At the end is a kitchen without a dishwasher! And I hate washing dishes! Most of the students are freshmen who are trying to figure out how to live away from home and live with others.




That night went on our first TESCO trip and bought some snacks, some meals, and a pillow and duvet. After unpacking slightly we had our first event, a Taste of Scotland. We met one of our friends, a Canadian, at the party and tried haggis and mash. We also tasted local IPA and Scottish soft drink called Iron-Bru which tastes like pepto-bismol. I hated it but Braden liked it and bought a big bottle this week. I am still not a fan of vegetarian haggis, I don’t think any of the study abroad students that I’ve met are. Look up how it is made if you want to know why. Finally we heard some Scottish fables and Braden and one of our friends helped act.






The next day was our orientation, a three hour meeting with all the info we need to know. It was boring but we met another one of our friends, this time from Mississippi, and we got free stuff. Afterwards we ate lunch at a place called Mum’s which is British comfort food. I had a shepherd's pie with fish and it was really tasty.



Then we went on a tour of campus where we learned campus is huge, confusing, beautiful and we made friends through the Bachelor. Last summer Braden and I got into watching the Bachelorette with our friends, and I got Lauren and Allison into it. It is also how made all of our friends and we watch the Bachelor on Tuesdays.






Finally, that Saturday we decided to go to Holyrood Palace and walk the Royal Mile. Edinburgh is famous for having Edinburgh Castle on a crag in the city and at the bottom having a palace that is currently used by the British Royal family. That path is known as the Royal Mile and we started at the palace where we got audio tours and learned about the history of the building. From Mary Queen of Scots, to Queen Victoria, to Queen Elizabeth II the palace has a strong tradition. Harry and Meghan had also just announced that they were taking a step back from the Royal Family so we broke down the family and recent history for some of our friends who didn’t know. The Queen comes for one week in July or August so we will miss her but there are many events throughout the year there.








There are the ruins of the Abbey and a great view of the Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s seat. (The last image is the palace in the far left, the Scottish Parliament building in the middle, and the mountains in the background.) Next we went into the Scottish Parliament building that is pretty young, I think younger than I am. It is in session during the week so I will go back and see a debate later this semester. After we saw the grave of Adam Smith, visited some museums and ate some great baked potatoes.



This an overview of our first week in Edinburgh. Clearly we’ve been here for almost three weeks now and I’ll get better about posting and be more succinct. But for now, here is a little taste of my trip so far. Braden has agreed to write de-briefs, a masculine word for blogging, so you will probably have two perspectives on some of our trips and some philosophy thrown in here. Allison leaves in a week and the next time I will see her is late April for our birthdays. I am so excited for you!!!

And thanks to you for checking in, I appreciate it.



-Emily

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