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Published: January 14th 2011
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on campusWell hello again. So Tuesday night, I went to a comedy club with my flatmate Becky. There, I saw Daniel Radcliffe's look-alike (It wasn't just me! The comedian pointed it out and everyone in the audience agreed!) Sadly, it may be the closest I get to seeing Daniel Radcliffe but funny that I found his closest look-alike in Britain! Maybe he leads a double life as in Edinburgh student! Okay, you can stop your eye-rolling now. Wednesday, I didn't have any classes so I went sightseeing! First, I went to St. Giles cathedral which is where John Knox preached and is kind of a Westminister Abbey to Scotland. After, I checked out the parking lot where John Knox is buried ( I kid you not) and then went into the Old Parliament building. I walked up and down the grand hall and saw painting portraits and statues of past members of parliament. The building is used for courts and law offices/libraries so it was busy with attorneys in suits and men in robes and wigs. I ate lunch at Brodie's cafe which has a cool history. It used to be the workshop of Deacon Brodie and I know you're all thinking
"who the hell is that?" But I assure you, you know him...kinda. He was a cabinetmaker in Edinburgh who by day, was an upstanding citizen, and by night, a gambler and burglar who broke into the houses of his customers by making copies of their keys. He was finally caught and hung. He was Stevenson's inspiration for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The cafe had a mural going all the way around it that followed Brodie's life and death. After that, I went to the Writer's museum which has displays on Burns, Scott, and Stevenson. That night, I went to a club with my other flatmate, Katrin. It was unusually dead and while we sat at the pub waiting for it to get busier, Katrin and her friend gave me a lesson on Scottish social groups (see key below). The club never got busy enough and finally we went to another one that was so busy that we had to sneak in. We didn't stay very long though because I guess the mood died. Yesterday night, I was in a bad mood but I forced myself to go out to meet people. I went to the International Student Centre to
walk over to a club called the Greenmantle and did in fact meet some people and ended up having a pretty good time. Today, I had no clases again 😊 (I'm a lucky girl). It was nice out so I decided to seize the opportunity by finally getting some good pictures. I walked down the Royal Mile and Princes Street and snapped away. Afterwards, I went to the National Museum of Scotland. I was supposed to see the 20th century exhibit for my Scottish History class so I went there first and then went back down to The Kingdom of the Scots. I didn't get very far in that part before the museum closed. Everything closes down at 5 around here, it's almost as if I'm still in Geneseo. I'm planning on going back to the museum soon, maybe this weekend. It's a pretty big museum but I want to eventually see all but almost everything (everything but the prehistoric floor). I'm finally beginning to learn how to get around here without getting lost. I think the main problem was that I could be going straight on one street and all the sudden I'd be on a different street without
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burns monument turning. Different sections have different names. Strange. But I do like that Edinburgh has a lot to do but it's not to big. It's the perfect size. I've also seen Edinburgh Castle, Palace of Hollyroodhouse (where the royal family stays) and New Parliament from the outside and will take a tour in all those places at some point.
Key as promised:
Yahs- I guess the American version would be "trust-fund babies." Born to rich parents, these people get their name because of the way they say "yes." They talk very proper, act cliquey and are known to not be very genuine, though there are the occasional exceptions. Trademarks of a yah are big hair and nice clothes. Will not associate with a ned.
Neds- Lower-class delinquents. They are more likely to be genuine. Trademarks of a ned are greasy hair, and uh, I forgot the kind of cloths described but probably more casual. Will not associate with a yah.
Some other words:
Chubby-sketchy
queue-line. Can also be used as a verb, like when Katrin asked me "do you want to queue?" And I was like "Um, sure, I'll line" (I didn't really say that but
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old parliament I thought it)
Christmas cracker- A little thing that you can crack open and inside are cheap little presents that are most likely plastic and often crappy. It's a tradition and more of a joke than anything else. At first, I had thought that I might not have known this because I'm Jewish but apparently not any Christian Americans know about it either.
Enjoy the pictures! There are more on the next page and way more on Facebook.
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Rachel
non-member comment
So what do they call people who are actually chubby?
Hey bethie! Christmas Crackers are more of a UK thing - my former boss whose husband was from Liverpool had to hunt them down every year for Christmas. They must be gaining popularity though, because last year I found them for her in Target in Tucson. Your days sound much more entertaining than mine at the moment. I will console myself with the knowledge that it's pretty much always sunny here and you probably won't see the sun for another 5 months.