first day of school

Yesterday morning, Scott and John arrived. My flat mates Leah, Kat and I woke up at 6:45 and hopped on the (hour long) bus to go greet them at the airport. The bus took much longer than expected (there’s a stop about every block...), but it was a good lesson, and luckily, they had only been waiting for about 5 minutes. After that, we came back to the apartment, my flat mates went back to bed, and the boys ate and relaxed.

At 1pm, while the boys napped, I had my first class: Scottish Culture & Society. We learned when and where our different fieldtrips will be (the Edinburgh castle, a distillery, and one more place I’m not sure of). He also went over the syllabus, and we will have different guest speakers every week discussing different aspects of Scotland, such as the geography, the healthcare system, the law, etc. so I think I will really enjoy it (and no exams!!).

After class, we all (my flat mates, myself, the boys downstairs, Scott & john) went on a big shopping trip to Asda and stocked up on food.

Last night, we brought the boys out to Finnegan’s Wake, a bar I had mentioned in my previous entry, that is open and lots of wood everywhere. I liked it, it was a quiet night so there weren’t too many people, but it was fun. After that, we headed out to a club called the Liquid Room. Similar to other clubs we have been to, there was tables, a big dance floor, a bar, and a stage, but not much else. It was fun, but the ambiance wasn’t as interesting as some of the other clubs we have been to.

Right now i'm sitting between classes, because my 1-3 class got out a bit early, and I have class in the same room in about 20 minutes. I just had my Consumer Behavior class, and I LOVED it. I decided to switch out of this horrible one for my major (Critical Debates in Communication Theory) and instead take one i'd enjoy and know I couldn't take at UNH, and this is it. My professor is soo nice and stayed after class to talk with me for a bit, saying if I need anything at all or have any problems he would be happy to help. He's this older man, very very short, and big round glasses, and so funny! The class has 75 people in it, yet participation is encouraged and he's making a strong effort to know everyone's names. I'm looking forward to the class a lot! It is interesting because the entire class is a mid-term essay and a final group project..and that's all! It is nice to learn because you enjoy the information, rather than worrying about memorizing and what types of questions will be on the exams. Another thing I noticed was that people talk in class A LOT, and won't necessarily quiet down when he says so. As soon as he stops talking, people start whispering. If he is having a discussion at one end of the classroom, the other end is chatting. I sit right at the front so it isn't too bad.

More pictures to come soon I promise! Sorry for the wordy entires :)

XOXO

little bit of this, little bit of that

So the past couple days have been rather quiet..stayed in each night.

Monday Leah and I went shopping on Princes Street for some basic things we needed.

We've basically been trying to plan some trips the past 48 hours straight, so hopefully that will all come together soon.

Tonight we had the first Whisky club meeting (here they spell whiskey without the e). It was 5 pounds for 5 different whiskeys..and I quickly learned I DO NOT enjoy whiskey. It was a nice experience, as we tasted it, chatted amongst ourselves, then came back to discuss where it was from and what we enjoyed/didn't enjoy about each one. Unfortunately I think it will be my last meeting.


Afterwards, we all went out to a local pub called Biddy Mulligan's. We just hung out and had a drink, there was live music (our friend asked if she could sing with him and he basically laughed at her and goes, 'this isn't a karaoke'), and then came back here.

TOMORROW Leah, Kat and I are all waking up bright & early and heading to the airport to meet Scott & John!!! Yayy!!

Sososo excited.

xoxo

quote of the day

"The best things in life are unseen.
That's why we close our eyes when we
kiss, laugh and dream."

Saw it, Liked it, Repeated it.

family dinner

Today, we adventured over to the one campus we hadn't been to yet: Sighthill. It was about a 30 minute busride, just about as far from the center of Edinburgh as you could be while still being in it, then from the bus stop had to take an underground tunnel across the traffic, walk about a block, and finally we were there. it was a big, beautiful brand new building..but quite the hike. I'm very happy I don't have any classes there, luckily! This is it below:


After that, Leah and I went on a little shopping excursion on Princes street (because I realized I severely underpacked and am in desperate need of boots!), and I ended up with two cute pairs of flats from Urban Outfitters. We were there basically at closing time, so we're going to try again soon with an earlier start.

When we arrived home, everyone had started cooking our Sunday night family dinner. Chef Caleb & assistants made delicious chicken parmesan, with homemade garlic bread, bowtie pasta, and salad. It was so good! It is our new Sunday night tradition.

Everyone hard at work



Yumm

Leah & I decided to stay in tonight while the rest of the gang headed out to watch the Pats game, and instead had beauty night. She (very trustingly) had me cut her hair, and we did nails. I skyped with my mom finally, and got all caught up on home life.

Please keep in touch! I want to hear how everyone is!

2 more days until Scotts here! Hooray!

XOXO

SURPRISE!

Last night, Leah, Kat and I went out with the boys to a local pub to watch the game (yes, I said watch the game..I even know who played and who won. Wooo!) We started at this first place called Doctors, which was cool but it was PACKED, and we had to stand literally like sardines. We then went to another pub, called The Grassmarket Bar, which was cool and much less crowded. They had big tables so we could sit, and big big screens with sports.

Then got late night pizza at Made in Italy. Some things never change.

A few days ago, I wrote on John Groff (Scott's friend)'s wall saying he and Scott should come visit. Then I never thought anything of it, and last night when I got home and was talking to Scott...John's dad was booking them both tickets to visit!!! THIS WEEK!! I'm so excited, that was the greatest surprise ever, I tossed and turned all last night in anticipation. They arrive Wednesday morning at 7:35 (the same flight I took over here), and leave Sunday. I'm so excited to have my first visitors, and show them around!

Classes also start this week, so I'm excited for that too! What is nice is that they literally spell everything out about the course before you sign up, so you know whether or not there are exams, how many homework assignments or papers there are, etc.

Tonight we're having a Sunday night family dinner with the boys, making Chicken Parmesan.

More later!

XOXO

monkeying around

Today was a rainy day in Edinburgh. I slept in pretty late, and then my flatmates and I went to check out this place called Brass Monkey. It was really cool. It's a bar, they also have soups and sandwiches, and in the "Cinema" room, the walls are basically just lined with mattresses that are lifted to about couch height, and tons of pillows, with tiny little tables scattered about to rest your drink. They play movies daily at 3pm, and when we asked what movie was playing today, we were excited to find out that WE got to pick! (well, any anyone else in the room, but no one else really cared so we picked). We watched Anchorman, and you had to buy a drink because it was for customers only, so I got another Cider & Black (cider mixed with black currant)..definitely becoming my favorite drink.




We then met up with some more girls, who were visiting a friend they knew at University of Edinburgh. It was cool to see the campus, definitely more of an actual campus than Edinburgh Napier, which is scattered throughout the city.

The Library Bar the University Student Center

After leaving there, we all went out to dinner at a Thai & Indian restaurant. It was very yummy, and I'm definitely getting my fill of Indian food! (although i have to admit, i do miss Thali in New Canaan..)it's great because most restaurants give a student discount as well, anywhere from 10-30% off food or drinks (this particular place was 15% off).

The menu from the restaurant

Please keep in touch, everyone! I miss you and want to hear about everything!

XOXO

it's all coming back to me now

last night, our flat and the boys from downstairs played the scottish jeopardy game we made. it was so much fun!


the game board

my category was recreation, as i've been doing a lot of the excursion planning :)

fun fact that i learned from jeopardy: unicorns are the national animal of scotland!

here are some shots from the game:




after that, we went out to a nearby club called Caberet Voltaire. It was so much fun! Here, if you go before 12am there is no cover charge. It's also very interesting because clubs don't get busy till abou't 11/12 and are open until 3am, while pubs are busy around by 9 and later, and close by 12 or 1.



caberet voltaire

today, we went over to princes street to shop for our Ke$ha costumes. We explored H&M and Topshop, and it was very difficult not to buy everything in sight!

We went to leave Princes street and take the bus home, as we have our new unlimited buspasses and like using them..and made a big rookie mistake. We got on the bus at the same stop we got off at, and after a 30 minute ride into the suburbs of Edinburgh, the bus turned off the lights and engine. The four of us paused, nervous and confused, and the bus driver got out of his seat and looked confused as why we were there. Finally Leah asked, "how do we get home?" the driver told us it was a 7 minute wait (his break), and then we would backtrack that whole 30 minutes, pass Princes street, and finally get home. We definitely learned our lesson! Make sure you are on the correct side of the street before getting on the bus!!

Tonight was my Ke$ha themed half birthday party. We had a big gathering at our flat, with our flatmates, the boys from downstairs, girls from down the hall, and the girls from that beautiful building by the castle. We got all dressed up and celebrated ke$ha style - extra messy and dirty and bored looking, and then went out to this local club Espionage. The club was really cool, and had 4 different floors with different things on each floor (dancing, bar, karaoke, etc). We had a "party bowl" aka a fishbowl, which was super yummy but kind of tasted like bubble gum, and then made our way home (after stopping for some Scottish pizza!)

Here are so photos from the night:


the girls

ke$ha & her body guard