Instead of the usual post about what I've been up to I thought I would compile a list of my favourite and least favourite things about living in
Edinburgh so far.
Let's start on a positive note with my favourite things.
1. I feel like Edinburgh perfectly balances big city with small city. It is the capital of Scotland and has a population of almost 500,000 people. There is never a night with just one event to attend and there are so many coffee shops, pubs and clubs. It seems like there's something to suit everyone and maybe I only feel this way because the city is still so new to me but it seems like I will never run out of things to do and explore here. The smaller city feel comes from the fact that I feel safe here and know my way around well enough. But mainly it's that I felt at home here almost as soon as I arrived. It's not just me either - the other exchange students I've met have said the same thing.
2. The architecture of the old buildings and the misty/rainy/grey weather is beautiful in a dark and Gothic way. Walking through the lanes of The Meadows lined with trees and watching people play football or walking their dogs adds to journey from home to class or to the library. You can see Arthur's Seat from almost anywhere in the city and if you can't see Arthur's Seat then you no doubt have a great view of the castle.
3. If you've been reading my blog so far then you already know how much I love the weekly pub quiz so I won't mention it again. But pubs! And cider! There are so many different pubs and they're all so cozy and have their own personalities built by the decor and the type of people that go there. The selection of ciders available here is much larger than in Canada where I can only usually find one or two kinds. I have really been enjoying trying different ones.
4. All my favourite British foods - jammy dodgers, party rings, jaffa cakes, malt loaf, salad cream, baked beans, tomato soup, bacon... the list goes on.
5. All the accents and international students. What I really like about the university is that even the people from the UK have such different accents and then there are people from all over the world here on exchange. I am sure there are lots of international students at Queen's too but I don't normally take the opportunity to mix with them. I really like the Northern English accent. My flatmate Amelia is from Cumbria and I love the way she pronounces things.
Now for the less positive side... I was hesitant about including this because I don't want to sound negative but I think it's important to write about the things that I find difficult to adjust to or don't like because it's not realistic to like everything. Also it's very easy to sound pretentious talking about a year abroad if you don't write about what you don't enjoy!
1. To be honest, I'm finding it pretty difficult to adjust academically. I've mentioned before how things are done differently here: no textbooks and more sources, more time in the library, more essays etc. I understand the idea that we should use more sources and not rely on only one (like a single textbook) to learn but I find it difficult to get used to. I have never been to the library so much! I rarely go at Queen's, preferring to do my schoolwork at home or in a coffee shop. It's also strange jumping straight into third year classes with people who have been in the same program together for the last two years. Thankfully I have my friend Debra here who is also in Psychology at Queen's. As I said, I feel very connected to Edinburgh as a city but I don't feel very connected to the university.
2. The weather. Of course this would be included on this list! I am very affected by weather and in Canada I have trouble getting up when it's dark and cold and feel pretty miserable in the winter. It has already started to get dark here quite early and apparently gets dark around 3 or 4 pm in the winter. I don't really mind the rain because I was expecting it but it's not very nice all the same! Obviously it's not ever going to be as cold as Canada here, I think it gets to around 0 degrees C, but it can still feel pretty chilly. I think it's a different kind of cold, more of a damp bone cold rather than a biting cold like in Canada.
3. Trying to balance work and fun is difficult. My issues with academics here mean I just don't feel like doing work very often and because I'm on exchange my attitude is different to when I'm at my home university. At home, I'm pretty much all about school and I don't usually spend as much time with friends or going out. This year I have been much more open to hanging out with people because I wanted to make new friends and meet new people. I also have five housemates instead of my one back home. My idea of what exchange would be like was quite different to the reality. It's actually a lot harder to make time to go on trips around Europe when you have essays due!
4. It's pretty expensive to live here. There's not much to say about this except that the cost of living is more expensive here than in Canada. I found out today that a lot of coffee shops don't let you use the WiFi for free. And you have to pay to use the toilets in the train station. Just things like that are a little different.
5. I expected to keep in better contact with friends and family from home. I thought I would Skype people more often and write letters all the time. I am finding it pretty difficult to stay on top of replying to letters. This is partly because the post office makes me take each letter there before I get a stamp because there are different ones depending on how much the letter weighs. It is also partly because I get frustrated with my handwriting and because I already write out a lot of what I get up to on this blog. The time difference makes scheduling Skype calls a bit difficult.
To sum up, there are positives and negatives to my experience in Edinburgh but overall, I love being here. Obviously I miss friends, family and Canada but I am enjoying my experience and am not ready to come home just yet! I am surprised at myself because I thought I would find exchange difficult. I am used to thinking of myself as shy and scared and I didn't think I was the right kind of person to go on exchange. It is nice to find out I was wrong!
2. The architecture of the old buildings and the misty/rainy/grey weather is beautiful in a dark and Gothic way. Walking through the lanes of The Meadows lined with trees and watching people play football or walking their dogs adds to journey from home to class or to the library. You can see Arthur's Seat from almost anywhere in the city and if you can't see Arthur's Seat then you no doubt have a great view of the castle.
3. If you've been reading my blog so far then you already know how much I love the weekly pub quiz so I won't mention it again. But pubs! And cider! There are so many different pubs and they're all so cozy and have their own personalities built by the decor and the type of people that go there. The selection of ciders available here is much larger than in Canada where I can only usually find one or two kinds. I have really been enjoying trying different ones.
4. All my favourite British foods - jammy dodgers, party rings, jaffa cakes, malt loaf, salad cream, baked beans, tomato soup, bacon... the list goes on.
5. All the accents and international students. What I really like about the university is that even the people from the UK have such different accents and then there are people from all over the world here on exchange. I am sure there are lots of international students at Queen's too but I don't normally take the opportunity to mix with them. I really like the Northern English accent. My flatmate Amelia is from Cumbria and I love the way she pronounces things.
Now for the less positive side... I was hesitant about including this because I don't want to sound negative but I think it's important to write about the things that I find difficult to adjust to or don't like because it's not realistic to like everything. Also it's very easy to sound pretentious talking about a year abroad if you don't write about what you don't enjoy!
1. To be honest, I'm finding it pretty difficult to adjust academically. I've mentioned before how things are done differently here: no textbooks and more sources, more time in the library, more essays etc. I understand the idea that we should use more sources and not rely on only one (like a single textbook) to learn but I find it difficult to get used to. I have never been to the library so much! I rarely go at Queen's, preferring to do my schoolwork at home or in a coffee shop. It's also strange jumping straight into third year classes with people who have been in the same program together for the last two years. Thankfully I have my friend Debra here who is also in Psychology at Queen's. As I said, I feel very connected to Edinburgh as a city but I don't feel very connected to the university.
2. The weather. Of course this would be included on this list! I am very affected by weather and in Canada I have trouble getting up when it's dark and cold and feel pretty miserable in the winter. It has already started to get dark here quite early and apparently gets dark around 3 or 4 pm in the winter. I don't really mind the rain because I was expecting it but it's not very nice all the same! Obviously it's not ever going to be as cold as Canada here, I think it gets to around 0 degrees C, but it can still feel pretty chilly. I think it's a different kind of cold, more of a damp bone cold rather than a biting cold like in Canada.
3. Trying to balance work and fun is difficult. My issues with academics here mean I just don't feel like doing work very often and because I'm on exchange my attitude is different to when I'm at my home university. At home, I'm pretty much all about school and I don't usually spend as much time with friends or going out. This year I have been much more open to hanging out with people because I wanted to make new friends and meet new people. I also have five housemates instead of my one back home. My idea of what exchange would be like was quite different to the reality. It's actually a lot harder to make time to go on trips around Europe when you have essays due!
4. It's pretty expensive to live here. There's not much to say about this except that the cost of living is more expensive here than in Canada. I found out today that a lot of coffee shops don't let you use the WiFi for free. And you have to pay to use the toilets in the train station. Just things like that are a little different.
5. I expected to keep in better contact with friends and family from home. I thought I would Skype people more often and write letters all the time. I am finding it pretty difficult to stay on top of replying to letters. This is partly because the post office makes me take each letter there before I get a stamp because there are different ones depending on how much the letter weighs. It is also partly because I get frustrated with my handwriting and because I already write out a lot of what I get up to on this blog. The time difference makes scheduling Skype calls a bit difficult.
To sum up, there are positives and negatives to my experience in Edinburgh but overall, I love being here. Obviously I miss friends, family and Canada but I am enjoying my experience and am not ready to come home just yet! I am surprised at myself because I thought I would find exchange difficult. I am used to thinking of myself as shy and scared and I didn't think I was the right kind of person to go on exchange. It is nice to find out I was wrong!
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