Goodbye, Edinburgh!

It has been a busy few weeks but now on the train down South I finally have time to write my final blog post. I have to admit I wasn’t able to keep my tears in check this morning when I was saying goodbye to Amelia and Erin in the hall of our little house in WPC. In that moment everything felt extremely final. I felt like I was saying goodbye to everyone I met, all the places I love and all the experiences I’ve had over the last nine months all at once and it was overwhelming. On the one hand it seems like I have been in Edinburgh forever and on the other hand it seems like the time slid by without me noticing. I will always think of Edinburgh as home but I’ll just add it to the list of places I already call ‘home’. Fortunately I’m used to feeling a bit spread out!

Back in September, you may remember that I was extremely nervous about going on exchange. I thought that I would hate it, would make no friends and would beg to come home before the nine months was up. I am so happy to know that I was wrong. As much as it’s cliché to say that exchange has changed me, it has. I am more brave and adaptable than I thought and I am less shy than I thought. Being in the UK has also made me think a lot about my nationality and I’ve found that I’m both more English and more Canadian than I thought. As much as I’m considering moving back to the UK after graduation, I feel equally proud to say I’m Canadian. And no decision is made yet!

Of course, leaving Edinburgh isn’t all bad. I am very excited to go back to Kingston and see my friends. Nine months is too long to be without your best friends! I am looking forward to catching up with them and going to all the places I’ve missed. I’m also excited for big shops and big fridges! It would be unrealistic to expect that things haven’t changed since I was last in Kingston but I was nervous about Edinburgh and it turned out to be an amazing experience so I can only assume returning to Kingston will be as well! I’m predicting a fun summer of catching up, enjoying the weather, sitting on patios and meeting new people. In September I’ll be an orientation leader for new exchange students to Canada and a peer advisor for first years, will be doing my thesis and just generally enjoying my final year at Queen’s.

One of the great things about this year has been meeting Debra and Shannon who also go to Queen’s. Having met them in Edinburgh and become friends, I am so happy that I will have them by my side in Kingston, on call for whenever we need to reminisce.

Ae Fond Kiss - Rachel Sermanni

“For to see her was to love her, love but her and love forever”

Goodbye, Edinburgh!

xx

Edinburgh Bucket List

My final blog post is in the works but I'd like to document a little of what I've been up to in the last few weeks. I finished exams on the 9th of May and I'm fairly confident that I passed them all! After my flatmates finished we made a bucket list of all the things we wanted to do before we left. I'll highlight some of them here. 

Amelia, Erin and I took the bus to the beach at Portobello, had hot dogs, wandered around the town and wrote in the sand. 

We went out on George Street to where the fancier clubs are.

Amelia, Erin and I went to the BBC Young Musician 2014 finals at Usher Hall. The show was televised and you can JUST about see us sitting three rows from the front! All three musicians (age 15, 15 and 17) were incredible. I especially liked the percussionist who used different objects like a wheelbarrow and bottle for the improvised section of his performance. 

We went to the Botanical Garden.

We went for lunch at Cafe Grande, cooked breakfast at a greasy spoon and tea and cake. We made cupcakes, mini sandwiches, strawberries, mango, crisps and cake and had a picnic in the Meadows. 

Amelia and I went to the beer garden at the Peartree and saw Passenger busking outside St. Giles' Cathedral. 

We went to the pub quiz at the Golf Tavern and Debra and I walked around George Street Gardens. 

Shannon and I explored Stockbridge, went to the market and walked all the way to Fettes College. 

We went to Papilio for Shannon's goodbye dinner and had drinks in the Meadows. We also went to the last ever Animal Hospital at Studio 24 and took photos in telephone boxes. 

The next post will be my last, summing up the year.

Easter Break

The Easter holidays are almost over and Monday is the official start of exam study break. Having three weeks before exams, I thought I would go and visit some family and friends. 

Last week I flew down to Southampton to stay with Auntie Joanne and Neil. It was a very relaxing week spent exploring Salisbury and Stockbridge, going shopping and having lunch out. Grandma came with us one evening for dinner and we had a very delicious pea shoot risotto and I went to Grandma and Grandad's house for cups of tea and chats. When Auntie Joanne and Neil were at work I attempted some studying, read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, watched TV and played with the dogs. It was so nice to be in a homey place with family. The dogs were good companions and I had fun running around the garden with Rosie and playing fetch with her. Auntie Joanne and Neil were great hosts, feeding me lots of delicious food and letting me loose in their house when they were at work. 

On Friday, Neil drove me to the train station and I took the 1 1/2 hour journey to London. Despite a few delays due to 'signalling problems from Clapham Junction' I made it to Waterloo station. I met Molly under the big clock like Auntie Joanne suggested. It was strange to see her outside of Adderbury and on our own without the two families or at least Catherine and Rosanna. We walked across Waterloo Bridge and saw the London Eye and other parts of central London. We went to a psychology exhibit at the Science Museum which was pretty interesting. It showed the advances in psychology from wearing amulets around your neck to ward off bad energies to ECT and PET - very cool. We then went to Kew Gardens and had a picnic in the grass. We went on the tree top walkway and walked around the grounds. That evening we went out to a club called Passing Clouds where there was a face painter and different kinds of music throughout the night. 

On Saturday we toured central London seeing all the usual tourist things like the London Eye, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, St. James' Park, Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square. We then went to my cousin Liz's restaurant, The Bonnie Gull, where we sat at the bar and had cocktails, a salmon dish and big chunky chips. The food and drinks were delicious and the atmosphere of the restaurant was very warm and cozy with lots of young, well dressed people. Sitting at the bar was great as we could chat to Liz when she wasn't too busy and to the barman when she was. It was lovely to see Liz and Molly and I both really liked the restaurant. From there we went to a bar in Camden for a Latin music event. When the band took a break we took a walk around Camden then went back for more dancing. 

On Sunday we met Rosanna who came to London for the day from Bristol. It was so lovely to see her as I didn't think I would before, so it was a bonus! We definitely appreciated her making the long journey and getting up early to see us. We toured around Hackney, where Molly lives, and went to a cafe for crepes followed by a bookshop (to get reading material for me on the train) and to the deli where Molly works. We then wandered through the food and vintage clothing markets and had thai for dinner, very delicious. That evening Molly and I were exhausted so we had a relaxing evening in watching the movie Philomena. 

The train journey from Kings Cross to Waverley was not too bad. It went by fairly quickly and I had my book, Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon, to keep me company. It's also one I need to read for my exams next week so I killed two birds with one stone! I had a really good time visiting my family and friends and I'm really glad I went. It's nice to be back in Edinburgh now but I need to get myself in gear for exams. 

Isle of Skye

This weekend I went on a trip to the Isle of Skye with a group from the International Student Centre, including four girls from Queen's University.

On Friday night we left Edinburgh and drove about 4 hours to Inverness, the capital of the highlands. I have to admit I was expecting Inverness to be much more remote but it was a proper city. The hostel we stayed in was quite nice despite our room being freezing and the outside looking like a prison. The bathrooms were right across the hall and we never had to wait in line to use them. Not bad in my opinion!

Saturday morning we woke up early and had continental breakfast before boarding the bus and heading off along Loch Ness to Skye. We were in the first bus so we were the first to wake up and to leave at 8:30 am. We stopped off at Urquhart Castle and Eilean Donan Castle for photo opportunities and to try to spot Nessie. No luck though! We crossed the bridge to Skye then and spent the afternoon touring the Trotternish Peninsula stopping at Kilt Rock, Fairy Falls and the Old Man of Storr. 

Eilean Donan Castle

Kilt Rock

We stopped for lunch in Portree, Isle of Skye - a cute little town with colourful painted houses. We had a pastry from a bakery there, went in the gift shops and took photos from the harbour.

That night we stayed in a B&B called Saucy Mary's on the Isle of Skye.We had dinner in their pub/restaurant which was great after a long day on the bus. Quite a few of us had Fish and Chips, a dish I have learned to love after living in the UK. The pub had a really nice atmosphere and it felt good to be off the bus and to relax. The next morning we had cooked breakfast from the restaurant and then set off for another day of sight seeing!

Our second day took us away from the Isle of Skye and through the Great Glen past Ben Nevis and Glencoe.We stopped at Glencoe for a short walk where we managed to fit the whole group on a wooden bridge for a photo. The ground was very wet and muddy and everyone's feet got thoroughly soaked, including mine in my running shoes.

Snow!

Glencoe

Glencoe

We made an impromptu stop at the side of the road to photograph the snowy mountains. It was so exciting to see snow after not really having any all winter in Edinburgh. I'm sure snow is no novelty for my friends and family in Canada at the moment! A few people in the group decided to take photos while standing on the road and got a tongue-lashing from the tour guide/driver.

The tour guides during the trip really helped to make the bus rides more fun. They taught us Scottish history, folklore and told us anecdotes and bad jokes from their own lives. The long drives would definitely have been a lot more boring and monotonous without them. On our trip we saw the Fairy Falls where you can make a wish to the fairies if you take the water from the falls and spit it onto a nearby rock. We also learned about kelpies, supernatural horses that lure people and drag them into the lochs to die.

Our final stop was in Stirling to see the site of the Battle of Stirling Bridge and the Wallace Monument. After that it was a short one hour drive back to Edinburgh. It was such a good trip and I'm really glad I went. It was great to see the highlands after hearing so much about them. The scenery was fantastic and I was so amazed that it could be so different and yet not very far from the city. 

Uncle Keith's Visit

Last weekend my Uncle Keith came to visit me in Edinburgh from Somerset. We met up on Saturday afternoon at Waverley station and had coffee and a catch up in the Costa there. We decided to walk up Calton Hill and look at the monuments and see the views over the city. Afterwards we walked along the Royal Mile. We tried to go inside St. Giles' Cathedral (mostly for the toilets) but it was closed. We went inside Deacon Brodie's Tavern (something from bucket list) and had a pint there. It was St. Paddy's Day weekend and there was a Six Nations game on so it was quite busy with people celebrating. Deacon Brodie was a cabinet-maker who led a double life as a thief but was caught and hung. My tutorial leader for Scottish Literature told us that he built the first gallows in Edinburgh and was hung on the very same ones. We walked up to Edinburgh Castle and looked down over the Grassmarket where we had dinner in an Italian restaurant called Gennaro's where I went with Grandma and Auntie Joanne on their visit. 

The next day we met up outside the Surgeon's Museum and walked down Nicholson Street to Holyrood Park where we managed to scale Arthur's Seat. It was very windy up there but the view was great. We had lunch in a little cafe and then I showed Uncle Keith the University of Edinburgh including the building where I have my lectures and the Student Union. We walked back through the Meadows the way that I walk to and from classes and I showed Uncle Keith my house. I was excited to show him the Golf Tavern where we went for a pint before heading to Greyfriar's Kirkyard. I love the gravestones there because they're so gothic and scary looking but also beautiful. We saw Greyfriar's Bobby's gravestone and the sticks that people leave beside it. We took a photo of Bobby's Bar and the statue of the dog. I felt slightly offended when a man walking past said "It's only a dog!". There's no harm in being a silly tourist every now and again! We had dinner in Mum's Comfort Food that evening and Uncle Keith had haggis, neeps and tatties. I opted for something a bit less Scottish but I was impressed with his choice! 

Unfortunately I did not remember to bring my camera on either day which is why this post has no photos but perhaps I will be able to persuade Uncle Keith to send me his!

Spring!

Spring is officially here in Edinburgh! One day this week it was so sunny that the Meadows was packed with people sitting on the grass and chatting, cycling on the bike paths or playing sports (including quidditch). I was jealous of everyone enjoying the sun, thinking I'd be stuck in tutorial all afternoon but my tutorial leader let us have class in Meadows. After class I went with Joe and Puck to Meadowberry in Bruntsfield to get frozen yoghurt. I got a mix of strawberry and plain with raspberries and chocolate drops as toppings. It was good but not as good as the froyo place I worked last summer! I think the best part of Spring here is the flowers blooming in Bruntsfield Links. They seemed to have popped up overnight in purple, white and yellow. The daffodils are the best.

On the 1st of March I took myself on a little exploration. I went to the Farmer's Market on Castle Terrace which I've been meaning to go to for a while. There were all sorts of local meats, cheeses, jams and homemade cakes and tarts.

View of Edinburgh Castle from Castle Terrace

I wandered through the Grassmarket where there were Morris dancers performing and another set of stalls selling local products. I found a cute little book shop which had a big box of postcards, 5 for a pound or something so I picked up some of those to send to friends. I followed the Morris dancers and the little bells attached to their outfits down to Princes Street where I did a little shopping and then stopped off in a cafe called Affogato where I went with Auntie Valerie and Uncle Adrian when they were visiting. I might have sampled a bit of their gelato! Princes Street Gardens looked great with all the Spring flowers.

Heading to the Grassmarket

Princes Street Gardens

The following Friday Puck, Joe and I went to see Erin perform in the Edinburgh University String Orchestra's Spring Concert. It was really good and amazing to see people my age with such talent and skill. It made me feel bad for not having playing an instrument! They played Adagio & Fugue by Mozart, 'Ich Habe Genug' by Bach and String Quartet No. 8 by Shostakovich. The last one was my favourite as they played really fast and crazy. The singer and flute soloists were great as well.

On Saturday night we went to see Bondax and Karma Kid (basically house music) at Liquid Rooms. It was a great night but was very busy compared to when we saw Breach and Route 94. Also someone stage-dived into my face at one point which hurt a lot!

This Wednesday we went to the pub quiz at the Golf Tavern. We haven't been in a while so it was good to make a return. We did fairly well with a round of musicals which had everyone singing songs from Grease.

Last night Amelia and I went to see another of Erin's concerts. This one was Symphony Orchestra Spring Concert. It was a much bigger performance and was held in Greyfriar's Kirk. The acoustics were great and it was great to see the inside of the church. They performed Wagner's Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde, Canteloube's Chants d'Auvergne and Tchaikovsky's Symphony no. 4. Apparently the singer was a professional and she added facial expressions and gestures to her singing so it was much more of a performance.

I'm feeling the school stress a bit at the moment as I have a Scottish Literature essay due on Wednesday and my final report for my group project assignment due on Thursday. The Scottish Literature essay is done now but it was about how Scottish writers draw on popular and vernacular culture to establish Scottish literary identity. The final report for my group project has me stumped with the stats and data analysis but hopefully I'll get it all sorted before Thursday. The good news is that after that's in I don't have any other assignments until exams in May. I got my exam schedule yesterday and I have exams on April 28th, 30th and May 9th. Considering my flight back to Atlanta is on May 30th it looks like I'll have a lot of free time (about 3 weeks!) after finishing school to hang out in Edinburgh/the UK before going back to Canada.

Uncle Keith is visiting me this weekend and should be arriving soon so I'd better get going!

Paris with Bailey

This week is Innovative Learning Week at the university which basically means a week off school! I got back yesterday from Paris where I had been from Sunday to Thursday with my friend and roommate from Kingston, Bailey. We met in Charles De Gaulle airport and it was very surreal seeing her for the first time in 6 months. It definitely made my life in Kingston seem more real. We met a very nice couple in the airport who gave us their metro passes to use for free on Sunday which we then topped up for another week on Monday. We passed on the deed by giving our passes to two guys when we left on Thursday. We rented an apartment near Montmartre. Our host Aurelien was away in the country for all of our time in Paris so we had the place to ourselves. Normally his cat is there but it was staying with a friend much to my disappointment! We met Aurelien briefly on Monday night when he stopped by to pick up some things. He was very friendly and sweet and recommended places for us to visit.

View from the apartment

View from the apartment

On our first night we wandered around Montmartre, stopping in at a cafe for a chocolate and pear tart, hot chocolate and to catch up. I realized that my French was not as good as I remembered and we weren't too sure of the French restaurant etiquette at first. By the end of the week we got the hang of it though and especially perfected "l'addition s'il vous plait"! We walked up the mammoth steps of Montmartre and saw Sacre Coeur at night and the Eiffel Tower lit up in the distance. There was a man playing guitar to a crowd of people and lots of cute shops.

We met up with my godmother Liz and her daughter Tara on Monday. We had delicious and very filling crepes at a creperie and got to have a crash course in French culture which was very helpful! We caught up over the meal and then went to the Musee National du Moyen Age. The museum was really interesting and I particularly liked the stained glass. After the museum we went in Notre Dame and to the bridge where couples attach padlocks with their initials. We parted ways then and Bailey and I went to Place des Vosgues, a beautiful square that Liz had recommended. For dinner we had a cheese plate and vin chaud and then went to see the Eiffel Tower.

On Tuesday we went back to the Eiffel Tower to see it in the daytime after having crepes with jam for breakfast. We had an interesting experience with a really rude waiter who, after giving us back our change, walked back over and flipped open the little black book to see if we'd left a tip - while we were still sitting at the table! After the Eiffel Tower we went to the Musee D'Orsay. The Picasso room was very busy but was probably my favourite part. We returned to the apartment before dinner and watched Casablanca. Our rude waiter experience was improved upon by an excellent waiter at dinner that night. We went to a restaurant at the bottom of the steps at Montmartre where I had a croque madame and we both had creme brulee for dessert. The waiter was very friendly and very patient with our terrible French. When we left he said "Goodbye. Obrigado" and we later realized he hadn't charged us for our desserts!

We went to the Louvre on Wednesday which I managed to get into for free, being a student in Europe! We saw Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa, amid crowds of people. I really liked all of the statues we saw. We walked through the Jardin des Tuileries and along the Champs-Elysees toward the Arc de Triomphe. It was a long way but worth it to see all the fancy shops and the pretty fountains. We had dinner that night at the top of Montmartre. The restaurant played loud club music which didn't really suit the atmosphere but later they set up a stage and had two men playing guitars. It sounded very French until Bailey realized it was a cover of "Toxic" by Britney Spears! We ate Boeuf Bourguignon and vin chaud and creme brulee for a second time. It was extremely creamy and delicious.

Arc de Triomphe - shame about the construction

All in all it was a great time in Paris with Bailey! I'm really glad that we got to see eachother because I won't see her now until September.

After getting back last night I hung out with Emma for her 18th birthday and then went to see Breach and Route 94 at Liquid Rooms. The music was really good and I had a great night. Thankfully I have the weekend to finish up some work before school starts back on Monday.

Superbowl & Six Nations

It's a challenge to find something to write about these days. Hopefully some of my upcoming trips will liven things up around here! Tonight I'm signing up for a trip to the Lake District on the weekend of March 1st. We'll be visiting Cockermouth, Keswick, Glenridding and Grasmere and staying overnight on Lake Windermere. We're also stopping off at Gretna Green on the way home. I will be in Paris with Bailey in exactly one week! I've been researching things that I want to see and do while I'm there so if you have any recommendations, let me know.

Some friends and I have started going to the pub quiz again. I look forward to it all week. It's been really busy lately so we have to book a table in advance. I went one week with Emma and Saiman and Saiman's friend and it was so packed we had to sit at the bar. That turned out OK though because the bar staff helped us out with some of the questions.

I went to two new pubs this week. The Peartree which is near The Blind Poet and has a great outdoor patio. I hope it warms up enough before I leave Edinburgh so I can sit outside! I also went to Finnegan's Wake in the Grassmarket. It's an Irish bar and that night they had a live band playing songs like Galway Girl and Irish Rover. People were dancing and swinging around arm in arm. It got me excited for St. Patrick's Day.

I watched the Superbowl with Shannon and Ken in the student union's Library Bar. Unfortunately the fire alarm went off part way through forcing us all to evacuate the building. After standing out in the rain for a bit we decided it wasn't worth it and went home. I was cheering for the Broncos so I was disappointed to hear that they lost so badly. I was supposed to be watching Scotland vs. England in Six Nations yesterday but I came down with a really bad cold and had to stay in bed. I kept up with the game via a live feed though. England won 20-0 so I was in a better mood than after the Superbowl!

My group project course is going well. Our ethics application has been sent off and next week we'll be practicing running the experiment on each other. We had hoped to get things started a bit earlier but unfortunately some of our equipment wasn't working and we had to send off for some new ones. My other courses have essays and assignments due within the next two weeks so I'm working on getting those done, hopefully before I leave for Paris.

Refreshers

I felt right at home as soon as I got back to Edinburgh and second semester has got off to a great start.

I'm taking four courses this term: Psychology Methodology 2, Social Work, Scottish Literature and a Psychology group project. I am really enjoying the group project so far. We haven't done much yet but we've gone over what our study is about and are working on getting ethics approval this coming week. Scottish Literature is proving to be more difficult this term as we are studying literature written in medieval Scots language which is impossible to understand!

The first week back was Refresher's Week which meant I explored a bit more of Edinburgh's nightlife. On Saturday night we had a joint birthday party for Puck, Joe and Tom. It was chemistry themed as they're all in science-related majors. I went as "Ruthenium" and wore fake nerdy glasses I got from a costume shop. Amelia made a delicious chocolate cake and we all sang Happy Birthday. I really enjoyed meeting a few new people and catching up with everyone.

I'm starting to get back into the swing of things now that Refresher's Week is over. But that doesn't mean my social life has gone out of the window! Last week I went to see American Hustle at the movie theatre and on Friday we went to a concert at a club for Tom's birthday. Last night a few friends and I went to The Blind Poet for live blues/jazz music. It's a very cozy pub and the music was great so I really enjoyed myself. Now I want to learnt to play harmonica! We also hit up the student union's Library Bar.

The most exciting news I have to report is that I am going to Paris in February! I'm meeting up with Bailey, my friend and roommate from Queen's, over there and I'm really looking forward to it!

Sisterly Love

Catherine and I spent more time exploring the city together on Monday. We decided to walk down my road and go in all the charity shops there. We ended up in the Grassmarket where we went in a vintage clothing shop and saw The Last Drop, a pub in the location of the last hanging and a tea shop. We ended up stopping at Hula, a vegetarian, vegan and gluten free friendly cafe to escape the rain. I ordered the Sunshine in a Cup smoothie - fitting for the day's weather. We took the time there to plan the rest of our day and to write postcards to our family and some friends. We were quite tempted by the menu and decided to have lunch there as well.

After recuperating a bit we headed to the Royal Mile. We went inside St. Giles' Cathedral and up to the castle. We discovered the Tartan Weaving Mill Exhibition where they had weaving going on downstairs and more tartan things than all of the many tartan shops put together. We went to Greyfriar's Kirkyard and saw Greyfriar Bobby's grave with sticks left there for him - so cute! When it was time for another hot drink we went to The Elephant House - one of the cafes where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter. It was quite nice in there, all wooden tables and chairs and lots of elephant memorabilia.

Tuesday was much of the same - shopping and stopping for a cup of tea. This time we went to Kilimanjaro on Nicholson which I'd heard a lot about but never been in before. It had a nice atmosphere and a delicious chocolate milkshake. In the morning we also walked up Arthur's Seat, going a different way from the times I've been up before which offered different views.

Yesterday Catherine and I went to Glasgow to stay in a hostel overnight since her flight home left early this morning from the airport there. Check in was at 3 pm and since she had her big suitcase we didn't go til then. We spent the afternoon/early evening walking around, searching for a tea strainer in the shopping centre and exploring Buchanan Street. We had dinner in a pub next to the hostel which was 15% off with a night's stay. This morning she left in a cab for the airport at around 5 am and I stayed in the room until about 8:30 am when I took the train home to Edinburgh.

It was really nice to have Catherine stay with me in Edinburgh. There were so many things I wanted to show her and now she will be able to picture me here. She was a great visitor, we did some tourist-y things but mostly just enjoyed spending time together doing normal life things.

I'm on my own now for a couple of days until everyone comes back for school on Monday. It will be a good opportunity to get some things done - my paper, writing letters to friends, laundry etc.