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.