So you know how last week I had this amazing weekend in Munich, spending most of my time swing dancing? Well, this weekend I did the SAME THING…only in Edinburgh for the Edinburgh Lindy Exchange! This year marked the first time Edinburgh hosted a lindy exchange, and I think it’s fair to say it went off extraordinarily well. Three amazing things happened to me during ELX:

1. I got to swing dance with a man in a kilt.
2. A local dancer called me an “Edinburgh dancer.”
3. I introduced myself to a guy I was dancing with, and his response was, “Oh, you’re the Erika from America who is getting into our Edinburgh lindy scene but really prefers to blues dance?—Oh yes, the Edinburgh dancers are talking about you.”

It was an excellent weekend.

ELX was not quite as jammed packed with dancing activities as the Munich exchange, but I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that this was Edinburgh’s first attempt at an international dance gathering of this sort. I was very happen to note, however, that in both Munich and Edinburgh, a lot of the swing music that was played overlapped with the music played by the Texas Aggie Swing Cats, the university group at Texas A&M. What can I say? I guess we Aggies just know our swing music!

Perhaps the best part of ELX was the last night, after the official dances had finished and we had an informal blues house party. Interestingly enough, the party was thrown by a girl named Vanessa, who is originally from Colorado and is a good friend of a Texas dancer—this world really is ridiculously small. Speaking of which, I’ve found that most of the dancers here in Edinburgh are not Scottish at all, but are from the southern part of the UK, Australian, or North American—mostly Australian, though. Because Australia is part of the Commonwealth, at least to my understanding, it’s a bit easier to come over to the UK and work, study, or what have you than for those of us from the United States.

As great as ELX was, I was feeling a little less than content when I realized I was missing something that, in Texas, had been a pretty substantial part of my life: Chipotle burritos.
My best friend Courtney and I miss Chipotle terribly. It’s really sad NOT being able to drive three minutes to its delicious doors and consume a yummy burrito bowl. Neither one of us really knows how to cook, but we decided to attempt a recreation of this taste bud teaser for ourselves and my flatmates. Two and a half hours and 20 pounds sterling in, we completed our task! While our Mexican feast was not quite exactly the Chipotle experience of joy, it was pretty darn good. Having spicy salsa, corn tomatillo, grilled onions and veggies, marinated spicy chicken, cilantro rice, sour cream, tortillas and black beans was a really nice change from the 14 pence Ramen noodles I’ve been living on.  And it tasted like home, which was absolutely lovely. The greatest part about our Mexican feast was the reaction of my flatmates. They LOVED our meager attempts at Chipotle recreation so much that I’m not sure how’d they react to actual Chipotle food. It made me feel even better about my burgeoning cooking skills—they actually asked me to start keeping a constant bowl of salsa in the fridge for regular snackage. Whoop for Texas salsa!

It’s started to get cold in Edinburgh, folks! Right now, it’s around 7 degrees Celsius, or 46 or so degrees Fahrenheit, which is way colder than it’s ever been for me in September in Texas. Knowing this before I came, I prepared for the cold by only really bringing trousers (can’t say pants over here—it has a completely different meaning), but the chilly weather doesn’t stop the locals from donning short skirts and day dresses. I am amazed by all the students I see walking around in skirts and tights. I am freezing! Time to bring out the big coat, scarves, and hats!

Anyway, I’m off to work on some Gaelic grammar and pronunciation, so for now, goodbye, or--slàn leibh!