http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/en-EUMokoFeed10http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/http://data5.blog.de/design/preview/1a/1c7a8f326efc36c7fc143cb88929be_160x200.jpghttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/04/29/lap-one-of-four-finish-line-graduation-6026805/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2009-04-29:/2009/04/29/lap-one-of-four-finish-line-graduation-6026805/Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:31:00 +0200 <p>So I’ve finished the first of my four finals, and I have to say, my first final at the University of Edinburgh was…ROUGH. As I explained in my last blog, my international law final exam was worth 70% of my course mark and was testing me over an entire year’s worth of material. I was given 6 essay questions and needed to answer 4 of them in 3 hours. It was brutal!</p> <p>I was so stressed Sunday night that I only was able to sleep a few hours—trying to keep UN resolutions, Internal Court of Justice cases and Internal Law Commission Articles in my head wasn’t the easiest thing I’ve had to do in my academic career. I’ve never had to take a test like this before, and by the end of it, I was so worn out that I came home and actually slept for 16 and a half hours straight.<br> Taking the exam itself seemed like something out of a movie. My exam was held in McEwan Hall, which looks like this:</p> <p><img src="http://www.henniker.org.uk/images/places/local_a/ed_sth/mcewan2.jpg" alt="McEwan Hall" title=""></p> <p>I was so distracted by how pretty the building was, that I probably spent the first ten minutes of my exam staring at the columns, the paintings, and the ceilings. McEwan Hall is where the graduation services are held--it seats 2000 people, quite a different set-up than Reed Arena, that sits 12,500 people for our commencement ceremonies at Texas A&M University. As far as the actual test taking process went, it was much like any other final, except that there were at least 300, maybe 400 students taking a test at once. Half the room was taking the International Law exam, and the other half was taking (I think) a chemistry exam of some sort. I filled up around fifteen page, maybe even twenty, of that blue book, and I have to tell you, I’m pretty thrilled to be done with the whole thing. </p> <p>Now just three more to go. I don’t have any tests the rest of this week, just one next Friday (May 8), then one May 15 and one on May 16—then I am done with my undergraduate career! It seems like it’s gone by so quickly. Just need to study two more history classes and one more business class, and I get a three month break before postgraduate work. Phew. Luckily, my other three finals won’t be quite as intense. My two history finals are only worth 50% of my grade, and my business final is two, not three, hours long.<br> The tricky part will be figuring out how to get all of this credit to apply back to A&M in time to graduate this summer without missing any of the necessary deadlines. Although all my courses will be done as of May 16, I won’t be able to graduate until August because of the time it takes to transfer credit back to A&M. It’s kind of sad that I’m missing graduating with all of my friends, but I honestly am more worried about getting through the end of the semester than worrying about graduation at this point. Finals have never been more stressful, only because I’ve never been this close to being done!</p> <p>So for all you class of 2009 seniors back home getting ready for your last round of finals, I feel your pain, and wish you the best of luck! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/04/29/lap-one-of-four-finish-line-graduation-6026805/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>graduationfinalsexamshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/04/29/lap-one-of-four-finish-line-graduation-6026805/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/04/22/final-push-towards-finals-5985511/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2009-04-22:/2009/04/22/final-push-towards-finals-5985511/Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:07:48 +0200 <p>First of all, my mother is fine! If you read my last post, I was going through a bit of a rough patch, worrying about my mom from thousands of miles away. She was in the hospital for bronchitis and they discovered some heart problems, but she’s completely fine! Arteries clear, no surgery needed. I don’t think I need to tell you too much how relieved I was to have that weight off my mind. I’m still worried about her, but it’s nice to know things are on the mend.</p> <p>Now, I know we’re getting towards the end of the semester, which of course, means finals. For the past three and a half years, this means four days of an intense listing out of knowledge garnered over the previous semester. In Edinburgh, things are running a little differently. Over here, my finals are spread out over 6 weeks…and they’re from the whole year, even the courses that ended last semester. Quite a change from the A&M norm.</p> <p>What’s even stranger is that I have four weeks off of lectures beforehand. My last lecture was three weeks ago, and I’ve spent that time trying to get a whole year’s worth of material together for my first final next Monday. If you think revising for a final at A&M is tricky, imagine trying to remember everything you learned the first week of September! Not an easy task. Still though, finals are finals. It’s that time when you just have to do your best and hope it works out. At A&M, finals are pretty stressful, but they’re usually only worth about 25% of your grade—I think the most heavily weighted final I took back home was 40%, which I thought was crazy. My final on Monday contributes 70% of my final mark for International Law. One two hour essay based exam over material from the whole year is worth almost three quarters of my grade. Needless to say, the stress is starting to build up a little bit. </p> <p>While I’ve finished my lectures a long time before A&M finishes its lectures, I’ll still be in school while, back home, graduations are happening. My last final isn’t until May 16, and finals run for a few weeks after that for various departments. It’s a very strange feeling, because it feels like school’s been out, but without the happy, carefree feeling of summer or Christmas break as I know I’ve got hugely important tests looming over me. </p> <p>So the system is completely different, but is it better? In terms of personal taste, I much prefer the A&M system. Yes, finals come at you quickly, but they’re only for the semester that you just studied, you only have about a week to prepare, and then you’re done. Free. Here, you have much m ore time to prepare for your finals, if you don’t slack off or get distracted, but there is much more pressure to do well as the tests are more heavily weighted. The combination of that, the four weeks of stress buildup, and examinations over material that concluded teaching in December is difficult to adjust to. On the other hand, the Edinburgh system does make sense in that it encourages students to learn material and really retain it, as opposed to cramming the info in your brain for three months, spitting it out and being done with it. Either way, it’s definitely the most obvious difference in teaching organization style between my two undergraduate schools, and hopefully I’ll do an okay job of adjusting to the Edinburgh way.</p> <p>So for all my fellow Edinburghers, good luck going into the last week of revision, and for all my fellow Aggies, start getting ready, because finals aren’t that far away!</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/04/22/final-push-towards-finals-5985511/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>edinburghfinalsstudy-abroadhttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/04/22/final-push-towards-finals-5985511/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/04/10/study-abroad-blues-5920308/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2009-04-10:/2009/04/10/study-abroad-blues-5920308/Fri, 10 Apr 2009 09:43:51 +0200 <p>When I left home in the fall of 2005, I went through the typical feelings associated with leaving home. At first, I was so excited and only felt elation at growing up. After a few weeks, I started to miss home and the constant comfort of my parents, and then finally got used to living on my own. Three years pass, and I have trouble going home for any length of time, as it invariably ends in fights between my parents and me. Still, though, I was always able to go home on the spot if I needed to—the drive was only three hours from College Station, where I was living and going to University in Texas.</p> <p>When I moved to Edinburgh in September, I had already made the transition to living on my own without my family, but I had to get used to not being able to text my mom or sister whenever I wanted to, or be there whenever they needed me. I figured out a pretty good system with Skype, but sometimes, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.</p> <p>A few weeks ago, my mom was hospitalized because she was having trouble breathing. Every year, she gets awful bronchitis and this year it was particularly bad, and she ended up needing the hospital to help her breathe. Needless to say, this was pretty scary for me, but even more so because I’m on the other side of the ocean. In addition, it’s usually my mom that I talk to as my father and sister aren’t really big on the whole communication thing. I felt like I was completely shut off from what was happening with my family, and it was very unsettling. To make things even worse, the doctors found out that there is something wrong with my mother’s heart—they’re not sure what’s causing it, so she has to go back to the hospital tomorrow to get a heart catheter put in. I’ve talked to her every day on Skype this week but it’s not the same as being there, or even being in the same state. </p> <p>I think as we grow up we get to a point where we think we’re completely capable of leaving our families, and while it may be true that I am completely able to live apart from my family, there’s a big part of me that wants, more than anything, to be home with my mom when she needs me. I physically cannot get to my mom right now, and it is a much more difficult situation than I thought it might be. It’s strange, because even though I’m removed from the situation, I think it actually makes the stress of my mom’s condition harder for me to deal with, because I’m not able to do anything. My sheer impotence is frustrating beyond belief. Of course, my family tells me not to worry, but we all know how that is. </p> <p>I’ve only had positive things to say about studying abroad, and even living abroad. The new experiences, the opportunities, the complete opening up of yourself that occurs—these are all great, but I’m finding that they may not always make up for this one incredibly powerful negative. Being incapable of being there for your family or loved ones when they need you or are in trouble is HARD. I imagine a lot of people who don’t study abroad deal with this as well, but it’s my first exposure to one of the not so hot aspects of adulthood. </p> <p>Hopefully, my next blog will be full of exciting news about my mom, and how this whole thing has been an overreaction. Until then, I’ll just leave you with the advice that while life gives you the chance to be around the people you love, you should take as much advantage of it as you can. Sometimes we are granted opportunities that cause us to give up easy access to those we’re close to, and while we should jump at these opportunities, we should remember what we have while we have it.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/04/10/study-abroad-blues-5920308/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>study-abroadfamilyedinburghhttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/04/10/study-abroad-blues-5920308/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/03/31/moving-to-glasgow-5863542/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2009-03-31:/2009/03/31/moving-to-glasgow-5863542/Tue, 31 Mar 2009 07:27:39 +0200 <p>I started university in 2005, and planned to graduate in 2009--wait, it’s 2009 this year…doesn’t that mean I’m supposed to graduate and…sniffle…leave the safety of being an undergraduate?? As in, make a decision about my future? </p> <p>Over the past few months, as I’m sure most other senior have been, I’ve been stressing out about what I’d be doing after graduation. Because I’m studying abroad during the spring semester of my senior year, the credits won’t be applied to my A&M degree in time for a May graduation, meaning I’ll be done in August. To make the general unease about graduating more intense, I also had to worry about whether or not I was staying in the United Kingdom or flying home in August to graduate and staying in Texas, as well as coordinate all my graduation from across the Atlantic.</p> <p>I had a few ladles in the pot, from taking a gap year to applying to the Peace Corps, but my Plan A was attending graduate school at the University of Glasgow for an MSc (Master of Science) in Human Rights and International Politics—and I recently found out that I got in!!</p> <p>So, I will officially be moving to Glasgow at some point during the summer and getting ready to be a graduate student. The program is a year long, so I’ll be finishing my MSc in September 2010. Glasgow is only about 40 miles away from Edinburgh, but is such a completely different type of city. Edinburgh may be the capital of Scotland, but we only have about 500,000 people—Glasgow has over 2 MILLION. This also means that I’ll be changing my city label from “Edinburgher” to “Glaswegian,” or “Wegie” for short. I’m so excited to start graduate work, and really focus on my specific interest—what’s so intriguing about this particular program is that it addresses human rights from both the legal and political viewpoints, which leaves a ton of options open for me for post-academic work. I’m not sure where I’ll be living in Glasgow, or when I’m moving, but I know I’m going!</p> <p>In other news, I’m in a bit of a limbo at the moment. The University of Edinburgh has finished giving lectures for the year, so I’m completely done with undergraduate lectures. Here’s the funny part—four weeks from now, finals begin: a month and a half of them. I have four weeks off, then four tests over three weeks. Not only do I have finals from this semester, but a final for my year long course, and a final from a course that ended last semester! I may have four weeks off from lectures, but I certainly have a lot of work to do. This type of format is so unfamiliar to me. Back home, we have finals for each semester at the end of the semester that the course was given in--these finals are also close to the end of the semester and are only given over four days. It's very difficult to revise for exams that, in some cases, are six weeks away yet I have all the information that I need. </p> <p>Prediction: Lots of hours in the library for me. But even though I’ve got a ton of work ahead of me, at least I have a plan for next year! For all you Aggie seniors—if you haven’t found a job or grad school or a plan yet, keep looking! Something will work out, and once you’ve made a decision, life gets just a little bit easier. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/03/31/moving-to-glasgow-5863542/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>universitytravellingedinburghglasgowhttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/03/31/moving-to-glasgow-5863542/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/03/01/bagels-conferences-and-cross-atlantic-journeys-5669519/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2009-03-01:/2009/03/01/bagels-conferences-and-cross-atlantic-journeys-5669519/Sun, 01 Mar 2009 03:18:38 +0100 <p>Okay, now that the combination of jet lag and epic dancing has worn off, have I got a story for you!</p> <p>Last Thursday, I made my ninth cross-Atlantic flight from Edinburgh to Washington, D.C. As amazing as it would have been just to fly to my nation’s capital, I actually was flying with a purpose. Over a year ago, I started doing some research with Dr. Roemer Visser and Dr. Lesley Tomaszewski, examining whether or not gender based differences in peer performance appraisals existed. After a TON of work, we submitted a research abstract to the Academy of Human Resource Development for their 2009 International Research Conference in The Americas, and it was accepted! We had submitted our work before I left for Scotland, so I had no idea what would happen if our work was positively reviewed, but I was fortunate enough to be sponsored to fly all the way from Scotland to help present our work to other human resource development professors, graduate students, and professionals. </p> <p>The conference, though I have attended many before, was my first where I was involved in presenting anything. It definitely gave me a different perspective than previous conferences. In D.C., I still attended other presentations, but was more focused on networking and building on the ideas that we had come up with for own research than simply absorbing new material as I had in past conferences. I was not incredibly familiar with human resource development; at Mays Business School, I had studied human resource management, but not development. In my mind, I had grouped the two together. When I looked at the conference program, however, and saw other presenters from Texas A&M, individuals that I knew were not from Mays Business School, I learned that human resource development is actually in the College of Education rather than Business. For me, this is a little counterintuitive; shouldn’t the study of how to manage your human resources and how to develop your human resources be looked at collectively?</p> <p>Anyway, we gave our presentation on Saturday morning, and while the audience was not huge at 8:30 in the morning, we did have some fantastic feedback about ways to advance our study. The really exciting part was that I felt like we were being given some serious affirmation; beyond our research being accepted by the Academy, here were these professionals getting excited and involved in what we had to say. Based on that dialogue and some additional data we’ve collected, I’m hopeful that we will be able to produce a full paper in the next few months or so. </p> <p>Well, surely that must be the end of the story—I mean, I had this amazing professional development opportunity with great results, right?</p> <p>But then that would be a short story, and suspiciously void of dancing.</p> <p>If you haven’t read any of my previous blogs, I am a wee bit obsessed with any and all forms of dancing. I teach swing dancing two nights a week in Edinburgh, dj as often as I can, am on two performance teams, and am helping promote a swing dance company through the management side. So, when I was in D.C., I naturally headed over to the local lindy hop scene to check out the scene. I met some great people and had some good dances, but had expected a little more out of our capital. At this point, my swing levels were dangerously low, and I was needing some excellent dancing.</p> <p>Not to worry, though, I had a backup plan!</p> <p>Once we had given our presentation and I had the all clear from Dr. Visser and Dr. T., I headed back to the airport and flew north, across the border, to chilly and snowy Montreal to catch the second half of a blues dance exchange, Montreal Bagel ‘N Blues! The whole theme of the exchange was bagels, which meant lots of delicious treats all weekend.</p> <p>The swing dancing community is incredible mobile, so many of my friends from Texas were at this exchange, in addition to the dozens of close friends I’ve developed through my years of traveling and dancing. There was so much snow in Montreal, but we mostly kept inside, dancing until 7:00 in the morning. Besides the wonderful dancing and sightseeing, I received even more affirmation on this trip…</p> <p>…I won a blues contest! Around 4:00 am Sunday morning, the organizers announced an impromptu blues contest. My friend David from Santa Fe and I looked at each other, shrugged and said, “Why not?” and proceeded to have a good time on the dance floor. Much to our surprise, we won the contest! Besides a spiffy bagel medal, I now have free passes to BABBLE, or the Big Apple Balboa/Blues/Lindy Exchange in New York City in April; whether or not I can actually go is a whole ‘nother matter. </p> <p>David, two other friends and I were meant to be flying to our respective homes on Monday, but not out of Montreal due to cheaper ticket prices in various places in New England. In order to make it in time, we decided to leave the late night dance in Montreal around 3:00 in the morning, drive three hours across the border, catch three hours of sleep in a hotel in Vermont, and keep driving to Manchester, New Hampshire, and Boston, Massachusetts. Phew. That was a tough trip. It was snowing so hard that we could only drive about 30 miles an hour at some points. After we dropped Rachel and Patrick off in New Hampshire, though, David and I had plenty of time before our flights, so we walked around downtown Boston before heading to Logan Airport. Of course, while there, we HAD to blues dance in the middle of the terminal. I’m not entirely sure what the airline officials thought of us, but it was a lot of fun. </p> <p>After all that, I still had to fly to D.C., catch a connecting flight to London Heathrow, then one more to Edinburgh. For the first time in my many flights, I slept through all of them. This turned out to be incredibly fortunate, as I had to run immediately to class when I got back into Edinburgh, then head over to Zoot Swing for three hours of lessons—and the one I was teaching started at 9:30 pm! Needless to say, I was pretty tired!</p> <p>So there you have it—one of the busiest weekends of my life. It involved crossing 10 time zones, 6 flights, and a 7 hour road trip, academic development and dancing joy. Give me another week to recover, and I’ll be ready for the next one!</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/03/01/bagels-conferences-and-cross-atlantic-journeys-5669519/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>conferencesbagelstravelingblues-dancinghttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/03/01/bagels-conferences-and-cross-atlantic-journeys-5669519/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/02/16/the-big-22-really-5582901/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2009-02-16:/2009/02/16/the-big-22-really-5582901/Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:49:37 +0100 <p>Remember when you turned 16? For me, it was a magical number—all the Disney princesses were 16—plus, I could finally legally drive. 18 rolled around, the official age of adulthood, when I could legally sign myself in and out of school, sign release forms, or whatever else. 21…Americans all remember 21, the last big birthday of our youth, where all the strict guidelines of what we can and can’t legally do are lifted and we’re able to fully participate in all of society’s rules. Then comes 22. </p> <p>I just turned 22, and for the first birthday ever, I didn’t feel any different on my birthday.</p> <p>I woke up, saw that I had about 800 Facebook notifications of people (many that I hadn’t talked to in years) wishing me a happy birthday, and went about my day. It just seems like I’ve hit my last ‘growing up’ birthday and now have moved on to adult aged land. It’s like, okay, I’ve hit 22, time to be a grown up. Which is scary beyond belief!</p> <p>I did have a nice birthday, though. I am amazed to report that the quality of Tex-Mex food over here is…surprisingly good. One of my friends works at this Mexican food place, and I begrudgingly agreed to have my birthday dinner at her restaurant. Don’t get me wrong—I LOVE Mexican food. It’s one of the things I miss the most about home. I love it so much, in fact, that I assumed that the food would be terrible here and didn’t want to have to sit through a horrible rendition of familiar, homey, comfort food. But it was delicious! It wasn’t as good as Texas, but then what is, right? Still, it felt like home, with enchiladas and margaritas and guacamole. Yum. It was delicious!</p> <p>In addition to my birthday celebrations this past weekend, I had the opportunity to observe the Valentine’s Day goings-on of my friends and neighbors here in the United Kingdom and I have to say, it seems like a much bigger deal in Texas and the rest of the United States. I don’t think it’s Valentine’s Day in particular that is a bigger deal back home, but all commercial holidays. None of my friends, that I know of, did anything at all for Valentine’s Day; only a few even did a special dinner with their significant other. None of my single friends passed out cards or candy, and storefronts were noticeably lacking in the pink and red hearts display cases normally seen in overabundance back home. In Texas, Valentine’s Day was celebrated by all my friends, single and taken alike—one of my friends is even sending me a Valentine’s Day package all the way from home! It seems to me that the United States is way more into the commercial side of holidays, the buying gifts and decorating and all the wonderfully cheesy stuff that we love so much, whereas over here, it just wasn’t that big of a deal. Remembering back, it was the same with Halloween, and even Christmas; holidays are more obviously and more ostentatiously celebrated in the States than in Edinburgh. </p> <p>I think that this is also reflected in the general cultures of the two countries that I have called home at one point. Americans tend to be more open, brasher, more in your face, and generally ‘bigger’ in personality than the British. This is not necessarily a bad thing, just very different than the polite, more refined, more personal characters of our friends across the pond. One of the biggest thing I’ve noticed in the past few weeks is that on British television shows, the host always consoles the losing team or individual, saying things like, “You just didn’t get the right questions,” or “You tried your best, well done.” The tone is so different than back home, where at times, winning is so much more important than the process to get there. </p> <p>So there you go. Not yet a week as a 22 year old, and already I’m seeing new things about my home of six months. Maybe I am growing up—but 23 is still a year away. And besides, I won’t really be a grown up till at least 25, right? We’ll just have to see. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/02/16/the-big-22-really-5582901/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/02/16/the-big-22-really-5582901/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/02/04/super-bowl-sadness-5503554/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2009-02-04:/2009/02/04/super-bowl-sadness-5503554/Wed, 04 Feb 2009 07:36:34 +0100 <p>There are things, events, that are typically American. Holidays, traditions, ceremonies, that are specifically meaningful to those who belong to the United States. This past year, I’ve spent Thanksgiving in Europe. I spent the presidential election, race, campaign, and night itself, in Scotland. Martin Luther King Day was spent in the United Kingdom, and all the Aggie football games I normally follow religiously, in person at Kyle field, were seen not in the student section of that familiar football stadium, but on my computer screen. All of these I managed to still celebrate, still managed to feel like I was a part of, but the American event that I felt strangest not being in the United States was…the Super Bowl. </p> <p>That’s right. More than turkey and cranberry sauce, more than electing the 44th President of the United States, I miss the Super Bowl. </p> <p>This year marked the first time that I can remember NOT celebrating the Super Bowl. Usually, every year calls for friends, chicken wings, unlimited chips and salsa, and a television binge of hilarious commercials and watching grown men hurl themselves at each other in a bloody race for the ultimate American victory. I never really follow the NFL all that closely, but when the Super Bowl rolls around, I’ve always had to watch the game. </p> <p>I think it was the strangest American thing to ‘miss’ because of the lack of international following. That may seem obvious, but let me explain. The Presidential election was not limited to the States in terms of audience reach; friends of mine from all over the world tuned in the night/early morning to see the outcome, to participate in the discussions, and to either celebrate or not celebrate the result. Even though I was across the Atlantic Ocean, I felt like people around me were still engaged. Thanksgiving was less so, but still part of the cultural calendar in the United Kingdom. No, there weren’t Pilgrim and Indian plays, and not everyone made turkey dinners, but a fair number of my British friends wished me a “Happy Thanksgiving” and turkey dinners did pop up around my friend circle. </p> <p>The Super Bowl was another matter. I have perhaps two friends over here who even follow the National Football League at all—these friends did watch the Super Bowl, but didn’t throw a Super Bowl party. The International Office at the University of Edinburgh was rumored to have thrown a party, but I never saw flyers, signs, or any Facebook advertisement for anything whatsoever. With Thanksgiving and the election, I at least felt like I wasn’t the only one participating—the Super Bowl was almost completely absent from conversation this year. Which was weird.</p> <p>It got me to thinking—how much of ourselves is defined by where we grew up and how much is defined by where we are now? At what point do we lose our old habits, cultures, and traditions and take up those of the new place? Is there ever such a thing as true integration, or is it one or the other? I don’t know if there’s a simple answer to this. I’d like to think that I’ll always have some pretty strong Texas parts in me, but if I end up somewhere where no one around me knows about or is willing to hear about my home town or home country traditions, I’m worried those parts of me might disappear. </p> <p>I haven’t met a single Aggie (people who attend or attended Texas A&M University) in Edinburgh yet, and still, when someone mentions something exciting, I whoop, much to the surprise of those around me. "Whooping" is an Aggie tradition, in which we loudly and in a high pitch "whoop"--pretty much exactly what it sounds like. If you visit the A&M campus, you can randomly hear whooping all around. I’ve been away from Aggieland for over 6 months now, and I’m still whooping—but will I be audibly whooping in another year? I guess we’ll just have to see, but maybe it’s about choice, about making the definite choice to retain or let go of old parts of yourself. </p> <p>Anyway, that’s the latest in my series of pseudo-introspective insights from living abroad. More to come!</p> <p>Peace, y’all. <img src="/img/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/02/04/super-bowl-sadness-5503554/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>amtravelsuper-bowltraditionaggieedinburghhttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/02/04/super-bowl-sadness-5503554/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/01/21/back-to-the-grindstone-5415936/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2009-01-21:/2009/01/21/back-to-the-grindstone-5415936/Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:43:42 +0100 <p>Okay, so I know I’ve been away for awhile, but I’m back! Back in Scotland, back on blogging, and back to school! Yes, yes, I have been away from the wonderful world of blogging, but I have been one busy almost 22 year old, let me tell you!</p> <p>My very last final at the University of Edinburgh wasn’t until December 19—far later than I’ve ever been at school. Usually, I go home to see my folks around December 8th, but not this year. I took my final in Gaelic, jumped on a plane after a hectic swing dancing weekend, and didn’t get home to Texas until the 22nd—THREE DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS. In addition to the craziness that Christmas brings to everyone, I had to be fitted for my maid of honor dress for a wedding on January 3rd. In order to get it all done in time, I actually tried on my dress in the bathroom of Abuelo’s in Dallas on my way home from the airport. But there’s more! I got into Texas on that Monday, and Saturday I was throwing my best friend (the same one I was the maid of honor for) a bachelorette party. It was far more difficult getting used to Texas again to begin with, but with the combination of Christmas and maid of honor duties, it was darn near impossible. I think I didn’t let myself start to relax until after January 3, once Daniel and Michelle were safely away on their honeymoon.</p> <p>So then after the wedding, all was great, right? No. Stressful America visit continues! I flew to Portland, Oregon, just after the wedding. Portland Fusion Exchange was incredible, though. Three days of solid lessons and social dancing, where we took the fundamentals of blues dancing, swing dancing, and tango, broke them, and then combined them to create new ways of dancing to all sorts of different types of music. After Portland, I needed to deal with some family issues in Texas, then I flew back to Edinburgh, and I started classes last week without really having had a chance to catch my breath!</p> <p>Until now. </p> <p>So, now that I’ve gotten myself back together, let me just say that it is HARD to jetset off between countries. I did not expect to feel that different in Texas; it’s where I’ve grown up and spent most of my life, but things were just…off somehow. Nothing dramatic, nothing big, just…off. By the time I felt like I was getting my Texas legs back, so to speak, it was off to another city and another life. The interesting thing is that in my mind, I will always consider myself a Texan. In my Scottish flat, I have a Texas flag on my wall next to my Edinburgh snapshots, I have my boots above my bed, and my ‘Howdy’ necklace looped around my beck. And yet, going back to Texas didn’t feel as welcoming as I thought it would. I’m not sure why this was, but somehow I feel that I won’t be returning to Texas full time just yet. I think I have far too much exploring to do first. </p> <p>The new semester in Edinburgh looks to be a good one—I have resolved to learn Argentine tango after my experiences in Portland, and have made progress on my grad school applications. I’m flying to Washington, D.C., in a month to present research, and I have good friends who continue to teach me new things about Scotland every day. The tricky part is getting back into the groove. Getting back into the mindset of essay writing, exam planning, and tutorial preparation is always a tough one after any sort of break, but it’s just part of life. So I’m off to get my notes together for my first international business class tomorrow, and will hopefully rock the house off this new year of 2009. </p> <p>Peace, y’all!</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/01/21/back-to-the-grindstone-5415936/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/01/21/back-to-the-grindstone-5415936/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/01/13/semester-two-5372034/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2009-01-13:/2009/01/13/semester-two-5372034/Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:43:04 +0100 <p>Hey everyone!</p> <p>I have not written here for a long time, 3 or 4 months I think, but I have made a new years resolution to start writing again. So here we go!</p> <p>As a quick recap, last semester was one of the best experiences of my life. My classes blew my mind, changing many of my ideas about my subject, Philosophy. Surprisingly, I got to know my lecturers very well not in the classroom or during office hours, but in the pub or during chance encounters on the street. The Pub culture in Edinburgh is fantastic, and I tend to go to pubs many times a week. Also, I have met people from all over europe, traveled up to the highlands and taken weekend trips to england. However, because last semester I focused on my classes so much, I have yet to do very obvious things, such as visit the Edinburgh castle, so I will do those things this semester. I put a youtube video up <a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=J9Z-F_a1YIk.">http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=J9Z-F_a1YIk.</a> The audio is bad, but you can get a birds eye view of Edinburgh, so it is worth watching.</p> <p>Anyway, this semester is already looking promising! My classes look good and I am planning a few trips around the UK and Ireland. Also, I am excited to explore edinburgh a bit more. There are a few scenic walks I've heard rumors of recently that go through the city all the way out to the coast. I also want to explore the surrounding area. Apparently there is a very nice castle just outside edinburgh that most people don't know about. And other than Edinburgh and the UK, I have a few friends who want to take advantage of low airfares (and I mean low), so I might take some weekend trips to places like Italy and Spain. There are some things to look forward to when the Scottish weather gets too much.</p> <p>I went home for winter break, but couldn't wait to return this semester. The plane ride back wasn't too bad. I spent most of the trip missing my family and watching movies. The flight from Heathrow to Edinburgh was a little scary though. The Scottish wind blew the plane around like a leaf and there were some people crying. However, we landed softly enough and I caught the bus into the city center. The city was completely barren compared to how was just before I left in late december. The German Christmas market and ferris wheel were gone, and so were all of the people. Somehow the silence was comforting though, after the holiday bustle. </p> <p>The last few days I have spent cleaning my room and getting ready for the new semester. My first class was cancelled, so I went out with my friends and met some of the new international students. I went to the first Philosophy Society meeting at the Meadow Bar, which was fantastic as usual. The topic was Forgiveness. What is forgiveness and when is it appropriate to forgive? Is it ever wrong to Forgive? Interesting questions, and a perfect warm up for the many pub experiences that are bound to happen.</p> <p>Till next time.<br> ~sean </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/01/13/semester-two-5372034/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2009/01/13/semester-two-5372034/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/12/05/from-turkey-to-st-andrew-s-5165567/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2008-12-05:/2008/12/05/from-turkey-to-st-andrew-s-5165567/Fri, 05 Dec 2008 05:12:52 +0100 <p>Last week, most of my American buddies were celebrating Thanksgiving with family and loved ones, enjoying a nice turkey, maybe some mashed potatoes and yummy pie. Well. I have to say, I was a little jealous. Last Thursday was nothing more to me than almost-the-last day of the week—Thanksgiving isn’t really a big hit over here with the Scots. Still, I had dinner with Thanksgiving napkins and got to see my gathered family via Skype, so it was almost like being there. </p> <p>To be honest, I thought I would miss Thanksgiving more than I actually did. Back home, we get almost a week off of school to spend time with loved ones and reflect on the things that we should be grateful for in our lives. In Edinburgh, life doesn’t stop like it does in the States. No one takes off work, school doesn’t get a break—the holiday just disappeared from my life. But since everyone else was carrying on as usual, it didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything at all. I actually was excited to not have to feel that familiar Thanksgiving paradox like I usually go through back home—you get a week off school, but it’s also right before finals, so it’s a false break. That feeling of ‘rushed vacation’ is NOT something I missed this year.</p> <p>But still, some turkey would have been nice.</p> <p>I did, however, celebrate a national holiday this weekend, just not the one I’m used to. St. Andrew’s Day is the national day of Scotland and is celebrated every year on November 30 all over the world. According to scotland.org, it was “after Robert the Bruce's famous victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 that St Andrew was officially named patron saint of Scotland and the Saltire became the national flag of Scotland in 1385: a manly saint for a rugged, victorious nation.” Exciting, no? </p> <p>To celebrate this exciting, blue-flag filled day, my best friend Courtney (another displaced Texan) and I finally visited the famous Edinburgh Castle, since entrance was free on St. Andrew’s Day. Let me tell you, I’ve been to a lot of castles around Europe, and the one in Edinburgh is by far my favorite. Most castles are impressive, but Edinburgh Castle is…formidable. It stands on Castle Rock, an ancient volcano some 340 million years old, which overlooks the entire city. The Rock has been used from even before the Romans came to what is now the United Kingdom, and was used as both a medieval fortress and a tool in the Scottish Wars of Independence. What’s so amazing about this particular castle is that it doesn’t just rest on this ancient volcanic site, but is integrated into the Rock itself. As you explore the castle, you look at the walls around you and see stone AND volcanic cliff. It makes the dungeons pretty bleak.</p> <p>I love European castles. Or just castles in general, really, as we seem to have a short supply of them in Texas. Edinburgh Castle had one exhibit that held relics of prisoners, including graffiti drawn by prisoners held within the castle on their cell doors. Get this—there was an etching of a ship…flying the early American stars and stripes. It gave me some serious chills. It also holds the oldest building in Edinburgh--St. Margaret’s Chapel—and a seriously large cannon known as Mons Meg, some 6 tons in weight.<br> But here was the best surprise of the castle—it holds a cemetery for dogs of the soldiers, just like the cemetery for the Reveilles at Kyle Field at my home school of Texas A&M. We have a collie dog named Reveille as a mascot, and every time a Rev dies, she gets buried in a cemetery next to our football field. Strange connections all around!</p> <p>So although I didn’t get to have my usual national holiday celebration this year of cranberry sauce and Chinese checkers with the family, I got the opportunity to pick up another national holiday in my new home, and after all was said and done, there were far more similarities than I was expecting.<br> Good luck with the rest of the semester, folks! I know this time of the year is tough, but almost done!</p> <p>Peace, </p> <p>Erika, ‘09 </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/12/05/from-turkey-to-st-andrew-s-5165567/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/12/05/from-turkey-to-st-andrew-s-5165567/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/11/24/it-s-not-easy-being-or-going-green-5101231/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2008-11-24:/2008/11/24/it-s-not-easy-being-or-going-green-5101231/Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:54:20 +0100 <p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">When I was a young girl, I grew up loving Sesame Street&mdash;I watched it every day, almost. Like many other Sesame Street aficionados, I fell in love with Kermit the Frog and watched everything I could about him. I think I&rsquo;ve watched Muppet Treasure Island about a hundred times. The song &ldquo;It&rsquo;s Not Easy Being Green&rdquo; that Kermit sang in the first season of Sesame Street in 1970 was a little old for my time, but I still knew that baby like the back of my hand by the time I was 8. Thirteen years later, I&rsquo;m living in another time of my life where &lsquo;Green&rsquo; seems to be the color on my mind all the time, but it&rsquo;s not so much about being happy with myself, no matter my differences, like it was the first time I heard Kermit the Frog come to the realization that green is a pretty cool color to be after all. Now, it&rsquo;s about &lsquo;going green,&rsquo; something we all are familiar with&mdash;trying to do things that save, rather than hurt our planet.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Living in the States last year, I thought I was doing pretty well for myself on the fight for a greener planet. I recycled, I used brown paper bags instead of plastic, I didn&rsquo;t drive as much as I had the previous year, and I tried to use less energy for air conditioning in the blazing Texas heat. I&rsquo;ve lived in Edinburgh for three months now, and what people do here to be green makes my Texas lifestyle look about as green as an eggplant. There is a noticeable, society wide difference in the baseline &lsquo;green meter&rsquo; actions of Edinburgh and Texas. Now, I am the first to remind everyone that there are some pretty big cultural differences between the Scottish capital and the Lone Star State, but here are some examples of what I mean.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Recycling in Edinburgh is just as easy as taking out your trash. Near just about every bin on the street is a nearby recycling bin, with clear labels as to what can and should go in. In College Station, I had to drive to a nearby recycling center to deposit my recyclables&mdash;still convenient, but not as ubiquitous. It&rsquo;s not just the availability of recycling centers; it&rsquo;s the cultural attitude. Every recyclable item is clearly marked with large print, not only about how to recycle, but a reminder to recycle in the first place. I ordered a Domino&rsquo;s pizza the other day in a brief homesick moment, and across my pizza box read the large message: PLEASE RECYCLE ME. But it&rsquo;s not just a passive reminder. Going grocery shopping is not the same as it is back home. When I go to Tesco&rsquo;s or Lidl over here, I not only am encouraged to use my own carrier bags  or purchase a canvas one, some stores even charge for carrier bags in the first place. I went to a Wal-Mart in Texas just before I moved over here, and when I asked for paper bags (thinking I was the epitome of good green behavior), I was told that store didn&rsquo;t stock paper bags anymore, only plastic. But even with the stores encouraging recycling carrier bags, the differences continue. Many people within the store itself will look at you if you walk out of the place with a ton of carrier bags as if to say, &ldquo;Really? You couldn&rsquo;t bother yourself to bring a backpack or a canvas sack? Really?&rdquo; In College Station, the norm is plastic bags; in Edinburgh, it seems as though the general public are offended by wasting bags on one trip.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The public advertisements, in general, are much stronger about &lsquo;going green&rsquo; than in Texas. My favorite advert this week is one that features an irritated floating world that wakes a man in bed and says something like, &ldquo;Do you mind? I can&rsquo;t sleep with all these appliances on.&rdquo; In the States, our electrical outlets are always &lsquo;on&rsquo;; if you plug something in, you&rsquo;ll have power straight away. Over here, energy is conserved by controlling the power at the outlet itself.  I don&rsquo; t have a dryer in my apartment&mdash;all my clothes go on clothes racks to air dry. When I was surprised at this, my flatmate was astonished to hear that I was used to drying everything in a dryer, amazed at the waste of energy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So with this in mind, it made me reevaluate Kermit&rsquo;s song:</p> <blockquote> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>It's not that easy bein' green; </span><span><br></span> <span>Having to spend each day the color of the leaves. </span><span><br></span> <span>When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold- </span><span><br></span> <span>or something much more colorful like that.</span><span></p> <p></span> <span> It's not easy bein' green. </span><span><br></span> <span>It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things. </span><span><br></span> <span>And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water- or stars in the sky. </span><span></p> <p></span> <span>But green's the color of Spring.</span><span><br></span> <span>And green can be cool and friendly-like. </span><span><br></span> <span>And green can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain, or tall like a tree.</span><span><br></span> <span> </span><span><br></span> <span>When green is all there is to be </span><span><br></span> <span>It could make you wonder why, but why wonder? Why wonder?</span><span><br></span> <span>I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful! </span><span><br></span> <span>And I think it's what I want to be.</span></p> </blockquote> <p class="MsoNormal">And you know what? I like living in my new green city with my increased green ways. It&rsquo;s certainly not easy, but it sure is beautiful, and it&rsquo;s definitely what I want to be.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/11/24/it-s-not-easy-being-or-going-green-5101231/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>greentexaskermitrecycleedinburghtravellinghttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/11/24/it-s-not-easy-being-or-going-green-5101231/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/11/12/well-what-s-next-5021233/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2008-11-12:/2008/11/12/well-what-s-next-5021233/Wed, 12 Nov 2008 03:00:35 +0100 <p>Short blog, today, folks. I’ll update you on my travels to the Highlands here in a bit, but I thought I should share the big news in my life. If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that I’ve been working on a scholarship project for the last several months of my life. Last November a friend convinced me that I should apply for the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships, two amazing opportunities that would pay for two to three years of grad work in the United Kingdom, Rhodes for Oxford and Marshall for any university I wanted in the United Kingdom. In May, I was officially nominated from Texas A&M University as a candidate, and starting working on my application. I spent most of the summer and early fall perfecting my personal statement, essays, application forms, and getting together all 8 of my recommendation letters--the end of which was done while I was overseas. I found out last week that I will not be getting either one of these scholarships.</p> <p>I’m not going to side step it: I am legitimately bummed. I have worked on this for so long, put so much of myself into it, and imagined receiving these scholarships too often for it to not matter to me that I’m not being asked into an interview. It would have made life a whole lot easier, as I would have had a Plan. A Plan that had specific timelines and goals. Now, however, the decision is in my hands entirely, and to be honest, it’s a little scary.<br> I’m officially graduating in August, since my classes at the University of Edinburgh won’t make it make to Texas A&M in time for the May graduations. As of August then, I will be a college graduate trying to make my mark on the world. Here’s what I’ve concluded in the aftermath of not winning these scholarships, though: I didn’t apply to these scholarships just to apply. I applied because I want to go to graduate school in the United Kingdom. The program at Glasgow is exactly what I’m looking for; why should I give it up just because I wasn’t one of the 40 finalists of the Marshall?</p> <p>So. I have decided to throw my hat in the ring, apply to the University of Glasgow, and figure out funding along the way. Applying for these two scholarships forced me to define exactly who and what I want to be in life, and I’m not going to stop pursuing my goals just because my Plan A didn’t work out. I’ve never liked plans anyway…way too pedestrian for my cup of tea. </p> <p>Off to bed, now, and I’ll worry about it as I go along. As one of my very favorite movie characters said, “I’ll think about it tomorrow. For after all, tomorrow is another day.”</p> <p>Well put, Scarlett O’Hara. Well put.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/11/12/well-what-s-next-5021233/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/11/12/well-what-s-next-5021233/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/11/07/u-s-election-adventures-in-scotland-4997060/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2008-11-07:/2008/11/07/u-s-election-adventures-in-scotland-4997060/Fri, 07 Nov 2008 03:01:23 +0100 <p>Tuesday night was amazing. Let’s just start from there. As a Texas Democrat, I am quite often in the minority of political views, especially in College Station. Going to school at Texas A&M, sometimes polled as the most conservative school in the United States, gave me the chance to clearly define my beliefs in an environment where, more times than not, I was challenged to explain and justify my viewpoints. This environment is radically different than the one I am currently experiencing in Edinburgh, Scotland. Over here, most people simply are baffled as to why anyone would vote for McCain—I’m not saying that voting for McCain is or was a bad thing; I’m reasonably sure that my parents voted for McCain, and to be perfectly honest, he was my favorite Republican on the ticket. What I’m trying to get across is that the average person in Edinburgh is far more liberal, in the American sense of the word, than the average person in Texas. That being said, my Edinburgh election night was far different than any I’ve experienced back home.<br> From the beginning, I’ve been an Obama supporter, through and through; I was even selected as an Obama alternate to the Texas Democratic State Convention. I have Texas for Obama shirts, Obama hats, and even a Scotland for Obama shirt. Swing dancers in Munich know me as “the Obama girl” because I consistently wear my Obama hat to dance events. Watching the map turn blue on Tuesday night (or really VERY early in the morning for me) was such a powerful experience, one of hope for change and excitement for the future. What surprised me the most is how involved Scottish people are in American politics. My flatmate knows more about the historical turnouts, rates, polling numbers, etc., than I do—and my old roommate was a field advisor for Chet Edwards. Everywhere I turned, people—American students and Brits alike—seemed to be discussing the merits of the candidates and what it meant for the world at large. Overwhelmingly, the European consensus was for Senator Obama, which felt very different from my oh-so-Republican home town back in Texas.<br> The University of Edinburgh sponsored an American election watch party, complete with Obama and McCain burgers. One of the biggest differences between A&M and the University of Edinburgh is that Edinburgh has student bars—one of which is Teviot Row House, one of the student unions. It was here that I watched most of the election, and it was out of control. The whole place was jam packed with enthusiastic Americans and non-Americans alike, all anxiously watching the big screen projector of CNN. Believe it or not, there actually were a fair number of McCain supporters, all the way in Scotland, making their opinions just as equally heard as the rest of us. I went into Teviot with just Obama clothing, but came out with about three layers of Obama face paint that supporters were passing around. I think the most exciting part of the night, aside from Ohio going to Obama and the actual announcement itself, was at one point, Texas showed up as blue on the map. I’m not sure if it was a mistake or perhaps the congressional map, but I nearly jumped out of my seat with surprise.<br> It was fascinating to watch the American election from overseas. The enthusiasm caught me by surprise, no question about it, but in reflection, it’s not all that shocking. American politics, in a very real sense, do affect the rest of the world, and anyone who doesn’t think that needs to come to a British US Election party. I didn’t go home until well after 4:00 in the morning, and many of my Scottish friends didn’t make it home until 5:00 am or so.<br> Of course, I am thrilled and elated about the results of the election, but I am anxious and hopeful that the American people can unite to look to the future. I was scanning Facebook statuses on November 5, and I was surprised at the number of angry statuses that I saw. I realize that feelings run high at election time, but I hope we can work past divisiveness to create a better future. Regardless of who you voted for, we all had a part to play in our democratic process—that alone is an amazing thing, and it will be exciting to see what happens in January. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/11/07/u-s-election-adventures-in-scotland-4997060/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/11/07/u-s-election-adventures-in-scotland-4997060/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/10/28/a-texan-s-guide-to-survivingedinburgh-4945125/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2008-10-28:/2008/10/28/a-texan-s-guide-to-survivingedinburgh-4945125/Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:48:06 +0100 <p>I’ve been in Edinburgh for about a month and a half now, so I’ve had plenty of time to realize some of the things I might have done differently in the first few weeks. While I was reflecting over some of my more humorous mistakes, at least for my flatmates, I thought I’d put together a preliminary list of advice tidbits for any of my fellow Texans thinking of making the trek over to Alba (Scotland in Gaelic):</p> <p>1. Rain.</p> <p>Never, EVER, leave your flat without an umbrella. Sure, it may be gorgeous and cloudless now, but that’s not to say that as soon as you’re a mile away from your cozy flat the sky won’t turn over on you, releasing gallons and gallons of frigid water from the North Sea.</p> <p>2. Wind. </p> <p>There is no point in worrying about your hair or general appearance. No matter how much time you spend fixing your hair until it’s just so, it won’t stay. The moment you leave the warm safety of your flat, the Edinburgh wind of doom will blow your hair from Scotland to Chicago and back again in about three seconds.</p> <p>3. Cold. </p> <p>Don’t be fooled by the sunlight—it’s not warm. Trust me. You’re going to want to bring that coat of yours anyway. The Scottish sun is not nearly as powerful as the blazing orb we’re used to in the Lone Star State. </p> <p>4. Local Slang.</p> <p>It might be important for you to pick up the difference in what items are called in Texas and the UK. Here’s an important example: pants. To Texans, these are the long pieces of fabric that cover our legs. Not so for the friendly Brits—what we call pants are called trousers over here and what they call pants are…well, what we call underwear. As you might imagine, this can cause a certain degree of misunderstanding! Just think about every time you use the word pants in your day to day conversation and imagine how the British version of this word would change your meaning. Yeah, I’ve been made fun of quite a bit for that little trinket so far. </p> <p>5. Wardrobe Choices</p> <p>Here’s the deal: Don’t pack a lot of clothes before you leave the good ol’ South. You will—let me repeat this—you WILL lose a good ten pounds in the first month of your being in Edinburgh. When you move from an area where you drive EVERYWHERE to a place where walking is your only form of transport, things will change. I stressed so much about packing a good variety of clothes, and now half of them don’t fit me anymore. </p> <p>6. The Importance of Socks</p> <p>SOCKS. Bring as many pairs of socks as you can. I didn’t, and it was a huge mistake. In Texas, I didn’t wear a lot of socks in my daily life, except for athletic socks while working out. Here, I wear them every day and night and need more constantly, especially big warm socks. Half of my pairs of socks have holes in them already! Also, bring layers and layers and warm trousers. It gets really, really cold at night.</p> <p>7. Grocery Shopping</p> <p>Now, I know that in Texas, we have huge supermarkets with express lanes and massive shopping carts. Don’t expect this when you cross the pond. In Edinburgh, going grocery shopping is a completely different experience. First of all, you have to carry everything you buy back to your flat, which can often be quite a long walk, limiting your Texas-sized spending habits. Secondly, express lanes are a thing of the past—everybody waits. Finding the perfect amount of goods, between enough to last you a while and little enough that you can carry it home without killing yourself, takes some time. </p> <p>8. Crosswalks</p> <p>I’m sure all of you are perfectly aware that the Brits drive on the other side of the road here—but did you know that their methods of pedestrian crossings are also different? Instead of one direction getting the green light to walk at a time, the crosswalks are blocked from all pedestrians at once, and then all the cars are blocked at once. This means that in Edinburgh, you can actually walk diagonally across the intersections—it took me a while to figure this out!</p> <p>9. Dogs</p> <p>If you see a random large dog running at you in the park, please, do not be alarmed. This is merely the way of Edinburgh dogs and their owners. I kept thinking I had found all these lost dogs running around the Meadows, until I realized that Edinburgh dog walkers have somehow trained their pets better than any I’ve seen in the States. The dogs here walk themselves, no question. I actually have seen several dogs walking behind their owners with their leash IN their mouths. </p> <p>10. Daylight</p> <p>If you get sad during the Texas winter, stop your plans to move to Scotland right now. Seriously. It’s the last half of October, and it gets dark—really dark—by 6:00 pm, and getting earlier every day. My flatmates tell me that by December, it will be completely dark by 4:30 or 4:00, and the sun won’t come up until well into mid-morning. We are so far north that in the winter, people who work 9-5 jobs never see the sun; they go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. If you are affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder, seriously, Scottish winters are not for you. As for me, I love the nighttime, so it’s approaching vacation time for me!</p> <p>Well, that’s all I’ve got for now, but I figure a 10 point list is a good as any starting point. Back with more later, kiddos, and have a great week!</p> <p>Peace,<br> Erika</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/10/28/a-texan-s-guide-to-survivingedinburgh-4945125/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>travelcoldtop-tenedinburghadaptingscotlandtexashttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/10/28/a-texan-s-guide-to-survivingedinburgh-4945125/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/10/24/dancing-much-no-4920934/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2008-10-24:/2008/10/24/dancing-much-no-4920934/Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:50:43 +0200 <p>Some know Cambridge as a center for enlightenment, an educational epicenter that produces and promotes dialogue, debate, and discourse. While this is certainly true, for me, Cambridge is also a heck of a lot of fun for a lindy hopper. This past weekend, Cambridge was the site for my third lindy exchange since I’ve hopped the pond, Cambridge Lindy Exchange, and like the others, it did not disappoint.</p> <p>One of the things I’ve missed most about Texas is the daily dose of Erika-superstardom that comes with singing in the car in my everyday commutes. In a town where walking is the norm, and driving seems completely besides the point, singing at the top of my voice and banging my hand on the steering wheel of my erstwhile Jetta is a thing of the past. This weekend, though, I actually got to ride in a car for the 6 hour drive to Cambridge—I plugged my IPod into the car radio, and let me just say, it was epic. After such a great start, the weekend just got better. We got to the first dance a little late, but early enough to catch up with some friends I had made at the Munich and Edinburgh Lindy Exchanges and dance out our car-sore blues.</p> <p>The next day, we started with a walking tour of Cambridge, and I felt like I was stepping into an English novel. Everything was just so green! And not the green that I’m used to in Texas, but somehow a more vibrant, brighter green that seemed to light up the old college buildings. As fun as just walking was, I was not prepared for the joy about to be unleashed—it was time for our punting tour. If you’re not familiar with what exactly a punt is, just think of those tiny boats in Venice with the men in funny hats pushing you through the river with a long pole. That’s what we did, except without the funny hats and we punted ourselves. Let me just say upfront, it is WAY harder than it looks. My attempt at the pole resulted in little more than erratic diagonal ramblings and occasional collisions into other punts or walls. I did manage to successfully blues dance on the punt, though, and I think that overshadows my inability to manage the punt itself! An American friend of mine, Vanessa, and I had too much fun on the punt pretending we were in The Little Mermaid—if you’re familiar with the film, you’ll remember the ‘Kiss the Girl’ scene where Ariel and Eric are in a small boat, surrounded by wispy branches. Well, we had the branches…so we created our own rendition of the song, complete with ducks sitting on the side of the river.</p> <p>Needing a nap before the 10 hour dancing stint planned for me that evening, I headed to my host’s place to catch some shut eye. I awoke to find Graham, my host, not only in a tux, but playing blues guitar like a Louisiana native. How classy! The evening dance had a theme: come dressed as “I wish I were…” which explained Graham’s fancy attire—like so many, he wished to be Fred Astaire. My favorite costume, though, was worn by one of my favorite blues dancers in London, David Zilkha, who came as a younger version of himself. He had put on knee pads that had shoes sticking out of them, so when he was on his knees, it looked as though his legs ended at his knees…but the amazing thing was that he actually danced like this, and danced well! The night ended after some fantastic blues dancing until up to around 6 in the morning. After a delicious pub lunch and dance, where I had cottage pie for the first time, our car full of Edinburgh dancers packed up and headed north. After an equally exciting trip back home with even louder music to keep us all awake, I arrived home to the real world, where I had a paper and tutorial prep waiting for me. Even across the pond, life goes on, right?</p> <p>In other dancing news, I’ve been teaching a blues class at the Counting House, a swing dance venue here in Edinburgh. It’s my first attempt at teaching what I love so much, and it’s gone very well so far. Yesterday was my second class of four, and people seemed to respond well to everything; it is so exciting to see others share the joy of learning how to express themselves through music and movement. I’ve also joined a performance troupe, and we’ll be performing at least once this semester, down in Leeds, England. I’ve got my first aerials practice on Saturday; hopefully, I’ll come out of that without too much brain damage from knocking my head around.</p> <p>As you can probably tell, the dancing fever has hit hard, and I don’t think it will be going away anytime soon. So with that in mind, go move your feet, kiddos! Just go with it and see where you end up. You might be surprised.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/10/24/dancing-much-no-4920934/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>swing-dancinglindy-hopblues-dancingcambridgedanceblueshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/10/24/dancing-much-no-4920934/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/10/09/weight-off-my-shoulders-4845165/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2008-10-09:/2008/10/09/weight-off-my-shoulders-4845165/Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:12:54 +0200 <p class="MsoNormal">On my desktop, I have a handy little to-do list that pops up on the right hand side of my screen. For the past seven months or so, I&rsquo;ve had the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships on this to-do list, from &lsquo;get initial personal statement to Kyle&rsquo; to &lsquo;check with letter writers,&rsquo; and just about everything in between and beyond imaginable. As of this weekend, my to-do list is finally cleared, and I spent the last five or so days feeling almost weightless with the completion of these scholarships. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Rhodes and the Marshall scholarships are arguably two of the most prestigious scholarships in the United States, and both would be unbelievable opportunities. The Rhodes covers two years of education at Oxford, and the Marshall funds two years of graduate work anywhere in the United Kingdom. If I am fortunate enough to get the Rhodes, I want to study for a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Oxford, and if I am lucky enough to get the Marshall, I want to pursue two master&rsquo;s degrees at the University of Glasgow&mdash;and MSc in Global Movements, Social Justice and Sustainability and an MSc in Human Rights and International Politics. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">In a nutshell, here&rsquo;s what I had to do for these two:</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Rhodes application packet consisted of a cover sheet, one 1000 word personal statement summing up why and how I want to do what I want to do with my life&mdash;a confusing phrase, but essentially who I am in three pages, a two page resume, a copy of my transcript, a copy of my passport, and a passport sized photo&hellip;and all of these items had to be reproduced ten times. So, after completion, my Rhodes packet was a little over 70 pages. In addition, I needed 8 letters of recommendation for this scholarship, and each of my (fantastic!!) letter writers had to submit, along with a form signed by me, 10 copies of their letters. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Marshall consisted of much less paperwork, but had more writing involved. The application was online, which made things much, much easier. I had a similar 1000 word personal statement, but an additional 500 words on my proposed program of study, and 500 words about why I wanted to study in the United Kingdom. The application asked other questions that, if they were all listed on two pages, would have been pretty close to my resume. The Marshall, like the Rhodes, had more letters of recommendation than any other scholarship or position I&rsquo;ve every applied for before. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Between mid-April of this year and October 2, I probably went through about 25 different drafts of my personal statement&mdash;some never left my computer, others flew back and forth between Kyle Mox, the Texas A&M National Scholarships Coordinator, and I, but only one went out; hopefully it was the right combination of all my attempts. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Andrew Matteson is one of my dearest friends, and last year, he went through this exact same process, except that he had the added stress of ending a ten month engagement&mdash;with me. After going through the same thing myself, I can honestly say that I understand what happened last October a little better. Applying for the Rhodes and the Marshall scholarships was the most intensive look at myself that I&rsquo;ve ever gone through. Even if nothing comes out of this process, the process itself has been so rewarding. I&rsquo;ve essentially cut away at myself until I&rsquo;ve found exactly who I am; even without achieving either of these scholarships, I&rsquo;m in a far better position to make decisions about my future because I know who I want to be and what I want to do. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I&rsquo;ll find out in a few weeks, around the beginning of November, if I&rsquo;ve been selected for an interview for either the Marshall or Rhodes. If so, then I&rsquo;ll attend the interviews, give it my best shot, and see what happens. Hopefully, my blog around November-time will be about the interview questions, but even if it&rsquo;s not, I will consider this process well worth the time and tears involved. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">But for now, it's nice to have a break <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/10/09/weight-off-my-shoulders-4845165/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/10/09/weight-off-my-shoulders-4845165/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/10/01/more-lindyhop-with-chipotle-on-the-side-4804022/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2008-10-01:/2008/10/01/more-lindyhop-with-chipotle-on-the-side-4804022/Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:23:04 +0200 <p>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:</p> <p>1. I got to swing dance with a man in a kilt.<br> 2. A local dancer called me an “Edinburgh dancer.”<br> 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.”</p> <p>It was an excellent weekend.</p> <p>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!</p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.<br> 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!</p> <p>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! </p> <p>Anyway, I’m off to work on some Gaelic grammar and pronunciation, so for now, goodbye, or--slàn leibh!</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/10/01/more-lindyhop-with-chipotle-on-the-side-4804022/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>chipotletravellingswing-dancingedinburghsalsaburritoshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/10/01/more-lindyhop-with-chipotle-on-the-side-4804022/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/09/24/erika-s-excellent-european-escapade-4770726/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2008-09-24:/2008/09/24/erika-s-excellent-european-escapade-4770726/Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:03:12 +0200 <p>I’m having some trouble keeping up with all the amazing things happening in my life right now.  I only moved to Edinburgh a fortnight ago, and I’m already diving into the European lifestyle of traveling, working, and public transportation. Last Wednesday, I left my new home for a five day foray into Germany for a little event known as the Munich Lindy Exchange and Oktoberfest. I traveled to Munich for amazing swing dancing and Bavarian culture shock, only to come back to Edinburgh late Sunday night and begin my classes for the new term. </p> <p>Here’s how it went down. </p> <p>Texas isn’t exactly known for our incredible public transit systems; with such a large state and spread out cities, public transit really isn’t all that efficient. Not the case here! I left my flat early Wednesday morning, took a taxi to Waverly Station in Edinburgh, hopped on the twenty-five minute Airlink bus to get to Edinburgh Airport, flew two hours to the Munich Airport, popped into the forty minute S-Bahn ride to the city center of Munich, transferred to the U-Bahn, rode past twelve stops, then took a 10 minute bus to my host’s house within the city. Phew. What, public transport? I’ve got you down now!</p> <p>Once I was in Munich, the fun began and didn’t stop until I left. I am a very avid swing and blues dancer, and have been in the swing dancing scene since my freshman year in 2005. Munich Lindy Exchange was a four day event, packed full with swing dancing almost every hour of the day…and of course, since it was in Bavaria, some pretty amazing German meals. MLX really started on Thursday night, when the early arrivers met in downtown Munich, in the Stacchus, brought some speakers and some swing music, and started to lindy-hop in the middle of the street. It was incredible—dancers from all over the world came in, and locals would just stop and watch us having fun. The dancing continued until well into the morning hours at The Cord, a nearby swing dancing club, with a live jazz band and excellent Bavarian beer. </p> <p>Probably my favorite part of MLX was the next day; the local dancers had organized a six hour sightseeing tour of Munich, but not like any typical tour. In this variety, we were followed around by a swing trio who would stop and play swing music for an hour or so in various historical spots around the city. I have now danced in the Beer Gardens, in Diana’s Temple, in Odeonsplatz, which is the site of the infamous Beer Hall Putsch, and so many more unbelievable locations. On this tour, I did the Shim Sham (a swing dance line dance) in a German fountain, and danced in the center of Mariensplatz. I’ve been to Munich before, but this trip defied all expectations. Of course, the dancing continued until about 5 in the morning or so, after a dinner break, and I learned all about the troubles of late night public transit, especially when you can’t understand the local language. My roommate and I ended up waiting 45 minutes for a bus that never came before we finally made it home around 7:00 am. However, we made the best of our time—I now have videos of me blues dancing at the U-Bahn station, and more excited, on a moving U-Bahn itself. </p> <p>But there’s still two more days of dancing! Hooray!</p> <p>With much difficulty, Magen and I dragged ourselves out of bed on Saturday to enjoy a traditional Bavarian brunch with (of course) more swing dancing. Yummy bratwursts and other various sausages were to be had all around, and we actually got to learn a traditional Bavarian knee-slapping dance that was WAY harder than it looked. We had a few hours to kill before the late night dance started up, so Magen, two of our American friends, and I started walking around downtown Munich when we found this street band playing some music that we couldn’t help but dance to. With our help drawing in the crowds, the band raked in at least 30 Euros in the next fifteen minutes of us dancing, and the crowds stayed on to watch and take pictures. It was so much fun! The late night dance was excellent as well, and made even better by the fact that we had a section of the dance devoted to blues music, so Magen and I, who are primarily blues dancers, got our fix of our favorite dancing. </p> <p>This would be all well and good, even if I stopped the story here. But then it wouldn’t be a fantastic story. What makes it truly spectacular is that, in addition to being the last day of MLX, the next day was the first day of the infamous Oktoberfest. </p> <p>First of all, let me just say that Oktoberfest is nothing like I pictured it, but it certainly did not fail to impress. I don’t think I’ve ever seen more people gathered into one place at one time. Imagine a carnival that comes into town and sets up its Ferris Wheels and Zippers and other familiar rides and stands—overpriced food, drink, and souvenirs. Now imagine that on steroids PLUS tents that easily fit a thousand people, plus kitchens stocked with hordes of food and beer PLUS all the tourists you can fit into Munich. That’s Oktoberfest, and it was, in a word, insane. Included in our MLX registration packet were vouchers for two liters—that’s right, liters—of beer and half of a chicken. No vegetables—this is Germany, after all—but loud oompah bands and locals decked out in full lederhosen and traditional Bavarian garb. The MLX lindy hoppers soaked it up; we had a section of the Lowenbrau tent reserved for us and we actually managed to have a nice little impromptu lindy dance to German music while dancing with our liter steins of beer. I was, and still am, a little confused, as the Germans would stop every five minutes or so, sing a toast to hospitality or something, then clink glasses with everyone in sight, loudly toasting each other with “Prost!” It was quite overwhelming, but an unforgettable experience, without a doubt.</p> <p>We finished up the day by going back to Diana’s Temple for more outdoor dancing—more dancing continued later that night and into the morning, but I had to rush back to the airport to make it home to Edinburgh for the start of term the next day. It’s Tuesday, and I’m still recovering from the ridiculous dancing antics of this past weekend, and the best part is that I get to do it all again this weekend: Edinburgh is having its first Lindy Exchange from Friday to Sunday--it's going to be amazing.</p> <p>I’ve started the first week of term, and so far, classes are simply amazing. I’ll fill y’all in as the week progresses—everybody be safe and have a great couple of days!</p> <p>Peace y’all—erika</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/09/24/erika-s-excellent-european-escapade-4770726/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>munichblues-dancingtraveloktoberfestgermanylindyhopswing-dancinghttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/09/24/erika-s-excellent-european-escapade-4770726/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/09/23/first-impressions-by-sean-culleton-4766464/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2008-09-23:/2008/09/23/first-impressions-by-sean-culleton-4766464/Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:41:06 +0200 <p>First Impressions</p> <p>Well I've made it, safe and sound. Scouring the narratives of my fellow<br> travelers in preparation for my arrival was perhaps unnecessary, since I<br> have travelled in the UK before and they did not impart anything I did not<br> already know. I was aware of the initial culture shock. I had seen the<br> small cars on the wrong side of the driveway-sized roads and I had used the<br> public toilets one must pay for.</p> <p>However, nothing could have prepared me for what, having been in Edinburgh<br> for a week, I am now beginning to realize is the truly adventurous part of<br> this experience. That is, after a year here, this new culture will cease to<br> be new and instead be normal. That is the reason why nothing I read was<br> worthwhile beyond its immediate factual<br> reward: none of the writers warned me about the real trial, that I must and<br> will become accustomed to Scottish culture and unaccustomed to American<br> culture. That is a huge part of me that will change. Of course I know I am<br> ready for it so I will stop complaining, but I will say that discovering and<br> getting used to these changes has been frustrating at times. Did you know<br> that you need your ticket, not only to get onto the platforms at a major<br> Scottish train station, but that you need it to get off of the platforms?<br> Nope, neither did I. I almost had to buy another ticket to get out of the<br> station! Luckily, I got back on the train and got my ticket off of my seat<br> before the train left. I still don't understand the reason for that one.</p> <p>Here is one comment about the differences between Scotland and America. In<br> America, there is an abundance of land. Because we have lots of room, the<br> scale of living is large and land use planning is relatively untethered by<br> spatial concerns. It doesn't matter where in the large open field your<br> house goes because you have a large open field to build it on. This is not<br> so in Scotland. Large open fields like this rarely exist and if they do,<br> there are usually one of two problems with it. First, it has probably<br> already been used in the past and you must not only clear the land, but also<br> decide what to do with the ruins of some old farmer's shed from hundreds of<br> years ago that is right where you would want to put a garden. Second, the<br> field itself is probably of the strangest dimensions, perhaps an acute<br> triangle, so that you only have one side of the property that you can build<br> your house on anyway. It has probably reached this strange shape because of<br> old property divisions and roads that were built diagonally through a parent<br> field long ago and things of this sort.</p> <p>Because of all of these restrictions and the dearth of virgin space, there<br> is a sort of economy to the landscape. Every space is used.<br> Buildings of the strangest shapes are often scrunched into spaces where, in<br> America, we might decide to put a bush and some flowers. In the city, where<br> there is space that is unusable for construction, gaps are made into<br> alleyways, or "closes," that wind between buildings so close together you<br> could touch the sides if you spread your arms, but which the Scottish have<br> decided is a perfectly good place to park a car and even to have a major<br> hotel face into.</p> <p>With all of these feats of improvised engineering, not to mention the superb<br> condition in which the ancient buildings of Edinburgh have been preserved<br> and modernized, the city is truly magnificent. There are some modern<br> additions that are terribly dull, such as the disappointing David Hume<br> Tower, but otherwise these mostly corporate upgrades have been tasteful and<br> in keeping with local aesthetics.</p> <p>There are two long dead volcanoes in the city, which are now no more than<br> large hills. On one sits the Castle and on the other is a park called<br> Holyrood which has a famous summit called Arthur's Seat.<br> Connecting the two is an avenue called the Royal Mile. I live next to a<br> spectacular building called the Old College of Edinburgh, just off of the<br> Royal Mile. Climbing Arthur's Seat the other day with a group of students<br> from the International Students Office, I could see the Old College from the<br> top, with its large dome crowned by a glittering golden man holding the<br> flame of knowledge, perfectly aligned with the famous buildings of the Royal<br> mile, the Castle perched majestically behind. To the East was the Sea and<br> West spread the lowland country.<br> The view was epic, or as the British would say "well good." From somewhere<br> in the city below, the sound of a bag pipe reached my ears.<br> That's no lie.</p> <p>Today marks the end of the first week of my adventure in Edinburgh, and the<br> sun has come out for the occasion. I have seen a person casually or<br> formally wearing a kilt everyday so far, including a wedding procession<br> where all of the men wore black kilts. I have seen the famous, perhaps<br> infamous, Scottish drinking culture and witnessed what I hope are not its<br> heights and what I fear are not its depths. I have met people from all over<br> the world, from my Australian neighbors to my Bulgarian roommate. I have<br> cooked myself dinner. And yes, it was edible. I have survived so far and<br> the future looks bright.</p> <p>Sitting on this sunny bench in the Meadows, a large public park just behind<br> the University, I am watching all of the people who have turned out to enjoy<br> the good weather. A group of young boys are jumping off of a low-lying ledge<br> practicing Parkour. Behind me, there is a long haired gentlemen wearing a<br> long black robe carrying and absolutely massive sword. He is running for is<br> life through an ultimate Frisbee game from a girl who is roaring like a<br> monster and clamping her arms open and shut like the jaws of a crocodile.<br> Nearby, a violinist and a dread-headed flautist are playing a jig while some<br> hippies dance in skirts on the grass. They look happy, unlike the grim<br> faces I have seen since I arrived. Why so suddenly the jubilation? Perhaps<br> the sun has caused such behavior: it has been raining nonstop all week.</p> <p>It is strange here. But I think I like it. More next time.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/09/23/first-impressions-by-sean-culleton-4766464/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>culture-shockedinburghhttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/09/23/first-impressions-by-sean-culleton-4766464/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/09/17/just-a-wee-bit-knackered-4738129/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2008-09-17:/2008/09/17/just-a-wee-bit-knackered-4738129/Wed, 17 Sep 2008 02:22:26 +0200 <p>It seems like my life has been twisted upside down, turned around on its side, and restarted. I’ve officially settled into Edinburgh, registered for classes, and am in every way except for attending classes (which starts next week) feel like a University of Edinburgh student. My flatmates have both settled in as well, and I am so lucky to have found such great friends to share this crazy new life with.</p> <p>Most of this weekend was spent in Texas time—as in I slept during the day and stayed up till about 6 only because I couldn’t sleep before then!—but I think I’m finally getting into the swing of things. My flat is literally thirty seconds away from the main part of the campus, and my bedroom the Meadows, which is one of the prettiest views I've ever had, without a doubt! I’ve explored the Old and the New Towns of Edinburgh and I am just amazed at the beauty around me. It took me five days to realize that I’ve been walking well over three miles every day in just my day to day errands because I’m constantly distracted by the architecture, the people, and the atmosphere. What a difference from where I went to school in the US, College Station--in Aggieland, I would drive my car directly from my house to the business school lot, park, walk into the building and my classes, drive to work, and then drive home. I already feel healthier, and I imagine I’ll come back to the States addicted to walking.</p> <p>I’ve just had a bit of experience with the actual University—I met with my Director of Studies today, which is almost the same as our US advisors back home. Basically, my DoS is in charge of making sure that all my classes work with my degree programme, which for me, just means that the classes I wanted are in my schedule, as I’m just visiting for the year. It’s different enough that I’ve had to take things in as they go; the class schedules have very low contact hours compared to many programs in the United States, and rely on self guidance quite a bit. What’s really interesting is that there are compulsory tutorials that exist for each course, so even though I only meet with my International Law class on Mondays and Thursdays from 11:10-12, I’ve got additional meeting times that I must attend. In these tutorials, at least to my understanding, you’re given work from your prof that the class works on or goes through together. The idea is that you are constantly being required to actively be involved in the class, beyond simply attending. This is different than in the States, as, at least in my experience, lectures are pretty much all that's required.</p> <p>I’ve started to pick up some new words from living with the Scots, which is going to make this year more fun than I’d imagined. My flatmates, both of whom are from the Highlands, are slightly beyond understandable at times, to the point that I have to ask them to repeat themselves and concentrate really hard to figure out what in tarnation they’re saying! My favorites so far are the words they say in normal conversation: my flatmate Hamish actually says ‘och’ and ‘aye’ and ‘wee’ all the time, and Sheena has the more obscure Inverness words that I can’t even remember after she’s said them. I never really thought that I had a strong Texas accent until I moved in with the Highlanders who giggle every time I say ‘y’all’ and repeat everything I say. It’s all in good fun, though—I drive them to hysterics with my attempts at a Highland brogue. </p> <p>Probably the word that I’ve picked up and used the most so far is ‘knackered,’ which just means ‘tired,’ but is so much more fun to say. That being said, I am completely knackered at the moment from transitioning from Texas, so I’ll leave off by announcing that I’m taking yet another adventure tomorrow, this time to Bavaria! I’m off to Munich for the Munich Lindy Exchange (and directly coming back for the start of term), so I hope everyone has a great week!!</p> <p> Peace y’all!-- Erika</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/09/17/just-a-wee-bit-knackered-4738129/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>travelingmoving-inedinburghscotshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/09/17/just-a-wee-bit-knackered-4738129/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/09/03/t-minus-3-days-the-continuing-saga-of-confusion-and-stress-4676909/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2008-09-03:/2008/09/03/t-minus-3-days-the-continuing-saga-of-confusion-and-stress-4676909/Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:37:05 +0200 <p>I just finished driving my last trip home to Glen Rose from College Station, maybe not ever, but at least for the foreseeable future. Since I hope to stay in Scotland through grad school, my days spent (physically) on the A&M campus are behind me, and I’ve finally finished unpacking all the boxes of A&M t-shirts, banners, blankets, and any and all other paraphernalia that represents my three years spent at College Station. I’m leaving in three days, and it’s beyond surreal at this point. </p> <p>I’ve studied abroad with A&M before; I had the great privilege of going on the annual summer marketing trip, back when I was actually a marketing major. It was amazing—I was able to see so many new things and go through such great international experiences with friends—but this is completely different. This time, I am alone. This time, I am not going as a part of an Aggie group, a Texas group, or even an American group. It’s just me; all the events, side trips, classes, residences…everything…is planned completely by me. As amazing as this is (and believe me, I am floored that it’s even possible), it makes the process a bit more stressful than a typical study abroad experience. </p> <p>For instance, let’s look at the simple, necessary issue of money. Everyone uses it, needs it, and works with it daily. So, in today’s global world, it should be no problem setting up a system where money is easily accessible no matter where you are, right? Easier said than done. I needed to pay tuition to the University of Edinburgh for this year. Okay, what do I normally do for A&M? Pay with a credit card? Well, the credit card companies charge a 3% fee for changing currencies between dollars and pounds—this may not seem like a huge rate to you, but think about how much out of state tuition…percentages add up! </p> <p>Question two: why don’t I just pay when I register in Edinburgh on the 15th? Issues: 1) it takes longer than 5 days to set up a bank account (which I can’t do until I get there) in Edinburgh, 2) I don’t feel comfortable carrying all that cash with me, and 3) the Finance department doesn’t like cash payments!</p> <p>Ack! But wait, a light emerges in the confusion of international commerce! Duh da da duh! Wire transfer!</p> <p>I live in a small, small town that doesn’t, in a normal day, send a whole lot of wire transfers in pounds sterling to Edinburgh, Scotland, so this wasn’t quite as easy as it sounds. The UK bank system has ‘swift codes,’ ‘sort codes,’ and, for international transfers, long numbers known as the IBAN numbers. While I am completely unfamiliar with these, my local bank wasn’t super familiar with them either. HOWEVER, I think we figured it out today, and hopefully, I have successfully made a wire transfer that will solidify my educational experience for the next year. We’ll just have to make sure I didn’t accidentally send the money to Bora Bora or Germany or somewhere…</p> <p>Anyway, though, I think I can now move money around the world with a small degree of success. I find it fascinating that for all the corporate world’s forays into an international community, everything is still as complicated as it is. I suppose that it is in fact less complicated and I’m just not up to speed on the best ways to move money internationally, but it seemed much harder than it needed to be. </p> <p>Now, for a truly revealing glimpse into my personality. Yes, I’m being responsible and somewhat timely on paying all my fees, but here’s the kicker: I haven’t started packing yet. I leave in three days. Three. Somehow I always find myself in this situation, but I think it’s because I function best when I simply must get things done, not whenever I find it convenient.<br> That being said, I’m going to quickly grab a few hours of z’s before waking up and deciding how to pack for a year in two large suitcases. Phew. Wish me luck, and I hope everyone is having a pleasant and productive week!</p> <p>For the last time in Texas for a while,<br> Erika </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/09/03/t-minus-3-days-the-continuing-saga-of-confusion-and-stress-4676909/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>packingmovingmoney-transfertravelinternationalhttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/09/03/t-minus-3-days-the-continuing-saga-of-confusion-and-stress-4676909/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/08/01/49-days-20-hours-35-minutes-32-seconds-a-4529626/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2008-08-01:/2008/08/01/49-days-20-hours-35-minutes-32-seconds-a-4529626/Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:21:56 +0200 <p>49 days, 20 hours, 35 minutes, 32 seconds and counting…</p> <p>50 days. That’s all I have left until I leave for Edinburgh. Some days it seems like I’ve got forever to get everything done before I’m in the plane, and others it seems like there is no way I will even have time to pack. </p> <p>I think I’m approaching being in good shape—I finally signed my lease for my new flat in Scotland, and I have successfully figured out how to use Skype, a web based phone system that will let me call home for free. </p> <p>Now all that’s left is to finish getting my visa, pack, finish my research, finish up my Rhodes Scholar application before I leave, finish my summer school class, and say goodbye to my family and friends. Oh, yeah, 50 days will be plenty of time…I hope.</p> <p>Right now, the biggest priority I have is to secure my visa. I had no idea how complicated the whole process it was, so I’m glad I’m not starting now. Before you can apply for your visa, you must have a reason to go in the first place, i.e. a job or educational purpose. </p> <p>You also have to have a place to stay and the money to pay for it. Once you get all your ducks in a row, you can actually start to apply. I was able to apply online since I’m from the States, which was really nice. Once the online application is submitted, you must go to a collection center to submit your biometric information. This sounds a bit scary, but it’s just your fingerprints and photograph. I have to tell you, though, it almost felt like I had done something wrong when I was pressing my fingers onto the scanner. </p> <p>Here in the US, we are so conditioned to associate fingerprinting with criminal activity; it took me all day long to identify why I felt so troubled after the visa appointment. Anyway, this is where I am in the visa application process. Now I have to send the following things to Los Angeles:</p> <p>• Completed online application form<br> • My passport<br> • Immigration status (my birth certificate)<br> • Evidence of funds available to me, in the form of detailed bank statements covering at least the last three months<br> • Either a letter confirming my period of employment from my employer together with salary slips for the last three months or a certificate confirming I have continuing studies or if I am self employed, evidence of my business<br> • A letter of enrolment from a recognized UK University, College or School giving details about the proposed course. This should including the length of the course and the number of hours of study each week.<br> • An estimation of the costs of my studies.<br> • My educational qualifications or copies of them<br> • Evidence of Government sponsorship (if applicable)<br> • One recent color passport photograph (not more than six months old) </p> <p>I’ll be sending all of these documents off tomorrow, and hopefully, I will soon have my visa in hand, ready to hop the pond! After I get my visa, I just need to figure out banking logistics and pack, and then wrap up all my States-side affairs. I’m starting to have the predeparture anxiety causing dreams that typically plague me before I take long trips. In the most recent one, I showed up in Edinburgh with only two pairs of shoes and no sense of direction, completely lost in the city on my first day of school. Ahh! Nightmare. But this should be okay—after all, I have 50 days to pack all my shoes. That should be plenty of time, right? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/08/01/49-days-20-hours-35-minutes-32-seconds-a-4529626/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>shoesedinburghpond-hoppinghttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/08/01/49-days-20-hours-35-minutes-32-seconds-a-4529626/#commentshttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/08/01/to-hop-a-pond-sean-cullerton-4529597/tag:edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk,2008-08-01:/2008/08/01/to-hop-a-pond-sean-cullerton-4529597/Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:17:58 +0200 <p>The first thing I did when I found out I had been offered a spot at Edinburgh was tell my mother. </p> <p>The Second thing I did was go on an onlinephoto, video, and information binge, something I had refrained from doing for fear of exciting myself for a rejection. </p> <p>But I was in, and I hit the web hard. My eagerness to get going only grew as I scanned the city ofEdinburgh from google maps. As a kid from the Philadelphia and Boston, I know what it means to live incities rich in history. However, American history is only 232 years deep.Most people from North America have never seen a building that old, letalone lived in or next to one that was older. Much older. </p> <p>The University of Edinburgh was considered by many to be the leading academic institutionin the world at a time before my country even existed. Now that's history,and I will be living and studying there. The pictures of beautifully aged campus buildings confirmed that I had made the right choice to study at Edinburgh. Leaving the States for a year is not an easy proposition, however. There are still many things to do before I go. </p> <p>One of the hardest will be to saygood bye to my friends. I have not even told them I'm leaving. It is tough to tell the people I have spent most of the last two years with that I am choosing to go to another University, and that I made the choice quite spontaneously over the last few months. We will all turn 21 this year, and I will miss their birthdays and their first legitimate bar hopping and clubbing experiences. </p> <p>A whole year gone. When I return, they will all be different people, I will be different, and perhaps, though I hope not, I will never see some of them again. But we will catch up. Everyone will have their adventures to tell about. I must admit that I am excited to make some Scottish friends. The accent will take some getting used to, but at least everyone will be speaking English.I want to get one of those recordable alarm clocks and have one of my new Scottish buddies yell at the top of his lungs, "FREEDOM!" </p> <p>That way I canstart off everyday at Edinburgh with the proper highland intensity. This will be an intense year, and I haven't even mentioned the weather yet.I hope I am ready even though I suspect that I am not. I guess I will find out on the other side of the pond. See you there. Sean Culleton </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/08/01/to-hop-a-pond-sean-cullerton-4529597/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>edinburghpondhoppinghttp://edinburghvisitingstudents.blog.co.uk/2008/08/01/to-hop-a-pond-sean-cullerton-4529597/#comments