Miriam's Semester in Edinburgh: I've done it. I've had haggis!

Sorry I haven't written in awhile! I haven't disappeared, just been very busy.

We moved in to our permanent flats on Saturday. I have two Scottish roommates and one French one. They're all very nice, and the flat is actually pretty big. Our bathroom light only works a third of the time, though. I'm not a fan of peeing in the dark...

This school is huge! No one can ever really answer our questions because they just don't know what's happening. It's very un-Pomona-esque. But for a semester, it's not a huge deal. My "personal tutor" (advisor) is knowledgeable, and I'm really looking forward to class! Their linguistics courses sound awesome.

This week is Fresher's Week- full of tours, meetings, and other essential orientation activities. The concerts have all been decent, but any event promising free food runs out in 30 seconds! We sat through an hour and a half of TERRIBLE comedy in order to get free curry... but we ended up sharing a tiny bowl of rice and naan. I was not pleased. I've taken to eating like a very lazy college student, but I'm saving tons of money in order to do more fun things- like take a 3 day spontaneous trip to the Isle of Skye and Loch Ness! That's right, Alex and I booked it. We leave Friday morning.

Fresher's Week has meant a ton of new faces. I've met people from China, Canada, the Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Bulgaria, Germany, Austria, France, Norway, Romania, and more! It's truly incredible. There are lots of Scots and Americans as well, of course. It's always good to find a fellow Californian, and to receive the admiration of everyone because I'm from LA! They always apologize about Scottish weather right away.

I've learned more than I can recount about how people view Americans, Scottish politics, slang, food and culture, the Scottish-English relationship, Edinburgh in general, and how to manuever around in the University system here. It's been exhausting but fascinating. I've started to unconsciously talk like a bit of a Scot myself, which makes me feel good. My American accent sticks out horribly. I've learned some good British phrases, like moreish to describe something you can't stop eating ("Peanut butter is so moreish!") and people carrier to talk about a minivan. Also, they all hate the Kardashians as much as we do!

Scotland Fried Chicken. No comment.

And, as the post's title suggest, I've done some of the essentially Scottish things, like try haggis! It wasn't awful, but I definitely would never order it. I tried ceilidh dancing (pronounced like "kaley"), which was a blast! Unfortunately, I don't think I have a knack for it.

This culture heavily revolves around drinking, which is overwhelming. There is a bar about every 20 feet, especially in the student centers. I did one pub crawl, walking around the city meeting new people. But I cannot keep up with those 18 year olds, hammering back beers until 3 am. I am seeing that I'm pretty mature compared to the Freshers who are leaving home for the first time. There are other 3rd years around, though, and I'll meet more once classes start.

The gym here is beautiful, the student union centers are all very cool, especially the outdoor Garden area, which looks just like a Disneyland attraction, and the library is massive. I must say, I'm impressed with the University so far.

This post is a bit all over the place, but I've got a lot of catching up to do. The last week has been go-go-go. I've been running (literally) around the city in the morning, taking in the sights and the people. I feel like I really am living here for now, like I know my way around. It's nice.

I've seen most of the city's landmark attractions so far. The National Scottish Library has this cool cinema exhibit, the National Museum's Scottish history wing is incredible, Our Dynamic Earth is a bit childish but still interesting, and the Edinburgh Zoo is SUPER proud of its pandas. There was an entire parade to honor their arrival. I must admit, I thought the meerkats were cuter. And I've discovered that I'm a big fan of any sort of tiny adorable monkey.

Touching the snake!

Not a fan of the roaches

My pygmy hippo impression

Me and Tian Tian

Panda Macaroni Art

My Dad's fav

I've been keeping in touch with the other Pomona kids, and we all seem to be settling in well. I do miss home, though. Being able to cook with a fully-stocked kitchen and shopping at Trader Joe's are things I'll never take for granted again! But I will definitely survive here. Good thing I love PB & J.

I'll post pictures of my flat later, but here are some older shots from our tours with Tom last week: