Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh's extinct volcano

I wanted to post this photo of Arthur's Seat so that at least you know that I've been seeing the sights.

feeling awkward.

Two weeks in, still not fully adjusted. It's strange because I thought once I bounded off my British Airways flight I would be filled with joy and unadulterated happiness...not necessarily the case. You know, even though everyone here technically speaks English, sometimes I feel like we're communicating in another language. The weather hasn't been helping much - one can expect it to rain at least once a day and it gets dark around 4 p.m. (I'm told during the summer it stays light until midnight.)

Classes have been going OK, although it feels like I'm repeating freshman year all over again, what with the 300+ people in my lectures and the extra tutorial sessions with TAs, the fact that I'm again living in a dorm with four other dudes, and oh yeah, everyone around me is 18 years old and it makes me feel weird. I joined a few societies last week in hopes of meeting people and making friends, and well, they went OK, but not what I expected. In fact, nothing since I've been here has been what I expected to think or feel or be. It's unfortunately making me question my motives for coming here in the first place. Sometimes I feel like I can't even talk to anybody about this because I don't want to feel I'm like I'm whining for being in Europe, ya know? I mean, seriously what do I really have to complain about? The fact that I can't find Garnier Fructis shampoo at the local drug store?

Sigh. I keep telling myself that things will improve, and part of me feels that they will. Then there's that other part that says come May 30 I won't feel anything but regret of a wasted five months.

haggis, and more

Before I arrived in Scotland, I was warned that Scottish cuisine wasn't very good. I'm here to report that my first encounter with a traditional Scottish dish - haggis, essentially sheep or pig intestine - went very smoothly. Pictured above is the haggis I ate at a local restaurant - sorry I've already forgotten the name. It looks and tastes a lot like spicy meat loaf, though I think it probably helped that this restaurant seemed to serve good food all around. (I actually cheated a little bit and got some chicken cutlet mixed up in there as well. BUT I promise my next haggis experience will be straight up.)

So far I haven't explored that much of the city. Most of my week was spent recovering from jet-lag and getting to know my way around campus without having to ask four people for directions. On that note, everyone is extremely friendly - I must have met at least an eighth of Edinburgh's population as a result of getting lost. The city itself is beautiful; the architecture of each building seems steeped in so much history. I love how even when you're strolling down the city's main shopping drag, Princes Street (Edinburgh's equivalent of Newbury Street), you can see a Scottish castle on a hilltop overlooking the people below.

As for the currency here, things haven't been too expensive, though I do seem to be going through more money than I would like. Thankfully Edinburgh doesn't fall on this list. However it still costs a lot more for a student from the states to live here than in let's say, Boston. As you may or may not know, the UK uses the pound, which is unfortunately stronger against the US dollar than the euro. I'm trying not think about money too much, though I wouldn't be surprised if I'm broke by February.

The university reminds me a lot of Northeastern because it houses a fairly large student population (26,000) situated in the middle of a a fairly large, cosmopolitan city. Noticeable differences are the fact that everyone here is more fashion-concious (UGG boots and Northface fleece are few and far between), and also, everyone is white. Yes, this is certainly the most homogenous group of people I've been exposed to since high school. Yet I must say there were even more minorities in my high school in CONNECTICUT, than there are here. It doesn't bother me much, though I admittedly tend to stick out in my classes. (Even though I often forget that I'm Asian anyhow.)

Another item to note: the student center houses six bars, (I chuckle to myself thinking about how funny Curry would look if there was a bar next to the art gallery or something. Yes I chuckle to myself because I am lame). I'm still getting used to switching over to new brands of laundry detergent, shampoo, peanut butter (on a sidenote: no one here eats/sells grape jelly, apparently), etc.

OK, I suppose that about does it for now. I hope to update with a lot more exciting material than my lack of Skippy peanut butter.

inaugural post

I solemnly swear I will do my best to avoid turning this blog into a LiveJournal.