LONDON, 29 Jan - 31 Jan, 2010

"The One Where They Went To London and Discovered Wonder Waffles."

I am much overdue for a blog update!!! My life has just been so insane that I haven't had a chance! My first two assignments of the term were due this week and last so I was working on those which took up a lot of time! But now I don't have anything due until March 8th, albeit I have 2 papers due the 8th and one the 9th so I should be getting busy on those now also, but at least I have a month to do it.

So since my last post I have traveled to LONDON! That was our first real trip planned by ourselves our of Edinburgh. We thought London would be a good first round. I traveled with my five other closest friends here--Carolyn, Annie, Natalie, Sara, and Nora. Carolyn and Annie had class on friday so they met us there friday night while Natalie, Sara, Nora and I took the 7am train out of Edinburgh and arrived at London's King Cross at noon! The train ride was wonderful!! We went by the coast for a little bit and all through the country, I loved it. It was also great bonding time with my friends. I cannot believe how lucky I am to have met the girls I have here, I keep hearing horror stories of other people abroad who are really lonely and struggling--usually that's me!! So God has definitely blessed me.

I cannot stress how smoothly this entire trip went. Everything was just perfect!! We arrived in London and just got on the tube at King's Cross and had about a 15 minute ride to the stop our hotel was at!! We went their first, hoping they would store our luggage for us since check-in wasn't until 3pm, and both rooms were ready!!! So we dropped our stuff off and went to find some lunch. Our hotel was kind of situated in an area we coined "Little Saudi Arabia" but whatever, it was perfectly fine. We were only 5 minutes from hyde park and the marble arch so we walked over there and found this adorable italian place called "Fino's" off a side street. We had a fabulous lunch, the four of us. We were in no rush since we didn't want to do too much without Carolyn and Annie so ate lots of fun and had lots of fun conversation that included topics such as what names we are naming our children, why we were named the names we were, and other little fun personal stories that I love hearing. I love how we are all on the same page. We all click so well!! I had a yummy salad and then an entire cheese pizza that was absolutely delish. After our very satisfying lunch we decided to head towards leicester square to find out information on getting broadway tickets. However, it took us about 3 hours because we went down Oxford Street and ended up making some memorable stops. First, we discovered Selfridges. I had read that Selfridges was the local's Harrod's. And let me just tell you if I had to choose one place in the entire world to be stuck for the rest of my life, this would be it. It was THE department store of all department stores. Better than Harrod's in my opinion. So we got lost in there for a solid chunk of time freaking out at everything we were seeing. We were like literally like little kids in a candy store.

We continued down Oxford Street, which we were beginning to become obsessed with, and started to smell the most wonderful smell in the entire world--words cannot describe. Then we finally apprach what we were smelling--a WONDER WAFFLE STAND. Even though I was so stuffed from lunch there was no way I was walking away from this heavenly scent without a freaking wonder waffle. You could choose all kinds of toppings and I got chocolate and whip cream. THE most AMAZING thing I've ever eaten in my entire life--best 3 pounds spent EVER. I know I sound ridiculous right now but you just don't understand how good these things were. I'm not kidding.

So after everyone pried me away from the wonder waffle stand, we finally got to Leicester Square, which was also so lovely, and found out how to get discount theatre tickets in the morning. We then mosied on over to Trafalgar Square which was beautiful at sunset!!! Even though I've been to London several times, I had never really seen this area, or walked it atleast, so I was just loving taking in a different part! London really is one of my favorite places on Earth, I could totally live there, and I just might...

After taking loads of pictures at Trafalgar Square we went into the British National Museum (free!). I am so glad we did this. I am finally at the age where I actually appreciate this kind of stuff and I think the fact that I'm choosing to do it makes a huge difference as well. I took an art history class on European Art in the 19th Century and this museum was packed with paintings I studied!! I was in such awe, it was one of the coolest things this kind of artwork in person. My favorites were Renoir's "At The Theatre," Van Gogh's "Sunflowers," and Monet's "The Water Lily Pond" and "The Thames below Westminster." I am not an artsy person, but I love looking at Historical Art such as these. I am now even more excited to go to Paris and go to more art museums!


Natalie and I


Sara and I

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Trafalgar Square!

We walked through the side streets and down the mall a little bit around Trafalgar Square. The direct view we had of Big Ben was incredible!! I swear all four of us had smiles plastered on our face the entire day. It was unforgettable. We regrouped at a little coffee shop then decided to walk back and grab some sushi for dinner before meeting up with Annie and Carolyn at the hotel! Our sushi experience was interesting. We had some questions regarding the menu and each person we asked had to ask someone else for the answer--we went through like 5 waiters. No one really knew what they were doing haha but it all worked out. At dinner we got to hear some crazy stories of each others--especially my friend Nora whose lived in Australia and India--it's been so great hearing everyone's backgrounds and stories from their lives. I've been so lucky in my life to have met so many different kinds of people with all kinds of experiences that are a part of who they are know and its interesting to see how those things define us. I'm learning so much more about myself through them as well. It's quite difficult to explain, but hopefully you get where I'm trying to go :) I think it's healthy to situate yourself in different parts of the world around different kinds of people from different backgrounds because thats who makes up the world in which we live in--not the bubble we trap ourselves into. It has especially helped me understand and accept people for who they are and to be much less judgmental. I have gotten so deep, haven't I?..

So anyways, Annie and Carolyn made it to the hotel around 10pm and were starving so we ventured out of the hotel into little saudi arabia to grab some late night pizza!! We had two triple rooms, but we decided to pack all 6 of us in one room!!! it was SO FUN. I forgot what slumber parties felt like. All I remember doing is laughing so hard I was crying as we were having "pillow talk." It's nice to have that kind of laughter back in my life, I had felt like it had been a while before I got here!

We were up and ready to go BEFORE scheduled which we all thought was quite amazing with 6 girls in one room with one bathroom! We are pretty much the best travelers. We had planned to go down Oxford Street and introduce Carolyn and Annie with WONDER WAFFLES but they were CLOSED!! womp womp... but its ok we took them there later.. so we just grabbed starbucks for breakfast instead and headed to leicester square to pick up our half-priced WICKED tickets for that night!!! We then took the tube over to buckingham palace to catch the changing of the guards where we like to pretend we saw prince william and prince harry walk in the palace even though we're pretty sure it was just random other people.

After the guards, we walked down to the River to hit Big Ben and Westminster Abby. The park by the palace that we walked through was beautiful with ponds full of ducks and swans. So lovely.




We had such a great view of Ben approaching also. He always looks so surreal to me, every time!! We took the typical Big Ben pictures with the phone booth in it and all that.. then did the tour in Westminster Abby, which I have also done several times but love it more each time. I noticed that the "Coronation Chair" was on a platform much higher than I remember it when I was there with my Mema years ago. I know this because when I was with her she kept telling me to touch it, because you weren't allowed to, but I was too scared then she said "just touch the damn chair!" so then I did. And that is probably why it is know at an untouchable height!!

It's always so fascinating (and kind of morbid, I suppose) to be in the same spot where so many famous, influential and royal people from British history are buried!! I find it cool though to be in the same exact spot that they are in the entire world--like Charles Dickens, Mary Queen of Scots, Emily and Charlotte Bronte, and Jane Austen--All people who have influenced my life.

After Westminster Abby, a couple of girls went to ride the Eye, while Natalie, Nora, Sara, and I grabbed some bagels for lunch at this yummy deli since we had already done it. There was the most adorable little boy, probably about 2 years old, with his dad for a lunch date. SO cute, he had peanut butter all over his face. I love the children here with their little accents.





It was mid afternoon by now so after Carolyn, Annie, and Kristy, My flatmate who was in London as well and met up with us for a bit, finished on the Eye, we walked back to the hotel to get ready for our night out! We, of course, as previously mentioned, stopped at wonder waffle to make our day just that much better.

Wicked was playing at the Apollo Theatre at Victoria Station so we took the tube over in our fancy outfits and grabbed dinner at a cafe before hand. Our seats for Wicked were so good!! we were at the front of the top tier and in the center. I didn't really know what to expect with Wicked. I knew some songs that my mom had made me listen to as she sang along like crying to every word, which I did not understand at the time. None of us had seen it, except for Natalie, who is obsessed, so she was getting us excited for it.

From beginning to end, Wicked was AMAZING. We are like bawling at the end. The cutest thing was to learn down and see Natalie in the middle of "As Long As Your Mine" singing along! Now I know why my mom was crying to the songs, now it's me! I want to see it like over and over now...I have definitely gotten my moneys worth out of the soundtrack that I bought FIRST THING after returning to Edinburgh sunday!! We left on cloud 9 that night. I'm pretty sure we were the last ones out of the theatre we were just so worked up!! I'm so glad I saw it with these girls because that made it just that much better since we were so ecstatic!!!





After finally leaving the theatre, we decided to take the tube back to the Westminster bridge to see it at night!!! I didn't really think this was worth doing until we got over there and it was SO beautiful!!! I had never seen it at night! We got there right at 11pm when Big Ben was chiming, it was really cool to hear that, I felt like I was in a movie or something. We had a lot of fun taking jumping pictures with Ben. We were just having a ball even though it was FREEZING!



Back to Ventures (our hotel) after our photoshoot! We were so tired, but had another fun night in our one room!!! More laughs and stories... we played all those hypothetical question games and so on... very entertaining!!

Sunday morning we got up and packed everything up to take to King's Cross luggage storage while we did some last minute stops. It was so easy getting there and storing our luggage--worked out perfectly!! So from there, we went to Kensington Palace-one of my favorite places in London!! All the girls LOVED the Diana exhibit. We spent so much time looking at her dresses and the books on her, love her. That palace is just so elegant and classy. They had a neat Debutante exhibit which was also very interesting with pretty dresses on display!! Oh how I wish men acted as gentlemen as they did back then!! We practiced our curtsying and dancing, just in case.






After taking more jumping pictures in the Kensington Gardens we walked through Hyde park and down Kensington Road to Harrod's!!!! Such a pretty walk. And, if you can believe it, my friend Natalie, is just as big of a friend's fan as I am SO... we definitely had to get a picture of us "going into the map" as Joey did when they were in London. Now you will only get that if you are a Friends fan so if not, don't worry, but it was really hilarious and I love how I have someone to say, "omg, this is like on friends when...." because that happens about 50 times a day. You can relate any situation to Friends!!



anyways, If I could live anywhere in London, it would be along this street. Harrod's was obviously amazing, as it always is. We had some french sandwiches in the food court then explored. It's insanely overwhelming, but I love it. We found the Sundae Bar which was very dangerous. I got my own Chocolate Fudge Sundae and ate every lick and it was so worth it.




After getting lost in Harrod's, we stopped in a few other shops in the knightsbridge area, including French Connection where I got an incredible deal on my "valentine's day" dress!! can't wait to wear it. I'm all about the deals here. The night before I went to London I got an INCREDIBLE deal on a Ted Baker leather Tote--was 300 pounds ($500) and bought it for 80 pounds ($120)!!!!!!!!!!! I wish someone was with me to witness the fit I was having over the reality of the situation.

Anyways!--after Harrod's, it was unfortunately time to go back and get our luggage and hop on the train. We were saying how bummed we were to leave this amazing weekend, but then we were like "well we are going back to edinburgh, which is still vacation, so its ok!!" so that was definitely a reassuring thought. I love traveling by train--so easy!!

To sum up this memorable weekend--we basically laughed the whole time, walking through a beautiful city, visiting amazing historical/shopping sites AND seeing the best show ever. It really couldn't have been any more perfect.

Right now I am working on future plans, including spring break!! It's all coming into place, I'm getting very excited. Next trip I am taking is through Scotland to the northernest tip of Great Britain!!! And yes, it will be 4 girls in 1 RENTAL car hahah it will be QUITE the adventure!!! More updates coming soon!! Will be better about posting!!!!

Thank you for all your prayers and support--you have no idea how much I appreciate it!

-Em

Lake District of England, 22 Jan - 24 Jan, 2010

I have lots to update on!!! I am so incredibly busy I have not had a chance to blog!! OK so, last update was the week before I left for Shap, England for my weekend homestay that was provided through the program I am on--which is what I am going to talk about now! About half of the people on my program had their homestays the same weekend, so we took about a 3 hour bus ride to the town of Penrith, England. I had no idea what to expect! I did know another girl, Cris, that was staying with the same family so it was nice to not be the only one. Two other girls on the butler program were also in our house, Mollie and Minh-Tu, so there was four of us all together with our homestay mom, Linda!! It was quite interesting cramming in all of our stuff in her tiny car, whilst Linda made fun of me for having my blankie haha, I had to bring it though!!

So we get in the car and the first thing Linda says is "Okay girls, who wants some wine?!" I knew that Linda and I were going to be good friends after this and that it was going to be a fabulous weekend. Before we could discuss anything, the wine had to be poured. Some people had to drive 30 minutes from the stop to their houses which were on farms, but Linda lived in the town in a flat. We pulled up to her bright purple door with dolphin mosiac and entered the most eccentric/hilarious house ever. It was small, but just enough room and very cozy. Linda gave us a tour and showed us the different rooms we could choose from. Poor Linda gave up her own room for us and slept on the couch!! Minh-Thu and Mollie had their own rooms and Cris and I shared her son, Jordie's, room, who is away at Uni in Newcastle. As we were walking up the stairs to the third floor where our room was we see this life-size sesame street character hanging, as in like a noose, from the ceiling. haha it was so bizarre and definitely not the only wacky thing in her house, but it fit Linda perfectly. There was one bathroom in the whole flat which was full of everything dolphin--dolphin shower curtain, dolphin pictures, dolphin trinkets, dolphin tooth brush holder, dolphin rug, dolphin rubber toys, dolphin wallpaper, and so on... Dolphins were obviously Linda's favorite. It was cute though. Another crazy thing I noticed as I walked into the living room was the huge tapestry of a bat above the mantle haha it was like made out of carpet or something. Very odd, but again, fit Linda perfectly and we didn't ask questions.

After we got settled into Linda's house and got acclimated to all the wacky decorations Linda poured us another glass of wine and started cooking dinner! Linda prepared for us a very English meal--Cottage Pie. I was a little weary being the super picky eater I am, but, the English are like me and like things very plain so very much enjoyed it actually!-or it could have been the fact that it was 11pm and I was starving, but whatever. Speaking of time, another unusual object Linda had in her house was her "dyslexic clock" the numbers and everything were backwards so it ran backwards. Threw me for the hugest loop I never knew what time it was. Linda is a special needs teacher who tutors from her house, so I have no idea how the kids who are actually dyslexic try to reverse their problem with that backwards clock. Anyways, it was funny. We had a wonderful evening talking, eating, drinking wine, and playing games. We stayed up til after 1am and finally went to bed after we were all falling asleep on the table, even though Linda wanted to play more games.

On Saturday, Linda tutors all day, so her ex-husband, Gordon, took us around the lake district. It was absolutely beautiful! I have never been to that part of England before, I had no idea there were parts that looked like this. We hiked about a half a mile to this really pretty waterfall and then went to the adorable town of Keswick. There, we met up with some other people from our program for fish and chips. After we walked around the little market and got some yummy chocolate crepes and sat in this cute coffee shop until Gordon picked us back up to take us to Linda's. Back at Linda's we got ready for dinner and watched American Idol! It was nice to watch TV since I don't have one here (not that I would have time to watch it). It was also very nice to be in a home atmosphere. Good break from the city life, as well. After dinner, Shawshank Redemption was on TV so we stayed up and watched that then went to bed!

Sunday we got up early and Linda took us on a drive to see Hadrian's Wall, what used to separate Scotland and England back in the Medieval times. It was great seeing parts of the English country side and running in the fields with the sheep! ha we had some great views as well. Linda was so funny, there were a couple sights that were closed, like this castle ruin, and she just told us to go anyways and if somebody came out to say we were Americans and we've never seen a castle before. Linda definitely does what she wants. It was fun in the car ride to tell her about ourselves and hear her stories as well. She is registered on match.com so she goes on all kinds of blind dates. She had some hilarious stories--my favorite was the one where she shows up and meets the guy in his car and he is so large he can't get out and she had to help him. She had to break it off and told him it was because she wanted someone to go skiing with and be active, etc. Ha very entertaining. She said "whoopsiedaisy" like every other word and all I could think of was Hugh Grant in Notting Hill. She was so cute.

After Hadrian's wall and some castles, we returned to Linda's where we had our farewell lunch! It was a nice getaway but I was ready to be back in Edinburgh with my friends and computer! We returned around 6pm and I had lots of reading to do for class so I just took myself to the pub around the corner from my flat for dinner. There I had a glass of wine and some yummy mac and cheese. I felt so independent going out to eat on my own! Anyways, so that was the end of my homestay weekend. Here are some pictures....



Pretty lake with my homestay girls!


Cris and I in front of Aira Force Waterfall.


Girls on Hadrian's wall.


Cris and I with Linda!!

I am going to update on LONDON tomorrow! Goodnight from Scotland for now!

My Surreal Life

How time is already flying by!!! Ok So here's the update since last week...

I met with my director of Studies last Thursday and finally got my schedule!! So here it is: Scottish History since 1914, British Society in the 20th Century, and International Marketing. I only have to take 3 classes :) Their classes are more intense than they are at home so I will get 5 hours credit for each. So far I am loving my classes!! It is so liberating to only be in class an hour or 2 a day! I have so much time--I'm not used to it! It is still not enough to get everything I want to done, though--I have lists and lists of places I want to visit in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain and Europe!! The way the classes are set up are different as well. For my 2 history classes, I got a 60 page booklet with everything I need to know and several different reading lists!! They give you at least a hundred books to choose from and you read as many as you can. It's really cool though because you get to choose topics that interest you--some are straight history books written by historians, some are actual novels that shed light into issues covered in the course, and there are also lists of movies to watch!!--my favorite!! I think right now I am most excited to read and watch Trainspotting. I have heard so much about the book and movie and was going to read it and watch it anyways so now I'll be contributing to my studies as well! :)

I went yesterday to buy my books and I am obsessed with all the bookshops here. There are so many second hand bookshops with the neatest oldest books. One old book of bedside stories and poems had a precious note written in it from "Sam" to "his" love "Fiona" that was dated 1942. I almost bought it just for that. I actually think I am going to go back tomorrow and get it! So I found all the books I needed at the second hand shops and the bookstore chain here called Blackwell's which is almost as good as my favorite, Barnes & Noble. I have no idea how I am going to get all these books home, but they all look amazing on my bookshelf right now--makes my room look more homey. My favorite is one called That Summer by Andrew GREIG. I found this display of Andrew Greig's books (because Andrew Greig is a big deal, like every Greig) and was like freaking out, I wanted to tell the person next to me "that's my name, too!!" So I just had to get one of his books, even though it wasn't on the book list. And it looks really really good!

I have no class on Fridays so, being the superb student I am, I went to the library to figure out how to check out books since I obviously can't buy all 100 books I have to read even though I really want to. It was cool to go to the library and actual check books out--as many times as I've been to the SMU library, I've never once touched a book there. I've never taken a class that required books to be read from the library. So now I feel like an actual student looking for my books and researching. It did take a while to figure out what I was doing, but I am now a pro. It can be very intimidating in the library, and around campus, with all the native Scottish and British people walking around. It is so fun to hear accents all day, but I sometimes feel like I look like an obvious American which I don't want to appear like. So I am trying to make sure I dress appropriately and look like a native. It's funny, here girls don't really wear jeans. Almost all of them wear tights or leggings. They are all very trendy though so I am having the best time studying the fashion and getting good ideas. Anyways, I keep forgetting I pretty much just got here so I will eventually not feel intimidated by the experienced British/Scottish people!!

Friday night we ventured out of the old town and went out over on Georges Street in the New Town where some really nice clubs and bars are. We went to this bar called The Standing Room and it was so cool. The building looked like it used to be a bank or something, it was very elaborate, Georgian Style, of course, like all of New Town, with super high ceilings (and REALLY cute boys that I think belonged to Edinburgh Sports Teams) so it was definitely a success.

Saturday, My friends and I visited the castle!!! It was the most beautiful day, the best yet, the sun came out and we had the best views of the city. The whole time we were like "Oh my gosh just think of everyone that has been RIGHT here and all the important things that have happened right where we were standing!!" I'm sure we will be doing that a lot since pretty much every where we go will be like that haha. I love getting a feel for Scotland's history. I can't wait to come home and be a pro about everything that happened in England and Scotland. After we strolled down the royal mile and took pictures with Braveheart aka William Wallace (and got an autographed picture). We also bought some pictures from this really neat photographer that had all kinds of pictures of Scotland. He asked us if we had Scottish roots, and, again, going back to my name, I said, "My last name is Greig!" And he was like "Ahhh, Greig, The Greig's are from Southwest Scotland" and went into this whole thing about the Greig's-- it was really cool. I do like having a unique name at home, but it's really cool here to have people recognize it AND pronounce/spell it correctly!! It's just like I belong here!


My favorite picture of the city and Arthur's seat from the Castle!!


William Wallace/Braveheart & I ready to attack!!

Even in just the 2 weeks I've been here I think I have already become extremely less high maintenance AND more optimistic/happy about life!! Anyone who knows me knows that hiking is one of my top 5 LEAST favorite things. So on Sunday, we woke up to another gorgeous day and my friends wanted to climb Arthur's seat, a Mountainish Hill that overlooks the city. I thought about not going because I was already dressed in my burberry scarf and tory burch flats, but I said NO emily you need to put your "trainers" (Scottish lingo) on and just do it. So I did. And I did it so happily!! I had the best time ever! It was so amazing and the views were absolutely incredible!!!!! And I was so proud of myself!!! It also made me so proud of this beautiful place!! I mean, what other city can you just go climb a mountain in the middle of?? It was such a good time with my friends, too. I'm so lucky to have them!



Proof that I am actually hiking!


It was Bid Day back at SMU on Sunday so I HAD to (in my chi omega sweatshirt) throw it up at the highest point in Edinburgh!!



Amazing View!!

After the HIKE, I went to the National Museum of Scotland, which is right next to my flat :), with Sara and my flat mate Kristy, to look at an exhibit for my Scottish History Class. I love having homework to go to the museum! Anyone who says Scotland's 20th century history is boring is wrong!!! It's very interesting, in fact, especially to study the relationship between Scots and Brits and how each of them identifies themselves and how the world perceives them and the UK as a whole. I mean, most Americans, I don't think, know if Scotland is its own country or not. It is very fascinating, especially since Scotland just recently (1999) got its own parliament and is now more autonomous than it has been in the past 300 years, something modern Scots say they never dreamed would happen in their lifetime. So who knows what's to come!!

I know I said I would put pictures of my room up but I am still working on its cleanliness/organization so I will try my hardest to get it together for pictures. I want you all to see my Michael picture.

Things I'm Looking Forward To!:
-SHAP, England this weekend!!!--It's a tiny town of about a thousand in the lake district of England. I'm going there to stay with a family for the weekend!!! It is going to be an adventure, but luckily I have many friends that will be in Shap as well, and one who is even with the same family!
-LONDON on 29th January!! Just booked my train ticket/hotel reservation to London with my girlfriends!!! The first of many European travels.

Until next time--Cheers!

Loving Edinburgh

I've been in Edinburgh for a week now which could not sound any stranger. The past couple days I've just been trying to get settled into my classes! I still don't even really have a schedule yet which is kind of scary... but I should have one by 10am tomorrow after I speak with my director of studies. Yesterday was my friend Nora's 21st birthday!!! So we took her out to Edinburgh's "finest" mexican place--Mariachi, where we celebrated with margarita's. Afterwards, we went to an Irish pub where we met some really fun irish people!! It was hilarious, about 15 irish guys lined up to give Nora a birthday kiss. American boys should take note!!! It is so fascinating to talk to people from different cultures and walks of life. Already my perspective of the world has changed so much!! It's so easy to get in our routines and focus so much on our own little bubble and ourselves. But there is a whole world out there full of amazing people and adventures!! As scary as it was leaving everything and everyone I knew behind in America, I can't imagine now not going through this experience. I've learned in my life after choosing to go to SMU and now this, that life really is too short to be scared and nervous to do the things you really want to do. As cliche as it sounds you really can't gain anything without risking something. So there is my little deep life thought for ya! ha it's just that experiences like these really make life worth living and I'm so fortunate to have this opportunity!!

Here are some pictures from Nora's birthday night!!





My new Irish friend, Gary!

I've absolutely loved getting to know the people I am sharing this experience with. It's been so fun every night cooking dinner and meeting in someone's flat all together and chatting for hours and hours! And I've loved exploring all the amazing coffee shops where we can relax in between classes. We found this really cute one called Elephants and Bagels that we have been going to a lot. They have a thing with Elephants here, I guess, it's a little strange but I like it! Everything is so authentic here too. America is so new, we don't have cities like Edinburgh that have existed for thousands of years! I love simply walking on the cobblestone streets and imagining all the people who have walked over the same stones. I feel like such a grown-up living in the city! I made another attempt at the grocery today and it went much better! Except it took me about an hour to find the eggs and I eventually gave up and just had to ask. They do not refrigerate them over here so they were hiding behind the bread. This time, I remembered the bellini bag that my mom gave me and fit my groceries perfectly inside so walking home was much easier! I feel like now I could live in any city. Edinburgh is a nice starter city since it isn't huge and overwhelming. It's such a perfect size and the best city ever to walk. I don't feel unsafe at all either. So to sum it up, I love Edinburgh.

Things I am still working on:
-saying "Edinburgh" the correct way. It is not "Edinburough" or "Edinburg"... its "Edinburuh." They made a point to tell us this at orientation so now I am super self-conscience about saying it correctly, especially in front of natives. Hopefully by the time I leave I will sound like a scot!
-looking the right direction while crossing the street. I didn't realize how instinctive it was of me to look left then right so it has really been tripping me out!!!

I'm going to post pictures of my room tomorrow!!! Goodnight from Edinburgh!!!

Greetings from Edinburgh!!!

So I FINALLY have time to start my blog!!! I have been in Scotland for five days now but it feels like half a year!!! I'm almost caught up on sleep, however its hard to acclimate my body to my new time clock because the sun does not come up until about 830 and sets around 330!! It's very strange, but luckily this is a beautiful city, both during the day and especially at night! I'm going to go day by day and give y'all a little update...

Day 1: Wednesday, 6th January
Arriving in Edinburgh, Scotland
Well, we barely made it in around noon before all the airports shut down from the snow and ice! I guess this is the most snow they have seen in years! It was absolutely beautiful. I think I was the only person excited about the snow, though. I am one of the few students on this program who is not from the northeast! So everyone else thought it was warm outside compared to what they are used to but I thought it was quite chilly! Good thing I brought enough jackets, mom :)

I was so nervous going to my gate at JFK where I was to meet the rest of the group to fly to London. There I found the group and thankfully I was not the only person who did not know anybody else. So we were all trying to make friends desperately!! We flew on Virgin Atlantic which is the best airline ever. I got to choose from about 100 movies to watch on my personal tv! We were all sitting together so we all got to know each other very fast.

While we were deliriously going through customs at Heathrow, I met some great girls (Natalie, Morgan, Sara, and Carolyn) who I already feel like I've known for years now even though it's only been five days!!! Just the other night we were laughing about how we met. So weird. After arriving on Wednesday, we went to our Hotel which had an amazing view of the castle. A group of us went exploring our new home!! After some yummy Italian for dinner, we passed out. Here is a picture of the view from the street outside our hotel on grassmarket with the castle.



Day 2 & 3
The next couple of days in Edinburgh, we had orientation through the Butler program. The three girls that head up the Scotland office are so adorable and helpful. I can't imagine not having their guidance. They gave us so much great information about Scotland, classes, culture shock, traveling Europe, etc. They took us on a tour of the city where we went on top of one of the hills where we had the most amazing view of the city on one side and the Firth of Forth on the other. Here are some pictures...









Thursday night, me and five other girls went to this Italian place, Vittorio's, for dinner. There, we had probably the most memorable waiter I'll ever have. His name was Vincenzo and he was from Napoli. We were laughing hysterically the entire time. You just had to be there, but it was so funny. He like went to the store and got these candy bars and like flung one on the table and said "Oh, I went to the store and got these" then started eating one and flung what he didn't eat on the table. It was just incredibly odd. There's a picture of him, also. It was a great bonding experience :) After we went to The Last Drop, a pub across the street from our hotel, where Ewan McGregor used to work as a bartender!!





Friday was our last night in the hotel!! After a fancy dinner at The Outsiders, we started planning our european adventures!!! Here is us in front of the hotel.



Day 4
On Saturday we moved into our flats!!! Thank God several of my friends--Morgan, Rebecca and other butler students-- were in my building!! I did not get the flat I wanted, however it has turned out great. It's so centrally located. I'm just a block of the royal mile (one of the most famous streets in Europe!) and just a couple blocks from the glamourous Princes and Georges Street that make up the New Town. I have my very own room and 3 other flat mates. They are from Malaysia, France, and LA! Other butler students are in flats right below me. I am on the seventh floor so I am getting my workout on the stairs. Accommodations here are a little rougher than they are at SMU. However, the challenge of making my room homey and cute has been really fun. I just have to look at everything as an adventure! I have to say I am quite proud of how it looks. There will be pictures! It's fun to figure out how to live in another country. In Dallas I have all the same stores I have in Greenville really and when I need stuff I know exactly where to go. Here, there are no Targets or Bed, Bath, & Beyond's! So you have to figure it out yourself and maybe go to a few stores to find it, but once you find what you are looking for you are so proud of yourself! I'm gaining so many life skills! When I moved into my dorm in Dallas, I had help from my parents and my car to put my stuff in, but here that is not the case! I have just myself. I'm becoming incredibly independent very fast. Not only do I have to do it myself, I have to carry whatever I buy home!! That was quite interesting lugging bedding, pillows, rugs, lamps, etc around the city.

Saturday night we went to one of the student unions on campus for an international students pizza dinner. There, we found The Library Bar! It was such a fun night hanging out with friends in the 2 story pub that is exclusively for University of Edinburgh students. I am so lucky to have ended up going on this program and meeting so many fabulous people! Any doubts I had over my study abroad decision now cease to exist. This is definitely where I am suppose to be. On that note, while I was nervously waiting to leave Charlotte, I started talking to this man next to me and turns out he lived in Edinburgh!! That really gave me the peace of mind that I was doing the right thing. All the signs are pointing in the right direction.

Here are some pictures of us at the library bar...




Day 5
I spent Sunday getting my room together!! It is almost there. I mean, I have a framed picture of michael jackson above my bed, how more complete can it get?

We also had orientation for all the international students at the University. They have really freaked us out over how different classes are here. The emphasize is very strongly on independent study. They think there is too much "hand-holding" going on in America (haha) we will see how it goes I guess!!

Sunday afternoon I went to the grocery store with my friend, Sara. What an experience that was!! Grocery shopping in the city is much different than at home or in Dallas!! First off, you can only get as much as you can hold and second, it was about five times smaller with atleast 8 times as many people jammed in!! The line to check out was wrapping down the aisles so you would be trying to find stuff with people in line. It was chaotic!! But it can only get easier from here on out now that I know what to expect. Some girls came over and we attempted cooking pasta in our kitchen. We handled it very well though and had a fun night!!

Day 6 (Today!)
Classes started today!! Students in Scotland are in class much less than in America, which I am really looking forward to! My schedule isn't totally complete yet, but I will be taking history and/or an economics or business class. Today I went to my British Society in the 20th century class which I will probably stay in. It seems like it will be very interesting! Plus my roommate from orientation, Devyn, was in my class! So it was good to see a familiar face. It was so fun walking to class and stopping at Black Medicine Cafe to get my mocha and stopping at the grocery on my way back to pick up a few things. I'm getting used to city life!! I didn't realize that I would have to adapt to not only the Scottish culture, but city culture. I had lunch on campus with friends and sat in on the Celtic Civilization class that I hope to switch into. When else will I have the chance to take that?! If my schedule works out the way I want, I will have no friday classes which means lots of time to travel around on the weekends! My girlfriends and I are already planning a trip to London in a few weekends. After classes, I got coffee at The Elephant House--where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book--with my friends Sara and Nora, and did a little damage over on Princes Street!! Topshop is my new obsession. I have a feeling I will be over there quite a lot! Tonight, I grabbed "takeaway," not takeout from Chocolate soup, which is located right around the corner, and ate in my friends flat with some girls!! Rebecca's flatmate is from York and is hysterical. She kept us entertained. After lots of laughs I am back in my room now getting ready for class tomorrow and watching Made of Honor!!

I am so surprised and proud of myself at how I am handling this new experience!! I didn't think I would adapt so well and have so many great friends so fast. I do miss my family and friends back home, but I absolutely love it here and can't wait to get my routine down and travel around. Before I left, all I could think about was "oh my gosh, how am I going to survive out of America away from family and friends for an entire five months??" NOW all I keep thinking is "OMG I only have five months here, I have to make the most of every second!!!" At orientation they showed us the "W" curve which dealt with the fluctuation in emotions as you study abroad. First is the "honeymoon" then it goes downhill with the "distress period" which most of us experienced when we had to separate and move into our flats!--and then it goes back up after you get acclimated which I feel like I am starting to do. The next downhill curve comes AFTER I've arrived back in America. At the time I was hearing this, I was like "No way, I will be so glad to be back in America, I won't have reverse culture shock." However, now I totally get it!! I can already tell that it will be a huge adjustment going back. However, that is still a ways away, thank goodness, so I am just going to focus on enjoying my time now!!!

I know this is incredibly long and I'm sure the only people still reading are my parents, but from now on I am going to write more often so it won't be so long!!! Hope everyone back at home is doing great! Goodluck with rush, Chi O girls!!!

Love you and miss you all!!