You'd think finishing all your coursework and not having any exams in December would be great! And it is! Except that it isn't... With nothing to officially hand in until January, it's very hard to maintain motivation. Not just for the literature review I have due in January, but--more importantly--revising course materials I did not fully grasp. Because the five or six exams I'll have in May are going to come awfully quick. Coursework aside, there are many other things I'd like to accomplish over the holiday, such as read the (for fun) books on my shelf and/or edit another couple chapters of my novel. But watching Netflix is so much easier.
I very much doubt you're interested in my lack of motivation or even what I'm currently watching on Netflix (RuPaul's Drag Race). The reason the paragraph above exists is so you can judge me--or I can imagine you judging me--which (I hope) will motivate me to actually do the things I said I want to do. But I don't want that to be the focus of this post, so here are some highlights from the past week:
Sunrise Over Waverley
On Friday night I went to the soft opening of Dishoom, a new Indian restaurant in town, with a group of friends. Now, I'm not a huge foodie or a big fan of typographical exclamation but, HOLY EXPLETIVE THAT WAS THE BEST DINING EXPERIENCE I'VE EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!! We queued outside the restaurant for about an hour, throughout which headsetted staff came around with trays of warm chai and Sherry, free of charge. Once inside, we were handed a table pager and directed to the bar downstairs. The table pager's ID could be used to open a tab, which would be added to the final bill after dinner. The hour of fantastic cocktails, conversation, and anticipation flew by. The pager flashed and buzzed. We sashayed to the elevator and were whisked into it by another headsetted staff member, who, as the elevator door closed, we heard say into her headset, "Party of six, approaching the dining room. I repeat, party of six, approaching the dining room!" We were seated at our table just over two hours after joining the queue. Our server's small-talk game was strong, incredibly friendly, and showed zero signs of stress considering how busy the restaurant was. Each family-style plate came out as it was ready. I didn't realise how bland the food I'd been eating for the past two months was until the explosion of flavours and spices in every perfectly-cooked bite at Dishoom. We knew coming in that everything on the menu was half-price for the soft open. But when our server brought the bill, he surprised us by saying he'd taken off the round of drinks we had downstairs. In summary:
Total wait time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
12 drinks, 6 appetizers/sides, 6 mains: £11 + tip, per person
Sharing an evening of delicious food with amazing friends: Priceless
The next day, most of the Dishoom group woke up bright and early for a day-trip to Glasgow. There was a little confusion over bus tickets and I ended up paying slightly more than I would have had I gotten tickets online instead of at the bus station, but a round-trip ticket was still only £11 and everyone ended up on the same bus in the end. Alongside photo-bombing basic white girl selfies, discussions of typical television shows in Germany and the U.S., and glaring at anyone who tried to use the on-bus toilet, it was all just part of the experience.
We didn't really have any plans or specific things to see in Glasgow apart from the Christmas Market so for the first hour we wandered around the main shopping streets. It surprised us how much bigger Glasgow actually is and feels compared to Edinburgh. Glasgow-proper has a population just over 600,000 whereas Edinburgh is only 464,000. The entire metro area populations for Glasgow and Edinburgh are 2.3 million and 1.3 million, respectively (Wikipedia).
After lunch at a place called "Bread Meats Bread," we wandered a while longer before settling on a visit to the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA). Entrance is free and we were lucky enough to get a free tour. The art itself wasn't all that great--probably because I just don't get it--but the building was impressive and has a rich history. At the end of the tour, our guide informed us of a gallery opening that evening and encouraged us to attend, if only for the free glass of wine. We did end up going, had our free glass of wine and a lovely chat with the artist's father. But throughout the whole thing I felt rather out of place. I could appreciate the time that must have gone into creating the pieces, but, standing next to a real artsy-type person praising a pair of underpants splattered with paint and draped from a canvas... I just don't get it.
GoMA - the Statue in front is of the Duke of Wellington.
The cone on his head is an icon and tradition of Glasgow
representing the humour of its people.
Glasgow Christmas Market
Other Glasgow highlights include a stroll along River Clyde and an evening at the Christmas Market. As enjoyable as the Glasgow Christmas Market is, I think it pales in comparison to the Edinburgh Christmas Market. Both have fantastic food and tasty treats--the food at the Glasgow one might even be a little better--but Edinburgh's Christmas Market is simply so much larger.
One thing's for sure: the Scots know how to get in the Christmas Spirit. And, judging from the four times I've been to Christmas Markets in the last week, I'd say I'm right at home.
I've an exciting month of travelling and good food ahead, so--just like my waistline--this blog will be bursting at the seams.
It's been just under a month since my last post. Considering the content of said post, it may have been prudent of me to post a follow-up for anyone concerned. While this past month has definitely had its few ups and mostly downs, I just want to assure everyone that I am happy, healthy, and doing well.
Though an entire month has passed, there are only a couple things I want to write about: (1) The election from the perspective of an American abroad and (2) the literal month's-worth of coursework I only yesterday finished slogging through.
Diving right in: I'm not a very political person but this election had such a sweeping effect on me that excluding a discussion of it would misrepresent my month and be an injustice to the current state of the United States of America. When I say "sweeping effect" I mean that this election pulled my feet out from under me, battered me over the head with a spiked club, and then swept what was left of me into the corner with the shattered beer bottles and annihilated hopes for the future.
At 11pm GMT on the night of 8 November, I blithely gathered at the Edinburgh Uni student union with friends for a couple drinks and to watch the CNN live stream for a couple hours until Hilary won Florida and North Carolina, after which I'd comfortably go to bed and feel refreshed for lecture at 10am and at least four more years of social, economic, and scientific progress. A couple drinks turned into, "What the f*** is happening?! I need another drink." A couple hours of waiting for results from FL and NC turned into staring, gaping at "too close to call" for four hours until, finally, around 4am, Trump was declared the winner in both FL and NC. By that time the pub we were in was no longer serving alcohol. So I went home to huddle under the covers of my bed and watch the CNN live stream until I could no longer keep my eyes open. I'm not sure what time I fell asleep but at 6:30am I woke up into a nightmare; Trump had just clinched Pennsylvania and a Trump Presidency seemed assured.
I skipped lecture that morning to sleep until 11. But even after a decent amount of sleep I felt drained--physically and emotionally. It literally felt as if someone close to me had just died. And I remember thinking: My country just had. I was told, "I'm so sorry" by more than one of my European colleagues here. All I wanted to do was hide in my room, feeling ashamed to be an American. I was--and still am--scared for the future. But we keep moving forward.
However much the rhetoric and fear-mongering Trump spewed during his campaign has incited the wave of racism, bigotry, and prejudice crashing across the country, I think that, now faced with actually being President, Trump truly wants to do a good job. Yes, I may disagree with the direction Trump seems to be taking the country, judging from many of the people he has appointed to his transition team; but I think he does have America's best interest at heart. The problem is, the America Trump inhabits and the America the rest of us inhabit seem to be two completely different things. Which means that we have to do everything we can to oppose the things that go against the rights, happiness, and safety of EVERY American and push back to preserve the progress that has been made in, to name a few, human rights and sustainable energy. I don't have the answers. But things we all can do are contact local and state representatives, VOTE in upcoming elections (if you're over 18), and--if you are able and willing--donate to organizations that will work to protect the rights of marginalised groups, health of this planet, and futures of our children. Above all, we can LOVE one another and have HOPE for a better tomorrow!
As an American abroad, I'm doing everything I can to spread love, understanding, and friendship in an attempt to represent the country I call home; the country I know deep down is full of kind, caring, and compassionate people. On my quest to paint a better image of Americans than what you might see on the news, I've met so many diverse and wonderful people! Three such people are a couple and their friend, all from Glasgow, who I met during my first week in Edinburgh, waaayyy back in September. I was meeting another friend for drinks and pub quiz and these three were sitting at the table next to us. Their humour was a bit raunchy, the (lesbian) couple was tattooed and pierced to the gills, they smoked about a pack of cigarettes in the three hours we talked to them, and they were about the nicest people you could meet. After a pub quiz question regarding a bit of Edinburgh history, they told us a story from a time when what's now the nice part of Edinburgh was a disease- and thief-ridden slum, poorly maintained and walled off from the rest of the city. This part of town was so poorly maintained buildings would frequently collapse. One such collapse trapped a young boy inside for over two days. The workers were just about to give up any hope of finding survivors when they heard the young boy call out, "Don't stop digging, lads! I'm not dead yet."
I don't know how much or even if any of it is true, but that story has stuck with me. I've had the title for this post in my drafts since that night. I just didn't have any good content to put under it. Until now. The story of that young boy has helped me get through this past month. It gave me hope even when things seemed at their worst. It gives me hope that, no matter how much damage a Trump administration does, no matter how much it seems like the world is collapsing around us, there is hope. You just have to keep digging for the love and kindness that I know is in each and every one of us. It might take a pick axe to shatter ignorance, which could just bring more rubble crashing down around us. But, ultimately, love and hope will triumph in the end. It's that love and hope that has kept me going.
On top of election fallout, I've had a month of coursework to keep me good and stressed. I took it a day at a time. And in moments when it felt overwhelming, I took a breath, looked up from my studies to appreciate where I am--FREAKING AMAZING EDINBURGH! And at times when I felt like I was drowning, I remembered a young boy shouting out for help and told myself to just keep digging. I'm not dead yet. And it'll all be worth it in the end.
Well, this post has gone on long enough. And even though it's no longer Thanksgiving here, it still is where many of you will be reading this. So Happy Thanksgiving! Take today and every day to be thankful for the opportunities and people in your life. Be merry! Be safe! LOVE! And don't stop digging.
It happened. The twitchy eyelid came back with a vengeance. All thanks to back-to-back nights of staying up late working on Machine Learning Practical coursework. But you'll notice this blog post isn't titled "Revenge of the Twitchy Eyelid" because there's something much more important to write about.
I. Met. Charlie. McDonnell! (AKA charlieissocoollike, YouTube personality and superstar! At least that's how my inner 12-year-old self viewed and still views him.)
"You've just had the almost imponderable joy of [meeting]
charlieissocoollike, which makes you, like, cool!"
He was in Edinburgh doing a book-signing for his new book, Fun Science. I only just found out it was happening--and, to be honest, that he'd even written a book--on Monday. But as soon as I saw the event on Facebook, I purchased my ticket. I spent the rest of the week reacquainting myself with all of Charlie's old videos and enjoying many of the new ones he's posted since--gosh--probably my senior year in high school. Here's one of my favourites:
Rewatching his videos confirmed in my mind that Charlie McDonnell is one of the coolest, funniest, and wisest young-people-around-my-age. So, after meeting Charlie, getting a signed copy of his book, and taking a picture with him... why do I feel like shit?
Sure, the whole process of meeting Charlie was very rushed. But that's the sort of thing one should expect when attending a book signing. So from where does my disappointment stem? Certainly not having to deal with the rest of his fans; they were all courteous, patient, and, overall, lovely people. And one of them was my friend who I hadn't seen since My First Week in Edinburgh, Part II. And though I struggled to come up with something to say as Charlie wrote in the front cover of my book, he absorbed my stuttered remarks with grace and charm.
This all seems great! Why am I being such a downer?
As I stated in Living in a Fantasy World, this blog isn't meant to be just the exciting, wonderful experiences that go along with traveling or living in an amazing city like Edinburgh (though I do hope I've managed to fit some of that in here, too); it's also my journal, with which I can delve into the less glamorous aspects of living abroad to show you that it's not all beautiful sunrises and taking pictures with celebrities. Living and studying abroad is also working yourself to the point of exhaustion and an incessantly twitching eyelid, or confronting parts of yourself that you'd rather not see or thought you'd left behind with your high school years. Therein may lie a cause of my current mood.
Like I said, before this week I don't think I'd watched a charlieissocoollike video since high school. Seeing and meeting Charlie today transported me (mostly unconsciously) back to those relatively unstable years of my life. The instability and dark times I experienced then are partially what drew me to charlieissocoollike. Charlie cheered me up. And, though he lived 4,000 miles away and only spoke to me through YouTube, Charlie felt like a real and genuine person--a true friend. And as far as I can tell, he's based his entire online presence on being genuine and true.
And that struck a chord with me. I saw/see myself in Charlie--the shy but enthusiastic, more than slightly awkward kid making random videos for YouTube, wanting people to like him and feeling good when it seems they do but at the same time feeling sad that he only ever did it so people would like him (which, really, is probably a big part of why anyone does anything) but still we blame ourselves for having this so very human quality and drown in anxious thoughts of what people think of me and why I'm not being the best me I can be. But, of course, we all know that the best thing we can do in this world is make other people happy by doing what makes us happy. So why am I not happy to have met this person I feel such a connection to?
The comparison of myself to Charlie went much too far when I got angry at myself for not wearing my glasses, or my pair of brownish-yellow trousers, or my dark long-sleeve shirt to the book-signing because of course that's what Charlie would wear and I should have known so we could be #twinning.
But I am not Charlie McDonnell. As much as I secretly hope to one day be a published author and have my own book-signings to attend, I am not Charlie McDonnell. Nor do I want to be. I am me. The trouble, though, is figuring out who me is and what me wants. You'd think somebody almost a full semester into their Master's in Informatics would have their life pretty well sorted, what with the variety of sorting algorithms at our disposal. But there is no sorting algorithm for life. So I'm here to say that I have no clue what I want to do with my life and that I think hardly anyone ever does.
Don't get me wrong, I do very much enjoy my coursework and most certainly wouldn't have made it this far in Computer Science/Informatics if didn't. But I can't help but wonder if maybe there's something I would enjoy doing more (like writing!) or if I enjoy my studies for the wrong reasons. I enjoy being busy because being busy leaves little time to be anxious or worry about what people think of me. And as a Master's student at the University of Edinburgh, I am very VERY busy.
But the worry still creeps into my life. As an example, a few weeks ago on a Friday, I didn't have much of a lunch between lectures. So by 6pm I was pretty hungry. I checked my phone for restaurants I hadn't been to before and picked out a fairly trendy, well-reviewed Indian restaurant. I left my flat, walked to this restaurant, and as I stood outside looking at the menu on the door, I was overcome by an irrational, mind-crushing anxiety. My thought process went something like this: "It's so busy. I would be that person eating alone. Oh, god I have no friends. Neal, you're being silly. Just go in and ask what the wait time is. And you've eaten alone at plenty of restaurants before now. But I wouldn't want to take a table just to myself when they're so busy. Maybe I'll just go try somewhere else." And so I did--go try somewhere else--three times, before I finally gave up. After walking around for nearly half an hour, I ended up going back to my flat, without having eaten anything, to work on coursework until 10pm, at which point I was REALLY hungry. Eventually I worked up the courage to run round the corner for a chicken shawarma wrap. So that's me.
For this next bit I'll rely on another Charlie video:
Like Charlie, I suffer from anxiety and at times in my life have suffered from depression. I haven't been officially diagnosed but it's been a part of my life for almost as long as I can remember. And I cope with it by keeping myself so busy I forget it's there, which itself probably isn't a very healthy coping mechanism but it works for me. And on the occasion my anxiety does rear its ugly head, I find writing to be therapeutic. Hence, this blog post.
So, back to why I am not happy to have met Charlie: I am happy to have met Charlie! Ecstatic, even! It was a very great pleasure and an amazing opportunity I do not take for granted. But when I met Charlie in real life--in the screwed-up, paradoxical way that only anxiety can manage--the realness of the connection I felt with Charlie when I watched his videos was ruined. However much of his authentic self he puts in his videos, they are still just videos presented to me via YouTube. And when that medium barrier was broken yesterday, it broke something inside me too. When I stood next to Charlie as we had our picture taken, I glanced away from camera to look at the queue of people still waiting for the same opportunity. In that moment, I think my idea that I could be or was actually friends with this famous YouTuber became a disillusioned one.
But this isn't Charlie's or YouTube's fault; it's anxiety's. Anxiety is the reason I've had to write a 1,797-word blog post (much of it written at 3am) just to regain some sense of normality and allow myself to process the fact that I met one of my childhood idols yesterday. And in doing so, I've realized that the Charlie I met yesterday is still the same Charlie in his charlieissocoollike videos. It's just that, because his YouTube self is the first version of him I felt a connection to, meeting Charlie in-person felt more distant. And because I've been conditioned to treat meeting a celebrity as the pinnacle of showing your fan-dom, the distance I felt yesterday shattered the relationship I thought I had with YouTube Charlie. But, of course, two minutes of awkwardly standing there while someone signs a piece of paper and takes a picture with you is not a true representation of that person. So instead I just think of how helpful Charlie's videos were during my formative years in high school and how I will always appreciate that and everything Charlie does for science education, entertainment, and just being an exemplary human being.
So in true charlieissocoollike-style, here's my attempt at a concluding nugget of wisdom and positive note to end on: Don't compare yourself to other people, but especially celebrities; you are flawed and perfect enough just the way you are. And don't worry if you don't have life completely figured out just yet. That's something that just takes time, trying different things, and several mistakes. But eventually, I think, everyone is able to find what is most fulfilling for them, what makes them the best version of them, and what makes people happy (themselves included!). Things like anxiety and depression can get in the way of that so it's important to state those things for what they are--an illness that can be treated. And if you suffer from anxiety and/or depression, you are not alone and I hope this blog post is helpful to you.
Whether you know me personally or not and whether my anxiety is new, old, or even relevant information to you, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this and hope that you have a wonderful day!
Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but up until about a week ago my life could be summarised by this post's title. Too many long hours spent reading in the library and/or staring at a computer screen, the stress of coursework ramping up, and lack of sleep due to a mild cold--it all added up and manifested itself as a twitch in my left eyelid every minute or so for over two weeks. It's gone now *knock on wood*.
Even though my last post was over a month ago, there really isn't much for me to talk about. But I'll give you the highlights: Just a few days after my last post, all those weeks ago, I went to the Edinburgh Zoo. It's a fantastic zoo! I got to meet the highest ranking penguin in the Norwegian military, and came face-to-face with a Sumatran tiger.
Brigadier Sir Nils Olav, mascot and Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian King's Guard
Sumatran Tiger at the Edinburgh Zoo
Victorious! Taken from the top of Arthur's Seat at 22:51
My only other adventure has been making butternut squash soup with a group of friends and going on a night-hike up Arthur's seat. The soup was delicious and warm and the hike was eerily beautiful and very cold.
The only other excitement in my life is going to pub quiz with friends and obsessing over one of our professors. Other than that, it's pretty much just been the daily grind of lectures, tutorials, coursework, eat, sleep, repeat. Overall my modules (classes) are going very well and I'd say they are a good mix of challenging, interesting, and useful. But there have been times, especially in the last couple weeks, when I feel as if I'm about to drown in the amount of work I have to do. But I just take one day at a time, work hard, and give myself plenty of breaks to enjoy this amazing city I'm in. I wouldn't want my next post to be titled "Revenge of the Twitchy Eyelid."
Sunrise from my window
That's all for now. I hope it won't be quite so long between this and my next post, but with what I'm calling "Hell Week" (three major projects due in three consecutive days) only a month away, it's very probable the next post won't happen until after that. So perhaps my usual sign-off is a bit silly, but I'm going to do it anyway...
Where's Part I, you ask? It's in my previous post, The Lull? Uh, bye: Before the Storm, but I couldn't be bothered to change the title. So here's the continuation of my first week in Edinburgh. Tuesday 13/9
After all the walking I did and big meal on Monday, I used Tuesday morning to sleep in and relax. It's quite possibly one of the last times I will be able to do so all year, so I appreciated being able to take things a little slower. Especially since that afternoon I went to the Postgraduate Welcome event, where current and former students talked about what it means to be a student at the University of Edinburgh. It was good to get that perspective but it was also a little daunting; from what they said--one of them an Informatics student--it's definitely going to be a stressful year. But I've already made (and caught up with) so many wonderful friends, that I know we can help each other through it and come out the other side stronger, more capable human beings... with a higher blood-alcohol content. I say that mostly in jest, but with all the pubs and bars in Edinburgh, it might be a fairly accurate assumption. Also, that night I went to one of the bars and met my friend from Norway for a trivia night and a couple drinks. Despite many of the questions being meant for residents of the UK, we won 2nd place and a bottle of wine! Woo!
Wednesday 14/9
Informatics Forum interior
After staying up rather late the night before, I wasn't particularly keen to get up for the Informatics Welcome event but did anyway. And I was glad I did! It was wonderful to meet so many people doing the same course as me and interested in the same specialisms. It makes registering for classes a little scary, especially since the registration system here is so different from at my old university. I didn't "officially" pick my classes until a few days ago, and even now (as I'm writing this on Saturday) I'm not so sure I'm registered. They tell us it's all done automatically through the online system I've been using but I haven't seen any official confirmation or anything about class size or if there's a limit to the number of students who can take it or what. And from the people I've talked to it sounds like they're almost as confused as I am. I'll just hope for the best and stay flexible.
Thursday 15/9
I woke up planning to climb Arthur's Seat but one look out the window at a wall of fog halted those plans. So instead I went to lunch with a friend I bumped into on my way to the restaurant. Later that afternoon I went to a talk on the UK job market and applying for jobs. (Don't worry, mother. I'm still planning to come home after my studies.) The fog was pretty much gone by the time the talk got over at 16:30 so I decided I would go climb Arthur's Seat but wanted to be back in time for Mid-autumn Mooncake festival held in the house common room. So I ended up essentially running up Arthur's Seat and all around Salisbury Crags. I did so because I wanted to have plenty of time to just sit and enjoy the view and sunset from the highest point in Edinburgh. Instead of trying to describe it, here are some pictures:
My building from Arthur's Seat.
Arthur's Seat from my building.
Birth Place of Modern Geology -- It is here, from the years 1726-1797 that James Hutton looked at these rock formations and said, "Huh, that's interesting." And determined that the rocks had been formed from molten material.
From the top of Arthur's Seat
Friday 16/9
Again I took it pretty slow in the morning but was jolted into action when the fire alarm went off... and kept going off. It wasn't a drill. In addition to student housing, my building has apartments people can rent for short amounts of time. And it was apparently in one of these apartments that somebody burnt some toast. So everybody--many of us still in our pyjamas--had to stumble outside and wait for the fire brigade to come and tell us it was okay to go back inside. The rest of the day was much less eventful. I just went to a meeting with my Personal Tutor for Informatics, which really is just a fancy name for an advisor. Then that night in the common room, the RAs put on a movie night with free pizza! The movie, The Angels' Share, was very Scottish and quite good.
Saturday 17/9
Today I hiked up Arthur's Seat again with a bunch of people from my building. Even though I'd just done it a couple days ago, the weather was perfect! Plus, I'm not sure how much exercise I'll get the rest of the year so I need to get it while I can. We came down from Arthur's Seat a different way, so I still got to see something new--the ruins of St. Anthony's Chapel. I'm planning to go to a movie--Kingsman: The Secret Service--a bit later in the Old College Quad and after that maybe a jazz bar with some friends. But that's about it for today.
The white spiky building on the left is Scottish Parliament, on the right is Holyrood Palace, where the Queen stays when in Scotland, and in the background you can see Edinburgh Castle on the left and Carlton Hill on the right.
You're all caught up! With classes starting on Monday, I'm not sure when I'll next be able to post. I'm hoping to put an update up every couple of weeks but, if I get swamped with coursework, it might be longer than that. But until whenever that is...
I've been in Edinburgh for almost a week now and there's barely been time to take a breath. So here's the blow-by-blow of what I've been up to since arriving in Edinburgh.
Sunday 11/9
View of Edinburgh Castle from The Elephant House --
I wonder if it's this exact view, from my exact seat, that inspired Hogwarts. Probably not. But one can dream.
After breakfast at a little place just down the road, I went to pick up my Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), open a bank account, wander around the International Welcome event, and then explore campus. There's a lot of construction going on right now, which is rather annoying, especially because one of the main Informatics buildings is one of those being worked on and it won't be done until after I'm done (Dangit! Guess I'll just have to stay for a PhD. Just kidding. Or am I? Probably. I don't know. I'll figure it out eventually). Despite the scaffolding and noise, I'm still awed by the architecture and old buildings, not just on campus, but all over the city.
Once I'd gotten a good feel for the campus, I wondered up towards the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle. I went as far as the castle ticket booth but didn't fancy waiting in line or spending £16.50 so I turned around and went off in search of a café. A very specific café. The Elephant House--birth place of Harry Potter and all around very nice place. After a cuppa tea and some short cake, I went back to campus and explored the library. After that it was time to head back to my flat for a quick mo before the residence hall rules and regulations meeting. After that a few of us went out to a pub just around the corner. And what do ya know, one of the other students I met there is also from Minnesota! Small world! Monday 12/9
I started my day by going to register with the National Health Service (NHS). After that I spent much of the rest of the day catching up with a friend from my Norwegian class at the International Summer School in Oslo. I didn't know it until about a month ago, but she is also getting her Master's at the University of Edinburgh. Really small world! She showed me around north of the train station and after wandering up and down Princes Street and Rose Street, we stopped for ice cream next to the Edinburgh Festival Wheel, which was in the process of being taken down. From there we walked up to Carlton Hill, which has one of the best views of Edinburgh. It was very windy so we didn't stay too long and instead found some coffee to stave off the afternoon slump. Both sufficiently caffeinated, we each went our own way, I to pick up a few things for my flat, and she to pick up a bus card.
For dinner that evening I went to a residence hall event celebrating the start of Eid al-Adha, an Islamic holiday honouring Ibrahim's (Abraham's) willingness to sacrifice his son for God. The food was excellent and very spicy--something many of the international students less accustomed to spice struggled with, though I commend them for powering through. Better than the food was the conversation and lesson on what the holiday is about, given from both from a Christian and Muslim perspective. It showed that despite what the media presents to us and the twisted ideals of radicals, these two religions, seemingly so often at odds with one another, are not so different. In fact, they are based on many of the same people and beliefs and share many of the lessons scriptures or stories are meant to teach us. In the context of the community I'm living in, all the students here are from many different backgrounds and religions, yet we all share this space and are here to support one another. In a wider context, we all share this planet and must do what we can do preserve it for future generations. It will not come easy. We will have to make sacrifices, whether it's sacrificing a postgraduate student's valuable time to help keep shared living spaces clean, sacrificing your pride to admit that maybe you were wrong, sacrificing your life to protect those you love, or innumerable other sacrifices. Sacrifice is part of living, of leading a peaceful, fulfilling, effectual life. But it's never easy, which is why there's so much to learn from Ibrahim/Abraham and why I know this year of graduate school will be one of the most challenging of my life. As challenging as it will be for the sacrifices I will have to make (probably mostly sleep), I know that it will also be one of the most rewarding.
Since classes start on Monday, I had hoped to get caught up to today. But this post is long enough already so I'll leave it here. So, lucky you! You can expect at least one more post before my life is consumed by coursework. Just know, from this post and the post to come, that there is no lull before the storm. With the people I meet and adventures I have, I will make the most of my free time in Edinburgh before it gets swallowed up by reading and rainy weather. You can probably expect the wrap-up to my first week in Edinburgh either Saturday or Sunday. Until then...
So here I am in Edinburgh! A few notes on how I got here:
My flight from Iceland to London was uneventful, the immigration officer was nice, and getting to King's Cross from Heathrow was cheap (£3) and a breeze. Piccadilly line: MVP!
Because getting to King's Cross was so easy, I ended up being there around 3 hours early. It's always a good idea to allow for extra time, but this was a little excessive. And I wasn't able to catch an earlier train because I'd purchased a non-exchangeable ticket. That being said, it's hard to complain because, this being a train from King's Cross, it's a little bit like the Hogwarts Express.
The train ride was everything I could have imagined and more. It was comfortable, had free wifi, and the scenery out my window seat was incredible. Whatever image you have in your mind of the English countryside, make it greener, more beautiful, pop in an extra village or two, and you'd have my view. I can see why Tolkien loved his country so much that he based his idyllic Shire upon it.
Getting from Waverley Station to my flat was rather stressful. My train pulled in at 21:28 and I was supposed to collect my keys by 22:00. With two 22kg bags and a large backpack, just getting myself and the 50kg of luggage to the taxi rank was a test of my strength, nerve, and determination. I managed to flag a taxi without knocking over too many old ladies.
Tired and harried, I arrived in reception at 21:58, though I needn't have worried. The RAs hung around well after I got there. Had worse come to worst and there be nobody there when I arrived, security could have let me into my flat.
I proceeded to unpack EVERYTHING. Because there's no sleep to be had when suitcases keep screaming at you.
View from my wee flat
My wee flat
As nice as my view is, there were a few things that initially discomfited me. For one, my en-suite bathroom is tiny. Like, the toilet and sink are practically in the shower, tiny. I don't have to share it with anyone, though, so it's a fair trade-off. Also, since I knew I'd be getting in so late and didn't want to take up space in my suitcase with bedding, I ordered a bedding pack from University Accommodations. It was only £25 but, even so, I was taken aback by the quality of the fabric--quite scratchy! Now that I've slept in it a couple nights, it's better, but I still might make an IKEA run. The other thing about my bedding that I wasn't very pleased with is that it only came with a fitted sheet, pillow and pillowcase, duvet and duvet-cover--no top sheet. Sleeping directly under the duvet is, apparently, fairly common in Europe. Though I wasn't very fond of the idea to start with, it does make making my bed much easier in the morning and I'm sure I'll come to like it just as much as, if not more than, what I'm used to. It'll just be an adjustment--one of many, I'm sure, to come in the coming months.
As insignificant or as scary as they might be, it is these adjustments that I find most exciting because they offer the greatest opportunities for new experiences and personal growth. If you don't know what makes you uncomfortable, you'll never know what your boundaries are or if they can be expanded. If you're not needing to adjust your lifestyle or way of thinking, you're not learning. And if you're not learning, what's the point?
I don't want this post to get too long, so that's all for now. I'll try to post again in a few days with more updates on what I've been up to since arriving in Scotland. Until then...
I am very excited to announce that I will begin my studies for a master's at the University of Edinburgh this Fall! I will be pursuing a one-year master's in Informatics.
"So what the heck is Informatics?" you might ask. Well, if you were to take a guess you might say it's the study of information, and you'd be right. But there's quite a bit more to the definition than that, as I'll find out in full force this Fall. For those of you unwilling to spend a year selling your soul to professors and the suffusive glow of computer screens at 4:00 in the morning, I'll just boil down some of the main points from the University of Edinburgh School of Informatics website: Informatics is "The study of the structure, the behaviour, and the interactions of natural and engineered computational systems." It is concerned with the transformation and understanding of information through computation and communication, and it encompasses disciplines such as Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science. For more information, you can go here or utilize a wonderful little thing called Google.
My studies will chiefly be concerned with the computation aspect, in which I will pursue a focus in either Natural Language Processing (NLP) or Machine Learning.
As I prepare for my journey to Edinburgh, completing all the necessary paperwork and packing my life into suitcases, I would like to thank everyone who has helped me reach this juncture in my life. First of all, my siblings for their encouragement, support, and unwavering enthusiasm for my decision to apply to the University of Edinburgh. Then, of course, my parents, who, once they got used to the idea of me pursing my postgraduate studies abroad, whole-heartedly support my decision. Also, for their love and raising me to be the person I am today, I am extremely grateful! Next, the rest of my family for their support, as well as my friends through the years with whom I've shared many wonderful memories! Finally, I would most sincerely like to thank all of my friends and professors from my four years at Western Washington University, particularly those in the Computer Science Department and Linguistics Program. I know that because of the learning and personal growth that happened at Western, I am prepared for this next stage of my life.
And you can follow it every step of the way right here on my blog, which will be my main method of updating and informing others of my time in Scotland and the many adventures to come.
