Note: this post was written in early December and is obviously dated, but I thought I'd put it up in any case since my internet wouldn't let me when I wrote it. It probably contains far more detail than you'll care to know but at least my mom will be happy :) I've also just put up an album containing some miscellaneous photos from the first semester - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2186826&l=15975&id=90402206.
People have been asking about what life has been like for me in Edinburgh outside of the weekend trips, so I've put together this post to share a bit about what keeps me busy when I'm not sleeping in a castle or taking photos of them.
Classes
Yes, these do exist. Being that university is what brought me on this adventure, I suppose it does feature as quite a big part of life these days. The norm here is three classes each semester with 2-3 hours of lecture time per class each week plus weekly or bi-weekly tutorials. That's a lot of numbers so I'll sum it up as: 8 hours of class time a week! Compared to the 15-20 hours that most (BA) students in Canada have, you would think this equals lots of free time. In theory this is true, but, much of that time is taken up by readings and work to keep up with lectures and tutorials. I don't want to generalize the comparison to Canada vs. UK because there are so many other factors (home university, program, personal study style) and I've heard lots of people say they've felt the opposite.
That said, my classes have been enjoyable so the required work isn't necessarily a bad thing. A first year Human Geography class has been my favourite - studying many things that I'm genuinely interested in always makes class work easier. The second year Organisation Studies has met my expectations and as much a psychology class as it is a business class. My only economics class is Topics in Economic Analysis and has its moments of being both interesting and very dull, often the case with economics classes.
Clubs
With well over 200 clubs and societies at the university, there's something for pretty much everyone from lovers of juggling to avid Perfidious Albion-ers. I've opted for two societies thus far - ChillOut and Photography. No, the ChillOut Society does not consist of lying around on shag carpets drinking hot chocolate and listening to Zero 7 (though that would be pretty sweet). What it does consist of is great massage classes and I took their 6-week beginner class as well as a one-day Indian Head Massage class. Both were great to learn some new skills, meet nice people, and get a relaxing massage! I've only just started with PhotoSoc but their once-a-week meetings are often guest speakers who come to talk about some aspect of photography. On Tuesday, there was a fellow student who told us all about pinhole photography - very cool stuff. Imagine having your camera exposed for six months!
Edinburgh's own Camera Obscura
City
So after the school work and societies, there is still lots of time to explore the city. (Perhaps a blog post brought to us by the sound 's'?) Living in the middle of a UNESCO World Heritage Centre has its benefits. With winding alleys and buildings seeped in history every way you look, just wandering around Old Town provides hours of entertainment. There are also many world class museums and galleries with free entry that I definitely haven't taken advantage of.
Another beautiful feature of Edinburgh is the massive park smack in the middle of the city! Holyrood Park is always great for a stroll about and offers some of the best views of the city. Here are some photos from a few jaunts up Arthur's Seat and the Salisbury Crags (more here).
The gentle stroll up Arthur's Seat.
This panorama is a snippet of the view of the city from the Salisbury Crags.
On one outing, I walked around the Scottish Parliament - a very controversial building that's been slagged for its unique design and blown-up costs (which totalled £414.4m, about 10 times the initial guesstimates). Lots of people complain about the modern architecture, especially when compared to some of the ancient buildings around Old Town. Personally, I'm a fan. With no educated commentary to add, I will simply say that I think it's pretty and am very much looking forward to doing a tour to learn about the finer details (green roofs and material primarily sourced from within Scotland!).Cooking
With a father who can cook up a storm in minutes using whatever is found in the fridge, I've been lucky enough to have a steady stream of nutritious and delicious food entering my stomach without having to flex a single culinary muscle. That has obviously changed since September and I'm happy to report that I have not been living out of cans and pizza boxes. I've been sticking to pretty simply things and like to cook larger batches that will feed me for a few meals. (Tip: poaching an entire chicken can keep one person fed for a good chunk of the week. Thanks for the recipe, brother!) While the food that comes out of my microwave/oven/grill (yes, all three in one unit!) or off of my two little burners may not be as tasty as going out to eat or the make-brain-think-substance-is-delicious flavourings often found in packaged stuff, spending time on carefully selecting and preparing definitely makes me appreciate my food.
Overall, the city is a beautiful place to live. Not so big that you feel overwhelmed but not so small that it's lacking in things to do. And for a city of this size, Edinburgh is disgustingly rich in things to do and see... lucky for me!
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