One Month Reflection

So I realized that I've been here for exactly one month.  WOW.  This has been such an incredible month and it feels like it's only been 2 days,  but at the same time it seems like such a long time ago that I was in the airport.

Looking back at the first week, it was just such a weird, hazy one.  Everything's a blur of confusion, newness, trepidation, and excitement.  Since then, I've made a ton of friends, travelled, experienced so many new things, and really have enjoyed every second of it.

I love my morning walks to class, and then stopping by the City Centre on my way home
I love being able to walk basically everywhere
I love the fact that every car on the road is tiny (by our standards)
I love the hard-to-find road signs that have obviously been around for awhile
I love the cute flowers in the grass on the side of the road
I love being in a big city and enjoying the sights and sounds
Sometimes I love taxi drivers, like the one last night who studied mechanical engineering in Germany
I love the brick walls and cobblestone walks, such a nice departure from asphalt and cement
I love the sandwich shops everywhere that are so incredibly cheap and delicious
I love brie, falafel, and "sweet chilli jam" sandwiches for £1.50
I love the other international students and how much I enjoy spending time with them
I love the two taco nights we've had in the span of four days
I love how easy it is to talk to people because I'm "foreign" and they're interested in my life and I'm interested in theirs
I love teachers poking fun at America in both my Environment and World Politics class and Applied Global Ethics (hah!)
And I love how excited I am for the next 3 months


I do not love my left foot right now because I can barely walk on it, making everything difficult
I do not love the lack of Netflix and Hulu here, because being confined in my flat is leaving me with very little to do (I do love that I'm ahead in my school work now, however)



And finally, because a post is boring without any pictures, here's one of a shopping arcade in the City Centre.   Cottonwood's food court ceiling art just doesn't compare.

Edinburgh: Arthur's Seat

On our second day in Edinburgh, we hiked a mountain called Arthur's Seat.  Legend has it that Arthur's Seat is a supposed location for Camelot.  It was such a pretty (sunny!) day with great views.

Edinburgh: The Food

We had some really delicious meals in Edinburgh.

First up was an Italian cafe where I had stromboli and a warm cuppa tea, a necessity here.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant to try a classic Scottish dish: haggis.  I’m not exactly sure what was in it, but it was delicious so I’m not going to question it.  I think it has to do with sheep’s innards.  We split the haggis around the table and I ended up with macaroni and cheese that was amazing. 

Carbo-loading?

Breakfast was literally only bread, but lunch the second day was great! We found a yummy restaurant during our explorations.  They served classic Scottish food, but had modern and cute décor instead of the depressing dark wood that plagues taverns and pubs.  Lunch was quite pleasant and the company was fun as well.  For dessert I tried sticky toffee pudding that was sooo delicious and rich.

The food over the weekend was amazing, but I've been eating a ton of vegetables since then to make up for it.  Gotta get those nutrients! 

Edinburgh: The Sights

This weekend we went to Edinburgh, Scotland.  It was beautiful!  The best thing about it (not really, but close) was that it was sunny the entire weekend.  

The bus left at 7 am from campus, so it was an early morning for everyone.  We settled down in the bus ready to sleep for the entire 4 hour ride, only to be woken up less than an hour later so the bus driver could take a break.  What?  So we sat in a gas station/coffee place for 45 minutes doing nothing.  After finally getting back on the road we slept, enjoyed the scenery, played trivia games, and chatted.  My seatmate was a guy from the Netherlands. 

We stopped at the Scottish border for a photo op and then continued the drive up to Edinburgh.  It was so beautiful.  Not only was it the first time since being here that I’ve enjoyed constant sunshine, but we were driving through the Scottish countryside right next to the sea. 

Our hair is hilarious 

Look at that blue sky

            Once in Edinburgh, we got settled into the hostel.  It was a pretty funny hostel, quite indie and hipster-ish with references to American musicians everywhere.  And generally weird, because it’s a hostel.  I shared a room with 10 other girls.  The bunk beds were the most terrifying thing.  Whenever you would get on the top bunk, the bed would sway like a foot both ways and make cracking sounds.  I was afraid I was going to fall and crush my bunkmate the entire night.  Luckily, I did not. 

Next up was a walking tour that would have been fun, had it not been FREEZING.  It was really windy and cold, so the entire tour was filled with shivering and runny noses.  Pleasant I know.  Edinburgh is a beautiful old town that has a fun energy instead of a boring touristy feel.  Not that it wasn’t touristy at all.  But the tour was interesting and we heard a bunch of unique stories, like the tale of the most active ghost in the UK, or what a wall was made out of (hint: human ashes).  Witch-hunts dictated a lot of Edinburgh’s history. 

Witches' ashes!

We also saw the café in which JK Rowling began writing Harry Potter, and the castle she modeled Hogwarts after.

Hogwarts?

After the tour, we warmed up in the hostel drinking tea and chatting with the other people staying there.  There was a group from Ireland that was hilariously drunk, so it’s good to know that Americans aren’t the only ones that perpetuate stereotypes while abroad (more on this later).  

After dinner was a pub crawl organized by the tour.  Have I said how much I love the UK?  It was so much fun!  At one of the clubs there was a live band that played a ton of cover songs, including Sweet Home Alabama.  Out of place, but every single person in the club knew all of the words.  Impressive.  I honestly had so much fun with the people on the tour.  I met a lot of new people and got to know others better.  We had a good time just enjoying our surroundings (and dancing to Queen songs).  After a night of pub hopping, it was bed time.  Getting 11 girls to settle down and shut up was a challenge, but the bed was much more comfortable than my dorm bed, which says something about the dorm. 

Hostel

The next morning we woke up early to eat breakfast before going on a hike.  Breakfast consisted of bread.  Literally nothing else.  But it’s a hostel, so that’s expected.  Our hike was up Arthur’s Seat.  GORGEOUS!

  

Me and Annik were going crazy with pictures, it was just so pretty.  And it felt fantastic to be back in nature.  Flagstaff and Albuquerque will do that to you.  The hike itself wasn’t bad at all, and the weather was fairly nice. 

We had a few more hours of free time before leaving, so we grabbed lunch and then went to the Scottish National Museum which was definitely one of the cooler museums I’ve seen.  I wish we could have spent an entire day inside.  Also, how pretty is it inside?

Edinburgh was a fantastic trip and I learned a lot about the history and culture.  We had fun as a tour and I’m glad to have met a lot of the people!  I don’t have any trips planned for the next few weeks, but we’ll see if something pops up. I’ve said it before, but I love Britain.   

Day trip to York

So, two weeks ago we went on a day trip to York, and I completely forgot to blog about it.  Well, here we go.

York is a city in Yorkshire about an hour away from Leeds.  It's the second biggest tourist destination besides London because of its rich history of Romans and walls and kings and stuff.  But really, it is a pretty cool city.  Since it's so old (even by English standards), it has a unique design and layout.  The main part is the old city enclosed in walls.  It's quite cramped and it's obvious that it has been built up over hundreds of years.  The main attraction is the York Minster.  It was beautiful outside, and the stained glass was gorgeous.  Stained glass, by the way, proves difficult to capture on camera.  Fun fact: the main stained glass piece is 76 feet tall, and is made of over 2 million pieces.  During the wars, they dismantled the piece and hid it to protect the history.

We didn't want to pay to go inside (cheap exchange students), so pictures in the entry area had to suffice

It was fairly cold, as evidenced by the pictures, so a few of us popped into a tea room.  It was absolutely adorable.  We sat upstairs in a tiny room and and enjoyed the warmth and delicious food.  The broccoli and cheese soup was probably the best I've ever had.  And the tea was classic English, meaning good.

We had a very fun day, but by the end we were all a bit worn out.  My legs are going to be supa strong from walking everywhere!