And Then I Started Spending Money

The one, most important thing that I have learned since arriving in Edinburgh is to wear your clothes until they either are hanging so loosely off your body that it looks like you've lost twenty pounds in two days, or they start to smell from a few feet away.  Because laundry is really, really expensive.  I try not to think about the exchange rate between the pound and the US dollar when purchasing anything, and usually I do fine.  But when it comes to laundry, sliding coins into those machines is as painful for me as walking across hot coals.  'Three dollars,' I think as I sadly begin my second load of laundry.  'Three dollars to wash.  So painful.'  Beyond spending ridiculous amounts of money on washing my clothes, I've been trying to be more frugal since I arrived.  I ate out a lot my first few weeks, and that hurt my wallet more than I like to remember.  Then the International Student Centre offers these weekend day trips for cheap, cheap prices, and I simply can't resist.  I pay but ten pounds, and I get a bus ride to a city, a ticket to its castle, and freedom to explore the city in the afternoon.  What's not to like?

So, I find myself attempting frugality but failing miserably.  There is so much to explore and experience, and unfortunately it all costs money.  That would be my strongest advice to anyone thinking of studying abroad: definitely save up your money, and be prepared to spend it all very quickly, because you will likely spend more time travelling than studying.  That's all fine and dandy, especially since I believe that is the purpose of studying abroad.  Yes, I get to experience another lifestyle, another culture, another way of studying and going to university.  But I also am so close to all this magnificent history and all these beautiful, old buildings, and I feel that I wouldn't have as much of an understanding of Scotland if I did not travel or experience their history.  Just the fact that I have been able to visit two castles already in my time here tells me that they were a fortified people back then - they needed such defense, from others both in and outside of their own country.  I can learn plenty about their literature and their ancient history in class, but I believe I can learn much, much more by exploring their country.

So, because I have been busy spending more money than I should, I have not written a blog post in a few weeks.  Hopefully, I will cover everything in this post (if I remember it - when there's something going on every weekend, you tend to forget what happened last weekend).  I visited Edinburgh Castle, Melrose Abbey and Rosslyn Chapel with the ISC, the city of Stirling the next weekend, turned in two essays within two days of each other, went on a ghost tour during Innovative Learning Week, and tracked down a hair straightener that actually worked.

I toured Edinburgh Castle on a great student discount through the International Student Center on February 2nd, and was able to take amazing photos of the city.  From one point on the castle, you have a clear view of Arthur's Seat, and a wonderful photo opportunity - same as how you can see the castle from the summit of Arthur's Seat.  The castle is a beautiful sight, with a rich history.  I did not get an official tour done, but I did wander with a friend.

I went to Melrose Abbey and Rosslyn Chapel on February 8th.  Melrose Abbey was a beautiful sight, despite the fact that it is the ruins of an abbey.  Most of the outer buildings - the places the monks slept, ate, etc. - were  just outlines of rock in the ground, with a plaque to tell us what each square used to be.  The only standing building was beautiful, and huge.  I climbed to the top of its tower, and despite the slight foggy weather I could see fairly far away.

Our next stop that day was to Rosslyn Chapel, famous both for its religious background and for the filming of The Davinci Code in its small chambers.  It is a lovely little chapel, with a rich history and intricate designs and decorations to match.  The tour guide told us that people frequent the chapel mostly to search out truths to myths they've heard - sacred objects hidden in the decorated pillars, hidden passages seen in The Davinci Code - or even just to see where only a few minutes of the film were shot.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside, and the outside is surrounded by construction for upkeep of the chapel.  Despite this, the chapel is a beautiful building.

The following weekend, on the 15th of February, I went again on the ISC weekend trip, this time a day trip to Stirling.  We toured the castle, and the Argyll's townhouse nearby.  The weather was so foggy in Stirling that we could barely see past the castle, and any attempts at taking pictures of the wonderful view of the city failed miserably.  There was nothing but a good haze of cloud hanging over the city all day long.

The castle has a fairly bloody history, with multiple Scottish monarchs including Mary, Queen of Scots, and King Richard I taking up residence there.  William Wallace won a victory over the castle, and for that a monument in his name was erected on a hill nearby that overlooks the castle.  Unfortunately, due to the distance it was from the castle and the lack of ability to see past the castle walls, I was not able to see the monument. Robert the Bruce besieged the castle later, taking it as well, and he has a statue standing guard outside the castle walls.

The Queen's Rooms were decorated as ornately as it would have been during her residence, with the royal purple cloth decorating most of the rooms, and the ceilings beautifully decorated with faces of the kings and queens.  At the end of our tour, we found a side room for kids to dress up in fancy clothes from back then, so naturally we put on all the clothes that would fit us and took pictures.

The Argyll's townhouse was built nearby, and was built in four different sections in four different years.  A few of the rooms were decorated as they would have been during the Argyll's residence.  One of the bedrooms was done up, and the bed was shorter than the beds we are accustomed to now.  Our tour guide told us they slept sitting slightly up back then, hence why the beds are shorter.

A model of  the Argyll and his wife

The following week was Innovative Learning Week - a week during which all lectures and tutorials are cancelled, and instead they hold seminars in a large variety of topics.  Some are simple seminar style talks, some are question and answer sessions, some are discussions, some are trips to various museums and historical locations.  Many of the international students I know chose to use this week off from class to travel.  Quite a few went to London, some went to Amsterdam, others to Berlin, and a few to Italy and Ireland.  I, however, remained in Edinburgh, both due to a lack of funds and a lack of planning ahead.  Instead of travelling Europe, I travelled the city.  I got lost with two friends trying to find a movie theater past Princes Street.  I went for walks in the city center and beyond.  I went on a ghost tour with a friend, and learned about Greyfriar's Bobby, and the Mackenzie Poltergeist.  The tour guide warned us that, occasionally, they had guests who would, after the tour, find a really bad bruise on an arm or leg with no knowledge of how it got there.  Then, the bruises would mysteriously disappear.  A few tourists have fainted during the tour after begin attacked by the poltergeist.  Luckily, (or not, depending on how you look at it) the poltergeist left me alone, and I survived to live another day.

The voltage had killed my hair straightener, so I found myself a cheap one to last me through the next four months.   That is one piece of advice I would strongly offer to anyone planning to study abroad - if the voltage is different than home, buy electrical hair products when you get to your destination.  It will save you from losing a $80, really nice, really smooth hair straightener and having to replace it with one worth $30 that honestly does not do as good a  job as your beloved, now deceased one.

I feel that, at this point, I've adjusted fairly well to living in Edinburgh.  My 'new student nerves' have passed. I have a good set of friends, and am always making new ones.  I have a good idea of where certain shops and offices are in the city and how to get to them.  I can manage the public bus system and schedule fairly well.  I have fallen into a routine just like one I would have at home, so that sometimes I can forget I am studying in the UK and not at UMW.  Then I overhear a stranger on the street talk in a British accent, or I look up and see the wondrous architecture filling the city, and I remember where I am, and I can not help but marvel at how lucky I am.