On my last afternoon in Edinburgh

It didn't rain.
It poured.

I didn't get wet.
I got drenched.

But I liked it.
I was happy.

Three weeks of Spring holiday, all summed up in this one post.

Here it goes.

It started with my parents coming to visit, which was a supremely condensed trip for us.
They arrived in Edinburgh in the late morning, and were pretty jet-lagged. I let them rest for a bit before having a somewhat foggy exploration of Edinburgh (foggy in the sense that everyone was exhausted, and in the sense that the weather was shit).

Nonetheless, we had a pretty good day walking around. We saw the Edinburgh Castle.

The next day we actually went around Edinburgh, and although I didn't feel like an amazing tour guide with loads of activities planned, it ended up being a nice time to just go around aimlessly and visit the sites we spontaneously decided to see.

Unfortunately, I was not on top of my photography game those two days, so I don't have any photos to share. But it was a nice time. My only regret is that the weather wasn't nice enough for us to climb Arthur's Seat.

The weather for our duration was mostly like this.

For the next few days, we had rented a car. We drove around Scotland: from Saint Andrews to Fort William, to Stirling.. and all the places in between. We had a wonderful time seeing the countryside and taking short stops in quaint towns.

Saint Andrews

At the golf course

Walking in Saint Andrews

Part of Saint Andrews Castle

Leading up to Urquhart Castle

Being lovely at Stirling

Looking down at the view from Stirling Castle

All hail the King and Queen! (Stirling)

We then ventured to London. I was pretty psyched as my last trip to London wasn't nearly long enough, however, wouldn't you know it.. I got food poisoning on our first official day there! So I was stuck in the hotel most of the day. But fortunately I was recovered for the next day, and Mom and Dad were still able to see the major sites on the day I was ill.

I consider this my masterpiece.

Trafalgar Square was closed! But here we are, anyway

I got a picture with Sherlock so I guess London was successful!

This concludes what was week one of my Spring holiday. Although the weather wasn't nice until the very last day that my parents were here (classic Scotland) it was a fantastic trip and I had a fantastic time.

After I said goodbye to my parents, I immediately got to packing for my two weeks in France.

My agenda was as follows:

• 19 hour bus ride to Paris
• One full day in Paris with Zubin, Lindsay and her sister, Talia
• Five days in Annecy (toute seule)
• Meeting up with Zubin and Rentao in Nice, later joined by Tayllor and Jane
• Two nights in Marseille
• Three nights in Toulouse
• 33 hour journey from Toulouse to Edinburgh with Zubin (which included a 21 hour bus ride)

Ah yes, some of that sounds absolutely dreadful. But the bus rides were manageable (especially considering the money they saved us).

My day in Paris was rushed, but efficiently filled.

We took a three and a half hour tour of the city, with a lovely and energetic tour guide, Roberta. We also saw the Arc de Triomphe, the Tour Eiffel, and the Museé d'Orsay (the three main sites I wanted to see). I plan on going back to Paris, eventually.. but for now, my one day was sufficient.

Roberta!

Sandwiches and a bottle of wine next to the river

Arc de Triomphe

Tour Eiffel at night

My time in Annecy was extremely relaxing. The weather was gorgeous there, and the lake was lovely. I thank my old roommate, Lauren, for the suggestion.

Boats on Lake Annecy

The Canal

Morning farmers market

Canal

Although being by myself for five days in Annecy was great, and it really helped me improve on my travel and speaking skills, it was nice to meet up with friends again. 

Nice was a neat location. Having no agenda, we ended up spending most of our time around the beach.
The entire week we spent in the south of France was pretty chill.

Meeting up with Zubin and Rentao in Nice

Then we went to Marseille. The flat we stayed in was INCREDIBLE. I didn't take any pictures because it honestly wouldn't have captured the essence of the place. Extremely quaint, tastefully decorated, and all around perfectly cozy. With plenty of records and a turn table, we cooked dinner for our two nights there and dined with vinyl music.  Hanging out in the flat was actually the greatest part: getting to relax after our long days of activities.

From Marseille we took a day trip to Cassis, which ended up being my favourite part of my time in France.

Sunset in Marseille, from the Cathedral

Watching the sunset

Mediterranean Coast

Our day trip to Cassis

A lovely day spent climbing rocks in Cassis

Our last stop in Toulouse was a great way to end our trip. We met up with our friends Christine and Nolan for the last day, before Zubin and I began our extensive journey home. The weather was pretty crappy that day, and it was Easter, so most businesses were closed. We stayed inside and played games all day. It was a nice wind-down for us.

Overall, my Spring holiday was amazing. I loved France, and visiting it increased my intentions to someday live there for a couple of years.

On that note, this post is becoming quite lengthy.. an indication that I should conclude.

As I've finished my first final, and have two more to go at the end of the week, I am beginning to realise it's all coming to an end. It truly is a bittersweet feeling. But more on that, later.

Until then, stay positive as the year wraps up. Don't forget to enjoy the little things, the loving friends, and the "lasts".

I've got the blues

I returned from my two weeks in France on Tuesday morning, with my friend Zubin.

Last night we were chatting outside, and both of us mentioned that we were feeling kind of glum.
Being we are both pretty enthusiastic people, and typically quite cheerful, this was kind of odd.

Of course there is plenty of explanation for it:

• Finals are coming up
• We spent a week in the south of France where the weather was gorgeous
• The journey from Toulouse to Edinburgh was 33 hours
• We are now back in Scotland which is colder, cloudier, and rainier
• We have to study like mad for two weeks
• Classes being over means less-regularly seeing our friends
• The semester ending means the return home is just around the corner

Yeah, it's not mystery why we are feeling a bit down. 

However, I am determined to make the best of these last few weeks here.

Because even if the weather in Edinburgh isn't as sunny as France, it still has its charm and my disposition shouldn't change with the weather.

Being that I'm fairly busy this week (with my most difficult final coming up first), I plan on giving updates about these last few weeks when I can devote more attention to it.

Pictures and stories to come next week. I just wanted to assure you all that I am alive and well.

And I am.

Wish me luck on finals! 

My parents are visiting!

In less than 24 hours I will be greeting my parents in Edinburgh!

I'm ecstatic that they are going to be visiting, and I can't wait to show them around the city I've been living in for the past three months.

We are planning on renting a car so we can explore some nearby areas (Stirling, York, wherever!), and then on Thursday we are headed to London. I'm glad I'll get to go back, and maybe since I'll be there with my parents I will actually be organised about where I visit.

After London is Spring holiday, since lectures end next Friday (crazy).
I'll be spending two weeks in France; updates to come later!

Currently, I'm in the process of finishing up an essay that is due Monday, but which I want to have completed by tonight.

Anyhow. I will be much better about taking videos and pictures when my parents get here, because then I can feel shameless about my touristic tendencies.

Peace and love!

Oh and by the way, ISU plays UConn tonight in the Sweet Sixteen round. I'm forcing my friends to watch it with me, and I'm sporting my I-State gear! Keep your fingers crossed..

UPDATE: we lost, and I'm sad but also proud of the boys. It's too bad we didn't have Niang in the mix; would have been a whole different tournament.

The Most Original Idea Ever

We decided to go to Dublin for St. Patrick's Day.
What a crazy idea.. I bet no one else would think to do that!

Except that everyone else thought to do that.

Dublin was a neat city, but it was very much a city (of which I can only handle so much of), and it was PACKED that weekend.

Nonetheless it was worth going to, and I had a great time.

Hands down my favorite part of the trip was going to the Guinness Storehouse. The Guinness there was practically a meal.

I couldn't see much of the parade on St. Patty's Day due to being 4'11"..but my dear friend Zubin narrated it for me.

OH! There's one of those vacuums from the Telly Tubbies!

The blue people are fighting the red people!

The president is going around kissing babies!

Oh, the vacuum things were just the street cleaners.

Yeah. The parade was awesome.

Anyway, out of fear that my camera would get stolen, I didn't bring it on this trip and therefore have an unfortunate lack of pictures to show you. But I did run into Gina while I was there, which was pretty rad.

Twenty

I turned twenty today.

The dinner was supposed to be with five people; something small and nice before going to Dublin.
But twelve of my really great friends were there; I couldn't have been happier.

We spent the night dining on good Italian food, eating chocolate cake, drinking champagne, and playing random games.

It was simple, and I enjoyed it.

One: Home
Two: Happy
Three: Careless
Four: Rebel
Five: New
Six: Smart
Seven: Reconstructed
Eight: Creative
Nine: Critical
Ten: Vulnerable
Eleven: Challenge
Twelve: Naïve
Thirteen: Exhaustion
Fourteen: Fear
Fifteen: Insomnia
Sixteen: Patient
Seventeen: Vessel
Eighteen: Deception
Nineteen: Discover
Twenty: Explore

Beautiful Edinburgh

It's been extraordinarily sunny lately, the temperature has been consistently increasing, flowers are blooming, and the wind is less bitter each day.

Spring is coming.

This morning, I was particularly sleepy. Already, upon waking up, I planned to take a nap after finishing my tutorial. However, getting outside into the crisp air and sunny weather completely changed my mood.

One of my girl friends has been feeling down lately, so after tutorial I spent two hours walking along Princes Street buying her macarons and a flower.

I have also decided to replace my nap with actual productivity. I'm about to find a nice place outside to sit and read me some Descartes.

The weather is getting nicer; it's almost my birthday; I'm going to Dublin in a few days; I get to see my parents in two and a half weeks.

I am happy.

A shrinking city (midterm update)

Last week was Innovative Learning Week, in which there are no required courses. Lectures are held to attend out of interest, or further examination into one's studies (hence innovative learning!) but basically, it's just a week off for the Edinburgh students to travel, catch up on sleep, and write midterm papers.

Yes, Innovative Learning Week is week six. Week six is the half-way mark.
That's absolutely nuts.

As it finally sunk in that the semester is halfway through, I began thinking about how much has happened in these past six weeks. It feels as if I arrived in Edinburgh a year ago, yet at the same time it feels as if I still have a full semester left to spend, here.

Being abroad is truly an incredible experience; everything happens in accelerated mode: coursework, making friends, spontaneous traveling.

I can't believe the knowledge I've gained, the friends I've made, experiences I've had, the growing up I've done.. in only six weeks!

Thinking about the way Edinburgh felt when I first arrived: the way the city felt huge, and now it's familiar. The way I felt alone, and now I have friends to greet me on any street I walk down. The way I felt young and inexperienced, and now I feel as if I can take on anything.

My parents are coming to visit at the end of the month, and I am greatly anxious to see them. It's been wonderful to study at the University of Edinburgh, but it makes me sad to think that I can't share this experience with anyone from home. I'm hopeful that my parents will get a real feel for the city. And I'm proud to say I can be the one to properly show them around.

I'm amused by the thought of a shrinking city. Even in Oslo, which we were only in for two days, the city felt so much smaller and more familiar upon leaving it.

It's incredible now to look back on the streets in Edinburgh that I first remember passing, the landmarks I remember seeing, and the "ends of the city" which I was so convinced I had reached. In reality, everything is in very close proximity to one another, and I was never far from where I needed to be.

One of the greatest wonders I've found about being in Scotland is that nothing gets old. I know, a semester abroad: of course I'm going to appreciate everything I experience. But in Ames, at this point, when things became familiar they also became boring. I was less amused by the community.

Everything in Edinburgh is still just as exciting and fantastic as it was when I first arrived.

I hope that I can change my perspective when I return, and find things to appreciate in Ames or Medina everyday. It's such an uplifting outlook, to experience a city in this way.

My challenge for you is to imagine that you are abroad, and the things around you are new and peculiar. Force yourself to re-examine the things you might find banal, and appreciate them again.

Perhaps you can discover something new about your old city, and perhaps you can find a new eagerness in your experiences.

Oslo

Seven of my friends and I went to Oslo, Norway on Monday.
So let me tell you about the best city I've ever been to.

We arrived late to Oslo, and had to take an hour long bus ride to the city center. Immediately, I was psyched to be in Norway. But our priorities were in finding our flat.

For dinner, we had ramen, and we played card games and had drinks to celebrate our arrival. Then we were off to bed, to prepare for our 7:00 wake-up time.

Hayden, who was the one to initially suggest we go to Oslo, set up a detailed itinerary for the three days of our stay. He put in a lot of work, and it was much appreciated. The two days were filled with all we could have wanted to do, and all we could have wanted to see.

Hayden, our fearless leader.

The first morning there, as we stepped outside to start our adventures, I could immediately feel how crisp the air was. The entire day was gorgeous and sunny; since there was minimal wind, it felt much warmer than Edinburgh.
Everything about the city was wonderful, and we got some incredible views.

We went to plenty of museums (including the Viking Museum), the National Gallery, Akershus Fortress, the Nobel Peace Center, and (probably my favorite) the Holmenkollen ski jump. We also did some aimless walking and explored the city. This trip was worth every penny (and that's saying something, considering how expensive everything is in Norway).

View from the top of the Holmenkollen

Holmenkollen

View of the City Centre

I can honestly say that Oslo is one of the greatest cities I've ever visited.

One thing that I appreciated was the smaller city feel, but also being able to take a fifteen minute bus to the mountains, where it felt rural and cozy. It was so odd to see people on the bus with ski gear..

I think it's worth saying that this trip was excellent in part due to the city, but also because of the friends I spent time with. There's nothing like finding a good group of people that you will be able to have fun with or relax with: whatever is needed in that moment.

Me, Hayden, Zubin, Nolan, Angie, Lindsay, Rentao, and Christine

We were pretty good about sticking to the itinerary that Hayden set up for us. We even got a little ahead of ourselves on that first day. We turned in at about 6:00, and most of us took a much needed nap.
It was my friend Angie's birthday that day, so after we rested up, we found ourselves a hole-in-the-wall burger joint (where every burger option also had a veggie alternative!), which was excellent.

We spent the rest of our evening eating a Norwegian dessert, having drinks, playing games, and telling stories.

The birthday girl with her cake, candle, and of course a Birthday Shot!

By the time we finally made it to bed, we were all exhausted. The second day started later (we got out around 9:30) and since we had already done some of the planned items the previous day, we were able to take it easy.

It snowed most of the day, which was beautiful. It was also exciting to have the full spectrum of Norwegian weather, within our two days there. We found a neat marketplace, where we had lunch. We also walked along the river, and marveled at ducks (I know they are just ducks.. but they are Norwegian ducks).

My favorite part of the second day was finding a dog. He came running at us from nowhere, and ran right past us. All the girls squealed, of course, and soon he came running back. He was pretty cautious, but as we started throwing snow chunks into the air, he became friendly and playful. We decided to name the dog Oslo (which is actually a GREAT name for a dog.. think about it).

We spent two very full days in Oslo.
And I am satisfied, but was also extremely sad to leave.
I guess that's just one more reason to return, someday.

London

A day and a half in London isn't nearly enough.

We left at 10:30 pm on a bus, Friday night. Imagine the worst night of sleep you've ever gotten, then imagine it while being surrounded by fifty sniffling/talking/snoring people: that's what it was like trying to "sleep" on the bus.
So when we arrived at 8:00 in the morning.. I was not ready to take on London.

My friends Tayllor and Shannon were on the trip as well, so I stuck with them for the weekend.
We first found a place to eat and get coffee. We spent most of the morning there, until we had a tour of London at noon.

The tour was great, because it hit on all the main sightseeing places.. but we did move a little too quickly for me to really soak it all in (I didn't even get many pictures).

When the tour was over, we were exhausted. So we went back to the hostel to take a quick nap before dinner. We ate at a nice Italian restaurant, which was a little pricey, but absolutely delicious.

Then Shannon was off to the Apollo to see Wicked (which she didn't end up making it to, we later found out, due to a sketchy taxi service.. we're just glad she ended up being safe!).

Tayllor and I, meanwhile, spent about three hours looking for a souvenir. We tried breaking it down to a science, and ended up over-analysing the process. Is it too obvious? Do I want it to be subtle? Does it represent my two days here? Does it seem like I was here for longer than two days? Is it the right size? 

We finally just went into the mall and did mindless wandering, and also searched for a cookie for about thirty minutes. I don't know what made us crave a cookie suddenly, but let me warn you: there is no where in London to get a cookie late at night.

The next day we went to Harrods (which is incredible, and ridiculous). This is where I ended up getting my souvenir (a Harrod's bunny, one of the few items I could afford in that store!) I also bought some Ladurée's macarons.
But Harrods is as insane as you would think it to be. We found a pair of mint-coloured leather pants. Guess the price..?

Then we found Sherlock's door (from the series) which is sadly not labeled with 221b Baker Street, but we were guaranteed it is the actual door that's used while filming. It was pretty neat.

Then it was time to eat, and go home. Luckily we were on a train for the ride back, and luckily it wasn't a night train.
Even though I feel as if I didn't do much (or at least didn't do all I would have wanted to do in London) I was exhausted returning home. And tomorrow I have to get up and prepare to go to Oslo, Norway.

But I shall return to London, someday. I hope to spend a week there, next time. Seriously, a day and a half in London isn't nearly enough.

Galentine's

I'm going to London tomorrow, with my friend Tayllor.
So we decided that all the ladies in our friend group would celebrate Galentine's a day early.

We prepped yesterday by purchasing roses, champagne, chocolate and strawberries, and ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies.

We all arrived at Christine's flat around 7:00 with no makeup on, and wearing our pajamas. Then we started making the cookies, and melting chocolate.
Once the snacks were ready, we turned the lights off and watched The Parent Trap. Our glasses filled with champagne, we sipped and snacked while watching our chick flick.

Next, we played music, and sang karaoke (really poorly, might I add).
We ended up getting a noise complaint, so after that we decided it was time for toasts and talking.

We all got up and made toasts to each of the girls, after which Christine presented us with a rose.
Then we chatted until we were all sleepy, and went off to bed.

It was simple. It was girly. It was stereotypical.
I loved it.

Weekend Adventures with Gina and Blair

This weekend Gina and Blair, who are studying in Swansea, Wales, visited!
I was extremely excited to host them, and show them around Edinburgh.

Our weekend consisted of a few planned events (seeing the Edinburgh Castle, climbing Arthur's Seat, doing the Scotch Whiskey Experience tour, and going to The Elephant House), but we also spent plenty of time just walking around and experiencing Edinburgh.

I was finally able to be a tourist, myself, and got plenty of footage of the city!

View of Edinburgh from Arthur's Seat

The Elephant House

Street bagpiper

Edinburgh Castle

Scotch Whiskey Experience collection

Arthur's Seat climb

At the top of Arthur's Seat (windy!)