A Compilation of Cultural Differences

I thought it would be interesting to dedicate a post to things I thought were weird/funny/language differences/etc.

1)Toilets instead of Restroom/bathroom

2)Cheers for....well, pretty much anything. It not only means thank you, but also: have a nice day, it's okay, don't worry about it, see you tomorrow...and many more

3)Pulling that little string instead of a light switch

4)You can turn OFF outlets. No more phantom energy being sucked out by your electronics!

5)TONS of cheese. Cheese everywhere. oh, and potatoes.

6)Pregnant women drinking and smoking...?

7)Really powerful hairdryers? Maybe it was just the one I rented from Pollock Halls, but I felt like my hair was being seriously damaged every time I used it

8)To go along with #7, big hair!

9)MAJOR lack of public drinking fountains. Dying of thirst.

10)Everyone in Glasglow sounds like they're drunk/yelling when they speak.

11)A lot of people running places, sometimes not even to catch the bus

12)"A Wee Bit"

13)Females always look like they're ready to take on the world. Their sense in fashion makes me feel like a slob

14)You can buy a single beer out of a 4,6,8 pack

15)Grilled cheese=Toastie

16)No such thing as brewed coffee. It's either espresso, "white coffee", or instant coffee

17)Surveillance everywhere! CCTV cameras on every corner.

Nyam Nyam

This was one of our favorite places to eat, largely in part to it's location relative to Pollock Halls, but it has many other shining qualities as well. The food is mostly italian with a wide selection of pasta, pizza, and baguette sandwiches. There is also a galato counter, which I never took part in, but heard rave reviews from some other people in the group. Also, the place is owned by a family, and we saw the same woman working there the 7 or 8 times we visited. She was always super friendly and made sure to ask us if we enjoyed our food when we left. Her young daughter also waited on us a couple of times, which just gave the restaurant a really authentic feel. Another plus is that it's BYOB, although we never took advantage of that either. I'm not sure if there was a corkage fee or whatnot either. You can dine-in or takeaway, but the takeaway menu is about 1 pound cheaper for all of the dishes.

Getting Around

One of the best things about Edinburgh, and the UK in general is that it's so easy to get from point A to point B. You can almost get anywhere with not much stress or even planning at all. I never did this personally, but it would be easy to take the bus to Waverley Station and just pick a random destination to visit for the day. Everything is very inexpensive, and aside from that, efficient. The buses are always prompt, and if you happen to miss your bus, it's likely that another one will arrive within the next ten minutes. They even have night buses, which run selected routes all through the evening for an additional fee (I think it's something like 1.50). Even the buses travel about 45 minutes outside of the city centre, which is different than an American city which has more limited access. It was challenging figuring out what bus to take for the first week, but once we got our hands on a bus map we were like old pros. The efficient public transit in Edinburgh is something I will miss once I return home.

Edinburgh Castle

Castle Confusion

After reading Bob Morris' article about the restoration of the castle, I was a bit nervous about how it would influence my experience. Couldn't he have just let me life in my blissful oblivion imagining that everything I was seeing was actually original?!?! but, in all honesty, I think that even without his influence I wouldn't have been thrilled about experiencing the castle. It all started when we had to wait in a 30 minute line just to obtain out tickets. As soon as you enter the castle, you are bombarded by commerce and consumption. "Buy this!" "Remember your experience, take home a bottle of whiskey!" I found the entire experience to be a bit gregarious, not to mention I had a difficult time navigating at all. People would stop in the middle of a walking path to take photographs, and there were simply too many people there for me to feel at ease. My favorite part of the castle was seeing the crown jewels in the small museum they have set up, although even that was slightly claustrophobic. For people visiting Edinburgh, I would recommend walking up the royal mile and being a tourist for a moment, walking up to the castle and seeing the archway, but I'm not sure if the admission fee or wait would really be worth your time to actually access the castle. (And maybe avoid Bob Morris' article until after your visit!)

Pollock Halls and Lee House

Lee House

The JMCC

Shiraz!

Living in a single dorm room was actually kind of a relief for me, because in Athens I shared a room of comparable size with two other people. Overall, our accommodations were very nice. There is a small kitchen with a sink, microwave, and mini fridge, which was able to house our snacks and beer sufficiently. The cleaning service is really convenient, and something I will miss as I return back to the states. The first couple of weeks (prior to an influx of spanish-speaking exchange students) we would all play cards in the lounge area just off of the entrance to Lee House. There is also a resident cat named Shiraz who liked to sneak into our windows, especially when it was raining. The cleaning company didn't really seem to like that though, hah. Just across the way is the John Mcintyre Center which has a full bar, and food is served until about 9PM. It was nice to go there when we were all feeling a wee bit lazy, even though the prices slightly steeper than if we just would have walked somewhere. My main complaint is that we didn't have somewhere to cook our own food, just because dining out for every meal gets expensive, but aside from that, my experience living in lee house for 5 weeks was enjoyable.

Arthur's Seat

Any guide book that you happen to pick up will tell you to make the climb up to Arthur's seat, and this is one case where you should listen! Don't think that you're better than the guide book at finding things to do, or that you will find some sort of secret activity where you won't find tourists. Take this opportunity to bask in your tourist-ness and just do it! Pollock Halls is conveniently located right next to Holyrood Park, and Arthur's Seat is essentially our backyard. I'll never forget walking back from class and seeing the sunset over the peak in the skyline. Cheesy as it may be, that is the single image that will stick in my mind after I leave this place. The hike isn't too challenging, but just enough to feel like you got a bit of exercise. I'm kind of afraid of heights, so if i wanted to look around on the way up, I had to stop and sit down, or else I got really dizzy and my legs started to shake. I'm such a wimp. You can see the whole city from the top and there is a cool panoramic map pointing out landmarks in the view. It's really windy, too! There were moments when I literally thought I was going to be blown over. I want to head up there again to watch the sunrise, but my days left in Edinburgh are winding down and I'm not sure if I'll be able to find the time to do so :(

Get-togethers at Dr. Buckley's

One of my favorite non-academic activities that we did together as a group was the ritual of Thursday pizza nights at Dr. Buckley's flat. We got some amazing pizza from Zaza's with super thin crust, and a ton of toppings. Alex was nice enough to set out some snacks, salads, and dessert along with the pizza. Everyone went crazy for the potato pizza, which WAS really good, but I also enjoyed the vegetable variety. Not only was it nice to get a free meal, but it was something to look forward to after class every week. Even though we only had class three days a week, with all of the walking we did, and spending multiple hours in the classroom at a time, we were more than ready to relax when it was all said and done. It was kind of interesting being able to legally have a beer with my professors, and something that I will miss when I head back to the states. Not to mention, everyone always had a good time watching Owen and his obsession with Natalie and Karl. I hope that students taking part in this program next year get to do something similar and casual like we did- I feel like it was program money well spent.