I love living in an old place

I went to a "Welcome to the Library" course on Tuesday. Yes, I know I'm a dork. However, I learned some interesting things about this little university of mine. Firstly, we are the only university in Scotland that still has the Papal Bill (what is given to the university when it becomes a university). The crazy thing is that it is from 1411. Also, St. Andrews has in its possession a 13th century copy of St. Augustine's City of God. I guess this is what happens when the university has been around for so long. When I actually get some spare time I'm going to go visit the old library (which is housed in St. Mary's College) where most of the 16-17 century books are housed.


I've been having tons of fun just walking around a looking at all the crazy old buildings in my little town. It's absolutely fantastic. A historian's dream really. At the same time, I don't really feel like I'm that far away. But then I'm jerked back into reality by a car coming speeding around the corner by our dinning hall from the wrong side of the road (aka the right, always look right for cars!)

I'm just so fortunate to have the opportunity to study here. And, I've been hanging out with lots of people from all over the world, not only Americans, although there are plenty of them here.

First mental breakdown

I went to go meet with my supervisor yesterday. He's awesome but very intimidating since he's published tons and is very well known in my field. We were meeting to discuss what I'll be working on and since I don't really have a clear idea of what I want to do, it was an interesting meeting. Turns out, what I kind of wanted to work on cannot be done unless I want to do huge amounts of archaeology and basically go around the English countryside just digging up random plots of land (not quite but basically). I love archaeology, but to be employable in this field it's not a good idea to be too narrow. So, I'll still probably be working in the Western provinces but most likely it will be in Roman Gaul (France) doing a combination of archaeology and history. Now, I have to learn a whole new province because I don't know anything about Roman Gaul. He sent me away with a ton of books to read by next week and well, I still haven't received my student card (ie library card). I had a little freak out and questioned what I was doing here and am I really ready for this. However, I did have a nice chat with another girl from the department and feel a bit better. Apparently, I need to start getting use to the "I'm not sure what I'm doing here" feeling because it happens fairly frequently.

Well, off to the library I go!

It's a Small World

I met all (or at least most of) the other postgraduate students in my department yesterday. There is sort of an interesting mix of Brits, Americans and Canadians with a couple other people from other countries in Europe. I got into a great conversation with one American about Hockey which made me feel kind of like I was back in Canada for a moment. Apparently he has subscribed to a North American sports network on his TV and watches the play-offs quite religiously so I will be able to cheer on my team! One of the other Canadians actually grew up in Calgary, graduated from the same high school as I did, and did his undergrad at the same place that I did. It was very random. Who would've thought that I would find someone that close to me, experience wise, half way around the world. Weird!

Exploration and Deep-Fried Mars Bars

Well, I have now spent a couple of days becoming acquainted with my little town. I've done some exploring, some hiking, and even some travelling to a small town 30 minutes away by bus. It's been quite exciting and great fun. There are only 3 major streets but in true European fashion, there are tons of little side streets and small shops hidden from the main streets so it's always fun to see what you can find. I can pretty much find most things now and have tried out many of the various pubs in the area.

My residence is fantastic. It's like a little family and we have had a couple opportunities to all get together and head off to the pub. It's nice to know that there are many other people who are just as dorky (if not more) as I am! I just can't believe how amazing this place is. When I walk down towards my house from the main town centre I see this:

I am just amazed everytime I turn a corner when I walk through the town. There is just so much to see and the town is completely different from all the other places I have lived. I can't believe how fortunate I am to be living in a place like this.

I also had a chance this week to meet my supervisor. He's awesome although I am still fairly intimidated by him. I have a lot of work to do over the next little while to get myself ready for the task ahead. I'll probably be a dork and go start working in the library this weekend.

On a lighter note, I had the opportunity of experiencing one of Scotland's delicacies today. No, I have not yet eaten haggis. In fact, it was the other, lesser known, Scottish delicacy, DEEP-FRIED MARS BARS!!! That's right, they take a Mars bar, put it in batter, and then deep-fry it. It makes the bar go all gooey on the inside. It's not actually as bad as it sounds (it actually tastes quite good) however, I now understand why Scotland has the highest instance of heart attacks in Europe. (you can also get fried hamburgers) All, I can say is I'm glad I went for a run this morning!

Guess What? ... I'm in Scotland

So, in true (Medea) fashion, the day we left for Scotland, I had all my luggage packed and at the back door by about 10:00am (the flight itself left at 10:00pm). Needless to say, I spent most of the day unable to sit still because, well, guess what? ... I'm going to Scotland. I'm sure I drove my mom absolutely crazy. We ended up leaving our house at 6:00pm to make it up to the airport in plenty of time. The flight to Heathrow was delayed for just over half an hour because they had to replace a oxygen tank in the front of the plane (whatever that means. Sort of reminded me of the indicator problem my plane had in Frankfurt 2 years ago). Other than that it was fairly uneventful, although somehow I lucked out and ended up sitting in the emergency exit row, which has about 3 times the leg room of the regular seats. Unfortunately, after being pampered I don't think I'll ever be able to go back.

Due to the delay, we were late getting into Heathrow and the plane had to park out on the tarmac (sp?) and we had to be bussed into the terminal. We then had to clear passport control (with no major issues besides the volume of people, what a zoo!), hike from terminal 3 to terminal 1, and the get bussed from the departure gate to the plane to Edinburgh (which just happened to be right beside the plane we had just gotten off of). Good thing our baggage was tagged right through to Edinburgh so we didn't have to worry about sorting that all out. Once in Edinburgh, we then got to take a bus, train, and taxi to our final destination. We never waited for more than 15 minutes for the rest of the connections. Everything went so smoothly. All in all, it ended up being about 19 hours of travelling. But we arrived along with all our luggage with no major problems. So, now I've been in Scotland for about 48 hours.


My flat is fantastic. I'm not staying in the main manor house like I thought I would be, but instead, I am staying in a house across the street with 4 other girls (3 americans and a Brit/Belgian). Should be interesting. The room is small but my view is fantastic. I look right out on the North Sea and fell asleep last night listening to the waves.

So my little university town is fantastic. Definitely a change from Toronto. I love being able to walk everywhere. I almost feel as though I'm in a movie. The buildings here are fantastic. They're mostly stone and just so quaint. Well, that's pretty much all for now. I'll keep you all posted as I explore the town more.



PS: Here's my neat Harry Potter dinning room.

Welcome

Hello all, and welcome to my blog. I'm hoping to use this blog as a means of sharing my adventures with my friends and family. I'll probably be posting mainly pictures since I rarely have anything truly important to say.

Enjoy!