Gabe's Study Abroad Blog: Edinburgh

After getting a restful night of sleep- actually, it wasn't quite so restful. I wasn't used to the time change at all. So although I was able to easily fall asleep before 10:00, something I haven't been able to do in years, it was the other end of the night that was more troublesome. I woke up around 3AM, and couldn't fall back asleep for an hour. I finally woke up around 8:30 and was laying in bed contemplating getting up when the fire alarm went off. I wasn't sure if it was sleep in my eyes or a blurry peephole, but when I looked out the peephole, I was sure I saw smoke in the hallway. Needless to say that started off my day with some excitement.

(the "fire drill")

Of course there wasn't actually a fire, but the whole hotel had to evacuate and the firetrucks did come. This whole procedure happened again only 2 nights later.

I obviously couldn't go back to sleep after the firedrill, so I set off to explore the city. The University of California orientation didn't start until the afternoon, so I had much of the day to myself. In the sunshine of a nice day I got a new perspective on the city I had barely glimpsed the previous night. It was amazing. My only complaint was that I didn't know what to take pictures of, because literally everything was worth a photograph.

(as always, click for a larger photo)

I grabbed lunch (chips and curry) at a place where I saw lots of locals going, and took it outside and sat on a nice bench to eat. It wasn't too bad and was only about 2 quid.

The orientation itself started with a meet and greet of sorts with the other UC students. There are 8 of us in total going to Durham, with most of the other UC's- Santa Barbara, San Diego, Davis, Berkeley all represented. There are 5 girls and 3 boys. We met the study center directors (one of whom was an American professor from UC San Diego, and one a local from Edinburgh), who are basically our representatives to the UC whilst we are abroad. After they took us out to dinner, the study center director's son, who is just above college age and living in Edinburgh for the year with his dad, took us out around the town. The highlight was watching the Liverpool soccer (football!) game at a local pub. That was certainly an experience, and I now can't wait to go to see some games in person.

The following day, Thursday, we met at the study center, which is in the campus of the University of Edinburgh, for a meeting about logistics and advice. The rest of the day was spent touring the city with the highlights being a tour of Edinburgh Castle, and a hike up Arthur's Seat- which upon summiting produced a fabulous view of the entire city and surrounding area.

The following are some of the best pictures from my few days in Edinburgh, but there are literally over 100 omitted. I am looking into a photo sharing website in order to display more of the photos I've taken, but in the meantime, enjoy these starters: