Charlotte in the City: A Month in Edinburgh

Almost exactly one month ago, I packed what felt like my entire life into two suitcases, a duffel bag, and a backpack, and kissed my family goodbye. I wasn't ready for the immediate longing I felt for home just seconds after pulling out of the driveway in the Uber. I started crying as we drove down Northside Drive, wishing I could go back and give my mom one last hug. However, by the time we reached the airport, whatever sadness I felt had morphed into the usual travel stress. I was able to check both my suitcases (neither were over 50 lbs., which was a miracle) and then say one last goodbye to my dad.

Matt and I breezed through security, exchanged some dollars for pounds, and then headed to our gate to await our flight. After charging up our devices, and a quick call to Matt's family in Memphis, we boarded our 8-hour flight to Paris. We were in the second-to-last row, but luckily it was a wide-body plane, and we only had two seats in our section, meaning that I got the window and Matt got the aisle, and no poor stranger had to sit by us for 8 hours. :) We listened to music, enjoyed a rather good plane dinner (as far as plane dinners go), and watched the fourth Harry Potter movie on my laptop. Then, we attempted to get some sleep, seeing as we were landing in Paris at 6:00 AM local time.

Breakfast on the plane... not too shabby

We made it to Paris without incident, and deplaned, changed terminals, and went through security again in a bleary haze. We then made our way to Starbucks, which we ate at our gate. The next flight was much shorter, I was in the very back, while Matt was somewhere in the middle. I slept for a bit and then filled out my landing card. As we descended into Edinburgh, I was awed by the beautiful green scenery. After getting off the plane, we had to go through immigration, which after all of the fuss that was made about having several different documents, was really quite easy. At baggage claim, our bags came out one right after the other, which was funny given how much they had been through. The zipper on Matt's small suitcase had busted open, but luckily nothing seemed to be missing.

The weather was in the mid-30s, which actually felt quite warm after the intense cold spell that swept the US in the weeks before I left. We found a taxi without much trouble and enjoyed listening to him chatter as we drove to the center of the city.

When we reached the hotel, we were greeted by a bit of mayhem and disorganization. Once the rooming situation was sorted out, we had a bit of time before we were supposed to be at lunch to be introduced to the program director. Lunch was, well, not delicious, but I was so hungry that I barely noticed. The view from lunch was spectacular. It was a clear day, and Edinburgh castle looked majestic perched on the hill. After mingling a bit, Matt and I set off to explore, and get UK SIM cards for our phones. I'll never forget walking down the hill toward Princes Street, hearing bagpipes playing in the distance. It hadn't hit me yet that this was the place I was going to be spending the next five months of my life. After stopping at Boots, Primark, Three, and Lush, we headed back to the hotel. That night we ate at Nando's, and it was delicious. We walked down Victoria Street and explored the Grassmarket area where our hotel was.

The rest of orientation went on for too long, but finally, on Wednesday, we moved into our flat! 5/4 Darroch Court, St. John's Hill. We were the first of the flatmates to arrive, so we spent Wednesday-Sunday settling in, shopping for necessities, exploring the city, and trying to recover from jetlag.

My rather sad-looking bedroom pre-beautification

Nothing a trip to John Lewis can't fix!

The next Monday we started classes, and since then, life has had a nice rhythm to it. Wake up at 6, gym from about 6:30-7:30, walk home, shower, eat breakfast, study/read, go to class, go to the library between classes, eat a packed lunch (pb&j every day..), walk home, make dinner, eat dinner, change into pajamas, and watch something on Netflix/hang out with the flatmates. We finished The Crown, and have kind of been floundering ever since. Matt and I both have Wednesdays off (yay!), so we spend them running errands, relaxing, and catching up on work. So far I have traveled to two places: The Lakes District in England and Málaga, Spain. I will write about those in a separate post! Overall, this last month has been challenging, rewarding, fun, different, exciting, and full of happiness. Here's to four more months in the best city in the U.K.!