a "wow times flies!" post

Hard to believe just about a whole year has passed since I moved to the UK. Last year at this time I was packing up my entire life, saying goodbye to all my friends, and thinking of all the places I'll miss...and now it seems that I've barely blinked and I'm here doing all those same things again! However just as the sadness of leaving home last year was sweetened by my excitement for what was in store for me across the ocean, I am thinking of my departure from Edinburgh in a very "one door closing, another door opening" way. As weird as it will be to shape up and ship out, I am so happy with what I've accomplished while I was here and am really looking forward to starting the next phase of my life, Master's Degree in hand (hopefully!).


Yesterday I turned in my dissertation, and all I can say is that it is kind of insane the extent to which that one Microsoft Word document has drained all of my time and energy the past few months. It is safe to assume I will not be opening that file again for a very long time, and the next person that asks me to explain my dissertation topic might not get such a diplomatic response. In the end I was happy with the final product, and am proud of myself for the work I put into it, but I'm mostly just glad it is done and submitted! The deadline for submission was 4pm, and afterwards everyone gathered for a fun evening of drinks to celebrate. The photo above is of me and a group of my friends having a little celebratory wine symbolically outside the library :)

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is well underway now, and it is pretty phenomenal. The festival isn't just isolated to one building or area, it encompasses the ENTIRE city. Nearly very building you pass, from schools to churches to pubs, has turned into a venue for all sorts of different shows. There are outdoor food carts and bars that have popped up all around the city just for the month of August to accommodate the festival crowds, and it's a good thing since every place is packed! Unfortunately my dissertation has prevented me from enjoying much of the festivities firsthand, but just walking around the city is like going to a show with all the lights, music, food, and outdoor pubs! Hopefully this weekend I make it to some events!

My trip to the Hague a while back was really interesting, but unfortunately there was a crazy hurricane pummeling the city most of the time and not only did we all spend most of the trip drenched, but our flight home was delayed resulting in a lot of wet, tired and cranky law students in Schiphol Airport. Luckily the places we visited were worthwhile and we got to witness the inner workings of a lot of major players in international law - definitely a good experience. The photo to the right is of me in the court yard of the Peace Palace which houses the International Court of Justice. The Palace was one of the cooler buildings I've ever been inside - it was constructed and decorated as a collaborative effort from all the different nations that first founded the international criminal court, so for example the hand painted tiles on the floors were a gift from France, the wooden ceilings are American redwood gifted by the US, there is an entire room decorated with Chinese tapestries and vases...you get the idea. The polar bear fountain behind me in the picture was a gift from Denmark!

Let's see...other fun things I've done. I went to a Scotland vs. Ireland rugby game the other weekend! The first and only other game I've been to was South Africa vs. New Zealand when I was in Cape Town. Our outing to Murrayfiled Stadium was rainy but a fun time nonetheless, and Scotland won (although I was mostly with Irish folk that weren't too thrilled with the end score)! Even after my second live game, I have to say that the rules of rugby are still beyond me.

So here I am at the end of my Scottish journey. I catch the 8am train to London on Tuesday, and then an 8pm flight to head to Thailand! Lots of packing and goodbyes the next few days for me, but I'm so excited for my traveling adventures to start and then to finally head home. Crazy how fast time flies, a whole year done and dusted! See you all back in the US of A :)

the home stretch

Sorry for leaving you all hanging for the past month or so, but fortunately I assume that most of you reading this got to see me during my visit home and got a face-to-face update on my life happenings. My summer getaway to Bermuda and then home to Boston now feels like a very vivid, very wonderful, dream. The whole traveling bit was quite exhausting, but luckily both the tropical vacation and then the comforts of home provided me with a relaxing break from my busy schedule of work and studies in Edinburgh. I managed to see lots of friends and family, visit my favorite restaurants and fun spots, and also just spend some time just lounging around. To be honest, I really don't think I could have had a better 2 weeks visit home. I am so lucky to have such a great group of friends and such a local, close family that was there ready and excited to welcome me back.


Since landing back in Edinburgh on June 15th, I have been starting to come to terms with the fact that in a few months I will be leaving this home I've made here behind. As much as I may knock the weather and all the hard work I've had to tackle this year, I have really learned to love Edinburgh with all of its old architecture, vibrant pubs, and small-city charm. On the taxi back from the airport a few weeks ago, I was just as overwhelmed by the beauty of the green pastures, stoic castles, and colorful gardens as I was the first day I arrived last fall - I am all too aware how much I take all the amazing things Scotland has to offer for granted, and the closer I get to leaving it all, the more I am not sure I am ready to say goodbye. Alas, soon I will have to leave the comfort and familiarity of the student lifestyle and fend for myself in the process of starting a career.

Fortunately, I am not quite there yet. I still have a whole summer of dissertation writing ahead of me, and a lot of other things on my plate as well. Next week I'll be traveling with a group of fellow International Law LLM students to The Hague, Netherlands to visit the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and Europol. We received grant funding from the University and managed to get enough financial support to cover the costs of our airfare and accommodation! Then, come August, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival will be in full swing and all the different concerts, shows, and exhibitions will definitely be vying for my attention as I try to stay focused on my writing. Ideally, I plan to get enough accomplished prior to the festival that I can enjoy the swell of the city and not come to loath it.

The final submission date for my dissertation is August 19th, and I am excited to say that I have booked a little (okay, not so little) post-graduation trip for myself. After visiting some relatives in London the final week of August, I will be flying out of Heathrow to BANGKOK, THAILAND to visit my good friend that is living there teaching English! I know, kind of a big adventure to plan so spontaneously, but I have actually been considering the possibility of planning this visit for a while now. I will be flying back to Boston from Thailand, so I have essentially just added Bangkok as a stop on my itinerary (albeit an out of the way stop) so the entire cost of the trip is significantly less than if I ever planned a trip to Thailand when based in the U.S. Furthermore, I have a great opportunity to visit and stay with a close friend that is beyond excited to show me around during a unique transition period in my life where I have nothing yet to rush back for back home. I am very, very excited for this excursion to the far East and will most certainly post about it there for anyone that checks back.

Yesterday was the 4th of July, and a few Americans and I banned together to plan a big bbq party in the Meadows for all of our fellow Americans and international comrades. It ended up being a big success - the weather held up and the evening was actually quite warm! We had lots of grilling, drinking and even some pickup wiffle ball games. Unfortunately, we didn't have any fireworks, as it is illegal for the public to buy them this time of year and Scotland apparently wasn't too keen on celebrating America's Independence Day with any public displays. I made a festively decorated American flag cake for the occasion, though, and it thankfully tasted almost as good as it looked!

I suppose that about sums things up for now. I am currently on lunch break at my internship (which is still going really well) and should get back to work now. I will post later in the month about my trip to The Hague and at the very least give an update when the arts festival begins to take over Edinburgh

a spring re-cap

Well, since my birthday I have traveled to Vienna, Bratislava and Munich, finished term essays, begun to research for my dissertation, and logged in a whole bunch of hours at my job. Handing in my second term papers was a big relief - I put a lot of time and effort into them and was happy with how they turned out for the most part!

My little European getaway was amazing. I flew to Vienna, via Brussels, with my friend Meghan where we met our friend Tomas that had flown in earlier that day. For the next four days the three of us had an amazing time wandering around palaces and royal gardens (the Schönbrunn Palace was absolutely gorgeous and we had a great audio tour), visiting art museums (the Belvedere was probably my favorite), eating delicious food, and basking in the warmth and sunshine. Thursday night we took a train an hour or so East to Bratislava, Slovakia for dinner and drinks which was really fun - Slovakia is a small city so in a few hours we were able to walk around and see a fair amount! Friday morning we met up with our friend, Anke, who had been in Vienna for a moot court competition, and took a train to Munich, Germany. As the weather was summery and amazing (a sharp contrast to most days in Edinburgh) we spent a lot of time in Munich lounging around the English Gardens and walking around outdoors. We took a tram one day to the Nymphenburg Palace where we wandered around the gardens and had lunch in a nearby beer garden, and our last day we took a 2 hour train ride to Füssen to see the famous Neuschwanstein Castle. The castle was stunning, and it was quite clear that they did, in fact, model Cinderella's castle after it. Füssen was also a beautiful German country-side town and we enjoyed the fresh mountain air and foliage. After a whirlwind of a trip it was nice to get back to my own bed, however it was such an amazing vacation it was sad to see it come to an end. We all came back a little sunburned, but definitely all agreed it was a great trip to end second term.

Since then, I have really been working a lot at my part-time catering job and with my internship. I enjoy being busy and have become close with my work friends, but it is certainly tiring. Luckily, I am due for another vacation in just two weeks!!! I cannot fully express just how excited I am for my family trip to Bermuda and then my 2 week visit home. 10 months is definitely a long time to be away from my friends, family, and the familiarity of home and I am really looking forward to my trip back across the Atlantic. Edinburgh is lovely, but I am ready for some beaches and sunshine!

birthday!

Yesterday I turned 23 and thus began my 24th trip around the sun! I woke up to a lovely, warm spring day and had a nice afternoon seeing a few friends and treating myself to a birthday manicure/pedicure. Before dinner I went to a friend's flat to pop the champagne my family so thoughtfully had delivered for my birthday (along with a cake and a beautiful bouquet of tulips!), and then headed to a nearby restaurant to have a birthday dinner with 10 of my close friends!

The restaurant, called Holyrood 9A, has a variety of delicious gourmet burgers, with plenty of vegetarian options, and an extensive beer menu including my favorite American summery beer Blue Moon. It was a really nice meal and great company; everyone has been working hard on essays so it was great to get the whole group together for a dinner out amidst the chaos of the end of term. It also meant that much more to me that all my close friends could make it, since I know taking a night off is hard so close to deadlines. To top it off, my friend made me my favorite cake for dessert - it is called Pavlova, and has a soft meringue base and border filled with a delicious whipped cream with white chocolate and covered in fresh strawberries and raspberries.

After dinner I went out to a local pub for a pint but then was overcome with exhaustion from my busy day and called it a relatively early night. I got some lovely gifts from my friends here - including an adorable beach-type bag from Bermuda! - and got so many sweet messages from friends and family back home. Thank you to all of you that sent me your birthday wishes, it was a great birthday and 23 feels just fine so far!

news!

Well I am officially done with the class portion of my LLM program! This week was the last week of classes, and now we just have the looming essay deadline of April 25th to contend with before we are home free to focus on our dissertations.

I am working at a good pace on my term essays as long as this weekend is productive, and then I am going to give myself a break but also start doing background research for my dissertation. It has recently become more important that I get a head start on my thesis work, or at least make sure to adopt an efficient work schedule...because I just got a part-time internship for the rest of my time here in Edinburgh!!! I am now the new Marketing/Administration Intern at an international development organization called Link Community Development! I applied, had an interview and completed a timed written assessment, and was just phoned yesterday saying they were happy to offer me the position!

The organization works for sustainable education policy in Africa by working with communities and schools directly and also trying to inform national education policy. The key areas of work are conducting performance reviews of schools, working on capacity building within the schools, and helping to develop education programming that informs the Millennium Development Goals and encourages school attendance and community support of the school systems. Another main initiative is linking schools in rural African communities with schools in the UK and USA (i.e. Scotland in this case) in order to, "learn from one another about development and the wider world, and to work together for quality education." I was attracted to the organization by its focus on sustainable results in all the work that it does. For example, the organization discourages the sending of books and other school materials to these countries, but instead asks willing donors to send money to the school administrations so they can buy relevant materials in their own countries and support their own local economies. Very exciting!

I also managed to find myself a part-time job working with the catering department of the University. I spend most of my time working at different University restaurants and cafes around the city, and also cater for events hosted at venues on campus. I started a few weeks ago and just got my first pay check! It is nice to make some pocket money, I enjoy the distraction from my otherwise very academic-focused life, and I get to meet and hangout with a new group of people a couple days a week. Since I don't have a car and thus have limited mobility, at least diversifying my weekly activities helps break up my otherwise sometimes monotonous feeling schedule. The hours are extremely flexible and the work isn't bad - but now paired with my part-time internship I am definitely going to have my hands full the next 5 months!

The internship is going to start off slow the next few weeks until I finish my essays, and then will only be about 2 days a week anyway. And I only work a max of 15 hours per week at my job (maybe eventually 20 during the Festival period) so that still leaves TONS of time to do dissertation work since I will have no classes. Also, I really just like being busy as it helps me feel organized and productive. So we shall see how it all works out, but I'm excited to be working with such a great organization and it will definitely be a good experience (for me personally, and my resume!) before I start real job searching in the fall.

a break from reality

Last week my dear friend Emily came to visit! Emily is someone that I have been close with since I was about 7 years old, and having her come visit was not only exciting because I've missed her dearly since moving half way across thew world, but it was also really fun to have a good friend here to show around Edinburgh and travel with!

She arrived last Monday, and after a short afternoon of settling in we hopped on a bus and headed back to the airport to fly off to the Netherlands! After a short flight we arrived in Amsterdam and spent the first night just walking around and experiencing some of the shops/night life. Tuesday we left the hostel around 10am and didn't get back until dinner time! We covered a lot of ground, stopping in some amazing shops to sample cheese, chocolates and fresh breads and taking in the beautiful views of the canals. We spent a good deal of the afternoon in the Rijksmuseum wandering around the amazing exhibits and taking in the beautiful art - not only was there a lot to look at for pure aesthetic enjoyment, but there was also a ton to learn about Dutch history and culture.

After taking a quick rest, we got dressed and headed to a different part of the city and stumbled upon a small Peruvian restaurant for a late dinner. We had an AMAZING meal - I mean, really really good - starting with appetizers of goats cheese, bacon and honey on slices of french bread and a Spanish omelet, we then each had a delicious main dish and shared a jug of fresh sangria. After our indulgent meal we went back to our hostel and got to bed early. Wednesday we went to the Anne Frank House Museum and walked around a beautiful area of Amsterdam called De Negen Straatjes, or "the Nine Streets" where we stopped in adorable boutiques and unique shops. The Anne Frank House was a great experience - it drew completely from the facts of Anne's life and the experience of her family and used them to guide the visitor through the events of the Holocaust and not the other way around. It was interesting seeing real artifacts from the time and getting an important history lesson through an accessible, personal story.

Before heading back to pack up for the airport, we stopped at a nice Dutch restaurant in a quaint square where we sat in a covered outdoor patio and people watched while enjoying some wine and a light lunch. Overall, it was a great trip - a busy two days, but it was great spending some time traveling just the two of us and especially in such a fun and interesting city!

Once back in Edinburgh we spent Emily's last few days across the Atlantic catching the major tourist sites and wandering around the city and the University campus. Emily brought with her an amazing stretch of nice weather and we were able to make the most of the sunny and warm days before she left! A few high points - Thursday we celebrated St. Patrick's day with the vast Irish population in Edinburgh in a local Irish restaurant/pub, Emily had a great time Friday on a bus tour of Edinburgh getting an educational and fun taste of the city while I was in class, and Saturday we climbed Arthur's Seat together!

Sunday afternoon I saw Emily off to the airport and was totally exhausted from our crazy week. It has been a bit of a struggle to get back into studying but I am finally back in the groove. I have also been baking a lot of breads lately - I've made banana bread a few weeks ago, a blueberry loaf to bring as a snack to Amsterdam, and today I made a carrot bread! Baking is very relaxing and also a delicious snack to help me get through long days with my head in my books, and all my friends also appreciate my little baking endeavors since sharing what I make is half the fun. Ok, confession, if I didn't share I would not be able to resist just eating the entire loaf of warm bread the second it came out of the oven or there is no chance it would last the entire first day.

march madness

The start to my month of March has been marked with much needed motivational moments. Alliterations aside, I have been having a surprisingly productive start to the month which gives me hope that the few days before I leave for Vienna will not be consumed by trying to scramble together a 6,000 word essay or two. I am almost done with my essay on 'The Legality of Targeted Killing in Contemporary International Humanitarian Law' and am working hard on the research/outline phase for my harder essay on Kosovo's right to self-determination and the lawfulness of its unilateral declaration of independence under international law. My third essay, which I am yet to sort out, will be on cross-border coordinated policing efforts in the European Union.

I also believe I have my dissertation topic finally sorted out! I originally was looking at analyzing human rights concerns/lack of human rights safeguards in policies of asset seizure and confiscation set out in international conventions combating organized crime. I met with the head of the international law LLM program (also my international criminal law professor) this afternoon to discuss my idea and inquire about possible directions to go in or other topics that might be more worthwhile to explore.

It was a really helpful meeting, and I walked out with a better topic and some ideas of how to structure my approach (should I look into the topic more and decide on it). We started discussing related areas of law that are 'hotter topics' and where the literature is not comprehensive and the law is still being shaped, and got into discussing the UN Corruption Convention and how assets that are seized from countries whose corrupt leaders have embezzled billions of dollars of their nation's wealth. The issue then is how the stolen assets are recovered to the country, and in practice this is where existing laws and policies seem to fail. This topic is very relevant today, as anyone that flicks past the news can't help but hear about the currently frozen funds of the Gaddafi Family in Libya. Well, this is a different but related topic to the one that I originally thought up - the human rights issues are more abstract (i.e. socio-politica-economic issues regarding getting the money back into the right hands) but the topic is more interesting, seems more worthwhile, and my interest lies mainly in international criminal law these days than human rights.

School, as you can deduce, is going quite well and I'm in a good place with my work. This is a relatively new development, as in February I was very stressed out and overwhelmed with the work that lay ahead and was in need of some direction. Maybe the warmed days and increased sunshine helped? (and I say this as today was particularly cold and even revealed some frost/snow dabbled around the mountains and parts of the meadows!)
Last Friday night my friend Anke had a really nice dinner party for her birthday. She cooked up a 3 course meal for us, including a delicious carrot soup, an asian style spinach salad, and 2 lasagnas (one veggie and one meat). Another friend made Pavlova for dessert - a cake I had never heard of before, but now rank as one of my favorites; it consists of a light meringue base/border filled with a delicious creme that my friend made with white chocolate, and the top is covered with strawberries and raspberries. There was also much wine and a berry cocktail to be passed around the table. Talk about a heavenly meal!
I am also starting to pick up my running exercise regime in hopes of getting into shape for a 10k at the end of May! I am starting to "train" and hopefully as the weather gets nicer my outside runs will get better and better. While 10k is not a very challenging goal, it is a bit more than I can run now and it will give me a reason to actually hit the gym/road and get in better shape. I'm looking forward to it!