Reading Week

It is hard to believe the end of October is here! I am currently in the midst of a week "break" from classes, however all of our essays have been assigned so nobody is feeling all that care free. Monday I ventured to 3 different libraries to find books related to my essay topics and have only just begun the preparatory research process. Two out of my three essays are going to be very challenging, while the third is at least a little more straight forward. They each present a different challenge: my Fundamental Issues topic is vague and requires a strong argument; my Criminal Law essay topic is not vague, and thus requires some creativity to make my essay stand out; and my IP and Technologies topic is interesting, but I have zero prior knowledge about it so my time will be consumed with background reading. I need to get into a regular schedule of research and writing each day so that I can effectively time manage in the coming months. I am trying to stay optimistic about my ability to actually write these essays, however I know it is critical to stay focused and not let the weeks slip past. Wish me luck!

Despite all the work I've still managed to fit in some fun activities - this past weekend, to kick of reading week, Friday night I met up with friends at a bar in the Edinburgh College of Art and Saturday night I went to a club where a British DJ that I've seen in the States was playing. This coming weekend I am taking a trip to the Highlands with a bunch of friends! We are going on a bus trip with a big group and will see/visit: Glen Coe, Loch Ness, Inverness, Ruthven Barracks, The Hermitage, Killiecranke, and Culloden Battlefield. I watched Braveheart for the first time last night to prepare myself for all the Scottish history I'm going to take in this weekend. We are hoping the weather holds up, this week has been lovely - a little windy but surprisingly warm for this time of year!

Time Flies

Well I have officially been here over a month. Time flies! While I do feel like I've been here forever, it is crazy that a full month has already come and gone. It makes the rest of the 12 months away seem less daunting, as I know my time here will pass before I know it, but I'm already thinking about what's next after I graduate.

Next week we get our first term essay assignments in each class. They are due the first week of January and are to be around 4,000 words - not too long, but apparently very research oriented and they are expected to be extremely concise given their enforced brevity. We are all eager to get the topics and start our research so we won't have to be too stressed over Christmas and New Years. The last week of October the law school has a "reading week" and I am without exciting travel plans, however I might be venturing north with some friends for the last weekend of it if the weather is nice. In November I am going to spend a few days in Barcelona with my friend Zak to visit two friends there! We managed to find extremely affordable airfare and I am very excited to see the city and visit some home friends. I have also been in touch with my British relatives and will be heading to London for a visit in the near future, hopefully.

Otherwise, not much to report. This past Sunday I spent the day at a friends watching Out of Africa (on of my favorite movies) and eating cakes with girls from my courses and then went to a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner that night that was actually amazing. The weather is taking a turn for the cold, but we still have some warmer sunny days each week. I finally have my bank card sorted and my phone plan all figured out. Tomorrow I am going to begin my hunt for a part-time job, hopefully within the University. My computer is starting to get a bit fussy and recent Windows updates seemed to have caused my Google Chrome browser to stop working. I've spent too much time researching the reasons why and possible solutions and in the end (not that anyone is interested in any of this) I've resorted to at least temporarily using the Chrome wannabe Internet Explorer 9 Beta browser. I guess it's okay but there are definite kinks that I hope will be worked out in the finished product. (I guess it isn't that much of a surprise that I'm so interested in my IP and Technologies class...)

Parcel Force

After a few weeks of extreme frustration, just when I was about to lose hope, I finally got notice that my packages from my mother and grandmother had arrived at the post office and were ready for me to collect them. The post system here is kind of ridiculous - I ended up dealing with this company called Parcel Force that seems to only deliver a package when it receives multiple messages inquiring about its whereabouts. This, of course, was after paying an enormous customs import tax on each parcel. My anger and frustration was compounded by the frequent texts, emails and phone calls from my mom expressing her own negative feelings about the situation. Alas, today I strolled down the road to the housing office and joyously lugged my two huge boxes back to my flat, up to my room, and tore them open like it was Christmas morning (or I imagine the feeling to be analogous). While I jumped around my room amidst my assorted imported items I reflected on how incredibly lucky I am to have such a loving and thoughtful family. I further reflected that I might have more shoes and purses here than I will ever need, but I am so incredibly happy about it.

I am also getting in touch with my inner tech geek and am really loving my IP and Technology class. It might even be my favorite? Who would have thought! We are learning all about internet regulation and amidst all the controversy about the US playing around with some new highly restrictive cyber legislation (see COICA) it is really interesting and relevant. I now have a decent idea of how the world wide web actually functions and the different ways governments can control a network's access to web content. I also had a long discussion after class with a girl from China that thinks the 'great firewall' of China is completely appropriate and that the government exists to control its populace in such ways. She says she doesn't mind having restricted access to information and that government censorship reflects Chinese values (i.e. that freedom is limited). I just can't get over how cool it is to be studying with individuals from all over the world and have the opportunity to casually discuss freedom of speech with students from Nigeria, China, Bangkok, Finland, France, Germany etc. all in one class taught by a professor from Peru.

sunny days

Even on sunny day there can be rainbows? I was a little surprised to see this out my window this afternoon, but it was quite gorgeous! I want to make pumpkin cheesecake, and have been searching everywhere for graham crackers for the crust. Thus far I can't find any where that sells them and nobody here seems to have even heard of them. I decided to ask Google if it was possible to find graham crackers in the UK and I found this response on Yahoo Answers: " My name is Graham and you can have some of my crackers if you wish, tell me where to send them and I'll pop them in the post for you." Clever, but not very helpful.

Update: apparently they don't sell canned pumpkin here either...so all is lost anyway unless I get a bit more culinary savvy and decide to tackle a full pumpkin to make some of my favorite fall delectables. Or I might just hold out in hopes that stores decide to stock canned pumpkin eventually later in the season.