How did February creep up so fast! I can't believe I am approaching the 6th month mark of living here. It has been a great 6 months so far, I must say! The past month has been very social, as most people had been gone for several weeks over the break until after new years and we have all been getting back into the swing of things. Second term essay topics come out soon, and we get our grades on first term papers next week! While I'm anxious to see how I did, I know that for 2 of my courses our first essays are only 40% and the papers I have to write this term are 60%...and most professors expect that you will improve on the second and thus are known to be very critical of the first term assessments. Crossing my fingers I did okay!
Today is the Super Bowl...one of my American friends is hosting a party to watch the game/show our foreign comrades how it's done. I've been pressured into making a 7 layer dip, so we'll see how that turns out! This weekend has otherwise been rather low key, I went to a show on Friday night and then spent Saturday night on a friend's couch watching some British t.v. and relaxing. I have a bit of a cough these days, and am trying to rest up so it will finally go away!
I know in my last post I said I was done with traveling for a while, because it gets so tiring, however I have a few more trips already planned/booked! Later this month I hope to visit my friend Sarah in Liverpool where she is also doing a masters degree - we've been friends since middle school, and were so excited that we would be on the same continent this year but have thus far failed at actually planning visits! Unfortunately, getting from Edinburgh to Liverpool is not the easiest/cheapest thing to do and I'm still trying to find the most efficient way to get to her. In March, however, another good, old friend is coming across the Atlantic to visit! My friend Emily is taking a break from her hectic job in Boston and coming here for a week :) Not only will she be here for St. Patrick's day, but we also decided to take a couple days and travel to Amsterdam while she is here, as it is one of the few places that is so quick and cheap to jet to. I am so so excited for her to come; I know we will have a great time and it is going to be hard to say goodbye at the end of the week!
I also have a trip booked to Vienna, Austria and Munich, Germany for the end of April with a bunch of law friends! And I have several Irish friends here, and a good friend from Portugal, so I hope over the summer to make it to see where they all live at some point. Wow - I know - but I really do want to make the most of my year here, as if I ever need an excuse to travel anyway! This is my first time exploring the European continent and who knows when I will have another opportunity to do anything like this again.
Don't worry, I am also taking advantage of all the academic and cultural opportunities here in Scotland as well. I have been attending meetings of the International Law Discussion Group for months now and have gone to other lectures around the Uni. This past Thursday a group of us took the train to Glasgow, to the university there, to hear a well-known professor from Oxford speak about Kosovo's independence and what it could mean for independence movements all over the world, including in Scotland. Glasgow Uni has a whole international law lecture series this spring and we plan on attending as many events as possible since it is only a train ride away! I have tickets to see A View from the Bridge, an Arthur Miller play, at the Royal Lyceum Theatre for later this month as well. I am living quite the busy lifestyle these days, but I'm taking it all in and loving it!
No snow here since Christmas! Just the usual occasional hurricane winds and rain...but otherwise the weather has been okay. Hope everyone back in the States is surviving the deep freeze and constant stream of blizzards I keep hearing about!
