Week 2

I have almost finished my second week in Edinburgh. I just turned in a paper comparing UK Political parties with the US system. Overall, I had a very good week and saw some really amazing things. We went to the National Museum of Scotland on Tuesday, took a full tour of the Parliament building on Wednesday and went to the National Gallery on Thursday.

Here is a picture of Robert the Bruce's sword.

Last night I found out I will be working with Rob Gibson (click for his info). He is a member of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP). The SNP is currently in power within the Scottish Parliament and I'm really looking forward to my internship starting.

Overall, everything is going well. I'll be in Edinburgh for the weekend and I'll probably try to visit Edinburgh castle.

Nikon Photos

Here are some photos I took with the Nikon last weekend. It helps to make it full screen in the bottom right corner.

Arthur's Seat

I just climbed to the highest point in Edinburgh, called Arthur's Seat. I had a great view of the entire city. I took some better pictures than this with the Nikon camera and will try to get those up soon.

First Week

I walked by a man playing a bagpipe on the street playing this song the other day.

Well, I am almost finished with my first week in Edinburgh. I spent the first part of my week sleeping a lot and trying to get over jetlag. I've had a chance to meet everyone in the program and all of my professors. Here is what my schedule looks like for the next three weeks:
Mondays - 10 to 12 - British Politics with Dr. Charlie Jeffrey
Tuesdays - 10 to 12 - Scottish Politics with Dr. David McCrone and afternoon activities
Wednesday - 10 to 12 - Scottish Society with Paddy Bort and afternoon activities
Thursdays - Afternoon Activity and Video at 6pm
Fridays - Free

I've had a great time just walking around the city looking at all of the stores and buildings. I am six blocks away from Edinburgh Castle and seven blocks from the beach. And then I'm only one street over from the Royal Mile.

I've been studying and reading a lot recently and working on a few papers due next week. I'll be sure to post some more when I have some more time.

Here are some pictures from the last week:

St. Giles Cathedral, about a block from my dorm.

This is the cobblestone road I walk every day to get to class.


This is the Scottish Parliament building. It has "interesting" architecture.

And finally, we toured John Knox's house the other day. It is very difficult being tall even in Scotland.


For anyone interested, here is my address in Scotland:

Matthew Henry
11/8 Robertson's Close

Cowgate, Edinburgh
Scotland, UK
EH1 1LY

Arrived

Well, I have finally unpacked and had my Internet set up. I had a long day of flying yesterday and Saturday. I flew from New Orleans at 130pm to Houston, then from Houston to Newark, than finally Newark to Edinburgh. Unfortunately, I did not sleep much on the plane and so when I arrived in Edinburgh at around 10am (Edinburgh time) I was about ready to crash.

I made it through customs and immigration without a problem. And made my way outside to get a taxi. I had one of the coolest taxi cab rides of my life. My taxi driver took it upon himself to give me a mini-tour while we drove to Robertson's Close (my dormitory). The best part was turning a corner and seeing Edinburgh Castle. It is pretty cool studying in a city with its own castle.

I arrived at Robertson's Close and proceeded to pick up my keys, only to find out they were at another building 8 blocks away. Luckily they were able to give me spare keys to get into my room. I learned something, when you are sleep deprived don't assume you know where you are going. Since there are no elevators in my dorm (it is far to old to have them) I proceeded to carry my 100 some odd pounds of luggage up four flights of stairs, only to find out I was in the wrong tower. I managed to find the right tower and get my luggage up to my flat. I met a couple of my flatmates (who probably think I am a crazy sweaty person), and they all seem like great people.

I put everything in my room and quickly pulled the pillow and sheets out of my bag and took a nap. I know that you are not supposed to sleep when you arrive, but I was far too tired to stay awake. Although I do understand why they say it. I woke up with my alarm two hours later. I felt worse than I had when I first fell asleep so I decided to go back to sleep for another two hours. I woke up again and talked with Megan on Skype for a bit, then decided to go back to sleep. Needless to say I slept through dinner. I managed to sleep through most of the night, so hopefully after tonight I won't have much jetlag left.

I woke up this morning and it took me nearly ten minutes to figure out the shower. Even if my flatmates were awake, I would have been far too ashamed to be considered the guy from Mississippi who cannot turn on a shower. Luckily, I managed to figure it out through trial and error.

Well, my class starts in about an hour and I've got to go pick up some things before then. I will try my best to keep this blog updated (and with pictures). Until next time.

My travel blog

The blog is meant to chronicle my semester abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland.