One week into school, I am jumping headfirst into my research, as I was set a 3,500 word research proposal last Thursday, due this Tuesday (yes, five days to write the whole thing, plus literature research). Turns out this isn't as daunting as I anticipated, since my pre-set research nerd skills and the passion I have for my research lend themselves quite nicely to banging out hundreds of words an hour when asked to explain what I want to do and why, exactly, it is important. All of my classes revolve around research...one of them is actually nothing BUT work on my research proposal/Master's thesis, which is due next August. So even though some of them are redundant and boring, they all have relevance to my goals, and that makes them tolerable :-).
Beyond class, I have met with both my PG Advisor and my direct Supervisor, and I like them both. The other students in my program (maybe 9 of us all together) are all interesting, fun, and friendly (as all good Anthropologists are, haha). One girl is a bit odd, she attacked my thesis without having any idea what it is about, and she seems like an all-around land-mine, and I'm sure all my actions will annoy her all year. Good thing I don't give a shit. HAHA!
Outside of school, I've been going to the gym when I can (less than at home, seeing as I walk EVERYWHERE) the one here is SO nice and clean...brand new equipment and such. Hanging out with friends from my residence hall (the Res), chatting to my loverly American friends when I can :-), and of course studying when needed.
Yesterday a group of us took the bus to Glasgow, about 75 minutes from here. We went to GoMA (Glasgow Modern Art Museum...I don't get the name either), then wandered around a street festival that had AMAZING food, live music, stuff for sale, etc. We then happened upon the wonderous Primark store....think super cheap Target prices on REALLY cute clothes, shoes, accessories, house goods, etc. I bought a lot of stuff I needed for my Edinburgh life for much cheaper than anything I've actually found IN Edinburgh...totally worth the 8 pound bus ticket!
Last night we went to Frankensteins, a mad-scientist-themed bar thats been around forEVER and Revolution, a three storied bar/club/more bars place with fun music and good deals on drinks if you buy the student card (actually, Frankie's has that too). Last week we met a fun team of rugby players there, and they literally have any type of Vodka you could think of (their Logo is I heart Vodka) So its a fun time, although we had a bit of Res drama last night that hurt the vibe of the night...I guess thats to be expected when you live with all of your friends...Ah well! I'm still involved in my e-mail flirtation with the Lebanese PhD student...oh, how random my life is...
So things just keep getting better, and I hope that they will continue that way...The juxtaposition of the wild lowland hills silent and watchful, and the ancient city buildings so alive with humanity continually enthrall me...the unexpected shot of bright green seen through a side street, or the happening upon of a building so wrought with craftsmanship the likes of the 21st century have never seen, that you know it has seen more years than you can even imagine....these things still make me smile. Although it IS getting colder, and my heater is a little less efficient than I would like. :-) I'll post some pics soon, my camera isn't working but my friends have some great pics from the last week.
In the words of Robert Burns:
"From scenes like these old Scotia's grandeur springs."
<3
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