The gothic church on the north side of my block.Sorry for the crappy quality of image.
So today I did some shopping, still on the hunt for some toilet paper and Kleenex. Got some food finally for my flat. Some honey-nutty-fibery-branny cereal (looks like owl pellets, but tastes pretty good), a liter of milk (NOT gallon), some Ramen-wannabes, familiar Ritz crackers, camomile tea, and a ginormous orange. The milk kind of tastes/looks/feels like whole milk. Very thick and creamy. Half and half-like. Got some dishes and "cuterly" (silverware). More hangers for my clothes. A roll of tape (some assembly required) to hang photos, now it feels like my room :) Oh yes, and an alarm clock to confuse my body's clock some more.
Two more flat mates arrived, both Americans, from Connecticut and New Jersey. Me and Jersey went to eat dinner at a TOTALLY ADORABLE cafe next door to our flat called Katie's Diner. Eight tables total, and the wall were filled with New York City photos and memoribilia, though everyone there was clearly Scottish. I had "Garlicky Chicken," as the menu read. It was quite delicious, the first real meal I've had. Nothing garlicky about it though, just a pool of butter. I also tried a new soft drink, which I was instructed to try before I left this cozy city. "Irn Bru" is it's name. It's like a bubble gum-orange-lemony soda. Very refreshing and yummy. I will most definitely order it again. Apparently Edinburgh is the ONLY place in the world you will find it. The sweet 60-something waitress wanted to make sure I liked it before she left our tiny table :) I did. When we were finished, we eventually figured out we had to ask for the check. It came on a nice little plate, hand written ticket. Felt very fancy and old-fashioned. We weren't sure about tipping--I had heard it's the same as the US, 15-20%. Our total was 20.40 pounds, so we gave him about 3.5 pounds. Then we weren't sure if we left it on the table or took it to the register by the door. We waited, and he came by to pick up our "real money," as he called it. (Most people were paying with a credit card, which he ran through a "magic machine," a handheld credit card machine that he carried with him.) And then in a sweet, Scottish accent, and old-man charm, he thanked us for our generosity. Ah, the true meaning of gratuity.
Next story:
Last night, we all went to the pub next door again, Golf Tavern. I chatted with a girl from Glasgow, which is about an hour west of Edinburgh. We had the usual small talk that I had already partaken in with about 54 other people since I arrived. What's your name, where are you from, what are you studying, why Napier, and do you like it here? Over and over and over and over and over and over....After that prequisite, she asked if I was much into the US election. I said in America, it's hard not to be right now! She did not understand how our choosing of Presidents worked so I explained it to her. I then asked about her form of government in the UK, and she proceeded to educate me on the history of Scottish government and politics. I mentioned that I had seen Braveheart once, to which she made a sour face. Apparently Mel Gibson needs to get his facts straight. In a nutshell, the Scottish hate the British, the British hate the Scottish. If you mistaken a British accent for a Scottish accent or vice versa, prepare for a brawl. The two countries are not allowed to play versus in rugby because of the extreme violence that comes as a result, let alone the violence the sport carries on it's own. Before William Wallace ever came along, the Scots were already a free nation. It was James IV, I believe, that screwed everything up. Someone's queen died, Scotland or England - can't remember which, so James IV had to take over for BOTH nations, thus bringing Scotland under English rule. Still not quite sure what it was William Wallace did or why they made a movie about him, but to this day, Scotland is still TECHNICALLY under England. That's why we hate them (I am Scottish now, by the way). And the whole UK, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, England, Scotland stuff...who's a country, who's a region, who's under who (or whom? Taylor?). Still under speculation, even to Miss Glasgow. Kelly was her name. The whole time I thought she was saying Kaylee, until she spelled it for me. The accent, eh. Apparently the UK includes Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England, while Ireland is off on it's own now. And what about Great Britain? Same as the UK. But what about the British Empire? That includes Hong Kong, Singapore, Gibraltar maybe, the list goes on. All I know now, is that the Queen has her hands full, and it's not of tea and biscuits.
Oh, and the Germans and French are mortal enemies. Never mention them in the same sentence or certain death awaits you...
TO SEE MORE PHOTOS OF MY NEW NEIGHBOURHOOD...
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2022329&l=70e42&id=177501993
Two more flat mates arrived, both Americans, from Connecticut and New Jersey. Me and Jersey went to eat dinner at a TOTALLY ADORABLE cafe next door to our flat called Katie's Diner. Eight tables total, and the wall were filled with New York City photos and memoribilia, though everyone there was clearly Scottish. I had "Garlicky Chicken," as the menu read. It was quite delicious, the first real meal I've had. Nothing garlicky about it though, just a pool of butter. I also tried a new soft drink, which I was instructed to try before I left this cozy city. "Irn Bru" is it's name. It's like a bubble gum-orange-lemony soda. Very refreshing and yummy. I will most definitely order it again. Apparently Edinburgh is the ONLY place in the world you will find it. The sweet 60-something waitress wanted to make sure I liked it before she left our tiny table :) I did. When we were finished, we eventually figured out we had to ask for the check. It came on a nice little plate, hand written ticket. Felt very fancy and old-fashioned. We weren't sure about tipping--I had heard it's the same as the US, 15-20%. Our total was 20.40 pounds, so we gave him about 3.5 pounds. Then we weren't sure if we left it on the table or took it to the register by the door. We waited, and he came by to pick up our "real money," as he called it. (Most people were paying with a credit card, which he ran through a "magic machine," a handheld credit card machine that he carried with him.) And then in a sweet, Scottish accent, and old-man charm, he thanked us for our generosity. Ah, the true meaning of gratuity.
Next story:
Last night, we all went to the pub next door again, Golf Tavern. I chatted with a girl from Glasgow, which is about an hour west of Edinburgh. We had the usual small talk that I had already partaken in with about 54 other people since I arrived. What's your name, where are you from, what are you studying, why Napier, and do you like it here? Over and over and over and over and over and over....After that prequisite, she asked if I was much into the US election. I said in America, it's hard not to be right now! She did not understand how our choosing of Presidents worked so I explained it to her. I then asked about her form of government in the UK, and she proceeded to educate me on the history of Scottish government and politics. I mentioned that I had seen Braveheart once, to which she made a sour face. Apparently Mel Gibson needs to get his facts straight. In a nutshell, the Scottish hate the British, the British hate the Scottish. If you mistaken a British accent for a Scottish accent or vice versa, prepare for a brawl. The two countries are not allowed to play versus in rugby because of the extreme violence that comes as a result, let alone the violence the sport carries on it's own. Before William Wallace ever came along, the Scots were already a free nation. It was James IV, I believe, that screwed everything up. Someone's queen died, Scotland or England - can't remember which, so James IV had to take over for BOTH nations, thus bringing Scotland under English rule. Still not quite sure what it was William Wallace did or why they made a movie about him, but to this day, Scotland is still TECHNICALLY under England. That's why we hate them (I am Scottish now, by the way). And the whole UK, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, England, Scotland stuff...who's a country, who's a region, who's under who (or whom? Taylor?). Still under speculation, even to Miss Glasgow. Kelly was her name. The whole time I thought she was saying Kaylee, until she spelled it for me. The accent, eh. Apparently the UK includes Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England, while Ireland is off on it's own now. And what about Great Britain? Same as the UK. But what about the British Empire? That includes Hong Kong, Singapore, Gibraltar maybe, the list goes on. All I know now, is that the Queen has her hands full, and it's not of tea and biscuits.
Oh, and the Germans and French are mortal enemies. Never mention them in the same sentence or certain death awaits you...
TO SEE MORE PHOTOS OF MY NEW NEIGHBOURHOOD...
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2022329&l=70e42&id=177501993
2 comments:
I advice you to keep under wraps that you are of Scotch-IRISH decent should that start a revolt of some sort.
Glad you got a good meal. Now I just hope you can track down that toilet paper...I guess we are all pretty spoiled with a WalMart every few miles.
Keep the posts coming.
We love you!!!
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