rainy monday

This is obviously a little late for a post (0042 in the 24 hour clock, which is what I am having to translate everyday). So in keeping with my tradition of lists (Tradition? It's only been 5 days!), I'll make note of the top 10 happenings of the day:

1. Rode the bus for the first time and quickly learned that drinks were not allowed, having to throw away my 2-minute old, still mostly full cafe latte from the coffee shop on the corner.

2. Discovered that Bus 23 is where I will be spending much of my time. It goes from my school campus, past my flat, and into the city centre...the three most important locations in Edinburgh.

3. I noticed on the weather map that it was due to rain today, so I took my umbrella with me to the orientation meeting. Well, as with any "New Person Meeting," we were given mountains of information to take home and read, so I was juggling purses, folders, and Bella the Umbrella. We decided to go into the city centre between the morning and afternoon sessions of the meeting. We got off the bus to drop off all our stuff. It was clear and sunny out - no rain cloud in sight - so I left Bella behind. Upon leaving the afternoon session, it was about 20 degrees cooler and raining. Figures. Thus, the umbrella still sits dry in my room.

4. We rode the bus to the city centre and I saw all that Edinburgh is famous for for the very first time since I arrived. The Edinburgh Castle and the Holyrood Palace, and we even took a stroll through Old Town. Pictures tomorrow hopefully.

5. I am beginning to narrow down which classes I'll be taking, starting next Monday. I'm only allowed three courses, and I'm considering a range of design classes (or modules, as they call them here), a branding class, an entrepreneur class, and a couple publishing classes.

6. This post is turning out longer than anticipated...my bed is calling to me.

7. We had an American night home in the flat, going to the grocery on the way home (that's right, I left off "store," which is apparently the correct referral to all shops full of food) and purchased some noodles, sauce, cheese, and bread. We made spaghetti in a tiny pot from a thrift store and had to strategically use our few utensils in the correct order so we could all have something other than our hands to eat with.

8. Note: Scottish butter is AMAZINGLY TASTEFUL. Scottish milk is AMAZINGLY THICK.

9. The "we" is referring to myself, my flatmates Alayna and Jennifer, and Kristen from Flat #6. All American-bred.

10. "We" ended the night talking about boyfriends, fiances, our favorite books, fake foreign accents, and Ben & Jerry's. We also went on a late night outing which involved a quick spy on the German party downstairs, chatting with a drunk Asian, and a short hunt for some good ice cream. Unfortunately, the only places open on a Monday night in Edinburgh are Chinese restaurants. Literally. Even our neighbour, the Golf Tavern, was already closed for business. Those Chinese must STILL not be adjusted to Greenwich Time.

11. Ok, one more... Jennifer and Kristen, we soon discovered, are also die-hard fans of McDreamy and the drama at Seattle Grace (Grey's Anatomy for you, non-fans). We finally found the premiere online and huddled around Jennifer's computer for 85 minutes of pure televised joy. Except the video messed up around 80 minutes...did Hahn and Cally hook up?

12. For realsies, last one. One of the staff who spoke at the orientation meeting could have easily passed as an al Qaeda operative. His long straggly beard went nicely with his wrinkly skin, over-sized thick glasses, stringy dark gray hair, and quite a tall stature. But upon introducing himself to the auditorium of 100 plus students from all over the globe, he assured us (and acknowledged the pink elephant standing in the middle of the room) that no, in fact, he was NOT an international terrorist. We could relax. A prime ice breaker.