Kayaks and Waffles

Utrecht is a college town filled with many young bike riding university students. Keisha’s sister took us out for drinks with her friends in downtown Utrecht our second night. Despite being several years older, they put us to shame with their ability to rally. In Santa Barbara when you go out, a standard night begins around 8 and lasts until 2. Maybe if you go downtown the night shifts from 10 to 3. But in Utrecht, and apparently many other places in Europe, the goal is to dance until the sunrise.

And we did.

Keisha’s sisters friends kept buying us drinks, asking us ‘biertje?’ Another drink? “No, bekeov.” I would reply. No, last round.

We started at a nice bar then progressed our way to several dive clubs and danced the night away. We bike rode back, two to a bike. I fell asleep at 9 in the morning. Needless to say, we spent day 2 in Utrecht exacerbating our jetlag by sleeping all day. 

 

My friend Matt studied abroad in Utrecht for a year and gave me a long list of recommendations for restaurants, bars, and activities. Two of his suggestions particularly appealed to me: kayaking in the canals and visiting the Domtoren.

The Domtoren is what is left standing of an old Cathedral. It can be seen from very distant parts of Utrecht. It’s like a very nice Storke Tower. It’s very pretty, and I would have loved to see the view from the top. Unfortunately, our multiple failed attempts to climb the tower became a running joke and we were not able to climb the tower for various reasons.

We were however able to go kayaking, and that was my favorite part of our stay in Utrecht. We found the kayaking place and asked for two single kayaks.

“You pay when you get back,” the lady explained to us. We sat in the kayaks and they pushed the boats into the canal. “Do you know how to kayak?” the guy asked us, almost as an afterthought.

“Uh… kind of,” Keisha replied.

“Okay, have fun!” the guy said.

It was quite the difference between that and what I imagine the equivalent American process would be: waiver signing, leaving credit cards on file for collateral, mandatory life vests, instructions, etc. But in Utrecht they just put us in a boat and sent us on our way. We had a canal map and we picked one of three loops through the city. It was an hour and a half loop through the center and back around the outskirts.

At canal intersections and along the sides there were signs that were very similar to street signs, which I thought was interesting. We took pictures by a “15 Minute Parking” sign for boats. We had to parallel park our kayaks to get the picture, which tested our kayak skill level. 

 

We kayaked by the restaurant we had eaten at earlier, past residential homes, past Utrecht city buildings, and through a very pretty residential park before looping back around to the kayak rental place. It was very fun and was not very strenuous kayaking. It was very peaceful paddling down the calm canals.

We tried going to the Domtoren again and it was sold out for the day, so Keisha and I explored the church nearby. 

 

For dinner we went to Winkel van Sinkel, a café that was always packed. We managed to find a table outside and sat facing the street and the canal. We got wine and soup before biking back to Keisha’s sister’s house. There we planned out the next couple legs of our trip: Budapest and Rome.

It took a lot longer than I remembered because I used to just sort the list from lowest price to highest 

and just pick the cheapest hostel. While I saved money, this cheap strategy only paid off sometimes. Now I find that I’m significantly pickier. Does the hostel have wifi? Where is it located? What do the reviews say? What do the bad reviews say? I’m a lot more willing to spend a few more dollars to have a bed with sheets that are more likely to be washed.

It was significantly cheaper to fly to Budapest from Brussels. Keisha and I decided to spend a day in Brussels just checking out the city because why not. Keisha’s sister drove us to Rotterdam where we caught the train to Brussels. Small things like not having access to a printer to print tickets make traveling a little more complicated, but we were able to make it to Belgium with the help of a Dutch girl we met on the train who explained the transfers to us.

We checked into our hostel, dropped off our stuff, and headed out into the city. We started our day off with a cone of fries, or patat. (Traditionally Belgian!) In line we met some Americans who had graduated from the same high school as Keisha (different year). It’s a small world!

We wandered around Le Grand Place, Brussels's main square, exploring sights that struck our fancy and picking random directions to walk. We tried to make the day as Belgian as possible by eating Belgian chocolates and drinking Belgian beer.

We made sure to stop by Mannekin Pis. A statue that is quite famous for some reason. I had heard of it only because there is a chip chain by that name that Keisha and I frequented in Utrecht. The map the hostel gave us had a description of Mannekin Pis that went something like, “When you see it, your first reaction will be… that’s it? Mannekin Pis is small and absurd, much like Belgium.” It is a very small statue of a boy peeing. No joke. They dress him up in costume sometimes. We took a picture with Mannekin Pis and then proceeded to other areas of the city.

By my request, we went to see the European Union buildings. We did not get a chance to go inside, but we walked by the European Parliament and the European Commission. They were very cool, very modern, very, very large buildings. I am very interested in the European Union, so it was very cool to see the buildings. I think in an increasingly globalized world supranational organizations may become more important, and the EU is a very interesting example of that in action. While not a perfect institution from what I’ve heard, it does some very cool stuff, which we learned about at a small information center that provided information on all facets of the EU in each of the EU’s 24 official languages. 

 

The buildings were all closing at 5, so we continued exploring and walked toward an arch that looked cool before heading back to the square.

 

One of my favorite parts of Brussels was when we got the waffles. We found the touristy waffle stand we could find and ordered waffles with the toppings of our choice. I got bananas and nutella. They only give you two tiny forks to eat it with. So I just went for it and got Nutella everywhere. But it was quite delicious.

The waffle was a little bit of a sugar overload. But it was quite lovely to just sit in the square, resting our feet, eating a waffle, and people watching in the late Brussels evening. 

The square at night

We walked back to the hostel. The only other person in our four person dorm room was already asleep, so we quietly, using the light of our phones, packed up our bags. We had to leave the hostel at 5:30 to catch a tram to the central train station where we would catch a bus to the airport. We climbed into bed around 12:30, hoping to fall asleep quickly so we could maximize our sleep before our travels the next day. Still jet lagged, it had been taking us awhile for us to fall asleep. I was just drifting off when...

I've stayed at a lot of hostels. They ranged from don't touch the sheets dirty to pleasantly tidy, dilapidated to brand new, two person bedrooms to twenty person dorm rooms, utilitarian to full service, I even once stayed at a bar pretending to be a hostel.

You get all kinds of temporary roommates in these places. Those who seem to sleep for twenty hours a day, those that want to strike up a conversation, those that maybe could learn some basic hygiene.

But never, never have I had a night like this one.

It was Keisha's first stay in a hostel, so I wanted to ensure that it went smoothly. I wanted to show her, "See, hostels are great! They're cheap, you meet cool people, they're convenient." I was gloriously unsuccessful in showing her the appeal at not only this hostel, but future hostels as well. 

It all began around one in the morning when we heard some fumbling around outside of our room. It sounded like the person was struggling immensely with the electronic key. Eventually the sound faded away.

"I was worried for a second that person outside was our last roommate," I whispered to Keisha. As if on cue, the door slammed open and in stumbled a bearded beer bellied boy. He sized up the room, determined that the bed above the sleeping roommate was the only free one, and took a running start to launch himself up on the top bunk.

Like a stampeding bull, he collided with the ladder to the bunk and shook the whole bed violently as he attempted to make the treacherous four foot climb. With each step up the ladder the bunk bed teetered back and forth dangerously ca chunk a chunk a chunk.

He flopped with a victorious sigh on top of the sheetless bed and pulled out his smartphone with the volume on full blast and started texting in a very methodical fashion. “click…click… click…” the typing would have been bearable had it not been for his absurd rattling breath.

Keisha sent me a message on Viber. “This person is breathing like a serial killer.” He breathed with deep, rattling inhalations that reverberated around the small hostel dorm room.

He took a short break from vacuuming oxygen to gargle then chug a whole bottle of water. He then seemed to realize that his phone volume was on, so he graciously turned down the volume

boop boop boop boop. With a sigh of relief, I started to fall asleep despite the violent breathing, until he decided that his phone was too quiet and for some reason decided to turn it back up so he could hear himself playing a game on his phone boop boop boop boop he turned the volume up.

Eventually though, he fell into an almost lullaby like rhythm *gasp* ding! *gasp* ding! *gasp*

So up until this point, the story is believable. Noisyboy Murderbreath had already won the award for most obnoxious hostel mate and I was content to take a couple hour loss on my sleep.  However, it did indeed get worse. I only wish to do this story justice. Keisha and I realized immediately that this would be very hard to explain without sounding petty. “Oh, I’ve had hostelmates who snored before.” People would tell us. Keisha and I would look at each other and smile knowingly. 

I was awoken around two in the morning by what sounded like someone starting a diesel lawnmower leaf blower combination. My other hostelmates stirred, trying through the sleepy confusion to place the noise. It was coming from Snorlax McSnorepants, who had passed out fully clothed clutching his phone.

“Is this real life?” Keisha messaged me.

“Take a video, no one’s going to believe us,” I messaged her back.

To say Snorlax was snoring would be a great insult to his nasal cavity’s impressive ability to expel air out violently. 

It was the most absurdly earth-shaking, eardrum bursting snore I have ever heard. It was so loud it rattled through your bones like the bass at a UCSB Extravaganza concert. I couldn’t even be mad. I was just impressed that kind of sound could come out of a human being.

Keisha and I started giggling.

“Are you kidding me?” she shouted. Snorlax did not stir.

The guy under Snorlax had finally had enough, he stood up and stared at Snorlax. He shook the bunk a little. Snorlax rolled over, took a deep gasping breath, and fell silent. We all sighed in relief.

The reprieve from listening to Snorlax drown in his own snot was short lived, however. By the time his bunkmate had settled in his spot again, Snorlax was back at it, snoring as if he was trying to awake those sleeping in Paris.

The snoring echoed around the walls of our tiny hostel room.

We started laughing. Even at that point it was funny. I wanted to sleep so badly, but his snoring was just so unbelievable it was comical.

Snorlax’s bunkmate was trying to decide was his next move could be. He tried pushing on the slats under the bed, but soon realized that the slats were too thick to budge. He then desperately resorted to wedging his toes between the slats to try to kick Snorlax from under the mattress. It was to no avail, 

Snorlax would not stop snoring.

Snorlax was out cold.

Snorlax’s jackhammer snoring went on for the next two and a half hours.

We contemplated various options including teaming up to drag him out of the room, leaving for the airport seven hours early, or just cutting our losses. We ended up doing the latter. While still hopeful the snores would stop, we had given up on quieting the snore beast. The snores did not cease. We were left to lie awake listening to the raucous one man band all night until we finally reached a reasonable time to leave for the airport.

I have never heard snoring like that in my entire life. Keisha and Nick both snore, but in a very gentle, soothing kind of way. When Nick complained about our hostelmate in Paris snoring loudly, Keisha and I looked at each other, threw our heads back, and laughed. “Oh if only you knew.”

“At least it wasn’t bedbugs,” I told Keisha as we scrambled to get our stuff the next morning and head to Brussels airport. “That’s the one thing I think I couldn’t handle.”

I'm Going to Need a Bigger Coat

I know as a Californian that I have a tendency to vastly underestimate cold weather. Simply because I am not used to it.

It rained once in Santa Barbara last year. My friends and I went sprinting outside barefoot and splashed around in the puddles, cheering at the novelty. I was at Shannon's during the sprinkle preview that morning of the actual rain to come. We climbed up on her roof and watched all the people in boardshorts and bikinis walk down the street staring at the sky incredulously. "Where is that water coming from?"

I was already shivering on the plane.

It's so hard to pack sweaters when it's 80 degrees out.

The plane was one of the new Dreamliners. It was very high tech. The TVs were touch screen. I even fell asleep for 5 hours.

Unfortunately, the descent into Oslo was very, very turbulent.

Fortunately, as someone who used to get motion sick a lot, I know exactly when I reach the point of no return between "This turbulence is making me feel nauseous."and "I'm going to throw up.", so I was able to give myself about a minute head's up before I broke a six year no plane vomit streak.

Having given up on the unnaturally dry and salty cardboard sandwich I had purchased at the airport for dinner, I had only eaten a peppermint patty (okay a couple peppermint patties). I threw it up into a paper bag provided so kindly by the airline that had, no joke, "You'll feel better in a minute." written on it.

Unfortunately, I did not feel any better after as I had attracted a lot of attention. I didn't want to be that person who leaves behind a lunch bag full of regurgitated Yorks on my seat, so I took it with me, unable to find a flight attendant to pass it on to. So I was left to carry my bag of embarrassment to Immigration, where luckily I did find a trash can. (Too much information? Sorry...)

I had a five hour layover, so I changed my dollars to Norwegian Kroner and got on the express train to the city. In my jet lagged haze I exited Oslo train station without a map nor a sense of which direction I was facing once I exited the station. I didn't really have a plan, I just had an hour and a half and I wanted to see the city. My two main goals were to see the water and get a cup of soup and I had a 50% success rate.

I was overwhelmed by the jet lag and the two overstuffed backpacks I was carrying, so I couldn't be bothered to find a tourist center to get information. Instead I saw a cool looking building, pointed myself in that direction, and started walking. By some awesome coincidence, the impulsive right and left turns I made led me to walk by the Oslo Cathedral (the cool looking building I initially saw), the Parliament, City Hall, The Royal Palace (sitting on top of a hill with a very long driveway), and the Oslofjord!

 

Near the Oslo Sentral Stasjon

 
I'm standing facing the Royal Palace on the long driveway, I know it seems like I took the picture facing the wrong way, but I liked this view better

The Akershus Fortress and Castle is behind me I think

My initial reaction was to compare Oslo to Glasgow. I don't know how the Glaswegians nor the Osloites would feel about that comparison. It had historic sights squished in between more modern buildings. Almost everyone I saw was blonde It was a pretty city, but I only got to see a very, very small part of it. I would love to go back to Norway someday. I would love to see the Northern Lights and I would love to go on those crazy hikes to places like Trolltunga or that rock squished in between the other rocks.

Norway is a part of the Schengen Agreement, despite not being a member of the EU. Once you enter an exterior border of a Schengen country, you are essentially free to move around to any country within the Schengen Area. Interestingly, there is one part of Norway that is not a part of Schengen, so you have to go through immigration to get there if traveling in through other parts of Norway or the Schengen Area.

I spotted the water while I was on my way to the Royal Palace. So after walking by there, I headed to the fjord. I rested my feet there and looked at the castle on the hill, the boats and ferries, and the islands covered in yellow, orange, and green trees (a novelty for someone from California!)

It had been a mix of sunny and overcast while I was in the city, but I could hear some distant thunder and could see some large clouds overtaking the sky. About an hour after I got to the city, it started raining very hard. I must have looked like a crazy person. The Norwegians calmly opened their umbrellas once the rain began and carried on without missing a beat, protected from the cold in their ski jackets and wool coats.

I had been warm from walking and dragging my heavy backpacks around, so I had taken off my fleece jacket that I bought when I was abroad from a Sainsbury's for 6 pounds. Unsurprisingly, it does not keep me that warm. I tried using it to cover my head like a hood initially, but gave up due to my lack of peripheral vision and also the novelty of rain has not worn off yet. I was the only person walking around in a tshirt. Additionally, I did not have an umbrella to at least give the appearance that I knew what rain was. So I walked back to the train station in my tshirt in the pouring rain, not minding one bit.

What normal people looked like

Rainy Selfie

I caught the train back to the airport and continued my unsuccessful one minded quest for a cup of soup. I then caught my flight to Amsterdam and multiple people thought I was Norwegian, which was a first.

Keisha and her sister picked me up at the airport and we drove back to her sister's cute Dutch house in Utrecht. The house is very Dutch looking with tall, narrow stair cases. I was very out of it when I arrived and I didn't feel very well. My main goal was water, shower, and bed. I felt very, very disoriented and I wasn't fully sure what day it was or where I was. I woke up today though, very refreshed and excited when I remembered that I am in the Netherlands.

This is Bubbles, the house cat

 We slept late this morning to sleep off the jetlag. We ate toast and tea and planned our next few stops briefly. We then got dressed and headed to the Utrecht city center.

 The Netherlands is very bike friendly. Everyone was biking everywhere, there were clearly labeled bike lines and special street lights for bikers. Mopeds can use the bike lanes, too. There were bikes parked everywhere, chained to every inch of fences, parked carefree in the middle of walkways. People often ride two to a bike, and one person sits sideways on the ledge over the back wheel. There were even free bike garages, where you dropped your bike off in exchange for a ticket and couldn't take a bike unless your ticket matched the one on the bike. Most bikes in the bike garage weren't even locked, but Keisha and I lived in IV where bike theft is a frequent crime and did not want to risk it.

Bike garage

There are lots and lots of cafes in Utrecht lining every cobblestoned alleyway and street. All of their outdoor seating faces the street, not the people you're with. We passed lots of cafes with people drinking their coffees or beers sitting next to their friends and people watching the squares. It was very enjoyable. Keisha and I stopped for a cappuccino and drank it while enjoying all the people in the city rush by in groups and on bikes. 

I don't have a problem with caffeine, I have a problem without it

We then got fat fries in a paper cone, a very popular treat here. I got mine drenched in curry sauce and Keisha got mayonnaise with hers.

We spent most of the day just walking around the city, mainly because we had not been paying attention when we arrived and we had trouble reorienting ourselves to find the places we wanted to be. It wasn't a bad thing though, and I really enjoyed seeing the city. I really like Utrecht and the Netherlands. And the weather was not bad at all!

I know no Dutch so I start off each interaction with an optimistic, "Hi?"

Utrecht is somewhat of a college town. It's pretty small and there is a large percentage of people who are students at the University of Utrecht.

We walked down some steps to the canal and ate a dinner of pumpkin soup and wine right along the water (I finally got my soup!)

pompoensoep en wijn

Then we biked home through the city in the Utrecht evening and it felt quite Dutch. 

I've Got an Atlas in My Hands

I just purchased a plane ticket to Europe. I'm truly very excited about it and I literally jumped up and down for a minute after confirming my itinerary.

It's been two years since I moved back from Edinburgh, Scotland. I have not been back since I've left. I can't believe how long it's been and how much has happened.

I'm very, very excited to see some new cities and revisit some of my favorite ones.

Just to catch you up on my life since I've last written here really quickly:

It's been a year and a half since I moved back from beautiful and cold Edinburgh, Scotland. I miss it everyday, but I enjoyed the last 21 months I've lived in Santa Barbara.

Since I've moved back...

I graduated from the University of California with a degree in Political Science.

 

I celebrated my 21st and 22nd birthdays.

I went to two Holis.

I went to two Deltopias.

 I went to two Extravaganzas.

I went to Disneyland twice.

I went to Vegas twice.

And I went to Hawaii!

I've been working and living in Santa Barbara since I graduated. I met and got to know some truly amazing people and had some great experiences.

I'll be sad to leave behind my afternoons running down the beach, biking around Isla Vista, having all my friends a maximum of two minutes away, and how comfortable I am in this laid back beach town I've lived in for four years. But I am very excited for the next phase of my life.

Everyone I've told of my plan to quit my job to go travel has been outwardly very supportive.

I did doubt that I was making the right decision, though. You can ask Shannon. She watched me pace back and forth, vocalizing my internal debate as I had the plane ticket waiting on my laptop screen, one click away from being purchased. I knew I love to travel, and it seemed to me that traveling would be what would make me most happy right now. But I felt like I needed to justify it to myself. Why quit a job that I liked that was paying the bills? It seemed to make sense. I wanted to travel and now seemed like the most opportune time. I was done with my undergraduate degree and had not yet started graduate school or a career path I wanted to pursue long term. In a broader sense though, I realized I had never really asked myself:

Why do I like traveling? 

If I was going to quit my job and abandon my routine and lifestyle I wanted to at least understand why I wanted to go. I thought about it for awhile, and the more I thought about it the more I found it harder to explain.

The benefits of staying in one place are apparent. In Santa Barbara, I was a part of a nice community of friends, of people who were always down to go for a hike or grab a pint at Woodstocks. I met some really amazing people in Santa Barbara and I'm glad I had the chance to live and grow with them for an extended period of time. I loved my daily routine - my morning bike ride to work, my evening run down to the beach, my daily cup of coffee, and wine nights with friends.

It took me four years to get the hang of life in Santa Barbara. I was very comfortable there. I learned the street names, knew directions to anywhere I needed to go, and knew the ins and outs of the SB culture. It's very comfortable and reassuring knowing what to expect from each day.

The same is true for NorCal. I always joke that being back home I can never leave the house without running into someone. Even after being gone for the last four years I can't buy a sandwich, make a midnight run for ice cream at Safeway, or walk the dog without running into someone I know. (You would think knowing that would encourage me to change out of sweats when I leave the house.) But it is really nice to have roots somewhere, to run into old neighbors who ask how I've been, or to catch up with old friends.

When you have a routine, when you live somewhere for awhile, the days all begin to blend together. You know what to expect from each day, so it becomes hard to distinguish one Greek yogurt and granola breakfast from the next. Weekly trips to Trader Joe's or to the bank are done on autopilot and subsequently forgotten about.

When you're traveling though, everything becomes an adventure.You feel fully alive and present in every moment of every day because everything is new and different. Trips to the grocery store become an adventure because you don't speak the language and while you think you are eating potato dumplings, you're actually eating liver*. Grocery stores sell strange products like Curry and Ketchup flavored potato chips and you get excited over seeing things in foreign markets that don't seem that exciting when you're shopping in the US, things like graham crackers and Kraft Mac and Cheese, a tiny taste of home.

*You think I'm joking, but unfortunately this actually happened.

Routine is comforting, but that's not what I'm looking for right now. Traveling makes you relearn things you thought you already knew how to do and challenges you to do them differently than you thought was normal. It makes you question your assumptions about normal.

I've always found traveling to be very unlike food in that the more you have the more your appetite becomes insatiable.

One of my favorite parts about traveling has always been the people you meet. I genuinely like talking to people and I always think it's interesting to hear about their lives, what they like to do, what they dream of doing. From the rowdy Irishmen who'll buy you a pitcher in Dublin to the soft spoken hostel mate to the friendly people who help point you in the right direction along the way.

In addition to that, I like being on the move. I like trains, and planes, and airports. I like going to places I've never been before. There's so much to see! I like having coffee in cafes in rainy cities and learning new words in new languages and exploring old buildings and sights that make places unique. I like going on adventures.

Each city lives and breathes and has it's own personality. Each city has its own culture, traditions, and way of life. Each city is built and sustained by the people who live in it; the people who each have their own interesting stories and personalities and histories and cultures.

It's a big world, but it's also small. There's so much to see and do and I want to see and do it all.

Never neglecting an opportunity to quote Doctor Who, here is something the Eleventh Doctor says which I feel is applicable:

"I’m not running away. But this is one corner… of one country, in one continent, on one planet that’s a corner of a galaxy that’s a corner of a universe that is forever growing and shrinking and creating and destroying, and never remaining the same for a single millisecond. And there is so much, so much to see... Because it goes so fast. I’m not running away from things, I am running to them."

While I (sort of) (not really) have a plan, and I don't literally have an atlas in my hands, I'll end this post with a quote from one of my favorite songs, which I'll leave up to your own metaphorical interpretation as well as your listening pleasure.

(Or, if you don't want to come up with your own metaphor I like to think something along the lines of no plan necessary - you've got a world of opportunity at your fingertips, and can go anywhere in the world you like.)

"I've got a plan, I've got an atlas in my hands," Benjamin Francis Leftwich "Atlas Hands"

Life Begins at the Edge of Your Comfort Zone

Hello again everyone. I know it’s been a long time since my last post, but I’ve been putting off writing this. For multiple reasons. The first being that I have had very little down time since I moved back to the US and the second being that writing my last blog post about studying abroad in Edinburgh as an undergraduate had a sense of finality to it and I wasn’t ready to accept that I had to leave. I miss it so much still. Studying abroad in Edinburgh was hands down one of the best decisions I have made in my life and I am so endlessly thankful for the opportunity to do so. I cannot express in words how much I learned during my time abroad. I learned a lot about myself, a lot about traveling, about EU, UK, and Scottish politics, and so much more.

Oh man, I don't even know where to start. Studying abroad has been the most unbelievable experience of my life and I am so thankful for every opportunity I had and all the help I had getting there. My only complaint about the program is that I wish it was longer. 

I have been back in the US for almost three and a half months now and just started my last quarter at UCSB this week. It was definitely an adjustment coming back and falling back into my old routine after having such an amazing whirlwind of new and exciting experiences. I experienced a bit of reverse culture shock coming back and held on stubbornly to some of the Scottish traits I picked up for a few weeks after I returned.

I never felt like I experienced much culture shock when I first moved to Scotland. If anything, it was just a bit of climate shock adjusting to the damp and cold and dark weather, but it was nothing that inhibited my ability to enjoy it there. Any small differences or culture quirks I was so fascinated by that they didn’t faze me. The only other difficulty I faced there was how easy and frustrating it was to get hopelessly lost, but even that wasn’t bad all the time. It was definitely a good way to see parts of the city that I would not have seen otherwise.

Immensely jet lagged in Dallas, Texas on my way home late in December I began a list on my phone (that I could finally use again!) of things that stood out to me when I first returned to the US. Toilet seat covers and sales tax surprised me my first few moments back in the US. The first couple times a stranger smiled at me or someone in line struck up a conversation with me caught me entirely off guard. I was quickly reminded of how loud Americans are and I slowly unlearned the habits I had formed of speaking more softly and clearly. Tap water is a lot colder here. And instead of getting charged every time I use my credit card I get 1% cash back!

It is nice to get back to my roots, and be in a place where I am very comfortable and can easily understand everyone’s accents. However there are a lot of things I miss about the UK. I miss tea, toasties, eggs and beans on toast, pasties, and pints of cider at the pub. I miss Scottish accents and being able to take the train anywhere. I miss my flat and my roommates and the friends I made there. I miss Primark and shopping and walking around bundled up in the city drinking mochas. I miss being able to travel anywhere. I miss living in Edinburgh. I miss working at the Parliament and reading the BBC every day and the lunch breaks with the interns. I miss all the new and exciting experiences.

One of my greatest fears was that I was not going to make the most of every day. Looking back, I do not regret a single thing. The only thing I wish is that I could have been there longer. There is a lot more I want to do and see in Edinburgh, Scotland, the UK, and Europe. I did deplete most of my life savings while I was there, but it was worth every penny.

I was lucky enough to reunite with a few of my intern friends over spring break. We reminisced a lot and talked about our favorite stories. I am glad we have all kept in contact. And I also apologize if this post seems whiny or sentimental. There are lots of things I missed about California and the US (my family and friends here, sunshine, and good Mexican food, and more to name a few things). However, living in Edinburgh was an amazing experience. I highly recommend studying or living abroad to anyone who has the chance. My next goal in life is to find a way to live back in the UK again.

I’d also like to take the chance to thank my family and friends for their support through every part. From helping me pick the perfect program, to helping me pack and shop, to providing moral support, to texting me back when I was scared in a sketchy London hostel, to helping me figure out some of the difficulties of international life, to caring about what I was doing abroad, I couldn’t have done it without everyone. Also, a special thanks to my parents for financing my education. I knew from the first day I went to UCSB that I wanted to study abroad at some point. Scotland was not on my original program list, as I wanted to learn a foreign language in either Spain or Germany. While I’m sure I would have loved either of those places, I am grateful every day for every event in my life that led up to me picking Edinburgh as it was the perfect experience. I am also grateful for my parents having moved us to Germany when I was younger. It helped me with the confidence to move abroad on my own.

I know this whole thing sounds really redundant, but I really do want to thank everyone. I feel very lucky and grateful for the opportunity to live in Edinburgh and all the experiences I was able to have and I am very grateful for all the help and support I received.

I never really got to write about my whirlwind last week in Edinburgh, either, so I would also like to share those stories. I wish I would have written this sooner as it is harder to recall all the things I squeezed into my last week in between packing and cleaning and shopping, but I’ll try my best to remember!

On the 16^th of December, Julianne, Frances, and I hosted the intern Christmas party and Secret Santa gift exchange at our flat. We dressed in nice clothes and ate the classy appetizers Frances made. 

On the 17^th, my last Monday, instead of spending it in the Parliament, I had the opportunity to travel to the area of Scotland that my MSP represented. I unfortunately had to wake up at 5:50 and started questioning my life choices. I got dressed, walked to Waverley, and took the 7am train to Glasgow. I got there at 7:50 and it was still pitch black outside. I got a Panini and mocha from Eat, a chain prepackaged deli store that is on every corner. It was quite lovely walking around Glasgow so early, drinking my coffee, and looking at all the Christmas lights. I then caught another train to Port Glasgow. 

My MSP picked me up from the train station and we went to a high school where he answered questions for a Modern Studies class. We then went to the community council building. My MSP had a meeting with someone, so I hung out with one of the councillors who was really young. He gave me a tour of the building and then I got to sit in on a meeting about education, which was cool. 

The whole day was spent with me basically getting introduced to so many people as the California intern and then talking to people. I had so many long conversations with complete strangers. It was interesting, but tiring, and also difficult to decipher the West of Scotland accent. 

We then went to a ship launch. It was the first ship launch in Port Glasgow for five years, which is a big deal because the area used to be known for ship building. It was also the world's first hybrid ferry. I had a lot of trouble throughout the day discerning between the words ‘lunch’ and ‘launch’ as there was the ship launch and then the post ship launch lunch. 

The Deputy First Minister (kind of like the vice president of Scotland), Nicola Sturgeon, launched the ship. She smashed a whisky bottle on it and then the workers pushed the blocks out of the way and it went into the water. My MSP played the bag pipes. He then got interviewed. After that there was a reception for the ship launching. It was really fancy and they served like a several course meal. I tried haggis, which was on my Edinburgh bucket list. I had a bite and it tasted what I would imagine chewy ground beef to taste like. Seeing as I have never really eaten ground beef (at least not intentionally) I am not sure if that’s actually the case. I also got to meet the Deputy First Minister which was really cool. I then took the trains home to Edinburgh, listening to The Fray on my iPhone the whole way back.

It was really cool to see the area that I had been reading and writing about all quarter. Seeing the constituency was also on my bucket list for the quarter and I am grateful I got the chance to head out to the West of Scotland and see more of Scotland. There is so much more of Scotland that I want to see. The whole country is really beautiful.

On Wednesday they had a Christmas dinner for lunch at the Parliament. It was really fun and all the tables were wrapped in gold paper and there were Christmas crackers all over the place and everyone was wearing colorful paper crowns. Everyone was in a really good mood and the cafeteria was packed with people enjoying the good food and popping Christmas crackers. 

On Wednesday night Julianne and I went shopping in Edinburgh. There was a little market where we went shopping. We then went over to Loriel’s for dinner. Julianne left early the next morning. The next few days were a whirlwind of Christmas shopping, finishing up work in the Parliament, packing, cleaning the flat, and throwing away all my clothes that wouldn’t fit. Our lease ended on Friday so I stayed in a hotel that I picked exclusively based on proximity to my flat. Frances and I stayed up late packing and cleaning Thursday and then woke up early the next morning. It was really sad when we left the flat for the last time and threw our set of keys back in the flat through the mail slot. It took me two trips to get all my luggage to the hotel and up the three flights of rickety stairs. I then rushed to have a last lunch at the Parliament with the interns who were still there. We stayed as long as we could until we turned in our badges and then went to our respective hotels or friends couches. 

Some miscellaneous pictures: 

I spent most of my leftover pounds on Christmas presents and I did not want to take out any more cash, so I lived a very frugal lifestyle the last couple days, paying for most of my items in coins. I ate some pizza rolls from the Tesco’s bakery near my hotel for 80p and drank the complimentary tea in my hotel room.

I really felt like I maximized my last two days in Edinburgh, though. I was really tired and almost did not go out Friday night, but some friends who were still in Edinburgh texted me and I had an amazing night. I met up with some of them at a pub and they bought me a drink. Then six of us went on a ghost tour of Edinburgh, something I had been meaning to do the whole time I was in Edinburgh. It was a little gimmicky and touristy, but it was really cool. The tour guide told us about a bunch of stories and the history of Edinburgh. Some of it was really creepy, and the gothicness of the city took on a new meaning. We explored the hidden vaults under the road I walked on many times, South Bridge. It was kind of creepy but kind of cool. We then went to the Dome. It was a really classy building. I think it used to be a bank. We hung out there for a bit next to the giant Christmas tree discussing all our plans for the future.

I spent all of the next day shopping in Edinburgh by myself. It was really nice, and even though it was raining the whole time and I was very cold, I enjoyed walking so much and seeing as much of the city as I could before I left. I even saw a guy dressed as Santa playing the bag pipes which was fun! That night I met up with some friends at a pub again and then we went to a restaurant that was all vegetarian. It was really nice to spend more time with all those people. I went back to the hotel early because I was leaving the next morning.

I began my twenty six hour trip home the next morning at five. I quickly changed, took several trips to drag all my luggage downstairs, and got picked up by a taxi. The taxi driver was very nice and we chatted about global warming on the way to Waverley. I did not have enough money to take the taxi the whole way to the airport, so I just took the taxi to Waverley. There was no way I would have made it to Waverley without a taxi though. I took the bus from Waverley to Edinburgh Airport, which was only three pound fifty and only took a little more than thirty minutes. I checked my extra luggage, and saw Lori. Lori and I got breakfast at a pub at the airport. I got scrambled eggs and toast. Lori and I looked disbelievingly at all the people around us sipping on pints of Guinness and other beers at seven in the morning. We saw Oriel and Carly at the airport as well. We were all flying through London Heathrow. I then flew from London to Dallas and then from Dallas to Sacramento, with only slight delays.

My family and my friend Hanae met me in Sacramento with a welcome back sign. It was really great to see them. I was exhausted from the trip, but it was so great to make it home before Christmas. We then drove home and I showered and slept. 

I loved living there and I cannot wait to go back. I loved the people I met there, the places I saw, and everything. I am so glad I got to go to Berlin, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, Munich, Istanbul, London, Salisbury, Cardiff, Stratford upon Avon, Cardiff, Stirling, Glasgow, Barcelona, Linlithgow, and Inverclyde. I got to see Ed Sheeran and Mumford and Sons. I got to go to too many pubs. I went to Nandos and cafes a lot. I saw a few FMQs. And I got to work at the Scottish Parliament. All of it was an incredible learning experience and I loved every cold minute of it.

Now I am back in Santa Barbara, working and preparing to graduate. I only have ten more weeks of being an undergraduate and it hasn’t really sunk in yet. Living in Edinburgh was definitely the highlight of being an undergraduate and I am so thankful for everyone who made it possible, especially my Mom and Dad! I appreciate it so much. And if anyone ever needs a recommendation for what to see in Edinburgh, let me know!