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Fabiana in China: I Was The Donkey

March 17, 2015

As I finished reading the story, I remembered where I was about two months ago. I had fallen into an empty well and had no one to save me but myself…

After successfully finishing two textbooks since we first started, we began a new one last week. It welcomed us with a very curious and inspiring story:

In summary, the text talked about an old donkey that had fallen into an empty well. The owner and his neighbors did not know what to do to help this poor donkey out, so they decided to fill the well with dirt so the donkey would not suffer anymore. As they shoveled dirt in, they listened how the donkey become more and more silent. After some time they were all curious about what the donkey was doing, so decided to look down: as the dirt fell on top of the donkey’s back, he swayed his body and made the dirt fall to one side. He then took a step on top of the pile of dirt and repeated this motion as more dirt came in. When the pile got high enough, he took a big jump on top of it and trotted out of the well.

“I am that donkey,” I quietly whispered in class, and smiled right after.

I smiled because I realized I had been doing exactly the same: shaking the “dirt” of my body and stepping on top of whatever wanted to knock me down. I still have to jump out of my well, but I can see the light, and I am not far away from it.

From increasing the amount of Chinese vocabulary words learned each day, to increasing the amount of times I have to refer back to my English dictionary to check the English translation the book provides, I can now say that if I would ever take the SAT again, I would ace the reading part. Haha. But actually.

In order to shake out this week’s stress the program surprised us with a very entertaining weekend. On Friday, we had a scavenger hunt on Peking University’s campus. I was asked to recall Chinese famous dishes and New Year’s traditions, ask a “handsome” Chinese guy for his phone number, complete character writing in order to find hidden messages, and many more tasks. We had a beautiful day that accompanied the afternoon and delicious snacks waiting for us at the finish line! It was a lot of fun!

Snapshots from PKU during the Scavenger Hunt

That same day, I finally decided to go to that Kickboxing lesson I was long thinking about. With the scavenger hunt in the afternoon and the kickboxing lesson at night, I was destroyed. Although my body still hurts from it, the 加油s (“you can do it!”) I received from random kickboxing peers that day made the muscle pain worthwhile.

On Saturday, we all went to THE GREAT WALL! How exciting! We had a big bus waiting for us back in PKU (Peking University) and left for our half-day adventure. Although I had been to The Great Wall about two years ago, this time somehow felt more magical. We had all broke down into small groups and hiked our way to the very top. Well, except a couple of friends and I that didn’t really make it to the top. In my defense, I thought there was no such thing as a “top”! I could only see more of the Great Wall in the distance, and when we got tired we just started to walk back down. Apparently if you keep hiking up like some of my classmates did, there is a way to use a slide to get back down! So keep this in mind if you’re planning to come and visit! (I guess I now have an excuse to go back).

After that adventure, I had to end the day with my favorite dessert in China: Bubble Tea. Tapioca pearls, milk, tea, and your roommate’s smile are all you really need to end a day like this. With three more weeks left of actual teaching until the end of semester trip with the program begins, I can truly say I wish I would have extended my stay in Beijing for one more semester. I think I can speak for everyone in the program when I say that I still feel I have so much left to learn! Chinese language learning seems endless, but we all just simply love it! It’s sort of like a love-hate relationship. We can’t get enough of it!

Till next week!

Comments Off on Fabiana in China: I Was The Donkey | Fabiana in China, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Academics, China, Food, Friends, Language, Reflection, Sightseeing | Permalink
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Jackie in Switzerland: Looking for Audrey and Finding the Sheep

March 17, 2015

This was the third week of classes here at Lausanne and I am blown away by how fast time is flying by! Now that classes have really begun, I feel like the semester is going to be over before I know it. After much stress and confusion, I have finally figured out my class schedule for the semester! I am taking 7 courses; five are courses about French and Swiss culture, including their literature, art, and films while the other two are political science courses. However, they are ALL taught in French! My professors have been really understanding of the fact that French is not my first language, and sometimes in my political science class, the professor will even ask for my perspective as an American, which makes me feel like I can actually contribute to the course.

I was really nervous that I wouldn’t be able to handle so much French, but so far it has been the best thing about my study abroad experience! I can already tell how much better my French has become, and after only three weeks. One of the most important things that I have learned from this experience is how important immersion is for learning a language. Its just not possible to speak and hear French in the U.S. the way that I can here in Switzerland, and this week I really realized how lucky I am to have the opportunity to come here and not only study a language, but also to live a language. And while sometimes all the French makes my head spin, I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Even with all of my classes, I’ve still found time to enjoy the sunset!

And now to explain the slightly bizarre title to this blog post. In choosing to study abroad in Lausanne, I had unknowingly chosen a place about an hour from Audrey Hepburn’s last home. I am both excited by this fact and also disappointed in myself for not knowing this earlier. As a self-proclaimed Audrey fanatic, I cannot believe that her home has been so close to me and I was not aware. However, I decided to make up for this by visiting Tolochenaz, where Audrey lived during her last years. Expecting to visit an overly touristy, Audrey-themed city, what I found instead was what makes me love this country so much.

The houses in Tolochenaz were all so cute and quaint, I would never imagine such a small city for such a big star

With this view, I could see why Tolochenaz is such a perfect place to live!

It turns out that it takes about 30 minutes to walk from the closest train station to Tolochenaz, and the path is the most quiet, beautiful countryside that I have seen to date in Switzerland. After enjoying our walk with the mountains in the distance, we finally reached the small town, and I could not have been more surprised. It took us about 20 minutes of walking in the town to even pass a single person, and the homes were so beautiful, traditional, and modest that I would never have guessed a star like Audrey Hepburn would live there. As for tourism, the town certainly had a few indications of Audrey’s presence, but in general, it was very tasteful and simple. Much like her modest resting place, I could only describe her home in Tolochenaz as peaceful, beautiful, and quaint.

After 20 years, people still come to Audrey’s grave to give flowers and love

The town created a statue to honor Audrey with a beautiful quote that captures her personality

While walking through the town, I realized that while I had come here to see the place where one of my favorite actresses had lived, I got so much more than that. I got a little glimpse into the small things that make living in Switzerland like a dream. On our path, we ran across a herd of sheep, the first that I have seen here in La Suisse, even though before arriving I expected to see this everywhere! As my friend Amanda said “We came for Audrey and found the sheep!” Every little detail of this little town in this little country had such a character and a beauty in and of its own, and I realized in that moment that one of the best parts of studying abroad isn’t so much seeing all of the tourist attractions or ‘famous’ places, but instead finding the beauty of living like a local.

It took me a month, but I finally found the Swiss sheep! We felt like total tourists taking pictures of sheep but we couldn’t resist

The experience of enjoying such a small place made me realize even more how much there is out there to see. I came to Europe searching for the ‘Audreys’; the Eiffel Tower, Lake Geneva, the canals of Venice, or the beaches of southern France. But the more I see, the more I’m beginning to love finding the ‘sheep’; the vines that climb up the side of an old home, the wonderful smell of real French bread in the morning, or even the beauty of gates and doors on the side streets of Lausanne.

Finding the small beauties in a small city

I will never forget this view!

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Becca In Hungary: Connections!

March 2, 2015

When I was six years old my family made the big trip to Disney World in Florida; the trip that every kid never forgets. The most memorable part for me was the exhibit where you swirl around a magical world on a small boat while the song “It’s a Small World After All” plays. As a six year old the song just didn’t make sense to me because in my view the world was just a huge playground ready to be explored! I thought the 100 foot walk to my best friend’s house in my neighborhood was a large distance, so the idea of this world being seen as “small” was just preposterous to my young mind. To this day I still see the world as a massive complex network of people and places, but these past two weeks have shown me how interconnected this world really is.

The first connection I was able to make was meeting up with my previous University of Richmond roommates, Aileen and Rayna. They are studying abroad in Germany and Denmark respectively, and this past weekend we all met up in Prague. I really had to step back and reflect on this because it truly is amazing how out of 6 billion people in the world and even more opportunities, somehow the three of us were able to all come together and meet in a new country which we had never explored before. How cool is that!?! I loved being able to visit some of my closest friends and create meaningful memories with them.

My UR friends and I exploring Prague

While in Prague, the three of us went on a tour of the city. While on the tour my friend Rayna was approached by an individual in the group who ended up being a friend from her grade school! This just blew my mind because again even in a world so big we are still so interconnected.

Some main attractions in Prague

My favorite part of Prague was visiting the Pinkas Synagogue which holds pictures drawn by children during the Holocaust. Through these pictures visitors could see the children’s fears, hopes, desires, and prayers. The thing that struck me that most about these pictures, though, was the fact that even though these children were enduring unimaginable pain and loss, they always drew the Jewish people with a smile on their faces and frowns on their perpetrators. I was moved by their ability to see such hope and happiness despite the pain they had endured.

After visiting the Jewish district in Prague, I decided that this weekend I wanted to explore Budapest’s Jewish District in order to draw parallels between these two countries. On this tour I began to see all these connections between the countries I have visited and these connections have really opened my mind to how interconnected our world truly is. For instance, in the 19th century Austria came to “liberate” Hungary and bring Catholicism to their people. The ruler of Austria during this time was the Habsburg family. When I visited Austria, I was able to visit the Habsburg palace. What I found interesting was during the Jewish District tour in Budapest the tour guide was very negative about the Habsburg family and discussed their blatant discrimination against Jews. However, while in Austria, the people spoke highly of the wealth and power of the Habsburg family. It really goes to show you how skewed history can be. This idea reminds me of the quote”“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” By traveling to different countries I have had the oppertunity to see different countries prospectives on the same historical events. I able to draw my own connections between people and places and begin to feel even more connected to this beautiful and expansive world.

Comments Off on Becca In Hungary: Connections! | Becca in Hungary, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Austria, Friends, History, Hungary, Politics, Sightseeing, Travel | Permalink
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Fabiana in China: Adventures in Harbin

February 24, 2015

Fireworks woke me up. I was on a train heading to Harbin, China on the night of Chinese New Year. 干杯 (“cheers”) and laughter could be heard on the light-less hallway, and as I closed my eyes to go back to sleep, I thought about how lucky I was to be in China for one its most important holidays.

The city of Harbin left me amazed of how China’s panorama can change so abruptly depending of where you are. I had traveled to other cities in China before, but this was the first time I was traveling this north. As I walked through the Harbin streets, I felt like I was in Eastern Europe; the combination of Chinese and European architecture styles puzzled, but charmed me. I had a Chinese monastery on my right and a Russian Orthodox church, Saint Sophia Cathedral, on my left. It was simply breathtaking!

Saint Sophia Cathedral

Zhongyang Pedestrian Street, one of the main streets in Harbin, was overcrowded with Chinese people taking photos with the different ice sculptures, buying Russian goods, and eating street food delicacies. It was a spectacle! Although I am pretty sure we were all freezing (I personally couldn’t feel my toes), everyone seemed to enjoy the music played on the streets and the happiness of beginning a new year in such a magical city like this.

Zhongyang pedestrian street ice sculptures

Over the course of 2 nights and 3 days, we got to visit the Harbin Ice and Amusement World, Zhaolin Park (home to the largest collection of lit-up ice sculptures), the Siberian Tiger Park, the Temple of Bliss, and Harbin’s famous Russian district.

As I try to decide what was the part I enjoyed the most of this whole experience, I think about conversations I had with Chinese locals as they tried to figure out the year I was born to match me up with their sons; I think about holding a Siberian baby tiger and hoping his teeth wouldn’t be that sharp, or witnessing the very traumatizing extermination of a chicken by his dad. I dream of that amazing Russian lunch and chocolate for dessert; and how could I forget crossing that 3 kilometer frozen river from a Harbin island to the mainland; and of course the joy of being hypnotized with the sculpture lights! AAGH! Every moment had its own excitement.

Siberian baby tiger

White tiger eating steak

Pay to feed the tigers

Russian district

Harbin Ice and Amusement World

Now, I think back and reflect on the things I have learnt through this adventure. The most important thing I got from it was due to a conversation we had with our Chinese roommate in the youth hostel we stayed in. We were trying to save some pocket money, so my two friends and I decided to get a room for four and have someone else stay with us. She was from the southern part of China and had come to Harbin to fulfill the “Chinese travel dream.” She explained this dream as being able to go to the “most” northern, southern, eastern, and western parts of China. She was staying the night in Harbin and traveling towards the north the next morning.

This “dream” amazed me, really. It made reconsider the type of traveling I have been doing for some years now. I acknowledge I have travelled very little inside my own country, and instead had always tried to go outside of it. I now feel a great desire to go back and really get to discover it. I mean, now that I think about it more carefully, we tend to underestimate the importance of knowing ourselves first. And this, could go multiple ways.

I am grateful for meeting such interesting people and the great stories that accompany them. Now, as I sit back and realize this is my last day of vacation, I mentally prepare myself for my the second and last round. I can’t believe I am halfway through the semester!

Happy Year of the Sheep/Goat!

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KyungSun in Scotland: Scotland’s Mini Cities

February 18, 2015

I absolutely love weekends because that’s when I usually take trips around Scotland. I’m very thankful to UR for our cultural reimbursements and to the University of Edinburgh Residence Life for hosting these trips. So far I’ve visited Stirling, St. Andrews, Newcastle (which is in England), Perth, and I’m off to my long awaited trip to the Highlands next week! With the exception of Newcastle, I’ve visited a castle/palace in every city. The pictures of each castle are below – which one is your favorite?

Stirling Castle

St. Andrew’s Castle

Newcastle

Scone Palace

My vote goes to the last building with the plain walls and nice trees surrounding it. It has by far the most beautiful interior. But then again, I guess you can’t really compare the palace with the other castles since the palace is still used as a home by the current Earl of Manchester. Most of the castles, however, don’t have very much left to them.

At first I was growing dejected because Scotland’s castles were not what I had imagined them to be. Stirling Castle was the first castle I went to and it didn’t feel authentic? I say it as a question because I know they tried their best to re-create what it formerly looked like prior to the wars. Most of it is re-modeled very well, but the replicas still felt out of place. I had mixed feelings throughout my visit. On one hand, I was amazed at the grand, ancient feel of the castle exterior, but then immediately hit with the emptiness of the touristy, makeshift feel in the interior. Let me know what you think:

Scone Palace was my favorite because we had a great tour guide (in most of the other ones, we unfortunately did not have a guide) and was treated to shortbread and tea afterward! The palace also gave me a better insight on what the castle interiors would have looked like many, many years ago. Check it out:

The interesting thing about the cities I’ve visited so far is that they’re not like Edinburgh at all. Most of them are pretty quiet compared to Edinburgh (but then again I’ve visited most of these on a Sunday), much more open and scenic, and not as compact (again, Newcastle was an exception). Even though I was only given about 3-4 hours, I thought I got a pretty good feel of the cities in the time span I was given.

Now lets have a second vote: Which of these places do you think has the best views?

My vote is all of them! Every corner, especially near the coasts, is a Kodak moment. As someone who loves to take pictures, it’s very hard for me to contain my excitement. These 5 photos do not fully capture the extent of how beautiful each of these places is, but I hope they give you a snapshot of how beautiful they can be. I currently have over 900 photos in the five weeks I’ve been here (that’s about 180 pictures per week, 25 pictures a day), but I’m trying my best to weed out the best ones just for you guys! Look forward to more pictures and I’ll talk to you all next week!

P.S. Please feel free to give me feedback on any of my posts, especially if there’s things you want me to talk more about or you feel I haven’t explained quite well. I’m open to your thoughts!

1 Comment | KyungSun in Scotland, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Adventure, Scotland, Sightseeing | Permalink
Posted by Klee

Becca in Hungary: Climbing to new Heights

February 9, 2015

Before coming to Hungary, I was told that by the third week I would be exhausted. I continuously denied that I would let that happen to me. But as I write this blog post it is far to say that I am exhausted. But not the drained, I need to nap for four-days straight type of exhausted, but rather that type of exhausted that when I lay my head to rest each night my muscles tingle with the satisfaction of knowing they had a full day of exploration and adventurer. The type of exhausted where I never felt more deserving of a full night sleep and carbo-loaded breakfast. So why do I feel so wonderfully exhausted?

For starters, this past week was my first week of official classes, and with these classes means some great mental stimulation. I am currently enrolled in 6 courses: mobile software development, combinatorial optimization, algorithms, combinatorics over finite fields, quantum probability, and Budapest studies. Though some of the class names might seem daunting the material is extremely thought-provoking. Each class is 2 hours, so the professors works hard to keep us engaged throughout the class and continuously provides us with thought provoking questions (some of which I hope to share with you later on this blog).

Between classes, I have been trying to stay active and go for runs throughout Budapest. I have always wanted to become a stronger runner, and I figured that I could use my desire to explore Budapest as my motivation to run. Luckily, there are more motivated runners in my program, so I am trying to pair up with them and explore the city at a slow-paced jog.

This weekend though was about climbing to new heights. As I shared before, Budapest is actually two cities, Buda and Pest, that are divided by the Danube river. The Pest side is know for being flat while the Buda side is known for its sprawling hills and mountains. My goal was to reach the highest points of Budapest to view all the beauty of Budapest.

There a couple great views of the city. The first is climbing to the top of St. Stephan’s Basilica. St. Stephan’s Basilica, along with the Parliament building, are the two tallest buildings in Budapest which both stand at 96 meters. No building in Budapest can stand higher than 96 meters because 96 represents the founding of a settlement in Budapest in 896.

The steps leading up to the top of the Basilica

The main dome of the Basilica

Picture of the bell tower once you reach the top of the Basilica

The other great spot to view the city is on top of a the highest Buda hill that holds their statue of liberty. Originally, this statue was a memorial for army pilots after WWII and the woman held up a propellor of a plane. However, when Hungary was taken over by the Soviet Union the exchanged the propellor with a palm leaf as a sign of peace in hopes the Soviet Union would not demolish the memorial.

Standing with the Liberty statue

Traveling to these exciting heights to view the city was a wonderful way for me to explore the city and just see how beautiful the city really is. At both locations I spent a couple minutes just spending time in thanks for having this opportunity to live in this amazing city.

View from the Buda Castle

A night view of the city

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KyungSun in Scotland: Midterms Already?!

February 3, 2015

Street art on my walk down Melville Dr.

I empathize with the person who wrote this on the street wall. I just finished week 3 of classes and realized I only have 2 weeks left! As excited as I am start working at the Scottish Parliament, first I have to survive midterms. The workload itself isn’t too bad, but doing midterm essays on top of internship essays has definitely been overwhelming. So far, I’ve done three applications, three papers, and have two presentations due for this upcoming week. I keep telling myself that it’s almost over – I know I can do this!

The best break I had this week was celebrating Burns Night. Technically, Scotland celebrates its famous poet, Robert Burns, on the 25^th, but I celebrated it as close to the date as possible. There were loads of events to choose from, but I decided to go to the Burns Ceilidh with the International Student Centre on the 22nd and the Burns Dinner with the Edinburgh Folk Society on the 28th. As always, I had a great time dancing the ceilidh and this time, it was much more enjoyable because I actually knew some of the dances! Here’s a video in case you missed the first one:

The Burns Dinner was hosted by one of my professors who runs the Edinburgh Folk Society. My entire program went and I also invited two of my friends. When we arrived, I realized that we were the only college students. But strangely, it was better that way; I felt like I got a more authentic experience being surrounded by Scottish people. Of course, to celebrate a Scottish tradition, we had to eat Scotland’s traditional dish: haggis. This time I went with the vegetarian version and it wasn’t too bad. The vegetarian one replaces the organs with oats so it was more edible. In addition to food, I also got a full dose of Scottish culture by (attempting) to sing along to some Burns songs, hearing bagpipes, and taking part in the traditional toast to Burns with a shot of whiskey.

Vegetarian haggis, nips (turnips), and tatties (potatoes)

This past week, I also had a chance to go to Scotland’s National Gallery with the other interns! Normally, I am not a huge fan of art museums. I was once at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and saw a work that had a definition of the word definition. Maybe it’s art? I just didn’t get it. But I do like paintings and the Gallery certainly had the most intricate pieces. When I first saw them, I was amazed at how big they were. However, I was even more surprised that we had the freedom to come right up to the painting and see the fine details. I’m not sure if I was allowed to take pictures (I may have seen the no photographs sign too late) but here are some of my favorite pieces:

Flowers in a White Stone Vase (1671) by Dirck de Bray. One of my favorite pieces in the gallery.

Art cabinet with Anthony van Dyck’s ‘Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine’. The details in this were amazing.

James Mayhew draws his character, Katie, into famous paintings!

This upcoming week is my second and final wave of deadlines. I can’t wait to be done! But like this past week, I also have some exciting things to look forward to including a trip to St. Andrews and my first meeting with my Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP)! I’ll let you know how it goes! Stay tuned!

1 Comment | KyungSun in Scotland, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Culture, Food, Host University, Scotland, Sightseeing | Permalink
Posted by Klee

Becca in Hungary: Trying to Find my Way

January 27, 2015

I have been in Budapest for two weeks, and mainly I have worked on finding ways to get around the city. Growing up in Ohio, I was not exposed to public transportation, so trying to figure out the public transit here as been a learning experience. Budapest is equipped with trams, buses, railways, and metros which makes the city easy to navigate.

As I practice navigating the city I have also seen many beautiful sites! I am sure I will say this thousands of times, but Budapest is truly one of the most beautiful cities! Budapest consists of a unique blend of modern and classic architecture. Because Budapest has been under the control of the Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Austria, and the Soviet Union, all of these countries and cultures have left an interesting mark on the landscape. For instance, during the invasion of the Turks many bath houses have been built throughout the city. Today Budapest is known for their array of baths and spas. Yesterday, I was able to soaked up the warm water in the Szecheny bath, a popular outdoor bath. The baths are an awesome way to wind down after a day of class, and hang out with some friends.

The Szechnyi Baths in the Center Park

Another thing I have enjoyed in the city is the plethora of churches. Growing up Roman Catholic, I have a tradition of lighting a candle at each church I visit as a prayer to bless my travels as well as my wonderful family and friends that have allowed me to make the travels possible. While in Budapest I have been able to visit three beautiful churches. Each one provided a safe haven for me to reflect on all my blessings. My goal for the trip is to be able to visit all the Catholic Churches in Budapest. So far I have a good start!

Lighting candles at various Churches in Budapest to give thanks for my family and friends.

Because it was raining during the weekend I stuck to mostly indoor adventures. The main things I visited were the House of Terror and the Parliament building. The House of Terror is a museum that displays what Hungary was like under communist rule after WWII. After WWII Hungary was placed under Soviet Union control. The Soviet Union were extremely cruel to the Hungarian people and killed anyone that tried to defy their rule. I found this museum to be extremely thought-provoking and emotional. It blows my mind that the violence inflected on the Hungarian people was not only so recent but also so wide-scale. For almost 50 years the Hungarian people lived in fear, and it wasn’t until 1990 that they were able to gain independence. By visiting the Parliamentary building the next day, it made me realize how far Hungary has come and how hard they have fought for their independence. I am excited to continue to learn more about Hungarian history!

Pictures of the Parliament building. Much of the building had to be restored after being attacked during WWII.

This weekend I am looking forward for my program to actually start. As stated previously, I am currently enrolled in an independent language school. The language school has been a great way to learn Hungarian and begin to learn more about Hungarian culture. My actual program begins on February 2nd and this weekend will be the program’s orientation. Be on the look out for updates about the official start of my program!

Comments Off on Becca in Hungary: Trying to Find my Way | Becca in Hungary, Spring 2015 | Tagged: History, Hungary, Public Transportation, Sightseeing | Permalink
Posted by Becca F

KyungSun in Scotland: Living a Double Life

January 22, 2015

Since classes started, I’ve been trying to acclimate to the local lifestyle. I stopped randomly taking pictures of picturesque streets, do my work at the local cafes, and even gave someone directions! But I admit: I can’t call myself a local quite yet. I’ve also gone on tours to the Parliament Building with the other interns, taken photos from every angle on Calton’s Hill, and still can’t figure out how much each coin is worth (the size is nowhere indicative of the amount! See below).

Can you guess the amount? From left to right it’s 2 pence, 2 pounds, 1 pound, 20 pence, 1 pence, and 5 pence.

Thankfully, I’ve been able to get my dose of local culture through the University’s International Buddy Program. They invited me to my first pub quiz at a place called Frankenstein’s Pub last Thursday night. And yes, the outside was as cheesy as it sounded. When I arrived, I was greeted with a loud muhahaha!! sound effect that blast from a tall Frankenstein figure.

I am not particularly good at trivia, but I discovered a new love for pub quizzes. Everyone and by everyone, I mean the entire pub, participates. Each table forms a team, the MC asks trivia questions throughout the evening, plays music while teams answer the questions, and everyone grabs drinks in between. It was a very casual hangout and I got to meet a lot of local Edinburgh students. We didn’t talk about anything special, but simply understanding what they meant by things like “timetabling” (schedule) and “in queue” (in line) made me feel more like a local.

Of course, I still had to get my tourist fix a few days later. We finally got a sunny day and it was a perfect day to climb! My flatmate and I were too excited to be outside that we did Calton’s Hill and Arthur’s Seat on the same day. Let’s just say I didn’t wake up until 2pm the following day.

Arthur’s Seat was by far my favorite place to climb. When I first arrived at the base of the volcano, I was happy to see lots of locals on the trails. I played it casual, hoping I didn’t stand out as a tourist until…I got closer. The locals were not only running the trails, but wearing shorts and sweatshirts! Meanwhile, I arrived looking like a marshmallow. I didn’t regret it though. The sun was misleading because it was still very, very cold outside.

We asked someone coming toward us which trail was the best to take. He said that if we took the left one, we’d get to the top in thirty minutes! Woo! My flatmate and I were itching to get to the top. The way up was quite steep and we had to stop more than we anticipated. But I took these moments to turn around and see how far I’ve come. Doing a “look back” is one of my favorite things to do while climbing. I also looked up and I was excited to see how high I would be:

The “look back”

The “look up”

Once we got to the top, I was in awe. The view is absolutely breathtaking! The sun was just setting, the landscape was beautiful, and I was very ready to capture the moment. The problem was I couldn’t move. The wind kept knocking me over and it was so cold that my eyes were tearing up. I blindly snapped some pictures but my hands paid a price. You may think I’m exaggerating, but see for yourself. Here is a video when I tried to climb Arthur’s Seat on a good day versus a bad day:

Here is also a picture of my flatmate and me:

My flatmate Lindy and me!

My pictures don’t fully capture what it feels like to be on top of this great inactive volcano, but I wasn’t too disappointed. I realized that part of living and becoming part of Edinburgh means soaking in the beautiful views with my own eyes rather than trying to capture it on camera.

Trying to hide my touristy moments and integrate myself as a local is certainly a challenge. But I think being able to play both identities is the best part about being an exchange student. I have had moments where I know I’m being judged and labeled as I quickly try to snap photos for friends and family back home, but I’ve also used it as an excuse to strike up a conversation with locals and other exchange students. It’s all about perspective, and I’m definitely taking advantage of playing both a tourist and local while I’m here.

Simon Cowell was in town!

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Posted by Klee

KyungSun in Scotland: Ready or Not

January 13, 2015

Sometimes we’re not ready for everything. When I arrived in Edinburgh, I came in with an open mind ready to be filled with new experiences. Yet I quickly learned that being mentally and physically prepared are two different things.

Here is what I wasn’t ready for:

Source: Google Images

The first night of orientation was a welcome dinner that promised good haggis. Haggis is one of Scotland’s traditional dishes and made from sheep heart, liver, and lung. Yum? The meal didn’t sound or look very appealing. However, I decided to just dive into the cultural experience on day one. I was ready. I slowly took a bite and thought, Hm, this isn’t too bad.

It wasn’t until the other exchange students finished their cup that I realized I had only eaten a quarter of mine. The tatties, or mashed potatoes, were gone, but the haggis remained. In the end I couldn’t fully push the image of eating sheep organs out of my head. One of the exchange students chuckled and said, “Are you done already?” He was going back for seconds. I told him I hadn’t warmed up to haggis quite yet.

Here is what I was ready for:

Ceilidh was my favorite event during orientation. I highly recommend it to anyone whether you like to dance or not. I promise this is a great dance to learn for people who especially don’t like to groove. You just need to be able to do three moves: forming circles, skipping, and cheering. It’s very simple!

The best part was messing up the rhythms because you saw how eager everyone was to make the formation work. I also saw the rush of proud satisfaction from our group once we finally got the dance right. I love that dancing is a way to communicate without words. I didn’t talk much that night, but I got a good sense of who everyone was even without the usual introductions. I slept for 13 hours that night and woke up feeling sore. This was enough to convince me that my body needed time to catch up with my eagerness to try everything.

What I was definitely ready for:

Nicholson Street

City life in Edinburgh is too cool. At first, I would walk down a street thinking everything looked the same as the States. Then further on ahead, I would suddenly come across these dark historical churches, cobblestone streets, or Arthur’s Seat peaking behind the skyline. I am constantly in awe of how the city changes before my eyes.

The spirit of the city is also very visible here. Just the other day, I explored Princes Street. I felt like I was walking in NYC as I passed this long row of commercial stores. Cars were honking as people J-walked, double decker buses sped by, and lights lit the way ahead. I almost forgot I was abroad. But then I looked towards my right and saw the Edinburgh Castle standing high above. To me, the castle was like an authoritative figure, reminding everyone below never to forget the history that had shaped the country. I love that I can see the cross between history and modernization, Scottish culture and diversity of other cultures present everywhere.

What I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for:

View from the castle entrance

I now understand the true meaning of being cold. Yes, it’s definitely cold when temperatures are freezing and the chilly air seeps into your bones. But now also imagine the rain pouring on you, constantly dampening the little warmth you’re trying to kindle. Then gusts of wind fan the cold flame already spreading throughout your body. My usual attire is four layers, a down jacket, thick socks, rain-poof boots, scarf, and gloves. Even then I’m never warm enough.

Mainly, I keep reminding myself that I need to rest. Even though I want to tackle everything – exploring the city, trying new foods, going to all the social events – I’m often more tired than I realize. It’s more than the jet lag. The cold, the constant walking, and living adjustment adds onto the tiredness I get after meeting so many new people in one day. However, I’m enjoying soaking in the city day by day. The cold is certainly uninviting, but it doesn’t stop me or anyone else living here from parading the streets every day.

1 Comment | KyungSun in Scotland, Spring 2015 | Tagged: Food, Music, Scotland, Sightseeing | Permalink
Posted by Klee

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