The Curse

I would like to take a moment to address a concern of mine and of those who have known me since I first left for university back in 2001. The curse. It seems that every time I leave home to begin a new university program something of great significance to a large chunk of the world seems to happen, and its generally not a good thing.

Item number one: My second day of university was September 11, 2001. I obviously don't need to say anymore on that one.

Number two: In the days that I was moving to London to begin my MA, Hurricane Katrina hit the southern coast of the USA, levees gave way and New Orleans flooded.

And number three: The Bank of Scotland is a solid, independant banking establishment for roughly 317 years. I move to Scotland to begin my PhD, and within one week banks all over the world are crumbling and the Bank of Scotland is bought by Lloyds TSB.

I'm quite relieved with this latest event. No one died, no great impact on the north american market, but I am sorry for what is now my bank.

One Week

Well, we've been here a week now and have gotten many of the necessities (and some not so necessary items) we need to get going.  The main item still missing is internet, but that should be arriving Monday.  After getting a UK bank account and registering as a student with the University of Edinburgh, I now possess a student card that lets me into the library and their Mac computer lab, as well as some fun activities like last night's Masquerade Ball.

There has been so much happening that I'll give you a short review of the past 7 or 8 days:

• Thursday: Land in Edinburgh, get keys to our flat, find a grocery store, and our first visit to the local Internet Cafe
• Friday: Bus to Ikea for bedding and towels (it was a cold first night), unpack
• Saturday: Daniel arrives, visit Edinburgh castle, walk around the Meadow (a nice big park)
• Sunday: International Day at the university -- introductory sessions, networking, and a ceilidh (Scottish dance)
• Monday: More walking and shopping I think :)
• Tuesday: Welcome session for new postgrad research students, meet with supervisors (who are great!), more networking over "wine and nibbles"
• Wednesday: Daniel leaves for Munich, Derek arranges bank account while I attend a full-day session for new postgrad history, classics and archeology students, evening at flatmates' over wine
• Thursday: Register with school, arrange for tv, cable and internet service, buy a tv, Masquerade Ball (with photos to come)

So here we are at Friday.  I've collected signatures on my first-year plan of study and Derek and I need to buy a tv license this afternoon.  I think I'll also go on a tour of the library's IT resources in an hour's time.  Tonight we're off to the pub with our neighbours downstairs.

Our postings will likely pick up dramatically once we have internet in our home.  Until that at we have cable, I don't think our place could feel like home to me.  But it has definite potential, and the couple of friends I've made are certainly helping :)

Arrived In Edinburgh

We arrived safely in Edinburgh on September 11th, and are now nicely settled in to our place. We do not yet have internet at our place, we only have a mobile phone. Once we get our bank account set up we will be able to get internet. And we can't get a bank account until we have proof of where we live, which we should be getting in the next day or two.

My cousin Daniel came on the 13th early in the morning, not having internet at the time we weren't expecting him yet. He brought with him a friend, a friend I didn't realize until after dinner that he had actually just met that during the bus ride from London.

We've been doing a lot of walking, we've toured around the city on foot, and yesterday Daniel and I climbed the mountain up to Arthur's Seat.

Apart from the frustration of setting up a bank account and not being able to get internet at home I am really enjoying being here, so far it seems sort of like a vacation, but our place really feels like home to me.

Hello world!

We fly out to Edinburgh on September 10th. I thought that perhaps the best way to document some of our adventures in Edinburgh would be via a blog. Derek and I should be able to post pretty regularly, and add some photos when the mood strikes us. Share the link with others, let us know what you think, and enjoy!