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first few days

  
Friends at Edinburgh Castle
Hi all,
I know I have taken a few days to get to my blogging but I have been so busy! So far I am LOVING Edinburgh! It is so lively and there are so many things to do. My flatmates (the cool way to say other people who live in my apartment) are awesome and we have been having a lot of fun.

The first few days I have been getting to know the other girls in CIS and going on adventures with them and our program leader, Jeanna. Because Jeanna is a native of Edinburgh, she has been showing us all the sights and giving us the ins and outs of the city. We have gone shopping on Princes Street, explored Old Town, saw the castle, etc... and that was all on the first day. All the girls (8 of us) in CIS get along well and have been enjoying learning more about the city and each other. It is also nice because we have adopted some of our other flatmates into the group so they add some more excitement as well. We also had an orientation for international students where we bought tickets to the Highland Games which are this coming weekend!


Old Town (Uncle Tommy says I missed out
 by not visiting the Harry Potter store which
is apparently the red door on the left in this picture) 
The gals by our apartment building






The Meadows


The next day (Sunday) we went off again with Jeanna and went to The Meadows (a huge park that is apparently on top of a grave for people who died in the plague?? Kinda sketchy but ok), Calton Hill, AND Hollyrood Palace. No joke. I stepped on the ground that the QUEEN had also stepped on, so obviously I went into the gift shop and bought um everything in sight. I decided that I must find at least one member of the royal family before December 22 or I legit will not fly home. Also, they are filming Fast and Furious here right now so THE ROCK is literally in Edinburgh. I would love to see him while I am here as well as I keep walking by the movie sets.. I am expecting to see him any day now. I am going to have to become better at stalking so that I can find all the people I want to see! Anyways, we have been doing a lot of walking... like 8 or so miles a day walking... and it is tiring!!
Hollyrood Palace





Me being starstruck thinking about the Royals



Just because we are tired obviously hasn't stopped any of us from going out at night... the night life here is crazy. Most of the pubs stay open until 3 am, and because it is "freshers week" (basically syllabus week minus the classes) everyone is going out all the time. It is a week for freshmen (and international students) to get acclimated to school. It honestly makes my friends and I feel old because we can't keep up with going out every night! But the school is putting on big parties at clubs every night and they are really fun, and a great way for us to meet people from other countries. Also there is a pub called the Three Sisters, where we get student discounted drinks, which is very nice. I'm sure no one was worried about me finding my way around the bar scene, but I want you to be sure that I am all set on that front--- but don't worry Mama Sue I have been practicing my casual drinking and am excelling at it !!
Calton Hill

1/2 of my flat at Calton Hill

All in all it was a great first weekend, and I can't wait to get to know my way around the city much more!! Stay tuned for more updates and #stayclassyscotland

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